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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 721 to 731]
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t. s. from orlando, fl
(9/25/2004)
"Awesome With a Capital 'A'" (about: 2003)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great marathon! I ran it in 2002 and 2003 and plan on doing this years. I grew up in Chicago and it is great to come back and get to see all the changes and progress the city has made. The course is good, but it would be better if they could keep it more in the center of where the race starts. A very good marathon to do your first one. Love seeing all the people. Encourage anyone you know to give it a try if they are considering doing a marathon. | |
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R. M. from Munster, Indiana
(9/2/2004)
"flat, fantastic -super crowd support" (about: 2002)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran this marathon in 2002 and I am running it again this fall with my son. I have run in the New York Marathon, Grandma's and St. George. They are all great marathons,but none are better than Chicago. The crowds are large and loud almost all 26.2 miles. The expo is super, and the course is great for old people like me (flat). The weather is always good and you hit many interesting Chicago neighborhoods. Yes it is a bit congested, but it is a real event and a must do marathon, even if only once. | |
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D. S. from Chicago
(8/3/2004)
"Fast, flat course with too many runners" (about: 2003)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I ran it in '01 and '03. It is a fantastic race provided that the temperature does not get above 72 degrees. Otherwise people tend to drop like flies by the time that they hit Chinatown (mile 20/23, depending on the course). The major problem with this race is that it has become too large because of the number of runners that it allows to participate. Many are first-timers who have never run in their entire life but believe they are going to finish under 4:00 because 'if Oprah can do it, so can I.' You spend the first 5 miles passing all of these people up. Crowd support is phenomenal, but gets somewhat choppy whenever you head west of the Loop (downtown Chicago), which happens twice due to the course. One major improvement is that the course no longer goes along the Dan Ryan expressway on the south side just past Comiskey Park (a major downer), but that came at the expense of no longer being able to run through the McCormick Place Tunnel. Not being able to run through the tunnel also meant that no longer run down south King Drive which, historically, has ALWAYS provided some of the best crowd support in the marathon. They really should bring back the South King Drive portion of the course, otherwise they have you running down south Michigan Avenue where there is no crowd support. If the race director is reading this comment, PLEASE put the route back on South King Drive because the yuppies on South Michigan Drive don't care about the runners and would just as soon hit us with their SUVs than come out and cheer us on. Organization is great, but I docked them a point because they absolutely must put more port-a-potties on the course and segregate them by gender because, let's face it, the ladies need more than the guys and they certainly don't want to share them with guys with poor aim. On a very serious note, the organizers appear to have become more aggressive about removing distressed runners from the course. Last year I saw several runners getting pulled from the race at miles 18-22 because it was obvious that they were simply injuring themselves. It's a shame that it must come to that, but the race has been plagued with fatalities for the past few years and it is doing everything that it can to avoid serious injuries or deaths. The organizers should definitely be commended for that. Finally, Chicago is a very friendly town. It is very easy to follow the course using public transportation. | |
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L. B. from Michigan
(7/12/2004)
"Okay, if you like a lot of other runners" (about: 2003)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The hotels that we had reserved in April under the 'sponsor hotels' over-booked, and of course they were more than happy to bump our reduced rate rooms (from downtown Chicago, less than a mile from the start, they offered to put us up at O'Hare airport an hour away). The spectators were okay but they died off in the second 1/2. I would not run this again | |
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S. B. from United States
(7/12/2004)
"This is one of the best marathons!" (about: 2002)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Chicago is a great marathon. I ran it in 2000 and 2002, and have signed up for 2004. Everything about this marathon is wonderful, except the number of people they allow to run. They keep raising it every year and it is getting too big. In 2002 my running partner and I left our hotel, which was right at the start, in plenty of time. However, it was so bottle necked that we could not get on the street where you line up to start. Once you get going it takes about 10 miles before you feel like you have a little bit more space... but this is one that you will be trying to pass people and run around them the entire 26.2 miles. The crowds are so awesome and they really keep you motivated. Great race. | |
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J. M. from Ohio
(7/3/2004)
"The best experience of any marathon I have run" (General Comments)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran this race in 2002. It was a great experience and I want to go to Chicago again this year. The noise of the spectators was amazing in the first half. The excitement level falls off a bit as the runners head away from downtown and during the second half of the course, especially the part of the course that hugs the freeway around miles 20 - 23. That section is the only section I would change. I would like more sections through downtown but there are probably reasons for designing the course as it is. The flat course enabled me to feel less tired at mile 20 than at any race I have run. Plus the cool temperatures in 2002 helped keep the energy level up. This is definitely a PR course. | |
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Peh Chwee Hoe from Singapore
(6/16/2004)
"Top Marks for Organization" (about: 2002)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I'm from Singapore and I ran the 2002 Chicago Marathon. Organization was excellent, plenty of energy supplies and runners were civic - they lined up according to their expected finishing times so little hold-ups to the faster runners. This was unlike the Paris race I took part in 2003 where even slow runners want to be in front - whatever for? This is the 21st century and there is this chip technology. | |
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d. c. from la habra california
(5/14/2004)
"Fast, flat, well organized marathon" (about: 2002)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the 2002 Chicago Marathon. Not only did I love the fast and flat course, but it was a very well organized marathon. Having the expo at the McCormick Place was great. The buses going to and from the expo were very well coordinated. It was a very scenic course going through the different ethnic sections of Chicago. Because Chicago is very flat, they are able to develop a course that keeps it more to the North Side, which is the affluent area of Chicago. The course only ventures into the Near South Side when we go past Comiskey Park. After we go past Comiskey Park then the course heads back north toward Grant Park. The water stations on the course were very well organized. I can't wait to do this marathon again! | |
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M. M. from USA
(5/2/2004)
"Great course; well-organized; crowded" (about: 2003)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Chicago Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. I finished in 3:49. I was really impressed with how well the race was organized. There were plenty of aid stations and huge crowds to cheer you on. The only negative was the number of participants. I found that I was boxed in for the first 8-10 miles! | |
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D. S. from Chicago
(4/5/2004)
"Fast course; good organization" (General Comments)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Chicago Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've run this marathon twice ('01 and '03). The course is always fast and the crowd support is phenomenal. The only complaint I could raise is that we could use more port-a-johns along the course. Several runners needed them along the course but several were locked and could not be used. The marathon expo was great and easy to get to. This is a great marathon to run, but especially for the first-timer. |
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