most photos are from the 2022 Chicago Marathon
General Info
Price: $230 (2022)
Date I ran it: 10/10/21
Participants: Approximately 35,000 (2021)
Weather: sunny, mid 70s and humid for most of the race (2021)
Overall Opinion:
It was a fun and exciting event that I will always remember, and I’m glad I ran it. It was a great tour of all parts of the city and the crowds and atmosphere are incredible. It's a giant party. All of that being said, I would most likely never run it again. Once was great, but yeah...never again. It’s expensive, loud, stressful, and crowded. It sometimes has warm weather because it’s earlier in the year than most marathons. The day I ran it was mid to high 70s and humid, that is not good marathon weather! It was the hardest race I've ever done by far. For future marathons I'll go with something cheaper that has a more peaceful vibe.
Pros
- There is a lot to see - you go everywhere, the nice parts of the city, the bad parts of the city, China town, downtown, the lake, etc.
- You can make a vacation out of it if you are from out of town. Summer in Chicago is a lot of fun.
- Excitement and crowds - People get really into it, it’s a huge party.
- The whole course is flat (fast).
- There are a lot of different food and drink options on the course.
- Bragging rights - it's an iconic race
- The convention (where you pick up the packet) is huge.
- They have a Bio-Freeze station on course.
- They have a forced walk at the end, which is a good idea.
- There is a good mix of runners. Other marathons (like Madison) are mostly fast pace runners.
Cons
- As with all big city marathons - it’s expensive. Hotels, parking, food, the race itself - that can add up real quick.
- The course is crowded. I was zig zagging in between people for a lot of the race. It was the most crowded race I've ever done.
- Early October in Chicago can be hot. Running a full marathon in the heat not a pleasant experience and it definitely slows your time significantly.
- There were really long lines for the porta potties at the start. Some of the sets of porta potties had giant lines and others had small lines.
- The on course porta potties all had lines. I finally got to a porta potty without a line at about mile 8.
- It doesn’t have guaranteed entry like other marathons. If you don’t get picked in the lottery you will have to wait until next year or raise money for charity. That can be problematic if you want to run it with a friend because one of you might not get in.
- Parts of it are extremely loud. It was exciting at first, but during the second half I wasn’t in the best mood and just wanted some peace and quiet.
