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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 101 to 111]
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J. R. from Boston, MA
(6/16/2004)
"COULD be a great race" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon and while it was ultimately a positive experience, I will never run this race again. Chicago is my hometown and so I wanted my first marathon to be there, but didn't want to wait for the big'un in the fall. I agree with all of the other comments on this site and have a few of my own to add: Since I grew up in Chicago, I'm very familiar with the city, but like others, had a difficult time finding the starting line and parking for the race. It would be nice if they would provide a map with each mile marker clearly noted so that it's easier to plan meeting spots along the course for family and friends of the runners. It would also be a great idea to note water stations and bathrooms on this map. I've run a lot of races with the New York Road Runners and various running clubs in Boston, where large outdoor garbage cans are filled with water from which the volunteers can dip cups into to stock the water stations, vs. using bottled water. It goes a lot faster and makes more sense. The fact that we RAN OUT OF WATER on the course is horrible and made the last 3.5 miles a lot worse than they had to be. The few volunteers were nice, but had no clue what they were doing. The course was beautiful, but vitually NO ONE in the city was aware that the race exists - how about a little more promotion in the city?! Again, my personal experience was ultimately good, but the race organization sucked and I won't be doing it again. | |
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B. P. from Alexandria, VA
(6/14/2004)
"Sport Photo" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 Addendum to prior comments: Since this was my first race, I wanted a memento. I ordered the 5x7 plaque from Sport Photo. It arrived promptly and looks great, but was missing my time!!! Okay, so I wasn't that fast but still! After the series of disappointments that made up Lakeshore, this was the sad and final one. But wait! I called and spoke to a kind man who apologized profusely, said it was due to a computer glitch they are working on and my new, completely re-done plaque will arrive shortly. How's THAT for customer service?! Lakeshore organizers: You can learn something here! | |
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B. P. from Alexandria VA after 5 days of diving in Cayman Is!
(6/11/2004)
"Was it really my first marathon?" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 My GPS says no (25.8 mi), so I guess Air Force in September will be my first TRUE marathon. I concur with all other comments regarding lack of overall organization, lack of restroom facilities, poor course markings, inadequate hydration supplies/stations. My injured/unable-to-run partner signed up for VoiceTrack and never received one call. He also saw bicyclists (whom we had seen in the Hyatt prior to the race start) CROSS the finish line while runners were coming through! He has run 4 marathons and didn't have the heart to tell me until after we were home that this one truly SUCKED and apologized profusely for picking it, especially since I ended up running it w/o him. On the positive side, the scenery was impressive and the cheering section was great. Maybe the fans were far and few between, but at least one seemed to be right where I needed 'em most! I am grateful to the volunteers too. They did the best with what they were (and were not) given. Like many others who have commented, we will not be back. | |
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M. H. from Western Springs, IL
(6/10/2004)
"Beautiful Course, Disappointing Organization" (about: 2004)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Positives: 1. Beautiful course that would never be possible with the number of runners in the Chicago Marathon. The bikes were irritating, but that's the price of being on the lakefront. About half the course was concrete, the rest asphalt and crushed stone giving a needed break from the pounding. Course is flat and I was to achieve a PR. Negatives: 1. No race info to find the start, where to park, etc. I live here and I had to follow the crowds to figure it out. 2. Spacing of water stations, no bathrooms. No water from mile 14 to almost mile 18 was bad enough, but no water in the last 3.5 miles was horrible. 3. Many mile markers missing, e.g. 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 22. Very bad. 4. Finish area poorly organized. 5. Food selection at finish was slim at best and not well stocked to boot. Summary: I will not do this marathon again, although I am glad to have experienced the lakefront. Don't bother with this one if you're coming from out of town. | |
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J. M. from Alexandria, VA
(6/9/2004)
"Very Poorly Organized and Staffed" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 1. While it may not be possible to completely close the entire course for the duration of the marathon, explicitly permitting or encouraging bicycles to share the course with runners is a serious safety problem. I observed runners nearly knocked over by bicyclists, associated with the marathon who entered and exited the race course through the start/finish line area. 2. The TalkTrak system did not work. I registered and never received a single call. 3. The course needed clearer markings at each mile and where the half/full marathon split. 4. The course need many more water stops (with cups) and porta-potties. 5. The illegal closing of Meigs Field by Mayor Daley constitutes a criminal act. Unless the field is reopened, as is required under the Federal Airway Improvement Act, I will only reluctantly return to Chicago to spend my travel dollars -- and discourage everyone I know to similarly avoid Chicago as a destination. A message you might share with the Mayor's staff when planning next year's event. | |
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D. V. from Chicago, IL
(6/9/2004)
"An embarassment to Chicago runners" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Lakeshore Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 From the poor course markings, to the uninformed volunteers, to the shameful lack of support, this race was an embarassment to all of us who call Chicago home. We have a great city with a beautiful path and a wonderful support network of running stores and training groups. For those of you who came into Chicago from other areas, I'm sorry that the mismanagement of this race has shed a negative light on all the great things about Chicago running (the scenic lakefront, the enthusiastic spectators, the beautifully maintained running path). This marathon was by far the worst I have ever run. I think the race director should be ashamed for taking our money and not giving us the basics (water, markers, timing, food) necessary for us be successful. Hopefully, as 2005 approaches this race will have new management. If not, I'm afraid it will cease to exist. | |
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B. S. from Milwaukee
(6/9/2004)
"Yep, it was really THAT bad!!!!!" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Looks like anything I was going to say has already been said several times except that in addition, I never received my promised long-sleeve technical shirt (register early and get this $35 value shirt!). The whole thing reminds me of the DC Marathon debacle of a couple of years ago. | |
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A. A. from Pittsburgh, PA
(6/8/2004)
"I wouldn't run this one again..." (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I was very disappointed in this marathon. For paying $70, you would expect them to uphold their end of the deal to provide water/sports drink at every 1.5 miles as stated on their webpage. At least 6 water stops that I ran by were out of water, one was out of cups, and several were behind at pouring/dispersing water so I had to wait. As someone with an engineering degree, it seems to me that it should be very simple math to calculate the amount of cups and water to provide each station with prior to the race, but apparently it wasn't that simple, because the quantities of fluid and cups were grossly underestimated. Sports drink was not available until mile 5-6ish, and I probably would have prefered Gatorade or Powerade to 'Amino Vital' (I have never heard of this drink until this race). I felt very run-down by the half marathon, probably a combination of the humidity and the shortage of fluids on the course! I did not see a single medical aid station on the course, and many of the water stations which had run out of water were abandoned - hello, what would have happened if someone had an emergency? I only saw 1 porta-potty on the course and most of the Chicago Park bathrooms I tried were locked. Being my first trip to Chicago, I wasn't about to venture from the course to look for bathrooms or water fountains. The race course was not closed to pedestrians; I had to dodge cyclists, people with dogs, roller bladers, and people with baby carriages at one point or another during the race which only added to my frustration. The finish line was very disappointing too; the only foods I could find were watermelon, fake beef jerky, and yogurt smoothies. There were very few spectators on the course, but at least they were pretty upbeat and cheered all the runners on. The only redeeming things about this race was the very flat course and the scenery. However, these weren't enough to make up for the disorganization everywhere else, and I feel that paying $70 for this event was a rip-off. If you want to run a well-organized spring marathon, try the Pittsburgh Marathon (should be returning may 2005 after a 1-year hiatus due to the city budget crisis). As for the Lakeshore Marathon, I would not run it again and would not recommend it to others looking to run a marathon. | |
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j. f. from Rogers, MN
(6/7/2004)
"Beautiful course with bad organization" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 Overall I was disappointed in this marathon. The organization seemed to be lacking in many areas. I had figured after two years they would have had the kinks worked out of the race. It might be unfair of me to be comparing this to my other marathon experiences which were Grandma?s Marathon and the Twin Cities Marathon. I will start with what I thought were positives for this marathon. The course was absolutely beautiful and not being from Chicago I was able to see parts of Chicago which I would have never seen while just visiting. Also, all the volunteers were great! There were very few spectators, but the ones which were out were great. Now to the reasons I thought the organization was lacking. There was no information sheet in the runner?s packet telling the runners where to be for the start, how to get there, what time the race started and other useful information (i.e. how the runners bag-drop worked). The locations of some of the water stops really puzzled me. There was one around 1 1/2 miles in to the race, but the last water stop was 3 1/2 miles before the finish. One of the water stations was not even set up and another one ran out of glasses. I found only two bathrooms in the first half of the marathon and one of them was locked. There were hardly any mile markers for the last half of the race. The organization at the finish line area was awful. When I crossed the finish line it seemed like people were everywhere. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the way the area was set up. I did not see any signs set up pointing to where the food and water since it was a good distance away up a hill. I did not see anyone collecting timing chips. In order to get your medal and blanket you had to walk through the people who were gathered there getting their picture taken with their finisher medals and there family/supporters. I thought the food at the end of the race was pretty slim. From what I remember there was meatless jerky, apples, cookies and watermelon. I guess I was just expecting a little more for my $75 entry fee. | |
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L. C. from Illinois
(6/6/2004)
"Course marking was abysmal" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 This was my first marathon, but I have no idea if I indeed ran a marathon distance. The course markings were awful after about mile 6. My pace was consistent throughout, but there were several mile markers missing, and one that was clearly short by about 1/4 mile or so. Then, somehow, mile 17 disappeared. After mile 18, I was on pace if you omitted a mile, but otherwise I had several very fast miles. The course was likely off by between 1/2 mile to 1 mile for me. That stinks, given the training I put in. I think ther should be less hype, and more attention to what matters: 1. Get the course marked, measured, and properly staffed. 2. Get enough hydration supplies. 3. Put maps and start info in the race packet. The race failed in these three critical areas. |
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