This was a pretty cool race. I have to give them credit -it was super well-organized. We got there…read moreabout an hour early to park in the lot with a shuttle bus that takes you to the start. My parents came to watch and I didn't want them to have to walk very far and this was an excellent service. The other lot option required you to have to walk about a mile, which is too far from them. The only bummer -and this is probably for safety reasons -was that I thought the planes were going to be taking off and landing closer to us. You know how you drive on I-90 or Mannheim Road and the planes are literally 10 feet over your head? Yeah -call me foolish, but I thought that was going to happen as we ran. I just assumed that if they got that close to the major streets, they would just be taking off and landing close to the route. So, you will not be experiencing that -but as far as a unique experience -this was still a cool race. There is a big plane that you can pose next to for pictures and just overall an interesting event because you are accessing areas of the airport property that most people will never see. You are literally running on a runway they close for the event. The shirt was cotton -would like to see a "tech-T" in future years, as they tend to hold up better after multiple washings. After all, it is going to be a fun shirt to wear and a great conversation starter regarding our experience!

Woo Hoo! My 600th review! And I'm pleased to present one of the most fun things I've done this…read moresummer so far. Dirty Girl is a ladies only obstacle mud run. 5K, 12 obstacles. A non-timed event and meant to be a fun run that you can take at your own pace. It was my first obstacle run and I loved that it was girls only--I ran with a team. I definitely think running this with at least one friend is the way to go. I've done regular 5K's by myself, but it's great having someone supporting you as you climb, crawl and slide. And who else is going to tell you that you still have mud on your face when you're still trying to clean up after the run? The obstacles were not hard physically. But once the day gets started the obstacles get muddier and more slippery. So the hardest one for me was the high cargo net climb, just because of my fear of falling onto hard gravel. Other than that, they were just fun climbs and crawls. Other than running, I trained for this by following my toddler through several playground equipment obstacles and I was just fine. Hahaha. This event was held at the Lake County Fairgrounds and although a few of us on our team tried to run as much as we could to challenge ourselves, some of the areas were not easy to run opon. The grassy areas were fine, but there was some gravel-twist-your-ankle-type areas. So walking was inevitable. They suggest arriving there 90 minutes before your start time. Check in was a breeze and we had a lot of down time before hand. But it was nice to get pics done in our clean team shirts before we got all messy. I loved my swag--t shirt and bracelet with a running girl charm. There was a secure bag check and a "shower area' for us afterward. I use shower loosely as it's just a bunch of hoses and cold water--but the tent is huge and although by the afternoon the ground is full of puddles, but I appreciated the astro turf they did lay down to prevent muddy puddles. Some of my observations: I don't know how full the heats get, but I'm glad we got there early because we got to start 20 min earlier than our team start time. Bring some water in a gallon jug and check it in with your bag. It was nice to have some clean water immediately after the race to clean my hands and wash my face since I was getting mud in my eyes. Don't wear anything you are worried about ruining. Even though we wore matching T-shirts, I knew they'd get muddy so we made sure the shirts were not too expensive. Budget some time for the after party. Paul Mitchell was one of the sponsors and they were fixing hair afterward. Have Fun!

Generic lakefront 10K course, but worth checking out if you are into Big Ten competition as most…read morerunners show some school spirit during the run. Fun event at the end with free beer and sausages. Nice finisher medal for a 10K.

I ran this run in 2015, and will be running it again in 2016. It's a competitive, and huge race;…read morealong with a dream come true for any Big Ten sports fan. As long as I'm living in Chicago I plan on running this every year, because I love the environment. This race combines my first love (running), with the Big Ten. It's a great feeling representing your favorite sports team in the Big Ten; wearing their colors and competing against other Big Ten fans. Many post race activities with the mascots on stage, games, and plenty of opportunities to take a picture with your favorite Big Ten mascot or cheerleaders. This race is crowded, so if you're a competitor you might want to get there early to reserve a spot near the front. The course is out-and-back, and gets crowded near the finishline due to there being two races on course; the 5k and 10k. Enjoy!

This was a fun half marathon. It was super cold in 2014...but fun. Lots of random runners before…read morethe race talking to each other, being super friendly just so to keep your mind off the very cold run that is going to happen. It's mostly trails for this half marathon and you see some duplicates. Hills weren't really an issue. But, they could have done better in terms of a quality control check and had some of the road/trails salted to get rid of the ice patches. Lot's of random icy spots along the course that were very slippery and could have hurt some runners. Not sure if there were any accidents, but at least the runners are very considerate to each other as they warn you ahead of time. At post race, they gave out the finisher medal and had plenty of goodies as well. They gave out a pretty nice long sleeve fleece sweater to all runners. I will definitely be wearing that during my winter runs here in Illinois. I wouldn't mind doing this again. Friendly people, great perks, pretty cheap...hopefully they will salt the roads next time. Note to self 2014: 1:48:53

Nice race to end the Chicago running season. Ran the half at the end of the year. Pretty flat…read morecourse (with the exception of a couple of bridges). You run through a park, so the scenery is not bad, but also fairly undifferentiated throughout. Limited crowd participation except at the end.

Not bad for a small 5k, which falls during the weekend of the Backlot Bash! Back when I registered…read morefor this race, I remember it not being very well advertised. Other than it being listen on "Chicago Athlete" website; there were no other places advertising for this race, which is probably the reason for the small turn out. I do feel on that part it could've been better, but the weather may have also been an issue with that also. There was a lot of rain, and it seemed questioned if the even was actually going to still go on, which it did. Skokie Backlot Dash, felt more like a neighborhood run vs an actual run with runners from all over, however, there were some pretty great runners out. The race course itself was pretty accurate, and we had police officers at parts along the course, and also guiding the lead runner, which is always a great thing, because that can be a total nightmare running extra meters in a run, and also throw you off on your personal goal. No issues with that in this race though. Of course, I look forward to doing this race again, and I'm pretty sure that I will run it many more times in the future. Skokie Backlot Dash is another run that brings fun, whether you are running with friends, family or solo; there are no set limits in this race, as far as abilities. "Half of the battle is won, once you lace-up your shoes, and get outside your house to run." Link to register for this race http://www.backlotbash.com/backlotdash.html

It's great running the SF10 after a two year hiatus. What a great way to start off the holiday…read moreweekend. This year, a 10k was offered along with the 10 miler. I did the 10k and had a similar experience (and medal) as if I had done the 10 miler :-). The best part of finishing in Soldier Field. Great job to the event organizers and volunteers! It was an amazing Saturday morning and perfect for the run.

Fantastic event! So wonderfully organized! Hope to experience this again! Perfect way to honor…read moreyour veterans!

Founded in September of 2012, Muddy Monk had a simple vision based on a few loves: people; the…read morecity of Chicago; good beer; and, trail running. So the concept was born that Muddy Monk would design and coordinate trail races replete with aid stations and plenty of volunteers and provide craft beer (following all local rules and regulations) at the end of each trail race. I've had the luxury of running in three of their events (their inaugural Thriller in Schiller, the Frozen 5 Miler, and the Mayday^3 15k) and I'll offer a a few quick points about these guys: Organization: 4.5 out of 5, and getting better each time As with every new concept, there will be growing pains, and Muddy Monk was not exempt from these early learning curves. At the very first Thriller in Schiller, a lot of good work was done up front, and registration/getting to the course itself wasn't an issue. Some of the main concerns that the runners had (and echoed by the organizers after the event) included a shortage of water after the event, and the need for some type of streamlined timing system. As an aside, MM does not use the disposable timing chips that you may find on road races for a # of reasons, some being cost and logistics, but they do employ Race Splitter. The second race I did with them (Frozen Five Miler) was truly a test against nature. The race was set in Poplar Creek Woods (I-90 and Sutton) and it snowed, snowed, snowed the days before with limited snow removal. Combine that with the fact that REI was doing a demo of some type in the same area, and parking was nonexistent at the grove. Here, MM definitely improvised, and had people park at the sports retail center down the road, and sort of came up with a makeshift shuttle system. Did it work? Yes. Was it pretty? Perhaps not, but I have a feeling that if the same thing were to happen again in the same type of weather, they'd be prepared. My most recent race with them was the Mayday^3 15k. Because I had some errands in the area in the morning, I came out two hours prior to race start time, and MM had the operation running smoothly. Volunteers were out helping with registration, the course was already marked, and all of the electronics were working. The organization of this event was spot on and I hope that the upward trend continues. Cost of Races: 4 out of 5 MM's races are reasonable to run from a price perspective, and if you register early enough, a 5 - 8 mile run will set you back about 35 bucks. And you get a t-shirt/hoodie and some type of finisher's award. And snacks/refreshments at the end, along with one craft beer. Race day signup isn't that bad either, as I signed up on the day of the Mayday^3 for the 15k distance and was only set back 40 bucks. I didn't get a finisher's award (pint glass), but I did a shirt. For reference, they are holding a half marathon this summer, and early registration is 55$. I imagine that a good chunk of that goes towards making sure that there are paramedics on site during the whole duration of the race. Technical difficulties of trails: 1 - 5 out of 5 I remember the Thriller in Schiller being a very easy race to run. It was my first ever 5k of any type, and I enjoyed how for all intents and purposes, it was "easy" and I didn't struggle a lot. The Frozen Five Miler, full of slush and snow and ice, was more technical but at least it was mainly straight with very little lateral movement throughout. But oh yes...the Mayday^3, that race was gnarly. The single track was particularly narrow, and oh boy was there a lot of lateral motion to dodge in between trees. Limbs and branches greeted you IN THE FACE if you weren't careful, and there were enough fallen trees that you had either jump over them gracefully, like a gazelle - or if you were tired on the last 5k, come to a standstill, put one leg over, and then slowly put the other leg over. As a general rule, the 5ks I would imagine would be slightly "easier" from a technical perspective, but this is not a hard and fast rule. Fun factor: 5 out of 5 This is where MM shines. There's something a little different, maybe even "off", about trail runners. At the end of the race, we drink a beer and talk about what parts of the course gave gave us the most problems, or compare the amount of mud and cuts that we have. Trail running is just more FUN for me. Selection of beer: 4.5 out of 5 MM and I will just have to split hairs on this one. I personally don't think that Finch's is that good when it comes to competing with the rest of Chicago's microbreweries. This does not mean that I won't drink it, it just means that for a volume to cost comparison, I much prefer Half Acre. But I get it - Finch's is probably easier to get in the 4 varieties that are usually out there, and no one really complains. And I shouldn't either. Moving along... Overall: 5 out of 5 Fun times, fun people, good beer.

Andy C pretty much covered everything so go read his review…read more Muddy Monk puts on A+ events. They are laid back and an absolute blast! The races are well organized and well executed. The courses are extremely well marked. Some of the courses are more technically challenging than others, but they're always a blast to run.

Just finished the 2013 Wisconsin Marathon in Kenosha, WI on Saturday, 05/04/13, as part of my 50…read moreStates Marathon goal. I had ran the Mad City Marathon in Madison, WI back in 2010 for the state, but heat issues had forced the race to black flag it and made me DNF. With that, I just had to redo Wisconsin. Luckily for me, the Wisconsin marathon and the Kalamazoo Marathon in Michigan were on back to back days, so I got an opportunity to knock off 2 states in one shot. Insane, huh? With their "Mittens Challenge" promotion this year 2013, you'd get an additional medal upon completion in Kalamazoo, MI. The Wisconsin Marathon is held in the quiet town of Kenosha, WI.Just 2 hours from Chicago and Kenosha is considered one of Chicago's many suburbs, just across state lines. I flew into Milwaukee the Monday before, having ran the Kentucky Derby marathon in Louisville, Ky and stayed with friends during the week in Fitchburg. I eventually drove down to Kenosha for race weekend and it was amazing! Packet pickup was held at the Best Western hotel on 6th Street on the Lake Michigan waterfront. The packet pick up was on the 3rd floor conference room. There wasn't much at all, in terms of an expo. I found a couple of my friends there and we were out of there in 5 minutes, after picking up packets and looking around. It was that small. Better to have mailed everyone's packet! The race itself started at 7am, so I was up at 4:30am and got to the start at 6:15am. The first 10 miles, we weaved in and around the Lake Michigan waterfront and the residential neighborhoods of Kenosha, which were already decidedly pretty. Just kept at my own pace. Weather temps that morning were 72/45 and expected to rain, but it didn't! The first 10 miles were an out and back, with the full and the half marathon course together. I would take to first time half and full marathoners there to keep things moving and they were pleasantly shocked at how much marathons and halfs I have done so far. The course split at mile 11.5 bid an end to new friends and onward to the half way point. There were no timing points at 5K, 10K, and 13.1, which was interesting, but not unheard of. I would've thought half way, but I guess this race was small enough not to warrant multiple split points. The last half of the course ran through more neighborhoods, along with a highway stretch that was opened to traffic. Just needed to stay on the right side of the road, although traffic was light on a Saturday. In the later miles, there was gravel surfaces to run on, so that provided much needed relief to my legs. I did meet up with a few of my marathon maniac club friends, so that was a huge boost to my mental stamina, when my physical stamina was waning. At mile 18, there was a short out and back section, which was about a mile and an oddly placed timing point on the course. I guess that's a way of marking who did pass through and not cut the course. The asphalt road was also marked with faded orange arrows, so that helped a bit when all you see is residential neighborhoods and nobody really in front of you. The course support was good, especially in downtown Kenosha, where spectators would line up along the streets and cheer us all on. That was great. The aid stations were adequate and the course Marshals were wearing tuxedo t-shirts. Not sure what the theme was, but it was like that. They were especially helpful with directions on the later miles when it got particularly warm and more tough. Overall, I think that this marathon (full or half) is one to do. If you are looking for a PR course in Wisconsin, this one can provide you with that benefit while giving you the best race ever. Weather can be a factor, but normally it's cool enough for a great experience for the novice or experienced racer. Run More! A+

A pleasant spring marathon. Course is nice in places along the lake but can also be pretty boring…read more/ residential / gravelly in other places. Well supported. Virtually no crowds except in a few select places along the course. Would not travel to run but not bad if looking for a local spring marathon.