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☰
Illinois Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Illinois Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 4.5 
Spectators 4.5
Number of comments: 168 [displaying comments 121 to 131]
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Gary S. from Mukwonago, WI
(4/15/2009)
 "Great for first-timers." (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Illinois Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This race was very well organized and the volunteers were very nice and attentive. It was very COOL to finish in the stadium and being on the JumboTron screen. I gave spectators a 3 for low attendance; the ones that did show were supportive. | |
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J. L. from Iowa, USA
(4/15/2009)
"First-time marathoner" (about: 2009)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon, and I loved the course. It was a nice, flat route. I enjoyed all of the supporters too. I suggest that the port-a-potties be turned to the outside of the start line next year because they made it really crowded at the start line. The food and bag-check should be moved to an area where you don't have to climb stairs after running 26.2 miles. Other than that, it was GREAT, and I will be there next year to run this one again! | |
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Matthew Gordillo from Portales, NM
(4/15/2009)
 "Great BQ Marathon" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Illinois Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 It was a flat, fast course, with lots of room to run. The community support was amazing! They had great parking, and the food after was a full pasta meal - not just snacks. The stadium finish was cool, and great on the legs. Meeting with Bart Yasso and Dick Beardsley was the best part. They both signed books and posed for photos, and Bart had some great stories. | |
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C. P. from Indiana, USA
(4/15/2009)
"Overall a great event." (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Illinois Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I would recommend this marathon. The event was very well organized, starting from the packet pick up and expo, which was great. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. The hotel I stayed at (Super 8), which did not have good reviews, turned out to be great; the staff was helpful and supplied maps and directions, which was great. The race start was great, and the course was very good - really well marked and policed well. The spectators where fantastic. I have to make note here that I had a hip flexor problem and a spectator gave me some Advil and another pointed me in the direction of an aid station where I got water and an ice pack. A big thank you to those people. Unfortunately I do have a complaint and hopefully enough people will comment on this. After running 26 odd miles to get to the end, having no instant carbs was awful. Also, climbing over the wall and up the stairs was cruel, and it didn't help that it was chaos upstairs, with lines and people everywhere and no one knowing which line was which. About 20 minutes later, I found myself standing in a line to get something to eat and drink, when I really just wanted a blanket and Gatorade. I was so cold that I was shaking. This is the first race where we had to go looking for food, drink, etc. I am looking forward to running this again but I will have my husband standing at the finish line with a blanket and Gatorade. | |
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Eric Buckley from St. Louis
(4/14/2009)
"Outstanding first go." (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Illinois Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran this one because it was my wife's home town. I didn't expect much, being that this was the first edition, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Everything that mattered was done right. Definitely a PR course (although I didn't get one), but the surface did take its toll (about 24 miles is on concrete). Finishing by going into through the tunnel into the stadium was great - especially since you were looking right at yourself on the JumboTron as you finished. It really felt like a big deal. It was particularly fun to be finishing in 3:09 because Bart Yasso was yelling at everybody over the PA system that they needed to hustle in to qualify for Boston at 3:10. A few nits: Full, 20-ounce water bottles at water stops? That's a bit nutty. It wasn't at all clear where you were supposed to go after you finished - I ended up walking back out through the tunnel and missed the whole post-race thing. Results were not posted anywhere near the finish (or, if they were, none of the volunteers knew where they were). They were up very quickly on the web. The fact that those are my only complaints shows how well the organizers pulled this one off. | |
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S. K. from Iowa
(4/14/2009)
 "Nice Race Overall, But Some Disappointments" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I ran the half-marathon. The race and the course were great. The finisher's medal was great. Spectators and volunteers were plentiful, and the race itself was one I would do again. That is, if I end up getting my race shirt mailed to me. By the time I got to the packet pick up, all small and medium race shirts were gone! Not sure how you can run out of shirts when everyone must specify their shirt size on their registration. But, there were pages and pages of names of people who did not get a race shirt because they ran out of them. So, we signed up on the sheets to have a shirt mailed to us. Guess we'll see if that happens. Race morning, the port-o-johns were lined up behind the starting line, and there seemed to be quite a lot of them. But, the doors were facing into the street where everyone was lined up and waiting to start the race, so it was quite confusing and difficult to get the opportunity to use one of them before the start. Perhaps next year, turn them around, so that the lines for using them will be on the outside of the course, rather than in the midst of the starting crowd. And, the water bottles were just a bit too much and seemed wasteful - as most people only took one or two swallows and then threw the rest of the bottle down on the ground. | |
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j. f. from central Illinois
(4/14/2009)
"Great job by all involved" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Illinois Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 A fantastic race; it's great to finally have an event like this in central Illinois. Volunteers really stepped up. This is a good-sized event, but very "low-hassle"" with regard to parking, packet pick-up, etc. I'm looking forward to next year. | |
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K. V. from Midwest
(4/14/2009)
"Good choice for a flat marathon" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Illinois Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Overall, this was a good race. The course was flat, as promised, and spectators were plentiful despite the course running mainly in neighborhoods/parks. A few items to consider for future installments: Porta-potties at the start... why have the line for the restroom interfere with those already in the start corrals? Move the location or face the porta-potty doors outward. Aid stations - plentiful but seemed very wasteful with full bottled water. Maybe ok for the 5K, but not the half or full. They need Gatorade at the finish line. I had a tough time figuring out where to go for post-race Gatorade and refreshments. Finally, I realized we had to go upstairs to get to it, but it was very crowded and I never got any Gatorade. | |
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A. B. from Wheaton, Illinois
(4/14/2009)
 "Nice race, but crowded" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Illinois Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Positives: the course was very well marked, with clear signs at each turn; course is mostly flat, but a few minor uphills at about 20-23 miles; the volunteers were awesome - lots of them, very friendly and helpful; the finish at the 50 yard-line was really fantastic. Negatives: the streets are narrow, so it was elbow-to-elbow running for the first 6 miles, and it got worse on the very narrow park sidewalk at about mile 4.5; according to local media, there will be 15,000+ runners next year, so be warned if you do not like crowded races - the course will be packed tightly next year; at the finish, post-race food and toilets were all the way up the stadium stairs - quite a challenge after running 26.2, so my dad had to help me up the stairs. Disclaimer: this was my first full marathon. I have run 3 half-marathons as well. | |
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Randy Meyle from oswego, il
(4/14/2009)
"A great first-time marathon" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Illinois Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I would highly recommend this race to anyone. Great crowd support and great course. Since I am an alumnus, it was like going down memory lane. The large water bottles were unnecessary and caused havoc trying to avoid stepping on them. I thought climbing stairs to exit the stadium was cruel too, since I could hardly walk at the end. |
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