Like Andrea H, I have a soft spot for the RnR half because it was the first half marathon I ever…read moreran; it's also why I'm rounding this 3.5 star experience up to 4. Last year, despite a primarily positive experience, I had three main complaints - unisex shirts, plastic cups at water stations, and not enough port-a-potties. They seemed to remedy the plastic cup issue, but I'm not so sure about the other two. Here are some things worth mentioning about the race: + Music along the course keeps it entertaining. - Expensive entry fee - $80-110 for a half marathon isn't cheap and there are definitely better deals to be had. + Scaled back goodie bags. While this is a negative for most, I throw 90% of my bag's contents in the trash anyway and felt less wasteful. - The finish line layout was awkward, almost maze-like. -Unisex shirts, booo! At this price point, they should offer separate sizing; many smaller (cheaper) races are able to accomplish this. Even the smallest mens size isn't that small. + Shirt exchange at the expo - unlike last year, if your shirt was ginormous, you could exchange it on the spot for a smaller, less potato sack like size. - The medals don't list the race year; the cynic in me says this makes it easier for them to reuse next year. - Not enough people/organization at water stations. Many of the early water stations were completely overwhelmed, not being able to pour fast enough to meet demand. Some of the later ones weren't directing people further down the station causing backups. + New, more interesting course. I like the changes and since I didn't really review the course in advance, it was nice surprise. All in all this is a fun race series and I would recommend doing it at least once. However, the more races I run, the more discriminating I become and I'm not sure this is one worth the high price tag.

This was my first RnR race and I was pleased with the event…read more The downside for me was that the 5k path was also part of the 10k the following day. But, we were able to do the 5k and the 10k and get the Remix medal, which brought my broke-pieces much joy.. since a half marathon might not have been do-able. Race organization seemed put together well. The expo was large, which is always awesome. The medical tent after the race was busy, but everyone was being helped. Despite the rain for the 2018 race, volunteers were in good spirits.

To my knowledge, this was the first year this event took place in Chicago. This was a seriously fun…read more5K! It was held at night and started at around 8pm. There was a huge storm so it was delayed a bit. I was so excited that they waited the storm out and we were still able to run. They planned out this route really well. There was dance music at almost every single point in the race. Some races, you run and it's totally quiet for an entire mile. With this race, it was a cool blend of light show, effects, glow in the dark and all out dance party. Then, after you finished, there was this crazy big rave-like dance party in Soldier Field! I could not believe how much fun I actually had. Even though I'm an "old fogie" ...I even managed to work my way up close to the stage, just to get the full effect. Ahhhh, I remember my club days. I highly recommend this event if it returns next year. Super fun time -I'm inviting a boat load of people!

This race had potential to be a 4 or 5 star race but it fell a bit flat for me. I think if they…read moretake a lot of feedback that they got on the Facebook event page and improve these areas next year, I would probably give it another shot. It was rainy and dreary the night that we ran. Luckily, it did eventually stop however it pushed the race back awhile. I won't blame them because they were trying to wait it out, but we did end up not starting until a lot later than we were supposed to. Pros: -Soldier field! I've never even been to a Bears game, so getting to walk on the field and see where the Bears play was pretty cool. -It was at night, which I liked. We didn't have to get up super early to make it there. -It was an untimed race, so there was no pressure to hurry up or worry that you wouldn't finish in time. -Volunteers were all really friendly and encouraging. -Glow tunnel.. sooo cool and probably the best part. What's not to love about jogging through a tunnel made of Christmas lights? Cons: -Since it practically flooded the day of the race, it was really slippery during certain parts of the race (namely when we ran underground at McCormick place.) I'm super uncoordinated, so I had to walk most of that and probably didn't do as good as I could have. -SWAG bags were a bit lacking. They promoted a "super awesome glow kit" but it was nothing more than two glow necklaces. That and a black drawstring bag were the only SWAG that we were given. I wish we would have got shirts for free instead, but you had to buy them. -The "after party" was cool-ish but you were stuck with stadium priced drinks and food. We got a hot dog, hamburger and bottle of water and ended up dishing out almost $20. I would have liked if we got a coupon for something free or even lower priced items. -LOTS of walkers and it was hard to get around them sometimes. I wish they had separated runners and walkers or at least had the walkers start later. I also read online that other cities were throwing washable paint at certain mile markers, but they didn't do that at our race. I'm wondering if they had too many complaints about it and decided it against doing it anymore. The race wasn't horrible -- in fact, we did enjoy ourselves -- I just think that they could improve it if they decide to do another one.

We took our 2 and 3 year old to a game! It was amazing. Parking was so close by. Not a lot of…read morewalking. Reasonable pricing. The kids zone came in clutch to get some energy out. My kids also loved the firework show.

Their games suck and are very boring. It would be fun for a 3 year old but not anyone older.read more

A year later and not much has improved…read more No expo at Navy Pier this year instead we had to pick up our packets at various running stores, which I didn't mind since I was in and out, but every year they said we need some sort of identification and not once was I carded. I even picked up 3 other packets and they didn't even bother to check if I really knew these people. Last year I complained how ugly the blue race shirts were for the 10 milers and this year I ran the 10K so I got a black long sleeve with a silver front, which wasn't too bad but you're telling me the shirt you gave me was a large? Circulations in my arm felt like they were cutting off and it was tight in the chest area. I decided not to exchange size, which I should of because around mile 4 the neck part was irritating me so badly that I had to continuously pull it away from my skin. I ended up with burn like marks on my lower neck area due to the poor sizing and cut of the shirt, which has NEVER happened to be in the 15 race that I've ran with race shirt provided to me. The race started half an hour late, which I didn't mind and I like the 15 minute gap for the 10mi and the 10K it helps alleviate congestion. The course was the same as last year, however, my biggest complaint is there was a split towards the end of the bridge and some of us went to the left while some went to the right, quite a few of us on the left thought we went the wrong way so we started jumping the fence only to find out we were able to connect at the end, but where was the guidance to avoid such mishap? The lakefront path is way too crowded for the amount of runners registered and the race wasn't even sold out. I felt sorry for the elite/fast pace runners who had to weave in and out of people on their way back. I was glad to finish when there weren't too many visitors. By the time I left Navy Pier and runners were still finishing I felt sad for them because you only knew they were runners because of their bibs, the course should of been fenced off so they can be recognized instead of being mixed in with everyone. I felt like no one cared about them anymore because they're at the end of the pack, which is something you should never feel in a race. The medal was a lot smaller than last year but it does spin although I'm still leaning towards last year's better, but they did take into account of identifying 10k finishers with a red ribbon and 10 mile with a blue. The volunteers passing out the ribbons were just handing out the medals instead of making sure the runners got the right color. Great amount of bagel and bananas for finishers. Would of love a water bottle instead of water in a cup. Overall, this has to be least favorite race. I love love love the fact it starts at Navy Pier but the organization of it needs improvement.

10, yes. Perfect, no…read more I will cut the organizers some slack since this was the race's first year. Overall, the race was fine, but there were definitely some kinks and quirks that need to be worked out. The biggest kink was not the organizer's fault; a few days before the race, the park district forced them to move the start time up an hour. They sent emails and posted notices on the race website; I'm not sure how they could have handled this better, but I know that it was still a frustration for many. 1) I liked the small size of this race, especially because it was the first year. I don't think the race sold out, but the planned cap was 4,000 runners. The small size prevented bottlenecks where the course doubled back; had this race been any larger, it would have been a total clusterf@ck on the narrower portions of the path - especially since the path is still technically open to the public. 2) I don't feel like I got a ton of bang for my buck. I realize that as a late registrant, I paid the priciest entry fee ($70), but taking everything into consideration I don't think this race was worth any more than $55 tops. 3) The expo was unnecessary; there were only a handful of vendors there (Zipcar, Sprint, hippy runner, and the people who are always selling food, clothes and shoes). In the future, they should solicit more booths or scrap it. 4) The goodie bags were a disappointing compilation of race flyers, a coupon for a McGriddle - that had to be used at the Navy Pier McDonald's that day before 10:30, and one sample of Biofreeze. I didn't get a race map in my bag, I found out later that I had to grab one from the info booth at the expo's entrance - lame. 5) The long-sleeve shirts were nice, but the blue 10 mile shirts were kind of ugly; the red 10k ones were much nicer looking. In the future, they could get away with a single shirt for both distances. 6) The medals were nice, but on the website under the FAQ's it said there would be a different ribbon to denote 10k and 10 mile medals. It's not a big deal, but this didn't happen. 7) Updates to the website were poorly maintained. When I didn't get a map, I went to the website and pulled up the map. Not entirely sure exactly where the start was located on the pier, I scoured the website and found nothing. When I checked out the FAQ, I saw this question submitted by another runner, but never answered. In fact there were a number of good questions asked, but never answered. 8) There were plenty of water stations, but it seemed like majority only carried water. The few that did have sports drinks were pretty tight lipped about it - weird. 9) There was only one timing mat, which meant that there were no race splits. It also meant that you could easily cheat by turning around at any point and no one would know. 10) There were plenty of bananas, water, and photographers at the finish line. The weather couldn't have been better for race day; sunny and not too cold, but in the end this race was only ok; however, it has potential. If they work out this year's kinks and make it a better value, it just might be perfect next year.

My daughter took ballet here for the 1st time. Enjoyed the class and the teachers.. Recital was…read moregreat. Nice tucked away location...permit parking for the residents with only a handfell of meters for the park district people so parking can be difficult. Over all pleased.

A shopping cart race huh?…read more If you told me that one of the things I'd be doing in my lifetime would be competing in a Chiditarod (urban Iditarod), you would surely could've fooled me! What is the Chiditarod? In short form, I'd say it's a shopping cart race, food drive, bar crawl, fundraiser, and hurricane of frenetic activity all at once. To begin to describe the Chiditarod, you'd have to go out through to see it. Costume Contest: There were Smurfs, State troopers, Legions of Doom, doctors, bathrobe girls, pirates, chickens, ghostbusters, and the second coming of Halloween. People were all geared up for a day of mayhem dedicated to the Chicago Anti-Hunger Federation. Food Drive: The goal was to fill up your grocery cart with 40 pounds of food. Food came in the form of canned soups, veggies, broths, boxed noodles, and all things non-perishable. Along the way kind supporters would come up and give us food to show their support for the race. The payoff was at the end when the giant food truck collected all of the food from the over 120 teams competing in the race. Cart Design Contest: I saw a shopping cart decked out as a pirate ship, a Mario Kart complete with Princess Peach sitting in it, a Star Wars robot walking fighting machine and not one but two teams managed to fit a barbecue grill to their shopping cart and grilled the whole way through. Race: Did someone say this was a race? I am so out of shape and ran my ass off to the point of utter exhaustion and inability to breathe. If ever smoking's toll ever showed itself it was then and there! We finished the race in a little over four hours jogging, running, walking to the six checkpoints. Random Acts of Fun: At one bar, we had to recite a haiku that I improvised on the spot: O, Chiditarod The shopping carts gone wild Bring the food on home At another checkpoint we karaoked with the founder of the Chiditarod and yelled plenty. At another checkpoint the team captain had to dance on the stripper pole at Five Star Bar. Umpteen hours and six bars later my legs are still aching and I have caught a terrible cold from the Chiditarod. It was a great experience and I look forward to next year's race - it is a true riot!!!!! Special thanks goes to the following bars for participating in the event: Phyliss' Inner Town Pub Empty Bottle Five Star Bar Mahone's Bottom Lounge

One of my friends participated in this so I met her at the start to drop off some food. HOLY SHIT…read more I had no idea what this was, or how serious people took it. It costs like $30 or $40 for a team to register, but you easily spend a few hundred dollars decorating your cart. You could tell that people spent months coming up with a theme and preparing for this. The weather was perfect for it as well. Count me in for next year.

This is a great local farm! I disagree with Tina E.'s review -- the animals seemed to have pretty…read moreroomy enclosures that were outside for lots of fresh air. The chickens roamed free! It is great for children to see ducks, horses, pigs, chickens, a llama and more. The pumpkins were reasonably priced at 39 cents a pound and we had a coupon for 2 free gourds. I really think this is a great, hidden treasure and hope that people will visit Thanksgiving Farms instead of Wally World for their pumpkins. We'll be back for our Christmas tree -- can't wait. Notes: A great, very clean place to take photos of the kiddos. Not busy at all. Enter at Lindenwood off of Jericho and take Bryn Mawr to Westgate -- you'll be driving through a neighborhood to get there. Go and enjoy and support a local farm on Aurora's West Side!!! P.S. I did not think that the animals looked undernourished. But if anyone else goes and notices this, then please post.

While this place is cheap ($1 hay rides, corn maze, candle making), it was very unclean. I've been…read moreto lots of farms and this one was just gross. Not to mention most of the animals were kept in VERY small enclosures (a 3' by 5' pen for two full grown sheep, and two young piglets - under 8" tall- in a rabbit pen) and some were clearly underfed; I could see the ribs on both of the piglets and the ribs and hip bones on both of the horses. One of the sheep had green mucous coming out of its nose. No sanitizer anywhere to be seen. No one greeted us, although when we did find out who worked there they were very nice. I wouldn't recommend this place and we won't be going back.

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.