Latest reviews by Zach

(2014)
"Well-themed suburban fun run"
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This race is a challenge. Not because it's really long (it's a 5K), not because it's got a tough course (it's through some suburban neighborhoods), and not because the field is competitive (the club that puts it on has "Start slowly and taper off" as their motto). But it's hard because it happens in mid-January in a suburb of Chicago. So it's always VERY COLD. I ran this race with a friend in both 2013 and 2014 and both times we really enjoyed it. The course is a double-lap so it's not too exciting but battling the weather gives you enough to think about without having to wonder where the next turn will be. The swag in 2013 was a sweet pair of colorful gloves and this year it was a nice duffel bag. Also there's an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast after the race.

As a side-note: In 2013 I also won my age group and they gave me a funny trophy. This year I won my age group again and was disappointed that they only gave awards for first male and female overall. But that's a small complaint.

My 2013 race review from treadmill.com: http://pulse.treadmill.com/park-forest-running-and-pancake-club-midwinter-cruise-5k/

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(2013)
"Solid January race on the Lakefront Trail"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

This is a solid cold-weather half marathon on the lakefront during the month of January when there aren't a lot of long races going on. But F^3 (affiliated with Universal Sole) goes beyond the cold weather gimmick and delivers a good race on a well-organized course. But this is not a race to under-train for - you don't want to find yourself walking along the Lakeshore Trail in January.

Here's the write-up I put on my blog after running this one:
http://www.zachrunschicago.com/2013/01/f3-lake-half-and-abominable-snowmanyeti.html

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