The Hip Hop Run Chicago was misleading, disorganized and expensive! The gripes: 1. The race itself already cost $65.00 for 10K entry during March 2017, when I purchased it. No where on the website does it say, I also need to also additionally pay a venue fee of $5.98 plus $4.20 to ACTIVE.COM (the Ticketmaster-like agent). Total race cost is over $70. A couple weeks before the race (late April), I saw advertisements on Facebook for $22.50 per person for the hip hop run Chicago race event (plus the venue fee and active.com fee obviously), which really upset me that I got ripped off. 2. The race does NOT actually take place in Chicago at all (even though the website advertises with descriptions of Chicago scenery). A few weeks before the actual event, the race coordinators drop the bomb that the race actually takes place in the suburbs, another city: FOREST PARK (which takes me 2 hours to get there via public transportation and walking) at the Millers Meadows Preserve. 3. Packet pick up is also in the suburbs, LA GRANGE (which takes almost 2 hours to get to via public transportation or Metra ride). At the last minute, the race coordinators allowed for bib and shirt pick up on race day. 4. The planned race day schedule is ridiculously rushed: 6:30 AM PACKET PICK UP OPENS 7:30 AM + WARM UP W/TRAPS  7:55 NATIONAL ANTHEM 8:00 AM 10K START  (1 hour only to run 10K???) 8:15 AM 5K START  9:15 AM AWARDS & PERFORMANCES 5. One day before the race, we got an email asking for Volunteers for the race. This made me very nervous about the race experience. 6. We were told to arrive at 6:30am for packet pick up. And 7:30 will start warm up and get ready for the 10k race that is supposed to begin at 8:00am. We arrived at 7:20am and the race coordinators and volunteers were still trying to set up tents and DJ station. The warm up started 8am and the 10k race started at 8:20am -- twenty minutes delayed. 7. The t-shirt was not a performance t-shirt. If you run and sweat in cotton t-shirt, it will not breath well and weigh heavily and uncomfortably during the run. 8. The whole reason I signed up for the Hip Hop Run 10k was because it is supposed to have DJs stationed along the winding course. There was only ONE DJ stationed at the start/finish with ONE extended speaker about 0.25 miles away on the course. I ended up playing my own music through my headphones anyways. I am pretty sure the DJ was great -- if I could actually hear it throughout the run. 9. Race course was boring. The 10k route require running around the Miller Meadows trail loop twice. The signs were unclear on where to run and I had to slow down to make sure I was following the right path. I almost ran the loop the third time because the Finish line sign was unclear and confused with the 5K instructions. 10. Race course was dangerous because it involved running through the parking lot. Twice, cars pulling out almost hit me. 11. Not enough water stations on a 70+ degree hot morning; there were only 2. And who the heck hands out the entire bottle of water during a race? No one wants to carry that while running. I see a lot of people thrown their 10% consumed bottle of water in the trash during the run. 12. Walkers taking up all the lanes and blocking runners. Race coordinators should be more clear that walkers need to stay on the right lane unless they're going to run. 13. At the finish line, there was NO food left, not even a banana. There were not that many bottles of water left either. The medal and the fake printed chain on the strap was cheap. 14. Literally... at 9:15am... race coordinators/volunteers were taking some signs and equipment down (DJ was still going however). People are still running and you're taking stuff down already, which is rude. 15. While this didn't bother me personally, but who plans a race on Mother's Day weekend? If you want a higher turnout, plan it on another non-holiday weekend. The only good things: 1. My group of friends were great company. 2. Beautiful weather. For a $70 race, it should've been a top notch running experience, good scenery, awesome performance t-shirts, swag, food, and music. read more

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My friend purchased a Groupon for the two of us to run the Hip Hop 10k which we ran this past weekend (5/13). Overall, I'm glad we did not pay full price as I would have even been more frustrated with what transpired on race day. I am an avid runner (5ks and 1/2 marathons) and participate in 3 - 5 races each season and haven't experienced this level of disorganization before. First, there was very little communication prior to the race about the exact location of the race. The morning of we received an e-mail at 7 am with a pin dropped in a forest preserve. There was no signage anywhere or workers directing runners to the area. There had been some e-mails the past few weeks about the race not actually taking place in Chicago despite the Active Event web page referring to Chicago's rich Hip Hop history and beautiful lake and skyline as the backdrop. The location and first impression were disappointing. Secondly, the course for the race was uninspired. It was simply two loops through the forest preserve (1 loop for the 5k) and included weaving/running through the parking lot for nearly 1 mile. Signs were written on poster board with the words "Turn Around" to direct runners to change direction. Again, there was no "Chicago" scenery to be enjoyed. As far as music throughout the race course, that also did not happen. It was simply a DJ at the start and a boombox somewhere around mile 2 (which was also mile 5). If I wanted to run 6.2 miles in a forest without music I could have done this myself and not paid for it. Finally, logistics for the day did not seem thought out from start to finish. There were many e-mails talking about issues/hiccups, one e-mail made a plea for volunteers to assist with race day, the race began about 25 minutes late, and the "after party" was off-site from the race at a club that is "bottle service" only and whose "dress code still applied" (no gym clothes). Overall, I'm very disappointed with the organization and execution of this race. It felt like money grab/rip-off. While I understand this was the Hip Hop Race's first time in Chicago, it certainly isn't their first time putting on a run. I hope no runner paid full price for this event as the whole thing could have been put on for about $500 total. read more