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☰
Chicago Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Chicago Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.7 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 4.9
Number of comments: 949 [displaying comments 201 to 211]
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L. M. from Sammamish, WA
(10/13/2009)
"PERFECT TRIFECTA" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 1) This year's weather was perfect - a little chilly at the beginning but warming up until it was ideal. 2) Race organization was perfect, with shuttles to the expo, knowledgeable/friendly/helpful volunteers everywhere, plentiful and fully stocked aid stations, etc. 3) Spectators were perfect (even for us back-of-the-pack runners). | |
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M. H. from U.S.A.
(10/13/2009)
"You guys truly rock, once again!!!" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 6+ Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 WOW!! What an exciting race. After being gone for a few years, it was great to be back where it all started for me. Kudos to all of the Chicago Marathon staff, volunteers, and spectators who came out to show the visitors what the great city of Chicago is really (and truly) about. As Arnold once put it, "I'll be back" (again and again). | |
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J. B. from Kansas
(10/13/2009)
"Chicago Marathon: AWESOME!" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I was a fist-time marathoner going into the 2009 Chicago Marathon. I want everyone to know how amazing this marathon is! The city simply embraces this event and makes all participants feel proud to be a part of it. The crowd support(people yelling your name for encouragement because they took the time to look up your bib number on-line and find you in the crowd!), the staff support, the police officers (that even cheer on the late runners)... WOW! I would highly recommend this marathon. This experience was life-changing. A big "THANK YOU" to the city of Chicago and all of the marathon coordinators. Job well done! Even though it is my Zero Week and I am hurting today (day two after race day), I will be back next year! :) | |
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4th times a charm from chicago
(10/13/2009)
"Perfect course and crowd support!" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 4-5 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Will be the first to admit I'm not a runner. I don't train (run only four- to five-milers) and consider the marathons to be my self-assessment. If I can finish one, then I can't be in such bad shape, right? Because the course is flat and the crowd support is incredible, I've come back to do it again - for the fourth time! I can't imagine ever completing one let alone three (I can't count '06, when I got stopped at mile 18 due to heat), but Chicago fans provide you with energy to keep going. There are hardly any areas where there was no fan support - not to mention that the course is flat, flat, flat, allowing me to complete it in a respectable time. | |
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A. O. from Detroit, Michigan
(10/13/2009)
"Best crowd support ever" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was a very nice course, flat like promised, and interesting through all of the neighborhoods. Spectators were the best I've ever seen. They roared and cheered continually. It was very uplifting. Volunteers were awesome, fluid stations were plentiful and well stocked, the course was well marked, and mile markers and clocks were easily visible. This was a top-notch event - except for the runners! I have never seen more rude runners in my life! I was elbowed, spit on, and punched in the head by my own fellow runners. I was expecting some close quarters due to the size of the field, but this was ridiculous. Even though the volunteers and race officials were so great, I still won't come back due to the overwhelmingly bad treatment I received from those running with me. It was the worst race experience I've ever had. One suggestion I do have for the director: please put the runner reunite area closer to the finishing chutes. One more mile is too far to walk! Other than that, the only negative thing about the race was the participants. | |
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W. G. from Fairfield, CT
(10/13/2009)
"Great event but..." (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Hey, everyone else has covered the good stuff. Being from NY let me be slightly negative. Small point: The pasta diner on Saturday was very disappointing. They charged $35 for some pasta and salad. The big choice was your sauce. There were no speakers or programs of any type. The pasta buffet upstairs in the hotel was half the price. The starting corrals were a scary mess. Runners were penned in like cattle while others scaled fences to join the mess. I felt bad for the kids who were asked to lock arms to keep runners from surging forward. The kids looked downright scared. I've run here before, and this year the energy seemed low. Maybe it was the cold weather or the crowds missing from the curb. I must also say that the hydration tables are the best of any event: Frequent, well-stocked and with tons of great folks trained to hand the cups to runners. Kudos - you could teach other events how to do this. And, the course is a fast and flat total tour of Chicago. Just don't take your event for granted, please. | |
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T. F. from Baltimore
(10/12/2009)
"Great People; Great City" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I almost didn't run this race again because of the poor organization two years ago. I'm glad I did. What a turnaround. Congratulations to Chicago on a wonderful event, and thank you to the volunteers for all they do to make the day possible. | |
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T. P. from Chicago
(10/12/2009)
"Well done, Chicago!!" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I will definately be back!! Great tour through the different neighborhoods with AWSOME (and plentiful) volunteers! There were an appropriate number of water/aid/food stations. Also, the spectators who came out were very encouraging and really motivated me. | |
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D. S. from Michigan
(10/12/2009)
"As a major, underwhelming and overcrowded." (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Don't get me wrong, Chicago should be on every marathoner's list; however, Chicago is overrated when compared with the other majors. I was a seeded runner. Unfortunately the seeded runner baggage check was not in the seeded runner area. There were not enough handlers to compensate for the fact that all of the runners were wearing extra clothes (since it was 30 degrees), so lines were aggravatingly long. Then it was announced over a loudspeaker that the seeded gates would be closing 15 minutes before the start, and a massive rush ensued. Hundreds of runners pushed back through the seeded runner zone checkpoint then continued to mob into the corral gates. Corral C was a 3' gap in a fence. Everyone pushed and pulled to get through, and I was gashed in the back of my leg by a trash bin that had been toppled in the frenzy. When I finally got out into the corral, my leg was a mess but I wasn't about to go back out of the corral to seek medical attention. Ironically, once through the corral checkpoint, I could have easily blended in with the other groups! The seeded start made for a decent pace right from the start - that is, until about mile 4-5, when the four lanes were squeezed into two and then it was gridlock and elbow-to-elbow. Despite the weather, there was tremendous spectator support (second only to NYC). To note, many fans were "recycled," since the Chicago course doubles back in proximity, so it's a lot more convenient for friends/family of runners. A friend of mine, a slower runner, was directed to the sidewalk nearing mile 23 at 5:41, although Chicago said that the course would be secure for six and a half hours. With no marshaling and the marathon support "rolled-up," my friend got lost and was a DNF. (I've never heard of that happening in NYC!) Although the finish line layout was well organized and efficient (better than NYC), I watched how the warm reception for faster runners dried up and disappeared for the slower runners. I left Chicago feeling a little disappointed by all of the "rave" reviews. It seemed to me that this marathon is primarily interested in the commercial aspect of cramming the most runners possible through the streets of Chicago. There are a few big marathons I would run again in a heartbeat... but Chicago, not so much. | |
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G. G. from Chicago, IL
(10/12/2009)
"Absolutely a top-notch race - very well organized!" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course was very well planned; there was plenty of everything - entertainment, spectators, water and snacks. Well done, Chicago!! |
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