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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 141 to 151]
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y. w. from Dearborn, Michigan
(6/1/2004)
"Very scenic but poorly organized and expensive" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Course gets 6 stars for scenery but dinged down to 3 for being too tight, wet, open to bikers, bladers, and other runners. Not flat. Uneven surfaces ranging from pavement to packed gravel to mud, grass, and dirt. Can't help the rain from the night before, but they only had a single volunteer trying to guide people through a flooded field at one point. Everyone seems to have gotten their shoes soaked. Squish squish. Organization gets 0 stars but I couldn't go lower than 1. Expo was weak. Map has no mile markers so forget having friends try to figure when you will be where. Volunteers clueless, sent me the wrong way around Mile 21 and yelled for me to come back when he realized I was doing the full marathon. Numerous mile markers missing. The finish line was a confusing mess. Not enough volunteers to help with chips, the refreshments were 100 yards away, up a set of stairs, and not obvious to those at the finish line. It was open to everybody so homeless people were scamming bags of food. I only hope there was enough for the later finishers. Where were the tree seedlings were were supposed to get? The most frustrating part was arriving early only to wait 20 minutes in line to park because they only had two booths open. $14 for parking, lucky I had enough cash with me. Add another $75 for the race and it's a pricey event with nothing to justify it. Pluses: Multiple timing mats, aid stations well staffed, good finish line spread, decent medal and race shirt is wicking material. Overall, a soggy, entertaining, frustrating and expensive race that I don't recommend and don't plan to do again. Better to do the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in the fall. | |
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P. b. from Chicago
(6/1/2004)
"Can't get the basics right" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Lakeshore Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I ran this race two years ago, and I wrote off organizational problems as acceptable for a first year marathon. In 2004, year 3, they were worse. This is a race that seems to want to be big-time, with bells and whistles such as VoiceTrak and wave starts, but that can't pay attention to the necessary details like marking and marshalling a course. At ten miles, I saw runners already misdirected. While I didn't have trouble until the halfway mark, from 13-17 the course was not at all marked, and only spottily attended by course marshalls. The race leader at the halfway point was even misdirected by the lead cyclist, cutting perhaps two miles off his run unless he later backtracked. Four-way intersections were met with runners not knowing which way to go. By the time I made it back on course at mile 17, I had no idea whether I had run the course properly or not. Rather than take the chance that my run was short (or long), I pulled over at approximately mile 19 and decided to save myself for another race in the near future. For the steep price of entry, runners deserved a lot better attention to basic race details. Messing up the course markings and marshalling in a short race begets grumbling, but you can always race another the next weekend. Marathons require too much preparation, and cause too much body damage to lace 'em up again the next weekend. If you are choosing a marathon, I would advise choosing one with a better record for organization. | |
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D. H. from Chicago
(6/1/2004)
"Half Marathon Course Problems" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The half-marathon course was vaguely marked and incorrectly guided. We were waved down the wrong path after the halfway point. Once we realized we were on the full-marathon course there appeared to be a free for all back to the finish. The miles were not marked clearly for the half, and the course map located at lakeshoremarathon.com did not resemble the actual course, regardless of the issues I experienced. This miscommunication of the course led to a disappointingly inaccurate race time and race measurement. I will not return to run this half- or full-marathon in the future. | |
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L. D. from Ohio
(6/1/2004)
"Great Views, Poor Organization" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 Probably the most scenic race I've ever run, with jaw-dropping views for nearly the entire course. Now to the organization. ZERO port-a-johns on the marathon course! You did pass many beach buildings, but as an out-of-towner, I didn't know if there were open bathrooms in them or not (there were no signs). There was a water stop without water, a water stop without cups, and a water stop that wasn't manned... and I finished in 4 hours. I can't imagine what things were like later in the day. The 1/2 marathon turn-off was not marked, which led to confusion for many runners (whom you saw backtracking after the turnoff). The 'wave' starts were outstanding though, and you were able to run relatively traffic-free right from the start. If you plan on running this race, I would suggest bringing your own water bottle and toilet paper. | |
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S. H. from Chicago
(6/1/2004)
"Problems" (about: 2004)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I, too, ran the half-marathon and also encountered problems during my experience. The trouble started on Sunday morning when I tried to locate the expo in a very dark, cavernous and seemingly deserted McCormick Center. I had printed out the instructions from the website and all it stated was that the expo was in the McCormick Center next to the hotel. After wandering around for half an hour, I ran into another group of runners who were having the same issue. McCormick Center has over 2 million square feet of exhibition space ? it would have been helpful if the organizers just clarified that the expo was in the Grand Ballroom on the lower level. I also encountered confusion on the course ? there was a point when there was a 3-way split in the path with no course marking or volunteer to direct me. I crossed my fingers and chose the left-most one and thankfully, I was right. Unfortunately, others were not so lucky. My husband had seen some elite marathoners come in and overheard them remark that they were in 2nd and 3rd place until they got lost and ended up finishing something like 12th or 13th. That?s just terrible ? the organizers need to make sure they get this course marked correctly, especially since it is a Boston qualifier. There?s no denying that the course is gorgeous, so if you don?t care about time and are looking for a relaxing, scenic run, then you may find this race acceptable. However, for those of you looking to set personal PR?s or qualify for Boston, you?ll want to wait until these problems get fixed. | |
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H. F. from Chicago
(6/1/2004)
"Scenic route, poor organization" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Beautiful scenic Chicago course. However, organization was poor - some half-marathoners got onto the wrong turn-off and had to back track. Signage could have prevented this from happening. Sports drink was NOT available at every support station. At one station (about mile 10), no worker/volunteer was there and a kind woman who was a runner's friend got off her bike and started putting cups and water out - thanks. At other stations, they ran out of cups. After 13.1 miles, there were too few water stations (less than 4) - definitely no gel or water/amino vital at mile 20. No porta-johns along the route were arranged by the organizers. They were relying on the few existing ones and on the facilities at the beach houses (not all of which were open). Bottom line - scenic run but don't rely on the organizers to provide good support on the basics (water/fuel/porta-johns). Expected better support given the registration costs. Seems like they were trying to run it cheaply by relying too heavily on the facilities provided by the Chicago Park District (water bubblers, and restrooms at the beachhouses). | |
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R. R. from Illinois
(6/1/2004)
"Overall enjoyable experience." (about: 2004)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I believe I set a PR on this course, but some gaps in the course markings cause some doubt in my finish... At one point in the race, we saw a small child with a lolipop pointing us to go west (Near the Korean running club). We think he was right! There was uncertainty on which way to go at the half/full split. Some of the marathon leaders were misled. I learned this as they were passing me cussing the race officials and kicking race markers. Overall, this was a beautiful course - nice combination of pavement and hard-packed gravel paths. Would like to see mile markers at every mile. With the cost of this race, officials should invest in metal course & mile markers. The finish area appeared disorganized. I had to ask somoeone for my medal and I did not get the infamous tree sappling (where was it?). I would do this race again as it appears to be improving from the 1st year. Great weather!! | |
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sutah robins from the jersey shore
(6/1/2004)
"Water please" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Not enough adequate parking at the host hotel. Take the continental shuttle. Hotel located in bad area. You want to taxi to area sites. Room service food just ok. Ate twice. Ran out of water cups on the course. Beautiful course. I will do this every year. One spectator ran with me for miles pointing out the city sites and renovations. Not much food at the end. Watermelon, and beef jerky. Only water at the end. The energy drink along the course was too sugary for me. The gel packs were great. Carb Boom. | |
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D. L. from New Hartford, Iowa
(5/31/2004)
"Nice, but needs major improvements" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 The host hotel was awesome, and the packet pick-up easy and enjoyable thanks to pleasant volunteers. The pasta dinner was not bad, but service was lacking. The course was truly varied with many attractions to keep my eyes and mind occupied most of the time. Getting a long-sleeve performance shirt early and then another short-sleeve at the race was great - and the logo is cool. There were some major issues that the race director needs to attend to if this race is to become a contender for repeats. Many people I stood by complained that there was no directions given in the race packet on getting to the start. The start area needs a ton of attention. How can you justify 10 porta-johns for 2,500 people plus specatrors? There were people in line after several waves went off. Two speakers at head level near the start? Most people did not have a clue what to do for the wave since we could not hear at all. Several water stops had two people! Hats off to them for doing their best. The full course was missing about 7 mile markers. Take care of those issues and you have an awesome race. They should consider a cap on entrants, since it really was too busy at the start and finish area. I'll probably be back. | |
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C. H. from chicago
(5/31/2004)
"Poor organization, nice volunteers, too expensive" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Lakeshore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 This was my 7th marathon but 1st Lakeshore Marathon. I think if I had paid $40 for this marathon it would have been a good deal. Unfortunately, the fee is the same Chicago so I had a preconceived notion going in that it would be comparable. 1) Next year please let everyone know what McCormick building for packet pick-up (or just say the Hyatt). 2) The course was disorganized. There were mile markers missing, people were going the wrong direction, and the lack of bathrooms was downright frightening. 3) The course route and volunteers were wonderful. |
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