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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 531 to 541]
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W. R. from Shreveport, LA
(10/25/2006)
"almost perfect marathon" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I'd heard a lot of positive comments from friends who participated in 2005, so I signed up this year. Although the weather conditions could have been a little better, the whole marathon experience was fantastic. Interesting flat course winding through the city's neighborhoods, great organization, and an incredible number of enthusiastic spectators. Hope to come back and run this one again someday. | |
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S. T. from Atlanta, GA
(10/25/2006)
"Everything was great, except the weather." (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I am so impressed with the crowd in Chicago. The course is great... flat, fun and festive. I did not run well because my IT band tightened up in the cold weather early in the race. Now that Chicago will be earlier next year (October 3rd), I want to run it again. | |
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M. R. from Washington, DC
(10/25/2006)
"As good as it gets" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Doesn't get any better than the Chicago marathon. The course and fans are so great that I never turned on my i-pod and the first 15 miles flew by because I was constantly amazed at the scenery and crowd support. The best part is you get to visit Chicago, my favorite big city! | |
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R. M. from Southeast Michigan
(10/25/2006)
"WOW...What a RACE!!!" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Well, Chicago lived up to its name 'The Windy City'! It was COLD and Windy! PERFECT!!!! Race Spectators - All of you deserve a huge round of applause! Spectators lined the course and helped everyone stay motivated!!! The Expo was Amazing! Could have used a map to who was where...very large expo and lots of goodies to be bought! Course was FAST...I set a new PR here by just over 9 minutes!!!!!!!! As cold as it was I still PR'd! Although, the start until about mile 2 was a VERY SLOW heard of cattle, it did open up and paces picked up. The only downside to the course was the water stations. There was plenty of them and plenty of volunteers manning them...Volunteers could have stayed further back and let the runners come to you! Runners...learn some ettiquitte...when slowing down and/or stopping to get water...GET OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD FIRST!!! With this many runners, your gonna get run over and trampled!!!! Overall, GREAT race (Spectators get a 10+), Course was fast and as we all seen a bit slippery at the end! Fabulous experience at a Major Race for me!!!!!! | |
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D. J. from North Carolina, USA
(10/25/2006)
"You cannot go wrong here." (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 It's obvious from all the positive comments that this is a fantastic marathon. The course is flat, wide, fast, and takes you through a lot of different neighborhoods. The crowds are great. The organization is essentially flawless. Even the chilly weather didn't detract from the experience. I was particularly impressed with the way the pacing groups held together. The leaders ran impeccable splits and it was easy to identify the members of the group. I improved my previous PR by over 7 minutes, and a lot of that was due to the pacing group. | |
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A. D. from Columbus, Ohio
(10/25/2006)
"Nice course - crowded start area" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The course is flat, smooth, scenic,and fast. The start / staging area is very chaotic. Allow at least an hour to check your bag at the gear tent and get into your starting corral. The corral entrances need to be marked better. People were climbing fences just to get into their assigned starting areas. This is a good race and fairly well organized, but expect big crowds everywhere, from the expo, to the start, to the port-a-johns, to the course itself, to the finish area. Always allow yourself plenty of time and you'll be ok. This was my 29th marathon, my 3rd Chicago. I think it will be my last Chicago for awhile as I prefer the smaller races without the hassles of the large crowds. | |
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j. W. from Olathe, Kansas
(10/24/2006)
"Chicago a must do, super energized crowd and fast" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My second marathon, last one four years ago in Wichita. Chicago was packed, people in front, right behind and on both sides every step of the way. It was flat as a pancake. I was paced by Brian in the 4:30 group. Although I did not signup with the pace group I decided to follow them. Brian did a fantasic group of keeping our group paced exactly to finsh on time while holding a sign up for the entire 26.2 miles, hats off to you. The race runs by Wigleyville, Old Town, Little Italy, Pilsen, and China town. The crowds and communties were A+++ #1. People were screaming, ringing cow bells, cymbals, drums, etc. I ran it two days ago and am super charged. I was thinking about Chicago as my last marathon due to the long and difficult training, but it was well worth it and I am planning for the next one. | |
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T. N. from Kansas City, MO
(10/24/2006)
"Great course, and a great first race." (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a great first race for me, and would be great for any other first-timer. The course is flat, scenic, and packed with spectators. I would encourage anyone even thinking about trying a marathon to give this one a shot. Everything else will seem anticlimactic. | |
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j. p. from boston, ma
(10/24/2006)
"Great, just one complaint...." (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I wish there had been more barriers to keep the spectators on the sidewalks! In smaller races it is not a problem if spectators are in the road but with so many runners in Chicago, it narrowed the course too much! I found it hard to keep a constant pace- either I was behind a slower runner with no way around them, or I was bumping shoulders with the spectators! Don't get me wrong, the spectators were AWESOME but I think simply getting barriers might help make the course less congested. | |
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C. L. from Chicago, Illinois
(10/24/2006)
"adding to the chorus..." (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Awesome spectator support. The crowd in the last 6-7 miles, especially, is the best - people really pull for you. |
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