I was visiting Chicago with my dad last weekend and we decided to find a 5K to run. This was at Montrose Harbor the same place we did the Stan's … MORE
I was visiting Chicago with my dad last weekend and we decided to find a 5K to run. This was at Montrose Harbor the same place we did the Stan’s donut 5K last year so we were familiar with the area. There was good pre-race communication but we were not emailed a course map and I didn’t see it online. The race offered pack pick-up either the day before or the morning of the race. We got it race day morning. It was a really nice swag bag with a nice cotton T-shirt. I liked how the swag bag had sunglasses and ear plugs since light and sound tend to trigger migraines. There were also vendors and migraine support groups and drug companies at a few booths. The race was relatively small with about 100 participants in the 5K and there was also the option for a 2 mile walk. During the race announcement they said the 2 miler was an out and back and the 5K would be a loop. The start was fine since it is a small race. However the generator allowing the arch to be blown up stopped working so there wasn’t a start/finish arch. The race seemed to have bad luck and a lot of these minor issues kept happening. They also had a hard time getting volunteers so there were no volunteers on the course. The course was a flat course through the park around the harbor. Some nice views of the city. Some just park views. Everything was well marked and I had no trouble following the course. However a little past mile 2 it seemed we should go straight since that is where the main path was but there was a smaller path to the left. I went straight but soon after I saw a group of participants telling us we need to turn around which I thought was weird since it was a loop. I was only a bit past the part where we could have turned left and was on a walking interval so I turned around and walked to where the path diverged and didn’t see a marking and saw the people keep going back where we came. I asked if they were sure we were supposed to turn around and they said yes. However I didn’t think it made sense since I saw markings after 1.55 miles. Anyways luckily I didn’t follow them and went back on the path where I initially thought I should go. I had been making very fast time but I lost motivation here since I wasn’t 100% sure I was going the right way. There were no markings for about 1/4 of a mile but then I saw one and was glad I stayed on the right path. The rest of the course was easy to follow. I was hoping to be under 40 minutes but lost at least 1 minute with the confusion and was slower the last mile since I lost motivation so finished in 40:30 which was frustrating since it was from some participants who were confused and led us astray and as a result a bunch of runners got lost or ran the course wrong. I assume the confused participants heard the 2 miler was an out and back and thought the 5K was too and realized they went too far and turned around. I actually thought the course was well marked. It would have been better to have volunteers but you can’t force people to volunteer. 2 things the race could have done better is sent out a map of the course with the instruction email and even though it was pretty obvious to go straight that was a long section without markings and could have used a few arrows. There was also no finish arch which confused my dad and he didn’t realize he went passed the finish line until someone handed him a medal. The medals are really nice and cute with the race logo which is a cartoon brain with sunglasses. Solid post race food with lots of fruit options including plums which was nice and refreshing, fruit snacks and granola bars, water bottles and La Croix sparkling water. I thought the race had great swag and went to a good cause. There were a number of hiccups some of which were a bit outside the race’s control but they did affect my experience. I still would consider this race or another Miles for Migraine and I gave feedback and hope they fix some of the issues.
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Nice swag but some production issues
I was visiting Chicago with my dad last weekend and we decided to find a 5K to run. This was at Montrose Harbor the same place we did the Stan's … MORE
I was visiting Chicago with my dad last weekend and we decided to find a 5K to run. This was at Montrose Harbor the same place we did the Stan’s donut 5K last year so we were familiar with the area. There was good pre-race communication but we were not emailed a course map and I didn’t see it online. The race offered pack pick-up either the day before or the morning of the race. We got it race day morning. It was a really nice swag bag with a nice cotton T-shirt. I liked how the swag bag had sunglasses and ear plugs since light and sound tend to trigger migraines. There were also vendors and migraine support groups and drug companies at a few booths. The race was relatively small with about 100 participants in the 5K and there was also the option for a 2 mile walk. During the race announcement they said the 2 miler was an out and back and the 5K would be a loop. The start was fine since it is a small race. However the generator allowing the arch to be blown up stopped working so there wasn’t a start/finish arch. The race seemed to have bad luck and a lot of these minor issues kept happening. They also had a hard time getting volunteers so there were no volunteers on the course. The course was a flat course through the park around the harbor. Some nice views of the city. Some just park views. Everything was well marked and I had no trouble following the course. However a little past mile 2 it seemed we should go straight since that is where the main path was but there was a smaller path to the left. I went straight but soon after I saw a group of participants telling us we need to turn around which I thought was weird since it was a loop. I was only a bit past the part where we could have turned left and was on a walking interval so I turned around and walked to where the path diverged and didn’t see a marking and saw the people keep going back where we came. I asked if they were sure we were supposed to turn around and they said yes. However I didn’t think it made sense since I saw markings after 1.55 miles. Anyways luckily I didn’t follow them and went back on the path where I initially thought I should go. I had been making very fast time but I lost motivation here since I wasn’t 100% sure I was going the right way. There were no markings for about 1/4 of a mile but then I saw one and was glad I stayed on the right path. The rest of the course was easy to follow. I was hoping to be under 40 minutes but lost at least 1 minute with the confusion and was slower the last mile since I lost motivation so finished in 40:30 which was frustrating since it was from some participants who were confused and led us astray and as a result a bunch of runners got lost or ran the course wrong. I assume the confused participants heard the 2 miler was an out and back and thought the 5K was too and realized they went too far and turned around. I actually thought the course was well marked. It would have been better to have volunteers but you can’t force people to volunteer. 2 things the race could have done better is sent out a map of the course with the instruction email and even though it was pretty obvious to go straight that was a long section without markings and could have used a few arrows. There was also no finish arch which confused my dad and he didn’t realize he went passed the finish line until someone handed him a medal. The medals are really nice and cute with the race logo which is a cartoon brain with sunglasses. Solid post race food with lots of fruit options including plums which was nice and refreshing, fruit snacks and granola bars, water bottles and La Croix sparkling water. I thought the race had great swag and went to a good cause. There were a number of hiccups some of which were a bit outside the race’s control but they did affect my experience. I still would consider this race or another Miles for Migraine and I gave feedback and hope they fix some of the issues.