This race has a 5K, 10K and 5K walk. I love any race that supports something near and dear to my family and this one is to help keep Lincoln Park Zoo FREE to all visitors. I did this race with my husband and son last year. There were some issues with the course structure--the course wasn't closed off to public and you literally had to run around zoo visitors, the paths were not clearly marked and the finish wasn't even in the zoo.
NEW FOR THIS YEAR:
They changed the course! It was completely closed off so you weren't stumbling over non-runners and the finish was right at the Lions exhibit. So cool. They added Lagunitas as a sponsor and Aurelios pizza. The only issue was they only had one station of each and by the time 6,000 people were done running...the line for beer and pizza was about 100 plus people deep.
GOOD THINGS
They seriously have the best race shirt in Chicago. Hands down. Every year it is an awesome tech shirt made by New Balance and it is my favorite shirt to run in. The women's is actually a womens sizing and cut. The staff at the zoo make this event. They are dressed up like animals, they greet everyone and are so nice and thankful for you to be participating. They make up for the horrendous lines for pizza and beer. I am gluten free so I didn't have to wait in either line. lol.
This is a great family event. There are some heavy hitters that compete like the New Balance racing team but there are a lot of families that race too. My son and I do the 5K while my husband does the 10K. They have a staggered start and it works perfect for us. You couldn't ask for better scenery to run through that beautiful zoo early on a Sunday morning while the animals are waking up.
NEGATIVE THINGS
Parking is expensive $20 at the zoo. Street parking is mostly blocked off for the race. Its hard to get to the zoo by public transportation if you live on the north side of the city so we drove. With our zoo membership parking is free though. It just takes 30 minutes to get out of the lot after the race. The other issue this year was there were no mile markers or time clocks for the 10K runners after mile two and then the finish line was around a bend so you had no warning it was coming up for those people that sprint to the finish. (I am just glad to make it there at all so I didn't mind!) They had some bib issues and had to have some of the 5K runners run with the 10K but it seemed to be corrected in the end. They had a virtual swag bag this year which I didn't like. You have to go online to claim coupons and print them out....
I would recommend this race. It gets better every year. They send out a survey each year and I feel like they listen and try to improve the race each time.

I LOVED this race! It was great for beginner runners. The theme was taking you back to the 70's when this whole running thing started. The race was put on by Fleet Feet Chicago and even though this race cost less than $20 to participate in (yes, I said $20) it was a class act. Nice little expo the morning of, a well marked lake front trail run and lots of support along the race route. No race tee shirt...even better, we all got tube socks as our swag! They were a little thick to wear to run but it was a cool idea. Of course there was a costume contest and 70's music to go along with the theme. At the end of the race a cold Miller High life waiting for you. It was a small race with a lot of encouragement and people were there for fun more than competition. It was a great way for me to begin running season this year. I ran it with my 13 year old son. We both enjoyed it and would do it again!

I freaking love this race! It's the battle of the Big Ten schools with pride on the lines. Everyone comes dressed in their school colors and ready to rock it out!
PROS
--nice tech shirt. I love that it has your school and is in your school colors
--expo was great. Each school had a booth with giveaways and there was a large screen to watch the runners
--race management couldn't have been better. Very organized and it was a nice, safe event.
--Holy BLING--super cool Big Ten medal for all finishers
--the course is lakefront and around museum campus. Nice smooth surfaces to run on and great views of the museums, soldier field, and downtown.

CONS
--it is hard to try to park. Best to use the CTA red line and exit at Roosevelt. It's a short walk to the race
--the beer line was ridiculous! It wrapped around the whole expo and made visiting the booths hard (they addressed this for 2014)
--its a super large race. Prepare to be corralled for a while before your start time gets called. Literally if you are slow like me it will be five plus minutes before you cross the start line.
--No strollers hard to handle when I had two little ones

TIPS
--get there early! You want to get your ID checked if you are going to have an adult beverage and with the sheer volume of participants you want to be able to get in your corral ahead of time.
--dress for school spirit. It is one of those races where you look odd NOT totally dressed up.
--check the stroller policy. It is strict and detailed and was inforced.
--Don't forget to grab your bling at the finish. It's worth participating just to get the medal. :-)

This is another race that my son and I did the 5K and my husband did the 10K. 10K starts first so we all finish around the same time. Perfect for a family.

This is a small little run in Wisconsin Dells that is done really well. It has a 5K run and a walk and it is a true family event. The event is to support melanoma research and was started by a family in the area. This was one of those events where we were looking for an inexpensive race to do for a weekend and was a bonus because we could take the kids to the Dells.
Definitely not for an experienced crowd. It was a lot of walkers and beginner runners. It was time chipped and they did a nice job. Plain, long sleeve tee and sunscreen provided. It is all road race through a neighborhood and back roads Wisconsin. They did a nice job keeping traffic to a minimum but did not close any roads.
I would recommend it if you live close or were going to be in the area. It made for a nice race morning for the whole family. I was able to take the double stroller on the course and run/walk with the little boys in my life while my oldest and husband ran more competitively.

So....being a midwest girl...when you hear about not just a brat festival, but the BIGGEST brat festival in the country...you check it out. Then I heard there was a 5K run and walk and a 10K. I thought this was the perfect "first race" for me to enter and I was right.
Before this race I had not been in a competition race since elementary school. I figured nice Wisconsin people, a free brat, maybe a little stereotypical, but I figured it would be people built more like me with a similar lack of race knowledge. All of these things were true.
I did the 5K walk/run so that I could have the stroller on the course. No strollers allowed on the "real run" times. The only down side to that was that they didn't chip time the walk. That makes sense but I was only doing it due to stroller and would have liked an "official time".
The race path was around the county fair grounds and then through a neighborhood. It had some hills that were pretty decent sized.
This race was well organized for a smaller race. Nice aid stations, a lot of massage tables available afterward and a free brat with all the fixings. The festival has a large carnival as part of the attraction and it is always cool to run right next to the Budweiser Clysdale's practicing. Madison is a great town so there was plenty to do as a family during the weekend. Would do this one again.