For today's Friday Five, I figured it was only appropriate to highlight five of the things that I am most looking forward to this weekend as I head to the great Midwest for another weekend of Rock n Roll fun!
Shoot, have you seen the Rock n Roll Marathon Series bling? Come on! They seriously have some of the absolute best bling around! While their individual races each have their own medal designs unique to the city, they also have challenge medals to up the ante a bit. I will be earning 4 medals this weekend in total - the Rock n Roll Chicago 5K & Half Marathon medals, Remix Challenge medal for running the 5K on Saturday and one of the Sunday distances, and Double Beat for running my second Rock N Roll half marathons (or longer) in the 2017 calendar year. Fact: I run for bling.
Last year I enjoyed soaking up a few of Chicago's iconic landmarks including Willis Tower, Buckingham Fountain and of course The Bean. Since we were short on time last year, I didn't quite get to squeeze in as much of the sights as I wanted to. I have a few of my favorites on my list for this year along with a few new spots to check out over the weekend.
I love race expos, and if anyone knows how to do a race expo, it is Rock n Roll. There are always so many great vendors to check out and I cannot wait to see some new product and of course make a few purchases there. When I went to Chicago last July, I basically had to run through the expo in less than 15 minutes due to a delayed flight, so I am looking forward to a little less chaotic adventure through the expo floor this time.
The people are what make race weekends so amazing. Over the past few years I have made some of the most amazing friends from around the country. Yes, we might only see each other a few times a year (or less), but the time we get together is so insanely fun. I will be traveling to Chicago with my friend Jennifer this weekend for a fun girls race-cation weekend and a lot of my #RockNBlog and #WeRunSocial friends will be bringing the party to Chicago this weekend, so I will be in some great company for sure. I know I am ready, but is Chicago ready?
MEET UP ALERT! Come hang out with the #WeRunSocial crew at 9am on Saturday (after the 5K) at the Bean! Come out, say hello, snap some selfies, and show the interwebs what they are missing in Chicago this weekend.
Hello flat course! Coming from hilly Atlanta, I always get excited to take on a flat course. Yes, I run better on hills traditionally, but do I love hills? I think not. I absolutely loved the Rock n Roll Chicago courses last year and cannot wait to run them again this year. The 5K course changed from 2016, but it still looks like a great and scenic course ahead of us on Saturday.