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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 451 to 461]
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P. S. from New Mexico USA
(10/8/2007)
"2007 My First Marathon='Memorable'" (about: 2007)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. I chose Chicago because of all I had read in the past about the support, course and reputation. The heat and humidity were unbearable this year. I didn't finish because I was one of the 11,000 that were routed back to Grant Park. There was NO water and NO gatorade at the first aid station. I recall another aid station only had gatorade. I was fortunate I thought to bring a bottle of Accelerade and my husband and brother met me at the 13 mile marker with bottles of water. The race director went on tv and newspaper saying there was plenty of fluids. Not True. They had the same # of aid stations as in previous years spaced out the same. They really did not plan for the heat. If they had, they would have considered other contingency plans and not just closing the course. They could have started the race earlier, put up more aid stations and turned on the fire hydrants sooner not when we were done and walking down Jackson St. when everyone was already cooled down. There were no a/c buses until we were told to stop running and walk the rest of the way down Jackson St. AC buses would have helped prior to the 1/2 mark when we were already cooled down. While I agree that closing the course was the best thing to do under the circumstances to prevent further catastrophe, the organizers weren't very organized this year for the heat. The fans were great and had it not been for them, I might not have made it as far as I did. They hosed us down for the first 1/2 of the race with personal hoses and sprinklers. Our pace leader even had to get a drink from a bystander because there was NO water and NO gatorade at the very FIRST aid station when we went by. This was a 'memorable' experience but unfortunately, not the kind of memory I'd hoped for. I look at Chicago as a VERY EXPENSIVE training run. I will now consider where to do my first marathon again. Hopefully it will be a better experience. | |
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H. E. from Akron, Ohio
(10/8/2007)
"The spectators are absolutely the best!" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Yes, It was hot. I knew by the 5k mark my time was off and I was overheating. I had to slow down. I was at the 18 mile mark when the race was cancelled. I continued and I completed the 26.2 and yes we were forced to walk by the police. I have never been through anything like it. I do believe though they did the best they could given horrible circumstances. I had water and gatorade at every station. Fans are absolutely the best. They bought us ice, water, they brought out hoses and sprinklers, I saw them help runners that collapsed. Everybody helped everyone. I believe hindsight is always 20/20. Race officials did the best they could. I only wish they would have started the race earlier. It was my first Chicago and I will run it again! Thank you Chicago citizens!!!!!You are the best!!!!! | |
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J. M. from Chicago, IL
(10/8/2007)
"Blame the runner in front of you for wasting water" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Come on people!!! Is it the Marathon Committee's fault that it was hot? Why don't you run with a water bottle? Why aren't YOU responsible for knowing that it was going to be 85+? Who made sure you were supplied with water on your 20 or 22 mile training runs? Did you blame God when it was hot in June, July and August when you were training? Who twisted your arm to get on the course that morning? We all received the emails that week, they did their job. Stop complaining and try it again next year or do one in Alaska. | |
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B. S. from Atlanta, GA
(10/8/2007)
"ING 0 for 2 - Atlanta & Chicago" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 I will never run another ING Marathon again... 0 for 2. Atlanta in the spring was a TOTAL disaster, and Chicago yesterday was a repeat. EACH time the forecasters PREDICTED this weather. I am more than IRATE with ING... I run with many Atlanta runners and EVERYONE has sworn off ING FOREVER. There is NO excuse!!!! | |
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Victoria Bentley from USA
(10/8/2007)
"HELL AND BACK" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Hot weather and no water do not mix!! They ran out of cups so we actually 'cupped' are hands while the sweet volunteers poured water in them. The neighbors were grand!! Everyone was handing out bottles and ice for us. THANK YOU!! Someone dropped the ball on this one. It doesn't set a good example for the 2016 Olympics as far as being organized. They stopped us from running. I want a refund! They still posted our slow times in the paper! WHY??? The after race party wasn't a party. $$$$$$$$$$$$$. Oh, the ticket in the race packet was to walk in the door! What a joke. | |
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B. I. from Chicago, IL
(10/8/2007)
"They Screwed Up" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 As a veteran of 40+ marathons, I think Chicago is the best marathon in the country. However, this year the organizers screwed up. Plain and simply. I would simply like them to admit and move on. I am more upset about the spin they are trying to put on it. And the runners are not without fault. Have they never run in 80+ temps before. You simply can not race. You need to slow down and possibly take walk breaks. And above all, you need to be aware of syptoms of overheating. There is a mass of literature on it. I would recommend this race for next year. Even if it is hot, they will be prepared. | |
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b. c. from Indiana
(10/8/2007)
"This was a no win situation for Pinkowski" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 We did all know it was going to be unbearable and yet we all showed up anyhow. I believe they (marathon staff) did try to adequately supply the aid stations; but there is no way to predict how much water was going to be consumed by the earlier runners. Volunteers were pouring water on people instead of saving it for runners in the back of the pack. I was in corral c and I was surprised when I saw them dumping water on people and I feared they would run out. I think the water was there just not distributed well. I agree an earlier start time would have been better but how do make a last minute change like that when you have 45,000 runners? The Chicago Marathon is one of the best run marathons in the world not just for the elite but also for the average runner and I am sure Carey Pinkowski and his staff will never forget or forgive themselves for the loss of life on their course. But contrary to popular belief, he does not have direct contact to God and he does not control the weather. Everyone was doing the best they could under the circumstances. | |
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J. B. from St Louis, MO
(10/8/2007)
"Pure Denial" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 4-5 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 This was my 5th marathon and my fiancee's first. He was going to be one and done to claim he was a marathoner. Too bad for him (and me too) we were not allowed to continue past the 17 mile marker. We stuck to our strategy and were saving ourselves for the last 13.1 miles, but they blocked our way. I get it...it was hot. But the problem was they didnt have enough water/gatorade and now they are too cowardly to admit it. It angers and frustrates me that the truth has yet to prevail. They were not prepared. Thank goodness for the amazing spectators. They were God sent. Unfortunatly my chicago marathon days are over. We are moving on to NYC and St Louis. | |
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V. B. from Chicago
(10/8/2007)
"Don't run this one in the heat!" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 2007 was my second year running it and they were ill-prepared to deal with the record-setting heat wave even though we knew all week it was going to be hot. If they had started it earlier than 8 am we'd have been in better shape. As a slower runner, I was faced with water stations with no water, no gatorade and I saw people filling up their water bottles with water from fountains. The spectators were fantastic, hosing people down, giving their water bottles up, doing whatever they could to help. They cancelled the race when I was at the 17 mile and told people they had to walk the rest of the race. I understand why they did it but feel they should just admit that they were ill-prepared rather than blaming it on the runners. Marathon officials still claim there was plenty of water. I was there first hand, there wasn't. I'd do it again, just not when it's hot! | |
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A. H. from Chicago, IL
(10/8/2007)
"2007 was War-Zone Horrible" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 2 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Last year's race, 2006 was fantastic. I rated it all 5's. Organized and in my opinion, flawless. I was proud to be from the area. This year's was like something out of a nightmare. 1/3 of all of the runners that made it to the starting line didn't finish. It was hot and humid, I'll give them that. But, it was doable with the proper and BASIC amenities. I ran in the 5:30 pace group. There was even a pace group behind us and a ton of people behind us still. There was no gatorade at the first rest stop. That wasn't great, but it was doable. The second stop had nothing. No water or gatorade. At the rest of the stops it was a fight to get water. Either there was no water to fill cups or no cups. I had gatorade once on 16 miles of the course because there was none to hand out. They started breaking down the tables because there was nothing to hand out. I read an article with a race official saying they didn't run out of anything. They are either not being truthful or they just don't know how bad it was. You don't break down tables if you have plenty of supplies. I couldn't have gotten through as far as I did without the spectators though. They provided ice and water to anyone they could give it to. There wasn't much cheering. Just people scrambling to get runners water. Some runners even stopped at local fast food restaurants and convenience stores to get gatorade because there was none. The medi tents were full. People were lying on the sides of the road. It was so bad, they ran out of ambulances to help everyone. They had to pull ambulances from suburbs. They cut the race short at mile 16 for me.On the way back, there were helicopters, ambulances all over the place. The hydrants were all opened. It was a mess. When we were herded at the finish, they gave us our medals but announced that the run was now going to be designated a 'fun run' instead of a marathon. That was irritating to no end. |
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