About a week before The Morton Arboretum Arbor Day 10K Run I did the Rockdale Ramblin' Run, which…read moreis supposedly the toughest 10K in the Midwest. I'm not fully convinced the title has been appropriately appointed. It could be that I was still sore from the first big run, but I found the Arbor Day 10K to be a bit tougher since it was a lot of low-grade inclines and rolling hills instead of a few big ones here and there. My Achilles tendons were not amused and I ended up having to walk for about 2 songs in my Spotify 11 Minute Mile Playlist. Still, I finished this race in 1:14:06 instead of 1:16:01. I attribute this acceleration to the fact that gravity works in your favor coming down a few of the steeper slopes. Weeeeeee! The course is what makes this worth it. It's absolutely gorgeous and I highly recommend running its sister race, the Fall Color 5K. Your entrance into the race gets you and your car buddies free admission to The Morton Arboretum afterward. I haven't taken them up on this offer yet, but maybe I will after the next race. I think it's a wonderful option. The Post-Race Party is OK. You get a tech shirt from your goody bag but there aren't any medals. They gave out large cartons of water but the food portion consisted of only half a banana and big ass bagels... I burned almost 1,000 calories, can a girl get some cream cheese and a whole banana? ... Nonetheless, all was forgiven when The Hot Sauce Committee took stage and provided the live entertainment for the event. Parking is pretty easy. They've streamlined the process, so you get in and out quickly. I arrived about an hour before the race started and didn't feel rushed.

This is Illinois. The flat Midwest. I don't do hills…read more Apparently, Morton Arboretum didn't get the memo. Hills, inclines, twists and turns. This course definitely challenged my strength and endurance. It was definitely a slow (uphill) and crowded start but typical for any race. Just when I wanted to quit and walk, a cheery volunteer would stick out a hand for a high five and BAM I got my second wind. Water stations were located at the start, mile 1.5, mie 3, and finish. Strollers are not allowed, but I did see 2 pass me by. Damn those fast Lululemon moms! The $33 registration includes free parking and a tech shirt (fits very large! My husband ended up wearing my size small). Finish line. Plenty of water to rehydrate. Whole Foods had a tent set up with bananas and bagels. Athletico had massage tables set up for after race stretching...I did not want to get off the table! Dick Pond also had a tent set up with merchandise for purchase.

I had this bright idea that I should do an outdoor race before the 2015 Shamrock Shuffle 8K to…read morefigure out what exactly I was getting myself into. I haven't done a race since the 2013 Shamrock Shuffle, so my expectations for myself at this event were pretty low. However, I didn't do so badly and I had a great time! The Lisle Chamber Spring Sprint seems to be relatively overlooked. I think the highest Bib # I saw was 350 and I doubt if more than 300 people actually showed up that day, so the course wasn't crowded. The course was really nice, too. It follows some streets but is mostly kept to a paved trail. It starts at the Lisle Senior High School and winds around the Lisle Park District. It was relatively flat but offered enough low grade inclines and declines to keep it interesting and challenging. I was quite pleased with the goodies offered here. Let's face it, a lot of people do it for the SWAG. I got a race shirt, which I'll probably donate to Goodwill. I was much happier with the complimentary bagels, bananas, oranges, and Nesquik chocolate milk. The Nesquik bunny mascot was even there and I got a picture with him. We also got to watch him get down and funky with the music while we waited for race results. Though, the free post-run stretches provided by Athletico were by far my favorite thing. Since the Sprint is held in March, it's hard to say what the weather will be like for this race. I was originally expecting it to be in the low-mid 50s. My weather app was telling me it was 32 degrees when I woke up. I think it got up to the low 40s and at least held there for the event. The temperature quickly dropped afterwards and we got a snow storm later that day, so keep a close watch on the weather to plan accordingly.

2012 was the 15th year for this event. It's run on Thanksgiving Day and the motto is "Run fast,…read moreeat later, no penalty!" This year the race was limited to 7,500 participants and they sold out at least 3 weeks before the event. *Easy sign up online. *Packet pick up at Naperville Running Company was a total breeze. I went on the last day, and I was still in and out in less than a minute. Very organized and the volunteers are very excited for you. Lots of smiles and "good lucks" *Virtual goodie bag. Links online to special services/treats for the runners. (But I still wish we had some kind of real goodie bag--energy bars and the like) *Long-sleeve technical T-shirt that I will wear with pride. *The race starts and ends at Naperville Central HS so you're running down a few business streets and through residential areas. The course is totally flat and there is some natural preserve scenery. But what was most entertaining was the various display of "turkey" wear people were sporting. Kudos to the girl with the brown sweatshirt, brown sparkly tutu and orange tights! Kudos to the girl in the full body furry turkey costume as well! I saw chefs, one or two pilgrims, but mostly turkey hats and turkey headbands. *Friends and family could hang out in the gym before/during the race. It was pretty cold in the morning so it was nice to stay a little warm before heading out for the start. *Water available before and at the midway point. Water and bananas at the end of the race. Well, bananas for the fastest runners anyway. (They ran out) *FREE pancake breakfast in the HS cafeteria afterward too! I would totally participate in this event again.

I have attended several baseball games at the Village of Lisle - Benedictine University Sports…read moreComplex. The DuPage Drones are a new Prospect League Baseball (Collegiate Wood Bat) Team, and they can PLAY BALL! Often scoring 5 runs or more, they "earn" the night's ticket holders a free scoop from their sponsor, the Downers Grove Culver's. The staff is great at planning special theme nights and entertaining with flying drone races, contests, characters in costume, fireworks, and a run around the bases. They have an assortment of #Drones gear available for purchase - hats, T-shirts, pullovers. The concession stands offer a wide variety of food choices for reasonable prices. There are all of your typical choices - hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, beer, etc., but the last time I was there I had a Caesar salad and a frozen Strawberry Margarita - both YUMMY! The stands are filled with folding seats with backs, not just bleachers, so they are comfortable, and there are plenty of tables available for dining use. The restrooms are very clean with hot tap water at the sinks.

Nice medium sized fall marathon in the Chicago area. (There is a half and full marathon…read moreaffiliated with this event.) Race is well supported. Course is pretty flat with a few minor hills. Marathon is fairly expensive at north of $100. Nice long sleeve tech t shirt comes with registering. Nice finishers medal. Beer for all finishers. If you don't get into Chicago, this is not a bad alternate race. Note: Comments based on 2014 race.

We absolutely loved the game show. We celebrated a birthday there. Adam was an amazing host and we…read moreall laughed so hard. We can't wait to do another event there!

We rented out a time slot for private gaming time. It was just my family of 5 and my kids were…read morePUMPED about going. We had the space for 2 hours and it's included, continuous play. You could choose to wear masks or not since it was just our family in the room but we chose to wear them. Everything was really clean. We saw the guy working the place spraying cleaner on things as we walked up. There was hand sanitizer on the tables. Lots of pinball machines. Maybe 10? My husband and I got a huge kick out of playing those. My kids much preferred the shooting and driving games. I would say the two hours we were there was about what my kids needed (they're 10, 7 and 4). Just enough time to get lots of play in and not be sad they had to leave. Overall it was a great experience and I would totally do it again!

Quality/Quantity - Another cool town to hang out in. Wish…read morewe had more time. Surprised when the family did NOT want to eat dinner here... I guess our hike wore everyone out. Wait, but I am the designated driver and have the most energy...? Well, I am drinking coffee again! Atmosphere - Cool hip town. Plenty of brand names and local small businesses. Plenty of good places to eat. Events. 2000 parking spaces, mostly free! Service - Good. Price - Depends what you buy, eat, or drink. Owner Comment - Congrats on all your success. Looking forward to coming back when we have more time.

Good: - Parking is free…read more- Lots of festivals - Attractive and walkable with the River walk, Quarry Lake, Centennial Beach and Carrillon right in reach - Many major chain stores and restaurants Bad: - Parking fills up quickly (& if you want to go to the library, beware: it is a city lot and people can and will park there and then go shopping, so the hunt for a space if you just want to pick up a hold can be frustrating...) - Stores err heavily on the side of chains, so not as much personality as, say, Geneva - Yuppie Central, and people don't bother to control their kids Depending on what you are looking for, Downtown Naperville has goods and bads. It's up to you.