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.

I have never done an indoor race before, so that was something new and I'm all about expanding your…read moreexperiences. It was definitely better to run in controlled conditions than have to worry abour rain, sleet or snow in an unpredictable February (even though it ended up being 45 degrees and sunny). They did a really good job organizing everything. I found Check-In relatively easily and was directed to Gear Check. The lines moved quickly and I was at the Start Pens (12min+ I'm ashamed to admit). They let each Pen approach the Starting Line every two minutes and sounded the horn. It definitely helped keep people from stampeding and made the Course less congested. I was a big fan of the victory bananas and Smart Water. Can't say that I liked the Powerade (I'm a Vitamin Water Zero girl). I also didn't like the Gear Check Volunteer snapping at my friend's friend to "cover up [her] number!" when she asked her number (clearly printed on our bibs) and was told she already had her bag. Overall, I think it was run pretty well and will get better with a few improvements. It was their first year. I might do it next year if they bring it back, but I personally didn't like how it felt like a maze with all the winding between the North and South Buildings. I hated that you could see almost the entire Course. That's mostly because I kept seeing how much was left to run and all I could think was, "I'm glad a cardiovascular organization is running this because I might have a heart attack."

Not particularly well organized event (wasn't exactly easy to figure out where you needed to go for…read morethe race in McCormick when you were there). Course has many turns (as you would anticipate in an indoor race), and when running with the large group of entrants, log jams occurred at many of the turns. Nice to get out of the house in the winter and do something physical, but I would probably look for something else besides this event to do. Note: Writing my review for 2014 event.

Since so many people on our ride asked, puzzled, "What is this? Is it a race? Is it Critical Mass?…read moreWhat's going on?" I figured that writing a review for this great active event was only appropriate. Now, you won't have any excuse to miss the 2014 edition!! I feel that during most active/sporting events, no matter how well organized they can be, there's always something to complain about. Well, not this time. From beginning to end, it was flawless! Easy online registration (yeah, there are these annoying fees, but what can you do about it? To make it all better, I highly recommend to make a quick search about coupons. Whatever you buy online, there's a coupon for it. Most of the time. This time, I snatched a $10 off on each registration. Yay me), convenient pick up times, great directions, map, tee-shirt. And an awesome urban adventure. Here's the deal: you choose a distance. 12, 22, 35 or 62 miles.They select four different food providers. And you stop along the way for water (ice cold!!!!), food and bathroom breaks, for however long you want. You are given a map to follow but there's also excellent marking on the street. I was so impressed by the work they put into it!! It's (almost) impossible to get lost. Volunteers ride along the way with you to assure a smooth day, and you just have to enjoy the vista. This year took us all on the North Side, and we discovered great hidden gems along the way such as the Alta Vista Terrace District within a stone-throw distance from Wrigley Field, to the Indian Boundary Park in West Rogers Park and the actual Rogers Park itself, from the North Shore Channel Trail to off the beaten path streets lined with beautiful mansions and bungalows. What a glorious city Chicago is, and what little of it most of us know. My group of friends and I did the 35 miler, and had a great time. It was plenty enough for us, but not so much that we were dead at the end of it. Cannot recommend it strongly enough! Words of wisdom: - wear padded shorts, it will make the whole thing way more comfortable (REI sells pretty affordable ones) - bring a water bottle; the stops are far and in between and if it's hot out, you'll want to chug water on a regular basis - wear your helmet! - visit the ATA (Active Transportation Alliance) website http://www.activetrans.org/ for more information on the event in particular, and biking in Chicago in general - have fun!

I'm hoping that this can become a biannual event, because partaking in this years version of Active…read moreTransportation Alliance's big showcase was a day I will remember for a long time. The levels of organization and friendliness offered by the ATA and their group of volunteers was remarkable and had me beaming positive vibes all ride long. In my own words, ATA is set up as a nonprofit which advocates for people of all backgrounds to have access to more options to get around the Chicago metro area that are affordable, safe and accessible. This particular event not only introduced "newbies" to their mission, but got around 3,000 people out as examples of that mission to the rest of the city. On at least three occasions I was asked (while stopped at red lights) what we were out on the ride for, which is to say their next event will probably involve more than 3,000 riders. A very good thing, in my opinion! As for the details of the rides- you have your choice on how to participate. With four distances (12, 22, 35 and 62 mile options), you can find one to your liking. All were incredibly well-marked with volunteers scattered about to direct people on the correct path, as well as easily identifiable markers spray painted on the streets (if you were like us and didn't have a nifty map holder installed onto your bike). An overwhelmingly large portion of our ride (the 35 miler) took place on streets with either delineated bike lanes, or the segregated and buffered kind (along Dearborn going through the loop). With groups leaving in waves, there was plenty of space to go at your own pace pretty quickly upon the start of the ride, but not get too spaced out where you didn't feel like you were part of a group of riders out to do a trek. It helped that the weather was nice (mid-70s going up to the low-80s), but in all honesty, I think we would have enjoyed this event even if the weather was bad. With stations set up throughout pretty evenly for restrooms, water and the eventual snack stations - the "chow" portion, if you will - there was ample amount of ride space without pushing people too hard. Active Transportation Alliance- good on you all for putting together such a friendly, comfortable, and visual event showing off a portion of your mission to the rest of the city (well, at least this time- most of the north side). The hard work put forth by the volunteers and coordinators was evident in just how smooth and wonderful the ride and the event was. Oh, and the snacks were great! I look forward to going back to each of the vendors in the near future to enjoy their food again. Any chance you all can make this biannual? Spring ride and early-Autumn ride?

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.

The Adventure Run was awesome. I had a great time and won two raffle prizes, a $10 gift certificate…read moreto Last Hackensack and a gift bag from Spex I didn't look in the gift bag until I got home. Besides a glasses case and some other glasses cleaning stuff there wS a gift card for $100. Yes $100. Wow! What a great night. There were tons of raffle prizes including at least 4 pairs of free shoes.

I've been attending this since they started a couple of years ago. What started out fairly small…read morehas truly grown to be a great community. Think of this as a scavenger hunt but instead of find things, you are finding places. When you reach the check point you get a raffle tickets, so visit as many check points as you can so you can more tickets for the raffle. You can earn extra tickets by wearing their Adventure Run shirt, sometimes by dressing in theme, and/or doing a challenge (push ups, sing a song, etc.) Just make sure you get back to Road Runner Sports in an hour so you can actually enter the raffle. Each month they raffle prizes from local vendors as well as national vendors. The best raffle prize is RUNNING SHOES...which I have yet to win, but I have fun trying!! This is not just for runners!! There are plenty of check points within walking distance, and I've seen plenty of families with toddlers doing this. If you're looking for a fun way to spend an evening outside this is it!!

I love this event, 8K IS THE BEST DISTANCE. No notes. Afternoon/evening time is my best time to…read morerun, too! Keep it going/bring it back!!

Bastille Day Run....how we meet again. The first time was in…read more2009. I just had adopted a new cat a couple of hours before, and the only thing I remember pretty clearly was getting sick in a trash can around mile 2. Yeah...good times... And speaking of good times, I wonder who came up with the slogan of the race this year (or is it every year? Not sure. I shall "invetigate") but that was a job poorly done in my humble opinion. Not that it's an easy job, and you surely don't have to please everyone. But still. First of all, using New Orleans motto to promote something as quintessentially French as Bastille Day is a bit of a faux-pas...that's about as appropriate as drinking Earl Grey on the Fourth of July, eating General Tsao chicken for Cinco de Mayo or giving out chocolate rabbits for Christmas. But then, think about it for two seconds. Even if you are not an expert in the language, you probably know that "Laissez les bons temps rouler" literally means "Let the good times roll." Kind of a, um, weird choice to celebrate the opening of one of the bloodiest times of French history. Unless your idea of a "good time" is to make heads roll. Personally, I think the Queen of Hearts has it best: "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!" Otherwise, the event itself was rather nice. Small in size, perfectly located for an evening run, free beer, music...good times indeed. But still.

First of all, thanks to YELP for the discount code. It was especially valuable in that this year…read morewas a dissappointment. The venue was too crowded and poorly set up. There were few trash cans and people just dumped their half eaten food on empty tables, gross. The food was excellent at some places (Mamo, Chicago Prime, Rainforest), hence the two stars. But most stations only had one smaple, this is so different than in years past. Also, there were double digit stations with pulled pork sandwiches. So boring! I'm so sad that this event has gone down hill.

For a little over a decade Greater Woodfield Convention Bureau has hosted this extraordinary event…read more This will be my seventh year attending and if you like to try different restaurants this event allows you to try about 50 in 3 hours! I actually work this event as a vendor with Lynfred Winery and teach a Wine 101 class at the event and some of my brewmaster friends are there with their breweries as well. Over 50 restaurants, breweries and wineries from the Schaumburg area set up shop at the Arlington Race Course to show their culinary delights. $25 tickets in advance and $30 at the door allow you to sample to your heart's content. You won't regret this splurge. . . I'm already looking forward to it!

One of the Abbott Marathon Majors which I ran as part of attaining my 6 Star achievement the…read moreChicago Marathon was a fun run for 26.2 miles. The course of very flat, fast, and getting PR's on this route are very attainable. The marathon expo is large and has everything there. If staying in the downtown area the start line is east to get to. You're basically running through all the neighborhoods. The year I ran it was sunny and cool, and even though there were many spectators cheering us on I felt on many parts of the course were sparse and a bit quiet. Still, it's a fun marathon and a great day. Plus, you get an ice cold real beer at the end! Beer and a medal is a win! It's a terrific race course to attempt if you're a first time marathoner since there are few hills and it's considered one of the easier ones. 50,000 runners on average and it was easy to get in through the lottery at the time. Plus, there are many pop up events and marathon related things to attend around town.

This event has a spectator was very well ran. How was mainly upset they closed areas that had…read moreaccess to parking garages but for a large scale event I will say that the organizers did great and they have this event to a T year after year. Everyone here was happy,supportive and motivational to all of the runners involved! If you are coming here as a spectator I highly recommend learning where the public restrooms are at because this city lacks public restrooms and there are about 100,000 people watching this event on top of the 52,000 people that run this event every year! My thing that I will learn for next year is that I will take the METRA instead of driving. Driving to the city wasn't even that bad it was actually very easy because it was Sunday but it's navigating through all the people. Please download the app too that allows you to track your Runner or runners. The one thing that bothered me a lot was seeing a good variety of spectators run on the path when runners are in the middle of the race. People need to be a bit respectful. Thankfully nothing interfered with the race astronomically. Overall, i wouldn't mind coming back next year! I just wouldn't bring lawn chairs but I will stack up on drinks and snacks prior.