The 2016 race is the first year this race is organized. It's a 5k the day before the Chicago Marathon. The course starts in downtown Chicago, runs next to Lake Michigan and ends next to where the marathon finish line is. For being the first year, the race was well organized, and had about 3,000 runners.

If you sign up early enough, you get to have your country flag printed in your bib which I think is pretty unique! I hope this race continues to grow and attracts more and more runners. I sort of envision this race like the 5k race days before Boston and a similar race before NYC's marathon. The course is chip timed and instead of getting a medal you get a winter hat, which this year looks pretty nice!

There is no other swag available, but I hope as the race grows, medals or shirts become part of it.
One thing to note is that there is no gear check, and the course is from point A to B so the finish is at least a mile away from the start, so you'll probably want someone holding your gear during the race.

Race is put together by the same team that organize the marathon so there's comfort in that it was well thought.

Thumbs up on this one!

Berlin is another one of the World Majors - that said, the race does not disappoint. It's known to be a fast course and for me it was, I ended with a PR! Not only did I, but some of my friends that also ran also PR'ed!

I have the goal of running all 6 majors and this was numero 5. I found Berlin to be as flat or flatter than Chicago and to have more faster people than Chicago, and by this I mean not the winning time, but if you're aiming to run 2:30, 2:40 or 3:00, I think it's more likely you'll be surrounded by more people running ' as fast' as you than you will find in Chicago - so that helps. Having a group of runners with the same goal out there, makes it easier to get the work done.
Another advantage that I found in Berlin is that it was less windy than Chicago. I think this is because, the course goes through the city and you're surrounded by buildings. Temparature was great on race day, in the mid 50's when it started and mid 60s by the end (noon). You could expect similar weather in Chicago, but the chances of windier day are higher in the Windy City.

Cons/observations: The race starts at 9:15am. I wished it was an earlier start, but that's just personal preference. Getting to the start line is fairly easy, it's walking distance from many hotels downtown or a short subway ride away.

The expo this year was at a different location than prior years. It was at what looked to be an old warehouse. Getting there was fairly easy and quick, it's right on the U2 line. Once inside, my first impression was that it was very organized, very German. Meaning getting your bag and number was easy and quick, however, once you get to the actual expo , I was a little disappointed, it was chaos - beginning with the Adidas booth, merchandise was on the floor, no order whatsoever. I know how the Adidas booth gets in Boston but this was worst. We were there on Friday and they had run out of a lot of small sizes. Perhaps it was the timing we went, but I was not amazed.

Once you register for the race, you have the option to buy the race t-shirt. If you didn't select this option, you can still buy it at the expo, I think for 5 euro more. This year the shirt was a short sleeve.

The course. Keep in mind the course is marked in kilometers! so if you're used to min/mile, think ahead what the conversation is to min/km. Water/aid stations were fine. I don't recall any shortage of stations. The stations were approx. every 5k (3 miles) and had water and a gatorade-like drink served in cups. In the latter part of the course there is a gel station and a redbull station. I didn't try either one. The course goes through pretty much the entire city and the .5 mile you run through the Branderburg gate, which makes the last stretch pretty damn cool!

Cheering throughout the course was pretty good, and opportunities to cheer are also good. You can plan to see friends running in probably 3 or more diff. spots.

Another recommendation is the 'breakfast run' the day before the marathon. This is a 4 mile(6km) run that ends with a loop around the Olympic Stadium. Beware, getting there from city centre takes a good 20-30 min and there is no opportunity to check gear. The run itself is not a race, just a casual run and people from all over the world run with their home country flags, making it a nice little parade.

Last thing, getting there - the race is on a Sunday and I got there on an overnight flight from the Midwest Thursday arriving Friday morning. I felt that 2 days was good enough for me to feel acclimated to the time difference. When I ran London in 2015, I also planned for a Friday morning arrival on a Sunday morning race and worked out just as well.

All this said, I highly recommend Berlin as an oversea option!

As one of the Six Major World Marathons, I had a sense of what to expect of the race (having ran other world majors). This pretty much means: a very large number of runners, fans along the entire course, big expo…everything you think of a regular race but times 10…and I was not disappointed in that feeling.

The atmosphere leading to race day, the expo, and the race itself met those expectations. As for the swag, can’t complain either. The medal looks great, the after race bag is loaded with goods including all sort of sweets, water, electrolyte drinks, chocolate and even a deodorant spray! The race finisher tech shirt is one that I would wear again (not like from other races). I found the expo was well organized, similar to other world majors expos. What was different from other expos is that it had a stage area with a decent size sitting area which was plus to rest your legs before the big day! One thing to keep in mind, is that the ExCel Center (location of the expo) is about an 1hr subway ride from the city.

Race Day
Bibs numbers are either red, blue or green so as you make your way to the start, there are large open areas for each color, each with plenty of space for coffee/tea, baggage check in and porta potties and sex specific urinals – your heard that right! They have female only standing urinals! I obviously don’t know the details but they were pretty popular given the long queues! Both the porta potties and urinals were both nicer than what I’ve seen in the US. Porta potties came with a flush handle! I felt like nothing was missing from my typical pre-race ritual. Getting inside the corrals was pretty easy and can be done probably up to 5 minutes before the start of the race – which is 10am. I encounter no troubles in that aspect. If you think of Boston or NY where the actual start is a good 5-10 min walk away from the runner’s area, this wasn’t the case in London.

The Course
Great!

Really nothing bad to say about it. Mostly flat; a nice 1 mile downhill from mile 2 to 3; a few uphills –nothing steep or long around miles 17 – 20 (if I remember correctly); other than that it’s flat!
Crowds are amazing! They were loud and everywhere throughout the course. Same goes for the other runners. With more than 37,000 runners you are not going to feel like you are running alone!

Cons
"Hard" to get in. If you're a non-UK resident (not non-EU) it's almost impossible to gain entry through the lottery. They only accept about 3,000 non UK runners from over 50,000+ who enter the lottery. I tried 3 years with no success.

The alternative: a tour operator. It's really your only chance of getting in. This was my first time running a race through a tour and I can't complain. The entire deal was very well organized. I never felt I had questions regarding travel, stay, logistics, etc. Every possible question to, I had an answer before asking. For runners interested and living in the US the one and only option is Marathour Tours. Check their website for packages and timing. If you're thinking of running you need to plan almost a year in advance and commit to it by reserving your spot with a down payment. But I guarantee you won't regret it! It's not like us marathoners don't plan things way in advance :)

My advice, save some money and fly over the pond, I guarantee you will love it!

If you're looking to get away from a cold winter up north, head down to Austin for a very decent race in mid February with temperature in the 50's. I've ran this race both in 2012 and 2013. The half marathon takes place on the same date as the marathon. Both races start at the same time and around mile 11 they split.

The course is fair. Neither flat nor hilly. Although it has a decent (long and steep) hill near mile 11 than once you're over it's all downhill to the finish line. The course starts and ends at the State Capitol and if you get early enough you park on the street a few blocks east of the start near I-35.

I enjoyed the fact that there were no corrals, giving you that feeling of a small not enough race even though it has 10,000+ runners. Technically, you can still show up 10 min before the start and find a spot on the starting line!