Rock ‘n’ Roll Tune Up Series 5K

For a 5K event I was impressed. I loved the medals which is a great touch for people that never run the long distances. Not crazy about the cotton t-​shirts which I will use to sleep in but would never run in it. There were no pacing signs at the start so it was a hodge podge of people lined up but it’s a 5K so not all that concerned. Also was nice that they had photographers there (although I have no clue which photographer it is, it is not mentioned on the site or in any emails so far). Overall I’d recommend if you are a new runner who wants to get a medal and pictures and a 5K is a big deal for you.
As for lack of bands, don’t really care all that much. The course was nice and flat and wide. The bicyclists were super annoying and almost killed me so that did tick me off but I think they were just asses that ignored the blocks.

I wanted this to rock, I really did. I even left my iPod at home because I thought there was actually going to be… um, rock and roll music. No such luck. There was plenty of room to set up bands or other music, but at the back of the race, it was dead silent. An angry biker flagged down a cop to ask if we all had permits to take up the path, which I easily could have ignored if there was some loud music, though it did bring a smile. The metals were awesome, but the beer tent was snore citay. I hope they bring the noise next year, but I don’t know if I would do this race again.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought about the fact that we were supposed to have «on course entertainment,» and the only thing I saw was the DJ that was stationed right at about mile 3. That’s at the end of the race, not on the course. And is it just me or did anyone else never see a 2 mile marker?
The course all-​in-​all wasn’t too bad, but yeah the sand definitely sucked, as did the bikers appearing out of nowhere at the randomest of times. That made it hard to hit all of the tangents mapped out on the course too.
Ahh well, I was mostly happy with the course and the free stuff. How many times can you get a medal just for finishing a 5k?

I read the other two reviews and while some of the points were valid, they were both a bit whiny.
Of the complaints, I will only fully agree with two. That damn sand was a drag… literally and the random people on the track were annoying. Other than that I had a great time.
They gave out plenty of extras. I guess they expected a bigger turnout. I don’t know that I would give someone an extra medal or let their non-​participating buddies into the beer tent, so I am dismissing those complaints. There, done! The music was musical. If you didn’t know your bib number, there was an alphabetized list. I thought it was a fun event.
It served its purpose. I ran, finished, and got a medal. A pretty decent one at that.

This 5K was a little bit country and not at all rock n’ roll.
The write up for this half-​marathon «tune up» run sounded great! Post-​race flip-​flops! On course entertainment! Beer tents! Yay! Sadly, it did not live up to the hype.
Let me start at the beginning…
— No pacing markers. My friend and I went to line up with the 9 minute mile runners but we couldn’t. So we jumped in the middle of the fray, hoped for the best, and subsequently were stuck behind walkers and slow pokes.
— No «on course entertainment.» I suppose it was entertaining to do some people watching, but I thought there would be some rock n’ roll at the rock n’ roll run. Instead there was a DJ around the 3 mile mark, who seems to be the same DJ that plays at any run organized at Montrose Harbor. Plus, he was playing some crappy music. Techno and my mom’s favorite «I like to move it, move it» song?! I thought this was a rock n’ roll run…
— The rules specifically state that there were to be no baby joggers on the course. I spotted three and one of them was a double wide stroller. Booo!
— They did not block off the lakefront path. Or maybe the did block it off and just did a really bad job of monitoring it. Around the time that the pack of runners turned onto the path, there were some Lance Armstrong wannabe riding his bike through the crowd and yelling at people to move to the left. The rest of the bikers that tried to get through were a little nicer, but still…
— I was about to shank a bitch for my flip-​flops. The line to pick up your flops was super long and unorganized. Why weren’t they in our packets?
— The post-​race band was a country band. Again, I thought this was supposed to be a rock n’ roll run.
— The beer tent was abysmal. It was actually more like a beer «area» that wouldn’t allow your friends in if the didn’t race, which is not a very rock n’ roll attitude if you ask me. Our poor friend had to wait outside. We couldn’t even lean against the fence and talk to her because there was a 5 ft. barrier between the internal fence and the external fence. And don’t even get me started on the most inefficient way to serve beer to masses of people. Bottles poured into plastic cups?!? Ever heard of a keg?
The flip-​flaps were cool, the shirt was nice, the medal was unnecessary, and the guy dressed like 80’s Brett Michaels was amazing. Other than that, this was a total waste of time.

The big hype for this is that Chicago is the biggest running city and this group hosts the famous Chicago Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series with a half marathon in August. The new Tune Up Series in June was supposed to offer a taste of what Rock ‘n’ Roll offers. If this is all they got, I’m not ready to Rock and my list of complaints goes to 11.
1) Parking was a major drag. I showed up with what typically would be more than enough time to park and pay, but the machines in the lot were slow as molasses. They would be much better off making a deal with whomever owns the lot and charging a flat parking fee, say $ 2.50 or even $ 5. I’d rather pay $ 5 than have wasted 30 minutes in line at the pay box.
2) This is another race that organizes bibs by numbers and not by last name. I don’t want to have to think about my number. I know my last name whether I’m half asleep or wide awake.
3) I hate races that won’t spring for timers at each mile. Letting runners know their time at these marks is crucial to helping someone pace themselves. I don’t think they are THAT expensive. I’ve seen them at races that cost less money and had less attendees. Get on it!
4) Where’s the music? I was promised music along the way. One DJ playing top-​40s is NOT music along the course or a taste of what the ½ Marathon offers. Or is it? I’m confused. One DJ around the 2.5 mile mark and then a band singing covers of some Rock and Country songs at the end does not a Rock ‘n’ Roll party make.
5) We’re near a beach, so I know the track won’t be free of debris. But for the love of all that is holy, get a shovel and relocate some of that sand toward the end. I did Warrior Dash on Saturday. I’m not looking for more obstacles.
6) Finish line refresh area was way too small. They had you get in and get out. I was able to grab one bag of Pop Chips and almost didn’t get my medal. I wasn’t even able to get my banana or water and had to rush out of the pen to make way for others. It was backing up like bad plumping.
7) They had a table full of extra medals after the last person crossed the finish line. I asked if I could have an extra for my scrapbook and I was turned down. They all say «Rock ‘n’ Roll 5K 2011» on them. Are they really going to use them for something else? They better melt them down and recycle those or I’m pissed. They had no problem handing out extra stupid flip flops with their 2011 logo on it.
8) Most inefficient way to serve beer EVER. Beer bottles were glass and the servers had to open each one individually and pour it out. Just give me the glass bottle, get plastic or kegs next time. They dumped a bunch of the bottles into a larger can while I was there and one broke and hit me. Also, they lied about where friends and family were allowed. I was told they were able to go everywhere except the finish line pen, and Amy H. tells me non-​competitors were not allowed in the beer pen, which was all the way at the other side of the race site.
9) Music was so loud we had to go to the beer area to hear each other. I dunno, I guess they are trying to rock it out. But this clearly is not a rock concert and I would like to speak with my fellow competitors.
10) The vendors there were pushing their goods WAY hard. I like to get a little info and see what’s what. I do not like to be guilted into buying something or signing up for things I’m on the fence about.
11) Most races like this go until about noon. Almost everyone was gone by 9:30am. That should say something. I was able to find my car with no problem because the lot had practically cleared out.
Sorry Tune Up Series, for all the buildup and the price I expected to Rock ‘n’ Roll all night and party everyday.

This was my first 5K so I can’t compare it to others, but here is what I thought.
Pros:
— flip flops (even though the ones I got are way too big for me even though I asked for my size)
— medal (honestly what other 5K gives you a pretty cool medal?)
— cool t-​shirt (also gave away free t-​shirts after the race)
— the course was relatively flat
— easy and cheap parking! (got there around 7ish and parking lot was empty so I got to pick my spot and had no problem with the parking meter!)
Cons:
— where was the music?!
— running in sand is NOT fun
— bikers are mean! okay, I get it maybe they were training, but hello we were running a marathon!
— free beer, great that its free, but not great that you’re secluded from everyone else! the information label of your name, dob, etc on your bib should suffice as an ID as most runners don’t run with their IDs so a lot of us left because we didn’t have it on us.
Overall, I did enjoy the run and I do wish it’s back at Montrose Harbor next year because of easy parking (downtown is so expensive!). However, somehow close off the route for the allowed time because other bikers and non-​competing runners can get annoying.