I'm not sure if I would recommend this race to a friend, last year, yes. This year not so much.

Here is what I liked:
-Fast and flat course, a couple of small hills, but I felt like I was able to speed up after them because for a few seconds I worked different muscles.
-Shirt, I don't mind cotton shirts at all as race swag, especially if they are long sleeve. This is a nice soft cotton and the shirts are gender specific.
-Race day packet pick up is an option, which I forgot about otherwise I would have done that this year. I would say the majority of people picked up their packets at the expo. Packet pick up was at Road Runner sports, easy access and parking.
-Gear check is easy and inside
-Before the race we sit inside and right by the start is another area where runners can wait inside. It's perfect for warming up or just staying warm. It's about a 100ft walk to the start from the inside.
-self seeded but everyone was pretty honest. There were mile pace signs hanging up and 5:00-8:00 min/mile were separate from the rest of the paces. I'm not sure how the other corals were let on to the start line, they were blocked off from the 5-8min/mile
-Medals are nice, but they are basically the same as last year. Ribbon was black for 10k and Gold for 10Mi. The color of the medal was gold this year instead of silver, and some colors were switched. The medal has a center spinner which seems to be unique.
-Post race food, banana, power bar fruit thing, almond butter, power bar wafer
-Post race stretching, this was actually the most amount of beds I have seen at a race.
-Unique vendors, cheese, tea, CorePower, Coffee.
-Money goes to cure cancer, that is a pretty good cause in my book.
-I registered in September and it was $35
-Parking around the area seemed pretty easy. I parked at Navy Pier for $19. Not too bad. I could have taken the bus, but I didn't feel like being sweaty for the ride home.
-B Tag timing
-Results were up before noon

Cons:
-Total lack of aid stations. I saw one between 1-3 miles. There were only 2 volunteers and it was on the opposite side of the path. Runners had to go across the path and grab it themselves. The last aid station I saw was at mile 4.2/8 It literally had no one working it. I didn't grab any water for this race, but I feel sorry for anyone running the 10mi that would have needed it. Water was the only option no gatorade.
-Same as last year, people walk down Navy Pier at the finish line like nothing is going on. It's so rude and terrible that race management doesn't have someone notifying pedestrians that there is a race going on. There was a group walking 4 wide and I had to yell, "RUNNERS" for them to move over.
-I believe the race course was a little different than the map.
-I would like it if the medals were different, but oh well.
-I'm not sure if this is a con or not, the bibs are like a flexible plastic, not the tyvek type material we are used to. Mine made a really strange noise throughout the race with the pin hitting the bib.

Overall: I PR'ed in a 10k race and won my age group. I can't complain too much :)

This was my first marathon.
Things I loved-
-I train with CARA so there is VIP access at the Hilton before the race including exclusive port-o-potties
-The course. The neighborhoods, the crowd everything.
-The expo. It will steal your money, I can promise you that.
-The medal is pretty
-The Medical tent staff is awesome. The Nurses to take you to the tent are great too. This was my first time in a medical tent so I have nothing to compare it to.
- It is so well organized, the aid stations, (didn't use gear check), entrance.
-security seemed pretty beefed up this year.
-Aid Station volunteers were awesome, they knew what they were doing.

What I did not like:
-The shirt. It sucked. It's a Nike shirt, I'm not a fan of their shirts. The design is boring and nothing exciting to look at. At least the date is on the sleeve. Gray shirt with white writing.... come on, the entrance fee is $185 the shirts should have a better design.

I gave the elevation a 2 because of the turns, there are a few small hills and Roosevelt at the end which will test your training.

I will be running more!!!

-This is NOT a race, it is training run. However, there are 3 organized 20mi runs in Chicago to prepare you for the Chicago Marathon.
-Point to point, starts at the Wilson parking lot, runs north and then south, ending in Jackson Park.
-Aid stations every 2-3miles with water and the same Gatorade we will have on the marathon course
-Volunteers were fantastic!!!
-Clif shot blocks at mile 14. This was great considering I dropped one of mine on the concrete.
-Pacers were awesome. Even though we broke out halfway.
-Support staff, directions, aid stations, other volunteers were enthusiastic.
-Loved the cheering kids
-t-shirt was nice and it was kind of nice to pick up after the race to have an extra layer of clothing
-gear check was easy drop off and pick up.
-Plenty of port-o-potties
-post race food was standard, water, banana, granola bar (this one was gross, but I'm sure it was donated), Core Power protein drink.
-Post race stretching line was quick
-post race party was good, beer area should have been a little bigger so we could sit and stretch.
-one tent was giving out flip flops which was a a good idea.
-Buses to drive runners back to Wilson/ Montrose were quick
-CARA staff is always helpful and organized.
-courses and aid stations were clearly marked
-I like that you get a bib
-start waves were easily organized
-No complaints from me :)

I only ran this race because it fell on my birthday and I really wanted race swag with my birthdate on it.
The organization of the race and expo is fantastic! I wish however there were people monitoring the corrals. I LOVED the sponges and the misting station. The post race food was probably the best I've had. Overall I did have fun, no PR but I cannot complain about my time.

Unfortunately, I think I have more negatives.
I was bummed that there weren't bands on the course. Even though I don't run with music, it would have been a nice motivation when my hips were burning. Also, having the 5k start at the same time is kind of annoying. Course was decent, lots of turns and a few hills. I wish the bridge would have been covered, running over the gates make me nervous. Also, running through McCormick place really made me nauseous. The last three miles on the lakefront path were congested, but it was a straight shot and it made it a little easier when I was in pain. Aid stations were just okay. Some of them were totally understaffed and one had children passing out water, cute, but they were not tall enough to give it to me.

I am a bit critical, but it was fun. I don't think that I will run it again however. I loved seeing the Road Scholars run and finish. That is my marathon charity team.