I actually did the 8K version of this race this year, and it was overall a pretty well run race. The race, co-sponsored by Lifetime Fitness & Fleet Feet Chicago, had many of the nice race amenities that usually come with their races (i.e.: Soldier Field 10 Miler, Women's Half, Lifetime Spring & Fall Half Marathons, etc.). The start corrals near Lincoln Park Zoo were set up with different paces you were feeling that morning, so you weren't assigned a corral. The course was actually on Lakeshore Drive on the two right hand lanes going northbound from Fullerton to Montrose. The 8K course goes all the way up to Montrose and turns around from there onto the Lakefront Path. The 5kers were turned at Recreation Drive. Aid stations were situated at both turn arounds.

The course was a bit heavy when the 8k and 5k coincided, but nothing you can't handle. Still plenty of room for those strollers along the race. Finish was at Diversey Harbor where they had turkey bowling, bag games, and apple cider and cliff bar giveaways. It's a great Turkey Trot if you live in the city, but if you are coming from the suburbs or elsewhere, I'd give those races a try.

The Chicago Bears Super Shuffle had a great game day feel that was very enjoyable. My girlfriend and I signed up for the inaugural race back in July, which was a late add to the Chicago racing schedule, but ended up being a great add. This being a Fleet Feet race lives up to the high expectations of being a great race time and time again.

The race was unique in that there were four different start times for the corrals, the first corral was the Briggs corral at 6:30, Cutler corral at 6:45, Marshall corral at 7:00, and the Tillman corral at 7:15. Since the B-tag timing system was used, your place and time were still accurate, and you didn't feel like you were competing. The start of the race was amazing, being able to go through the same chute that the Bears players go through on game day, all with fireworks and flags to cheer you on. Ronald McDonald was on the course as well promoting his Ronald McDonald house (Part of the Bears Care that the race's designated charity).

Aid station was well manned and had plenty of water and gatorade on stock. The finish line was really neat. It was the first time that I've seen a 5k with cold wet towels at the end of the race. Water, gatorade, bananas, and Nabisco products were all featured at the end.

The after party was pretty sweet. Dunkin Donuts, Miller Lite, ice cream, Athletico stretching, and WBBM News Radio were all there featuring the Packers-Seahawks opening game. Current Bear safety Ryan Mundy also made an appearance and talked about the upcoming season. They had a raffle giving participants opportunity to have a 5-minute phone call with either Briggs, Cutler, Marshall, or Tillman whichever corral you were a part of. Being able to talk to the players 3 days before the start of the season would've been awesome!

If there were two sore spots, I would say that packet pickup was a little hard since there was only two days to pick up packets starting on Tuesday, and it was advertised until the week of the race when and where the packets could be picked up at. A Sunday pickup at Fleet Feet would've been ideal. Further none of the race course was inside Soldier Field. It would've been really cool to run through part of the stadium such as the Race to Wrigley that allows fans to run underneath the bleachers of Wrigley.

Overall, I'm giving this race a four out of five stars, and I only see this race getting bigger every year.

Wow, what a huge race for a Sunday Morning. I've never done the Bucktown 5k race before, but after doing 2014's edition, I'll certainly be adding this to my racing calendar. The race convenes at Burr Elementary School in the Bucktown Neighborhood, and navigates around some very nice apartments/shops in the Bucktown Neighborhood. Other than the Shamrock Shuffle, this could be the race that most emulates the Chicago Marathon, as it captures some of the neighborhood beauty of Chicago's West Side.

I biked my way to the race, but if you are thinking of commuting by car, good luck. I saw folks walking 5-6 blocks just to get to the start/finish line. If at all possible, take public transportation or do what I did, bike to the start.

I did the 2014 Bucktown 5k in under 26 minutes. This is a race that you can easily get a PR since the streets are absolutely flat and the course is very fast. The officials closed down the whole street, including having permits for people to move their vehicle, which relieved any potential congestion along the roadways. Didn't hurt that the temperature was in the lower 50s, which made for perfect running weather. Also the race swag was really unique with pants this year (a nice change from the typical t-shirts and hats that most races give away). Really shouldn't be surprised since RAM Racing wants to be unique and give swag that people will actually use.

Only two issues, one was the gear check lines. It took about 10 minutes to gear check my items in, a bit longer than I was hoping for. Also, there wasn't much to eat or drink. I know the race officials were promoting "after race party" discounts and flair at some of the local businesses, but you had to spend some money to get something. No breakfast/snacks/beer was offered at the finish line. Kind of a bummer.

Overall, I thought this was a great race and the organizers did a great job of putting this on. Can't wait to do this again next year.

If you are a BIG fan or a fan of any BIG school, this race is for you. This race is a great way to kick off the Big Ten Football season, and to develop hype for your favorite school. I loved the fact that no matter what team you were a part of, even if you love all the schools, it felt like family for one day. You would've never know that Michigan-Ohio State was a hated rivalry, or that Purdue-Indiana was a fierce hated. The atmosphere gets you pumped for college football. The mascots, cheer squads, and alumni groups all made it a ton of fun at the post race party.

One negative was the finish line. To zig zag towards the finish line was confusing to say the least. I thought I was at the end when I had to go another 500 meters. Fleet feet almost never makes a mistake, but I felt this was a problem.

Totally recommend this race, but be aware that almost 75% of the racers are ages 30 or below, so take note of that.