I had an awesome time in Chicago this past year. I am sad due to injury that I won't be able to return in 2010.

I want to say that this was my first major marathon, and from now on, I really see Chicago being my fall race.

Organization is top-notch. The course is super flat. Hotels are easy to get. Lastly, the start and finish are easy to get to.

I do want to address something that one of the posters said about the pacers. I too was with 3:10 group. I started in the B corral. The pacers were dead on with pacing within 800 meters from the start. I cannot comment on the other pacers, and there were two 3:10 groups, but the one I was with did a fine job.

In closing, I can't wait to return.

This was my first marathon and so far my favorite.
*The course is entirely flat. It winds through all of the different neighborhoods of Chicago, so there is always something to look at.
*There is a great crowd along the entire route with music and cheering - I didn't even need my iPod. Be sure to read all of the signs because there are some hilarious ones.
*The starting corrals were very crowded and hectic. Be sure to get there very early to fight the crowds and get in the right corral. There were also long lines for the port-a-johns, so be sure to get there early and get in line for them right away.
*When it is cold or chilly, everyone strips off their warm-up clothes before the start and leaves the clothing in the corrals. Just watch your step for bulky sweatshirts. After the runners clear through, these clothes are snatched up by the homeless.
*The first few miles were crowded with runners, but everyone spaced out soon enough. Great support from runners along the way.
*The water and food stations were great, and there were plenty of port-a-johns along the route.
*The post-race food and atmosphere were great.
*I can't wait to run this marathon again. It's a great opportunity to qualify for Boston!

Overall, this was a very organized race through one of the most picturesque cities in the country. The fan support was very solid and I'd undoubtedly do it again.

I'm wondering if I ran the same race as everyone else.

Lots of people mentioned the crowd support. What crowd support? I thought maybe I was zoning out and just don't remember. But then I looked back at all of the pictures from my race and saw very few spectators. Contrast this with Boston and NYC where there were tons of spectators. It was seriously like a ghost town in Chicago.

Also, I don't think the weather should ever factor into the rating of a race. The only reason I mention the weather is because it makes me feel like I did run in a different race. Several people mentioned that the weather was fine, which I completely disagree with. I was FREEZING the entire time - it never warmed up.

I definitely enjoyed the course, but I feel that is the only real reason this marathon is considered so great. I just wasn't impressed. I guess I just expected more from a marathon major. They barely announced the elites before the start. The expo was nothing compared to Boston. I thought this was a good race, but far from spectacular.

This was my second marathon and a very different experience from my first. I ran KC in 2008, and the crowd was only about 8,000 (2,000 marathoners) compared to 35,000 in Chicago. The spectators were unlike anything I have ever seen. If I could have them in every city, I would be thrilled. The compromise there is that it was very difficult to find my friends and family. They had to work hard to get to the front to see me. My biggest frustration was at the start. Because of the crowd on Columbus, I could not get to my pace group to start the race, and therefore I had to spend the entire 26.2 miles running around people who were slower than me. I was trying to finish under 4 hours and finished at 4:05:01. That was frustrating, as I believe dodging all the people (and getting knocked over at mile three in the crowd) contributed to that. If I do it again, I will either run a half or a full under 4 hours to get into a start corral. Otherwise, for the organization, the course and the great Chicagoans who cheered... I give it an A+.

It was an unusual year. Hot as hell. The organization was in full panic mode. The course is too flat for my taste, but Chicago is a wonderful city. This is the prototypical, big, urban marathon.

I waited more than four years trying to train and to do my first 26.2 marathon and finally I decided to run Chicago. I made the perfect choice because of the great city, the constantly cheering fans, the organization , and because of the other runners (I was never running alone). Just two things were difficult: First, it was too cold for me, starting in the 30's. (In Puerto Rico, I was training in the 80's.) I never got warm... but I ran a great time, and I found everything that I needed at the expo. Second, you need to have an strategic plan for your family and friends, so they can see you during the race, because there are so many, many people, that it can be difficult. My family never got to see me.

My goal was to finish in four hours, and I did it in 3:42. This was the best gift for my first marathon!!! Great race!!

The start was too crowded, but once you got into the early miles, it opened up. Fast course. Only downside was after the finish: the crowds would not let runners back to the hotels. There needs to be an exit for the runners to recover with safe access back to the hotels.

Really a great race with awesome organization. The day was very cold but I can only say thanks for the wonderful course (extremely flat). Chicago is a great city, elegant, European-tyle. I enjoyed seeing the list of all the runners in Niketown. Well done, Chicago. And thanks for my PR. (4:03.21) A must-do course....

I am from Boston and I've run the Boston Marathon twice. Boston is known as "the" marathon. I will refrain from ever saying this out loud with my Boston running buddies, but Chicago takes the cake, in comparison to Boston! Despite the very chilly start that I wasn't prepared for (this, of course, was just pure bad luck!), I loved everything about the race from the expo to the organization race morning and post-race. Excellent job, Chicago!