I guess since I work in town, I'm pretty much obligated to run this race! I ran with a fellow firefighter who was new to racing but in pretty darn good shape. The weather was absolutely frigid that morning but something about the ambiance gets the blood flowing. My pace time was pretty decent so I was in the front. The corrals for these smaller race were perfectly sized and the scenery for downtown Highland Park can't be beat.

It's exciting to watch the first corral go off and feel the pulse getting faster as I awaited the start. The organizers did a great job boosting everyone's spirit before each corral with motivational cheers.

As for the course, Highland Park is a beautiful and scenic town along the lake and the scenery of beautiful homes and families coming out to cheer you on really is top notch. It seems that since I work in town, I knew so many volunteers and police officers directing the traffic.

The finish is well organized near Elm Place as is the North Shore 1/2 and a smooth transition to the food and facilities.

The swag was pretty cool with the fuzzy turkey pajamas though I'm not sure if I'd wear them...

All in all, I was very happy with how Ram Racing runs their races and will definitely run this each year hoping to finally break my 5k PR!

Was my first race in Chicago after hearing the horror stories about the course. I'll have to say that I was pleasantly surprised about the whole thing. The expo was perfect and not as crowded as I'd thought it may be. The course itself was very scenic with the exception of the underground lower Wacker part. Not too exciting and it kind of smelled. But, the majority of the course was great and the swag was second to none.