north shore classic half marathon & 5k: last call to register

Disclaimer: I received entry for North Shore Classic to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Hey guys! I'm running North Shore Classic Half Marathon for my second year on June 4! Don't you want to run, too? My friend and fellow BibRave Pro Frank will also be there, making his grand return to the half marathon race distance after injury/recovery. The race takes place at 7am for the 5k and 7:30 for the half marathon in Highland Park. Lots of free parking in the area, and RAM even provides a nice map to point on the best places to go. I didn't have any problems last year and I always appreciate when the race provides parking information (I get anxious if I don't know the area).

There's some sweet swag in it for you including fun colored (ombre!) tank tops and a heft medal. You'll get the tank at packet pickup, but you need to complete the half marathon to earn the medal. 

Registration will be closing next week. When you register, use code BibRaveNSC17 to score a free RAM Racing water bottle (you'll receive it at packet pickup). It's too late to choose packet mailing option (that closes 3 weeks prior to the event), but there are three days of packet pickup – Thursday June 1–Saturday June 3. 

Packet Pickup Info:
Thursday, June 1 from 3–8pm
Fleet Feet Sports Old Town, 1620 N Wells Street, Chicago, IL 60614

Friday, June 2 from 2–6pm
Fleet Feet Sports Deerfield, 800 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, IL 60015

Saturday, June 3 from 10am–6pm
Fleet Feet Sports Deerfield, 800 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, IL 60015

I went to the Deerfield location last year and it was easy. Though a bit of a hike for me, I believe I went on Friday because I had the day off and the packet pickup for the Saturday race I had was about 30 minutes from there, so I just did them both the same day/trip. I also picked up Mark's packet last year for NSC. Anyway - ample amount of free parking in the area and it was a really nice store (I think it was pretty newly opened last year around that time too, if I'm not mistaken). 

The Old Town location is convenient if you live or work in the city,  but I'm not too keen on driving into the city around rush hour and having to pay for parking (to avoid driving around looking for a spot, I always just park in that parking structure around the corner, which if you get your parking validated by FF, it's $2, which isn't bad. I'd rather pay $2 than drive around looking for a spot). I used to love FF Old Town packet pickup when I was working in the city and I just hopped on the bus to get there during my lunch break or after work. Not so easy these days, unfortunately. While I think Deerfield is farther distance, it's usually a quicker drive. So if you go on Saturday, keep an eye out for me ;)

Frank, Lisa, Mark, and myself before 2016 NSC Race.

Can't make packet pickup? Send a friend or family member – they just need your registration confirmation. Five packets per person. There is NO race day pickup.

I'll warn you - there are some hills here! Last year I went in assuming it was pretty flat, and was sorely mistaken. Literally - hills make me sore haha... and tired. No one mentioned that there would be hills, and I just figured being near Chicago there wouldn't be much incline/decline, and there was. I don't mind hills, as long as I'm aware of them ahead of time. I think there might have been one or two really killer ones, but the rest were fairly tame, I guess. I just remember thinking last year how horrible there were. Again, pretty sure this was because they were completely unexpected, so every hill I encountered I was like 'again?!'.

It's a really nice, scenic course through Highland Park, and there was some cheering from the residents as we ran by. You can read my BibRave Review here or check out my blog recap here of the 2016 race (it was my first weekend of 2016 where I ran a half marathon on both Saturday and Sunday, which I repeated in September).