Great race. Very organized. Wonderful way to start race season!…read more Course is deceivingly a bit hilly at part, but otherwise straight and flat. Again, very pleased with it.

How do I sum up this race…read more... Ok, it was my first ever Half Marathon. I've done a few 5K's and the 4 mile Turkey Trot...but nothing over just a few miles. Registration started months ahead of time. I think I first saw the sign up around Halloween the year before and by Thanksgiving I finallly worked up the nerve to hit that "register" button. The race isn't until May....so surely the 6months or so in between would get me prepared in time. Well.....as the months quickly went by, I got more and more nervous. Spring started to show up around town and with only a few short weeks until Race Day I was straight up scared. Two weeks until race time, I swear I would get serious anxiety every time I passed by RT 83 because I knew the race route was Rt83 from the Palos Pool to Archer and then back again. I must drive past or drive along 83 several times a day - - and every time it made me seriously nervous. Race Day came and oh man. I was hoping to just complete the race. I knew there was a 3hour time limit. I didn't care if I had to log roll the last few miles, I was going to finish in that 3 hours. I developed a plan with the pacer groups in mind - I LOVE that they had pace groups. Between the groups and the mile marker signs every mile with a timer clock on top, I thought I could manage my speed well enough and get to the end in time. The air horn went off and off we went. Still terrified, I found the first mile or two to be oddly emotional. Here I was! I was doing it! I started off with the 2:20 pace group but I found that their pace just didn't suit me well. I went a little ahead of them and figured as long as they didn't pass me, I was still in their general time range. First five miles...easy peasy! I'm on top of the world! Look at me go!! Then....I started to do the mental math and wonder how much longer until the turn-around point at Archer and how that was going to go. (It's simply a loop in a parking lot - very smooth and easy and then you run right back along the same path you just took to get there.) Miles eight and nine...and suddenly I'm feeling the pain. My feet hurt. That side cramp from mile four seems to have settled in, but now....horror of horrors..my radio tells me it's low on batteries!! NOOO!!! Can't stop now! If I start walking at this point, I know I'll never start running again. Just keep running!! Mile ten is fun. "It's just a 5k from here!" Right?? .....mile 11?? Yeah, that novelty wore off lol. Keep going! Twelve is coming up! Mile 13!! You're so close! You can hear the music and the spectators! Don't stop! You can do it!!!! .......I did it!! Oh man What a race. The trail is flat, smooth, not a single stick or stone or obstacle in your way. Water stations every other mile or so. Port a Potties at every water station. There's mile markers at every single mile with a timer clock on top so you know exactly where you stand. In the end, I finished ahead of any goal I could have set for myself. My time makes me proud to this day. And that nervousness about Rt 83? Now when I drive past it and down it several times a day? Now I'm proud. No more intimidation. No more questions. Just pride. For 2 hours and 18 minutes...I OWNED that street. ....I can't wait to do it again.

Great race! Not very big, but put on well, for it being a neighborhood race. The course route was…read morevery well marked, with mile markers, and cones along the way. Edgewater 5k, is one of those races that attracts members in the neighborhood; some surrounding. Majority of the runners were elementary students, that attend the neighborhood schools in the Edgewater neighborhood. Some of the older runners were former students, or teachers at Edgewater schools What interested me about this event, was that some of the proceeds benefited the local schools; which ever one you chose to donate to. No, I'm not a former student of any of the schools, but i do attend church at Swift Elementary, which is one of the schools that participated in the race. I've also volunteered at Swift Elementary, so I felt the need to support Swift. Lots of post run food at the finish: bananas, pancakes, water, etc. ATHLETICO, was even on site, giving out massages to finishers which was great. Overall this event was great, and I look forward to running it again in the future. Enjoy, if you are considering this event in the future.

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.

One of the best fall races there is! It doesn't get much better than this…read more For a very reasonable registration fee ($30), the amenities are as follows: Rockin' goody bag. Actually the bag itself is one of those nylon drawstring backpacks with the Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) race logo on it, stuffed to the gills with fun, cool things. I love a fun goody bag! It sucks when they're filled only with boring coupons and fliers with info about hundreds of other races. My mom, a good friend of hers, and my husband did the 5k walk and so also recieved the same goody bag. We were all tickled. Good amount of parking on race morning - a huge plus. The pre-race atmosphere was awesome. Tons of volunteers, and tents offering lots of fun give-aways. There was the big Stewart's Coffee truck on site; much appreciated by spectators and participants alike on such a cool morning. (I myself, cannot partake of coffee before a run. I won't get into why. But the root word there is "run". Ok, enough of that.) The course itself is stunningly beautiful. As a sidebar, I'd like to thank Mother Nature, and any other participating powers that be for making a perfect day for it. Crisp, chill air. The fall colors. Sunny skies. Pair all of that with running through Oak Park and marveling at the beautiful homes and the equally beautiful architecture. It was marvelous. The course support was pretty unbeatable! It's so cool that SO many residents are out on their porches with flags and horns and groups of people singing and hollerin' to cheer you on. Sometimes you need all the motivation you can get! The post-race offerings were perfect. I stopped at a physical therapy tent to have my stupid, uncooperative, dumb old foot stretched out (plantar fascitis) and the gentleman who helped me easily took about 20 minutes to stretch it, assessed my shoes, and gave me tips and at home exercises. Dang! Very generous. Plus - awesome recovery food. I appreciate that very much. A long review, I know. But there are so many aspects that make this one of the best fall races of all time. See ya next year FLW!

Do not run this race. I have run the 5K for the past 4 years, and I used to love this race but now…read moreit has been taken over by small children. The past 2 years there have been so many children in the race that you might as well be racing the youth mile (that's right, they have their OWN RACE but they still race with the adults). Yesterday a small child was at the front on the start line and he dropped his ipod right when the gun went off. He then bent down to pick it up, impeding everyone behind him. I was hoping he would get trampled just so the morons in charge of this race would get the message: STOP ALLOWING CHILDREN IN THIS RACE. IT IS NOT SAFE. Someone is going to get hurt and you will be responsible. I am done with the FLW Races. Until the race director learns how to put on a race for grown-ups THIS RACE IS NOT SAFE.

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.

The Rockdale Ramblin' Run 10K is organized by the Joliet Park District as part of the Run3 Series,…read morewhich includes the Sundowner 5K and the Red Eye 8K. Ramblin' Run winds through the paved, hilly streets of Rockdale and Joliet. It is considered "the Toughest 10K in the Midwest" and was quite popular in the 70's and 80's. A 5K option is also available, but is not part of the Run3 Series. I thoroughly enjoyed the run. I did the 5K version of it and found it to be pretty challenging with the steep inclines, but nothing anyone with a little bit of running experience and in decent cardio shape couldn't handle. The nice thing about being in the smaller race was that there were only 102 people who raced, so it left the course clear and easy to navigate. It allowed me to take in the scenery instead of having to worry about weaving through a crowd of runners or being in someone's way. The course is USATF/CARA Certified with time being marked at each mile and at the finish-line. Water was handed out somewhere around 1.5 and 2.5 miles. They also have a number of cops to regulate traffic and medical teams in case of emergency. At the finish-line volunteers handed out bananas, water and super sweet dog tags with Rockdale Ramblin' Run 2011 engraved on them. I wish more races would do this. The after-party was held in a small tent near the finish-line. Michelob was one of the sponsors and they handed out samples of their new fruity beers and cans of their lite beer. A local restaurant provided pastries and bagels. They had a raffle for the school and drawings for prizes. Everyone was super friendly and complete strangers would strike up a conversation. You can tell this town is proud of their race. I recommend it to everyone and it is definitely worth the drive!

This is a fantastic small town race. Might be one of my favorite races ever. It's affordable (I…read morethink $35?), and you get a hoodie, which is a nice change of pace from the usual short sleeve shirt. The course is hilly - but this race is billed as "the toughest 10K in the Midwest," so hills are expected. I thought the course was a nice tour through Rockdale - through residential and park areas, under the expressway, up and down hills. The course never felt crowded. Post-race, you get a little finishers medal - a dog tag, which was nice and unexpected for a shorter distance race. Overall, I think this race is very well done and a great deal for the price. I definitely recommend it.

great obstacles, friendly staff, well organized, and an all around good time! I am looking forward…read moreto doing this race again in Orland Park on September 7th!

C and I did our first 10k and in Chicago no less! Truth be told, it was pretty awesome. Never…read morethought I would want to run during my vacations, but I've been getting more into these types of runs lately. This one went pretty smooth and organized I thought. We registered pretty late, so our 10k cost $65+fees. The race included gender specific tech t-shirt, medal, free hot breakfast buffet (taco shell, eggs, potatoes, sausages, salsa, French toast, BACON, fruit cup, water bottle), a pint of beer from Lagunitas, timed chip, photographers, bag check. I'm really glad we had this in our itinerary, it was so fun! You get to run along Lake Michigan. Con: packet pick up be prior to race day at Fleet Feet or $25 for will call pick up day of race.

I have run this race twice. Once when it was the Magellan Chicagoland Spring Half Marathon…read moreback in 2013 and another time most recently in 2016, Michelob ULTRA Chicago Spring 13.1 & 10K. This is a half marathon, just thought I would point that out, which starts on Lake Shore Drive path along side Dusable Harbor. You head out south towards Soldier Field and McCormick Place until you get to 47th Street where you turn around and come back. The course is relatively flat, as is all of Chicago, but there are a few dips and climbs when going over bridges or through under passes. Be ready for great lakeside views and it will probably get a little warm during this May race. There are a good amount of aid stations, water, and time clocks throughout the course. You won't have many spectators as it is an out and back course. There are only a few spots with entertainment/cheering sections. The CSHM finishes in Lake Shore East Park. Run just past the starting area, under LSD, and up a slight hill. Round a corner and you are home free. This race has great giveaways. Starting with the full breakfast plate, you get two beer tickets, and all kinds of free treats. They provided wet towels, Drink Body Armour, bananas, chips, fruits, and more. It is a well timed race for those who have been training all winter and want to strut their stuff come spring time. There is a series which includes this race and the one in September.