This is the third time in four years I have participated in the race (5K in 2012, 10K in 2014, 2015). It was actually the first 5K I ever ran. I have always enjoyed the festive atmosphere, with everyone sporting the colors of their school. I have also enjoyed it in spite of the hot temperature that comes with a late July race.

I showed up to the race on Saturday not knowing if I would actually run. I slightly hyperextended my knee about a week prior, and my long-annoying shin had been acting up. After I felt great during my warm up I decided to give it a go.

My goal was to break my 10K PR from last year, and this was actually only the second 10K I've ever officially participated in. After 2 miles, I realized the heat would prevent any chance at a PR so I cruised home at an easy but steady pace to avoid further knee/shin injury.

Aside from the lack of a PR, I enjoyed the race overall. As I said, it's a pretty festive event with participants mostly wearing a shirt/colors from the Big Ten school of their choice. There are tents set up with giveaways and attractions for each school. I got to pose with The Axe and the regional basketball championship trophy at the Wisconsin booth. The course gives some good views of downtown from a part of the Lakefront Trail I never run on.

The bad: a significant portion of the race is run underneath McCormick Place. The first stint underground is about a half mile in and is quite significant in length. A very large portion of runners obviously use GPS watches to check their pace, and putting such a length portion of the course underground at the beginning renders watches basically useless for the race. Those runners who, like me, use their watches to make sure they are on pace at the beginning are not able to do so.

The second underground stretch is right before the end. Sending people through a dark, enclosed space after they have just run over 5 miles at race pace is a terrible idea. It is quite disorienting. I also spent the entire stretch hoping that the pavement underneath me was smooth, as I would not have been able to see any potholes or cracks I needed to avoid. Luckily I stayed on my feet. I understand race officials changed the ending because a lot of people complained the sudden turnaround before the finish line last year, but this change was definitely not an improvement.

Overall this is a solid race, but management needs to do something to eliminate the underground portions.