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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 11 to 21]
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n. s. from FL
(10/15/2018)
 "Wonderful City Marathon!!" (about: 2018)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I had never been to Chicago until doing the 2018 marathon. Great event, phenomenal spectator support, and fantastic organization. Reason I gave the latter 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the way runners are corralled. I was in the last corral of the 1st wave but was passing extremely slow runners (getting around them) nearly the entire time. My other friends participating said the same. Guess people aren't placed by marathon pace? I don't know why this was the case. Great city, art, museums, architecture, FOOD. The course is definitely flat and fast, easy on the body and easy to recover from. It's all good. | |
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D. S. from Chicago
(10/11/2018)
"Please fix two issues" (about: 2018)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This is a great race - my ninth Chicago in a row. That said two issues - in order of importance. 1) Start Corral assignments. I am an accomplished runner and have been in B or C. This year I was in E and had to spend a lot of energy dodging slower beginning runners that were assigned corrals in front of me (not one or two but many!). I started paying attention to the bibs of those that I was passing and it looked like organizers were putting tour groups in D and even C. This is a serious issue at it negatively affected my race. 2) get more space for the expo - it was horrible this year. | |
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L. H. from Chicago
(10/8/2018)
 "Too Much Hassle" (about: 2018)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I have run Chicago 15 out of the last 17 years. I doubt that I will ever run it again. The hassle of getting to and from the expo, to and from the starting line and 'running' has just become too much. Many very slow participants are put in the first and second waves. Many of these participants end up walking 2 and 3 abreast while texting and taking selfies. I started catching up to the slow end of the second wave just 3 miles into the race. I started catching up to the slow end of the first wave 10 miles into the race. It makes it very unpleasant for those of us in the third wave who are trying to actually run. Unlike most marathons the degree of congestion just gets worse and worse as the race progresses. There are many, fine, hassle-free alternatives in the area (Fox Valley and Milwaukee come to mind). The only reason to 'run' Chicago is if you want to be part of a mega-event and are willing to put up with all the hassle. | |
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J. S. from North Carolina
(4/30/2018)
 "Makes me happy just thinking about it" (about: 2016)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I love love love the Chicago crowds and this course. Even though the course is flat, every mile feels like a different race because of the variety of neighborhoods you run through. Even the back end where the landscape becomes more industrial is a nice change because the crowds thin out and you spend more time with your thoughts. But then the final stretch kicks in the crowds push you through to the end. The organization and race support are top notch, and there's nothing better than that beer in your hand when you cross the finish line. | |
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T. F. from CA
(1/17/2018)
"flat course has good/bad elements" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Used to running in hilly environments, so this course was different. Overall, it's very good and fast, but it threw me off a bit because I'm used to a varied terrain. It seemed like my body kept expecting a change up or down in elevation and it really never happened. | |
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b. n. from Chicago, IL
(10/16/2017)
"Consistently good" (about: 2017)
6-10 previous marathons
| 6+ Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I'm not a real runner by any means...but I've done 8 marathons (7 of them in Chicago) and really do it just to finish. This event in Chicago is pretty much an all day party - the city is full of entertainment, great neighborhoods...and friendly for all of those participants who just want to finish! Flat, fast, and entertaining fun! Just wish it was later in the year...October is just getting warmer and doing 26.2 in upper 70s is brutal... | |
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R. B. from TN
(10/16/2017)
"Great race...but too hot" (about: 2017)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I had a good time, even though my time was the worst of the nine marathons that I have run to date. I have read the previous comments, and I am surprised to see how little was mentioned of the heat of the race. The marquee time\temperature sign at the LaSalle Bank read 85 degrees at mile 22. The race volunteers were great, and gave me a lot of water to drink. Some spectators sprayed people with garden hoses, which was great. | |
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A. A. from Alberta
(10/13/2017)
"Nightmare security" (about: 2017)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my third Chicago marathon and the third time it was too warm for me to run fast. I stayed in a hotel 4 blocks away and thought I left the hotel early enough to stand in line for the port-a-potties before the race, but ended up spending 30 minutes in the security line before sprinting to my corral and then having to stop to use the toilet mid-race. In spite of these two downfalls, the organization of a race of this magnitude is still unparalleled. I really enjoyed the ease of getting through the expo (compared to Boston) and the course *could* be very fast, especially compared to Boston and NYC. It's still my favourite of the majors that I've done so far, but due to my bad luck with the weather, I won't be back. | |
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L. B. from Philadelphia, PA
(10/11/2017)
"Heater in CHI town" (about: 2017)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've been to Chicago and seen the marathon in the past, but never ran it, but after doing NYC and boston, it was still on my list. I was hoping for a good time, as my training was in the hot Philly summer and I thought that the cool weather would give me a boost. Unfortunately, there was only a slight chill when I was in the start coral, only wearing a t-shirt. The inevitable heat took over mid race, and people were pulling off the course starting at the halfway point. The crowds and cheers were great, water/refreshment stations abundant (including spectators in-between official marathon stops!), and it was very flat. I BQ'd/neg split but saw a lot of suffering by those runners that weren't acclimated to hot running. Also, as in past years' comments, My garmin said I ran 26.75 miles, consistent also w/ friends' results who ran w/ me. Lot of turns!! | |
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S. B. from Waco, Texas
(10/10/2017)
"An Amazing Race" (about: 2017)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Chicago Marathon is everything I love about running and should be at the top of everyone's running bucket list. The expo was amazing, the best I have ever attended. I have enjoyed every expo I have attended, I really enjoy spending time and talking to the attendees as well as the vendors. Chicago was amazing, and not just because of the number of people involved. The layout was done in such a way that there was plenty of room to move around in spite of all of the people wandering about. There were also a lot of interactive areas at the expo, from places to leave messages to other runners to a place to sit and watch the course video being played on a continuous loop. Goose Island had free beer and it seemed like every major gear maker had Chicago branded shirts for sale, definitely plenty of opportunities to be separated from your money. I stayed at the Chicago Hilton which was right across the street from the course start and finish in Grant Park. There were plenty of restaurants around the hotel to choose from and the hotel had an excellent pasta buffet the night before the race. Getting to my corral was as simple as walking across the street and through a metal detector. I was honestly surprised the security wasn't tighter given the shooting in Las Vegas having just taken place. My only complaint about the start area is the potties were not accessible once the corrals started to fill up, there was no way to fight back through the crowds to get to the potty area if you needed to go in the last hour before the start. The course itself was magnificent. As reported by many before, the tunnel and surrounding buildings prevented most GPS watches from functioning correctly. My watch had me 2 miles further than I was on the course and showed me finishing with over 28 miles on the day so I guess I got an unofficial ultra! But, the course was so well marked I was never unaware of my position. Of course, the thousands and thousands of spectators that lined the entire route made for all the distractions I needed. The course itself was virtually flat with the most impressive climb coming at mile 26 before turning to the finish line. I am still amazed at how many people lined the course, cheering all of us runners on our way. There were plenty of landmarks to see on the way and there were no boring parts of the route. I was disappointed in not being able to see much of Wrigley Field, but the city of Chicago was definitely the star of this race. As the day turned to noon, the heat came up into the upper 70's and many of us were hit by cramping in the last few miles. The sudden elevation change at mile 26 had me nursing both hamstrings cramping and my left calf trying to seize up. Of course, this is an indication of poor fueling on my part and not the fault of anything or anyone involved in the race. I loved the passion and dedication of the people involved in putting on this event. I watched crowds of volunteers meeting in the park the day before, getting prepared for the race and setting up tents and tables. And then all of the people who came out all along the course to cheer on the runners was an even more amazing thing to see and be a part of. The Chicago Marathon should absolutely be a part of everyone's race wish list, I look forward to running it again one day. |
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