Ears frozen, noses dripping, hands blue…read more Smal price to pay for hot cocoa and sinfully fudgey brownies after a 3.1 mile run through Danada's Forest Preserve. This race is sponsored by Dick Pond's, an amazing local business fitting suburban runners with the right kicks. My husband and I frequent the St. Charles location when we're looking for individualized attention for new running shoes & to pick up our favorite Balega socks. On one of those trips is when I happend to pick up the flier for the Cocoa 5K. Perfect for us since my husband hates driving so early all the way into the city for races and also since we'd be out of town for this year's Hot Chocolate 5K. This race is a great alternative for suburban dwellers not willing to make the trek to the city. Stats: -online registration $39 -chip timed -warmest, softest, zip fleece jacket (runs a little big for women, short for men) -hot cocoa and fudge brownies after the race (I appreciated that they didn't over do it with the chocolate) -completely flat course that starts out on a grassy race track with the majority of the course on a soft crushed limestone path -out & back course so beware of bottlenecks!

I love Dick Pond and go there for all my running shoe needs. You should definitely check them out…read moreif you want great personal customer service when looking for the perfect shoes to run in. However, this was about my tenth race and probably the worst I've ever ran. It was so congested I had to walk the first 1/4 mile after crossing the start line. It was advertised as a Run/Walk and I have no problems with walkers, but walkers were walking in the middle of the path, not to the side like they should to let faster people go through. There were times at the beginning were I was literally stuck and could not pass. There were also people with strollers in the middle of the path. Most of these things are not the organizers' fault, just poor judgement and lack of experience from the people running, but it made for a terrible race experience for me. The fleece jackets and hot chocolate were great, and I personally thought the weather was perfect (I like cooler race weather). It started on grass, which was interesting, and turned into a path which is my favorite to run on and easy on the knees. I'd recommend you move toward the front to avoid the bottleneck if you do this race.

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.

What a fun 5k, this year at Busse Woods near the grove at Golf Road near the frontage road entrance…read moreto 53. No beer on the course this year, but a fun beer tasting and option to purchase additional beer drinking coins. The race shirts are always a great tech shirt with fun, festive logo and I love that it is also a dog friendly race. It is an untimed race, but mostly flat course and Toasty Cheese food truck afterwards is a treat. I appreciate the fun race which allows for supporting a few charities. The beer and seltzers offered post-race were fabulous. This is a fun event to do with a group of friends or family. Last time I did this it was so cold the beers were slushies! Now if we could just have warmer weather for this race...

As explained well in advance, this is not a race for people trying to set a PR (Personal Record)…read more Well, unless you're trying to do your slowest 5K ever. In fact, it tied for my slowest 5K that didn't include an obstacle course since huffing and puffing my way through the Vernon Hills Run From the Cops 5K in 2009 when I first started running. And by running, I mean slowly jiggling in a forward moving motion for 45 minutes. I was very appreciative that they offered a number of options for packet pick-up throughout the week. Unfortunately, a typo made it so I couldn't get my race stuffs when I originally wanted to. They had listed Church Street as a location for Wednesday and provided the correct address. Finch's Beer Co. was listed as the place for Thursday and they put Church Street's address and later corrected it, but it was too late by the time I realized it so it didn't do me any good. Thus, I had to wait until Friday to go out of my way up to RAM in Schaumburg. Still, this was a hell of a lot more convenient than same day packet pick-up since I arrived about 15 minutes before the run was scheduled to start. I got my 21+ wristband quickly and waited. The Beer Run was supposed to start at 11:00am but I don't think they really got going until 6 minutes later and I got to the Start Line when it was already about 10 minutes into timing. I finished 45 minutes later after a leisurely jog and walk with beer stops at the Start and then every 1K after that. You collected your finisher's medal at the Finish Line and were able to turn in a beer ticket off of your bib for a beer of your choice from a number of breweries who sponsored the event and had samples at the different 1K stops. They sold additional beer tickets at the after-party and you had the option to purchase 5 tickets for $20 at the packet pick-ups scheduled throughout the week. I had bought mine in advance and wound up not using them all since I didn't want to overdo it and wasn't crazy about all the beer. Though you won't get the discount at the event, it might be worth it to wait and see which beers you like before deciding how many beer tickets to buy. This event was a lot of fun. People were really into dressing the part and we created a sea of green along the streets of Arlington Heights. If they return, I may do it again. I'm a bit more into the chip timed races, but this was good for setting the pace for the season to see how out of shape I am again. Also, beer.

It was a beautiful Friday evening and the riverwalk was a great place to spend my birthday. There…read morehappened to be a festival nearby, complete with rides, vendors, food and live music.

This was suppose to be my 20 miler for my training plan for the Chicago Marathon this year. My…read morehusband convinced me to run the extra 6.2 miles! This is a great low key race. It was unbelievably convenient to pick up our race packets at the Baker Community Center. Plenty of street parking. The day of the race, we arrived only an hour before the race and only had to park two blocks away from the start line. There are no official corrals. Just line up with your pace group. Very casual. The course is relatively flat. Just a couple of hills and heartbreak hill that winds around mile 19. Water and gatorade stations can be found every two miles or so and there were a couple of stations that offered Gus and one with orange slices. The race runs mainly along the trail on the Fox River from St. Charles down to Aurora and back. Only about 3 miles on the streets of Geneva. Spectators were lacking which I actually didn't mind. Quiet serene race. Seemed more like a long training run than a race. So no pressure=)

Ran the 20 miler (probably should have just done the full, but I took my training schedule a little…read moremore serious at the time I signed up for the race.) Course was fairly flat (with a few rolling hills that didn't hurt too bad). For a course that follows a river for the most part, there were actually a fair amount of turns. Race was relatively well supported (but limited crowd participation). Nice finisher medal and long sleeve tech t-shirt. Note: Ran 20 miler in 2014.

2011 was another great year. The trail is just as gorgeous as ever and parking was a breeze. I…read moreshowed up 40 minutes early, parked, picked up my packet and got to racing. TMI, but I made the mistake of eating really spicy Indian food the night before and got sick. I was so thankful for the Porta Potty at the 1/2 mile mark. Wish there had been more along the trail or at least one near the finish line. They had ample toilets at the end of the event area, but when I went to use them I felt little desire to walk all the way back to the festivities. Their toilets were still in better condition than most race events'. So why the star downgrade? A couple reasons - Packet pick up was organized alphabetically, but from right to left instead of left to right. I got in line where I thought A might be, but it turned out I was over by Z and had to get back in line on the other side. This annoyance was offset by the chuckle I got from the handwritten MEDIAM on one of the shirt boxes. But the real reason I'm a little pouty today? I ordered (and paid for) a Medium shirt. Medium was written in my registration and on my bib. The woman checking me off even told the guy grabbing the shirts that I needed a "Mediam." So you can imagine my disappointment as I pull out my much anticipated Zorrel running shirt and discover it's an XL.

The Morton Arboretum holds an annual 5K through its grounds every year and I did it, for the first…read moretime, today. As I arrived and later ran, I realized I had never been to the Morton Arboretum before. It is beautiful! The 5K was really great. I would say, my only complaint, is that they should consider having waves or corrals next year. Everyone was released to run at once, which made the path a bit crowded, especially in mile 1. This didn't really bother me because my goal was to take my time and really soak in the surroundings. I do many 5Ks, many of which are on city streets or along the lakefront. -So to do one on such pretty grounds (sort of an open field alternating with a forest vibe), it was really cool. You leave the city of Chicago and you really feel like you are in a whole 'nother world! My other feedback is that I was hoping to see the vibrant hues of the leaves changing for fall (since it is called the Fall Color Run). Everything was still lush and green! -Not sure if it would be better to hold it later in the year? It's a tough call -the weather was perfect today -it was mild (60) and overcast so it made for great running weather. Maybe having it later when the leaves change would lead to much cooler temps? Not sure, but it's food for thought. I'm glad I did it, either way, as it was a really nice event overall. Nice people, well organized and a whole "festival" vibe afterward with many vendors, food and a live band (Soda -a local cover band). Regardless of the leaf color, I will be back for the beautiful, serene run next year!

Very nice course . . . I can say that now that I've recovered from the mini hill at mile 10.5 over…read morethe highway and the slight incline the final 2 miles. Well organized. Enough water stations. Minimal bathroom lines. Only complaint is with the hoodies. They are too feminine. My wife says thanks!

The course through Busse Woods was nice. It is a small race so for me being a slow (12-13 minute…read moremile) runner, it did not work. I ended up running most of it by myself with very little people around. The volunteers were poorly trained. I got stuck on the course and they did not know how to radio a ride to help me. The course was confusing and not clearly marked. I think if you are a faster runner and can stay with the main group this is an okay race but not for a slower back of the pack person like me.

The community center here is a beautiful building and local artful treasure…read more I attend a recent art event and was impressed with the architecture, caring staff and ease of parking and entry. Someone attending the event mentioned they went to a wedding here. I can imagine how beautiful it looks all setup for such a special occasion. The young gal working the front desk throughout our event was so friendly and kept checking in on us, even making an announcement when someone left a phone in the restroom. There is a large industrial kitchen for use too. I look forward to hopefully returning to this unique location.

We booked Shannon Hall in early June 2023 for our daughter's November 25th, 2023 wedding. Julie G…read more was accommodating, responsive, and great to work with. She answered lots of questions via phone first and we emailed a few times back and forth and she always responded quickly. We brought up our concern with the 2018 yelp review that we had read, and Julie reassured us that the management has changed. As we got closer to the wedding date, we made some changes due to our wedding needs and rented new spaces in addition to Shannon Hall; it was easy to add. They graciously allowed us to come in and measure, etc. as many times as we needed. Julie gave us her cell # in case an emergency would arise (which didn't) and assured us that she contacts the on-site workers ahead of time so someone is on the premise to open the doors and be around to help. They were helpful in adjusting the heat, etc. The space was wonderful (we invited 200 and had around 160 attend); we were able to create an ambiance that met our daughter's expectations of a romantic and elegant setting. We set it up with the white chairs(which we rented from the park district for an extra cost) for the wedding and then our crew of friends helped us switch the venue set up for a reception with 10 5 ft. tables and 10 circles of 8 chairs (provided by the park district). We were able to bring our own food in - which was helpful in keeping costs down. We had charcuterie foodscape stations and heavy appetizers which we hired a few high school girls to serve at and their mom, my friend was the the kitchen coordinator. Dear friends helped work in teams to make sure the table was stocked with food. Pal Joey's from just two blocks away was super helpful in catering our delicious pizzas. The full-size kitchen was awesome to prep food in. Since we did not have a catering license we could not use the oven or warmer so we had crockpots in the kitchen for our meatballs and electric chafing dishes at the food stations. It would be helpful to take pictures of what the kitchen is stocked with as you will forget; we didn't realize that it had coffee percolators already and a number of other items. We brought in our own urns, drink dispensers, etc. You have to do your own set up and take down. If it is wedding, it would be helpful to know that you should move out the tables which are stored in the foyer area so there is space to set up chairs for the bride and her bridal party in that area. There is a sound system to use - 1 cordless mic (not a face mic!) and two places to plug in mic stands (we borrowed from off site, although I saw two mic stands there so one should ask if they are for using! There is no piano; our pianist brought his electric keyboard but you can rent electric pianos and sound systems from a music store usually. Our son-in-law's brother was the MC and ran the Spotify playlist for the dancing. Our guests raved about how beautiful the building and the hall was. Overall we were very pleased with our experience with Batavia Park district and would strongly recommend this place as a wedding option!