This race was okay, but definitely room for improvements! I raced this in 2016, so there were differences. Some were good, some were not so good.

EXPO: Having expo at Navy Pier as opposed to Mccormick I did not feel was as great of a call. As a local, it was harder to get down to Navy Pier and costed more for parking. Some volunteers were not sure what they were doing. One of them told me my registration wasn't complete even though I had my confirmation. Maybe better training in that regard, which is not as big of a deal. The big stand for Hot Chocolate was a crowd pleaser and the highlight of the expo. Their clothing merchandise was also the highlight there and made use of that space. Lots of different types of booths so Hot Chocolate did great on variety.

SWAG: Sweatshirt was great! The style was great but I wish it was a tech material or a little more breathable.

Parking/Access: This was really well executed and Hot Chocolate provided a lot of options for parking. I always park in the Grant Park garages and recommend that to anyone.

Start of the race: The one knock I have on this (and why I need to make this a category) is that.. there was no start line. That was so confusing. You didn't know you were starting until you saw a mat, which you can't see as much with so many people. This is one of the biggest races in Chicago so I definitely think Hot Chocolate could benefit from a START sign.

Course: typical Chicago course that you get with all the races so nothing to brag about here. It was nice though to change the 15k to go on lakefront though. Definitely reccommend keeping that part.

Elevation: Flat as a pancake. Definitely a PR course

Aid Stations: best part of all!! Hot Chocolate really nailed the theme and giving out the candy and sweets at aid stations was amazing. Maybe more emphasis on when it's hot chocolate and not water though lol I got that surprise. Volunteers though were so enthusiastic and amazing!!

Finish line party: They did an amazing job and the chocolate mugs did not disappoint. Having the band was a nice touch along with FOUR different photo spots. Most races only have 1. This eliminated traffic for those wanting to take pictures and is much appreciated.

Overall, Hot Chocolate did a great job and could benefit well with some improvements!

The biggest plus were the views of the course!!!! You couldn't get better than this half! You had stunning views of the mountains the entire time!

One big downfall for me was paying to do the 5k and half marathon for the Elk Double Challenge, but we got one shirt for both. I kind of wish we had a 5k shirt and half shirt. They did give us an Elk Double Pint glass, but for the price of two races two shirts would've been nice.

Aid stations and porta potties were every two miles which was super nice!!

There is a 700 feet elevation gain from miles 2-5, but it was gradual and not that steep.

Indy did not work in my favor because I pulled a hamstring at mile 3! But even with that, There are a few things I would change. My 3 star rating still stands for multiple reasons.

T-shirt: I really didn’t like the T-shirt. It was a lot going on and also the red stripes I was not a fan of. I had multiple friends who ran the race who said they were leaving the shirts behind and not even bringing them home. I was one of them. HOWEVER, I saw people get a hat at the finish and those were nice. I did not get one because I DNFd

Expo: expo was a nice size. Not too big not too small. Wish there was more variety of stands though. It was a lot of clothing and not much else. The Nuun stand was super cool with the van and Runners Empire had 30% off so I loved that.
Parking: parking was easy with spothero! We got a spot in a parking garage though the app for $23 and it was 0.30 from the start line. We had the spot from 6-4
Course scenery. So for the 3 miles I did run before I pulled my hamstring it was amazing. I loved the monument at mile 3. It was an incredible moment
Elevation: it was very flat and so many people PRd that day which speaks to the race and the athletes.
Tracking app: my biggest problem is the tracking app… I waited for so many people to finish and they would be at mile 13.1 for 2-5 mins… I didn’t know if I missed them or where they were and then I would see them. It was not user friendly and confused a lot of people on when they got to see their loved ones.
Overall: the race is probably lower on my experiences of racing. It doesn’t even have to do with the DNF, it has everything to do with the way the race was run. The pros are that so many people PRd so I would say if you want to PR, go to Indy!