I ran Hood to Coast as my first relay race with 11 other (awesome) girls. It was a totally unique and amazing experience, and as it was my first relay race, it will be a tough one to beat if I choose to do another in the future.

Pros:
+ Oregon itself is just absolutely beautiful.
+ Awesome destination race - lots of hiking and other things to do afterwards for vacation
+ Race information was abundant and race management was very attentive and active throughout the race and on social media
+ Overall great course (rolling hills, pretty difficult/worth the travel for the challenge, scenic)
+ Relays are a really interesting and unique experience (though getting more popular)... nothing says "get to know yourself" quite as much as running 5 miles for your team through the woods in the rain with no cell phone service at 3 am.

Cons:
- Nothing to do with the race itself, and management did their best to handle this well and communicate, but the weather was the worst this year. It rained & was a complete wind storm (the finish line was completely ruined and canceled, which is arguably one of the best parts). Management could have probably prepared for a better finish line alternative.
- CELL PHONE SERVICE IS AWFUL. We didn't have cell service for 15 hours. There were two major van changes during this time that required complete guessing on our part (which was made 10x more difficult due to not being able to communicate during the stormy weather - we would have no idea if the other team was hurt or running really behind, etc- one of our runners waited in the rain for an hour). I didn't realize how hard lack of communication that would make the relay. I would highly suggest H2C sets up wireless internet hubs or SOMETHING at the major exchanges so teams can get in some brief communication with each other, if only for a few moments at that interchange. ...That or figure out a way to help teams plan around this logistically. Suggest walkie talkies for runners, etc.

Overall, a great experience and we raised a lot of money for a great cause along the way.

You can read more about our Hood to Coast relay experience written by another runner on my team here - http://asweatlife.com/2015/09/eight-reasons-to-run-a-relay-race/

I signed up for this race with some family members, so ultimately I had a blast because it's a fun family bonding experience (especially with family that isn't super into running but wants to attend an event like this). However, this is not a 5k you would want to sign up for if you are a runner.

I would call this is a great fun family walk with a bubble theme. The idea is fun for an event, but definitely not for a run. As others mentioned, the bubble bogs took a long time to get through and there was really no space to run if that's what you intended to do. If you sign up and go into it knowing that ahead of time, you'll have a good experience. If you are trying to run this 5k, I would highly suggest signing up for a different race.

Pros:
+ The concept of different bubble stations and different color dyes was fun.
+ The event was pretty well managed
+ Decent swag (white tshirt and headband to wear on race day and dye, similar to the Color Run concept)

Cons:
- No room to actually run
- The course scenery itself left much to be desired

In the future, I think this event would be better served if there was a run group (say, the first 5 waves) and a walk group that starts an hour or so later. But with all of the slippery bubbles, maybe it's best to avoid running in them anyways!

First of all, I'm a little biased because I went to U of I and I absolutely love going back to campus to run this half with fellow alumni.

This was my fourth time running this half and definitely the worst weather I've experienced for it - rainy, wet and cold. Despite this, I think race management and volunteers did a great job in keeping up morale and being prepared for the conditions on race day.

I ran this race with a friend who has never ran a half (let alone a 5k) before (read: I wasn't going for a PR, though this is certainly a great course to go for it). Weather conditions aside, I think he was very impressed with the half and had a great experience.

Reasons why I love the Illinois Half:
+ Fast & flat course
+ Quick and painless expo
+ Affordable half
+ Easy parking and access
+ Awesome finish in the stadium
+ I get to eat SO much free pizza before 10 am.

Things that could improve:
- I always wonder why they route the end of the half the way they do - in the past few years there has been a really random and tight turnaround in the last 1/2 mile in order to add .10 mile in distance or so onto the race. I feel like this could be avoided or re-routed somehow instead of having to do this?