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May 7, 2024

Lakeshore Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Lakeshore Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.5

Organization 1.8

Spectators 2.7

Number of comments: 209 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 21 > ]

H. K. from St. Charles, IL (6/2/2005) "Missed preferred status at real Chicago Marathon" (about: 2005) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Lakeshore Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I can't believe I keep coming back for this race. What is wrong with me???? No flipping water stations or mile markers for 4-5 miles. Thanks for the extra 1+ miles. I have now burned my legs out on this craphole of a race for nothing. I wanted and would have received a preferred start (and a PR) for the real CHICAGO Marathon but you dingbats added a mile. FIX IT!!!!! ADJUST OUR TIMES!! I guess I can only blame myself for believing you could iron out the problems from last year. On a positive note: The scenary was great, the other runners and bikers on the path were really supportive and encouraging, and the orange and banana at the end were good.
J. W. from Arlington Heights (6/2/2005) "Half Marathon Didn't Mean Half the Problems..." (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Lakeshore Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I used to run the marathon. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. But after repeated disappointment, I dropped down to the half. Why? Because I love running in Chicago, trees given out in honor of Earth Day and of course the medal. I thought the half would be half the problems - NO! Here are my problems with this race: 1. Distance not measured accurately. 2. Poor mile markers. 3. Not enough aid stations (WHAT happened between mile 6 and mile 11??? I almost dehydrated - come on!) 4. Amino fuel for full-marathoners and water for the half marathoners - what kind of volunteers tell you that? 5. No clear marking of the finish (until right there). 6. Had to cross an intersection at my own risk. (Thank God I caught the light!) 7. At the end I had to hunt down my medal - the guy handing them out was aloof! All this makes it a difficult decision to sign up for due to the fact that the entrance fee is so high - higher than a more established and more enjoyable marathons. My suggestion? Continue to make this marathon event better (110% better) and give all the past participants a discount (more than $5) or waive the fee all together. Why? Because we are the ones that can make or break this event. Good luck. P.S. LOVED the Navy Pier addition!!
C. R. from Chicago, IL (6/2/2005) "Half-Marathon Distance?" (about: 2005) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Lakeshore Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The race has formally stated that the full marathon was a mile long. I wish the exact distance of the half would be provided as well. Anyhow, hopefully next year will be the turn-around year for this race.
Brett Toppen from Michigan (6/2/2005) "Hey, runner! No, this way..." (about: 2005) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Lakeshore Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I would just like to know how far I actually ran. This is my 3rd Lakeshore Marathon, 6th total marathon, and I was not happy with mile markers, course markers, and how I managed to add 20 minutes to my average 26.2 mile race. Let's just make it an ultra next year, eh? Why beat around the Gatorade tank! Still, it was a day better spent running than cleaning the underside of the lawn mower. A bad day running a marathon is better than the best day at work. I would be willing to shell out a few more bucks to have some more chow at the finish. The Hyatt looked a really long ways away to walk back to...
S. K. from New York, NY (6/2/2005) "Where are the 2005 results?" (about: 2005) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Lakeshore Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I ran the half this year and would like to know my results - does anyone know where and when it'll be posted? In addition, my complaints are exactly the same as the previous ones. What happened to the water?! What happened to mile markers? What happened to ORGANIZATION?!!
Kathleen D. from Columbus, OH (6/2/2005) "ENOUGH already!" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Lakeshore Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 OK, so we ran too far on a beautiful day in the company of other people also trying to get a little exercise. Does anybody remember it was MEMORIAL DAY? At least we weren't in IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, LEBANON or any other WAR ZONE. Give the complaining a rest and be thankful you were able to run at all. Try reading a newspaper to see how many people died while we were 'suffering' so badly on Monday. It was a running event - not the end of the world. Get over it.
J. B. from Indianapolis, Indiana (6/2/2005) "Where were the improvements that were promised????" (about: 2005) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Disappointing. Improvements were promised from the previous year?s fiasco but were not fulfilled. While there were enough liquids at the water stops, they were still infrequent and sporadically placed. And the course still was not marked adequately (or accurately!!!) with mile markers. In fact, I swear this course was LONGER than 26.2! No, I didn?t just hit ?the wall.? Others with GPS on them agreed and cursed all the way to the finish. Especially since mile marker 24 was way longer than 2.2 miles from the end. Getting the measured distance correct is fundamental to organizing a race!!! Thank goodness I was not attempting to qualify for Boston this go-around, or anything. Shame on the race organizers once again. As enchanting as the idea of running along the lakeshore was, I came away very disappointed that I had wasted my time on this race.
Igor Soyfer from Saint Louis, MO, USA (6/2/2005) "'Lost on the lakeshore' marathon" (about: 2005) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Lakeshore Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The course path itself was beautiful. I can?t tell the same about the way the whole event was organized. The distance was in fact 26.2 miles based on the Garmin Forerunner 201 I was carrying on me. At mile marker 21 it was showing 20, so I thought I was running 1 mile less. Since there were quite a few places with no signs or people to show where to go I thought I skipped 1 mile somehow. At the last water station I was informed that only 3/4-mile was left. In fact it was more like two miles from that point, which made up this lost mile. I had to ask police officer if I was running the right path when there was about 1 mile left since there were no signs or people to direct me. Bikers were unhappy with me on their way when I was almost at the finish line. They had no idea what was going on! The marathon website has no links to results; you have to go to MarathonGuide.Com to look them up. Based on a shrinking number of runners this year, this event is not going to survive. Such a pity!
L. P. from Roswell, GA (6/2/2005) "Thank you for the apology " (about: 2005) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Lakeshore Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Thank you for your apology.
K. H. from Indiana (6/2/2005) "Great idea, poor execution" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Lakeshore Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I've read everyone else's comments - and they're sad, but absolutely true. I've now run 15 marathons and this is the most beautiful course I've ever done (sorry 'bout that Grandma's!). Course mileage was off, markings were bad (several double markings...leftovers from previous years?), 'expo' was terrible (7 or 8 vendors, no race info packet available), not enough water stops, and so on. I guess I should've anticipated this from the lack of available info/updates on the official website.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 21 > ]

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