This was my 3rd World Marathon Major having already completed New York City and Berlin.

I’m sure I see this race through a bit of rose colored glasses due to a hugely improved PR and getting my first Boston Qualifying time, but I feel confident that this race would have stood out regardless of how well my personal race day turned out.

Rather than comparing this race to other smaller local races which this of course blows out of the water, I’m going to compare it to the other Marathon Majors which is more apt comparison.

EXPO/PACKET PICK UP:
Getting to the Expo was very easy. It was held at the McCormick event center south of Grant Park/The Loop. The bus system can drop you off at the door of the building but most of the “L” Trains will get you about 2-3 blocks away and it is a very short walk to get there. There was a long but fast moving line to get into the expo for participants when I got there right when it opened Friday morning but 75 minutes later when I was leaving that line was completely gone. When you get past security/bag check runners have to go to one of the abundant ipad/tablet check in stations and type in your info, you are then sent to your race bib/bag pick up area. This whole process took less than 5 minutes. You can then enter the expo proper. This was in one of several gigantic airplane hanger size rooms at the event center. It had your standard expo fare just in a much more scaled up capacity. I would say it was only slightly smaller than NYC but much bigger than Berlin. Every running vendor you could imagine was selling gear, food and gadgets and giving out freebees. At the very back was the 2nd runners booth where you could pick up your participant shirt, again, this took mere moments, all you had to do was show them your bib. I don’t usually spend much money at expo’s but I always go big on gear at Majors. This year I still did but almost none of my gear says “Chicago Marathon”, that phrase was owned by the official gear sponser, Nike. Nike makes good products (although way overpriced), their apparel selection this year however was terrible, truly terrible. I always like to get a hoodie for the race, they didn’t make any. Lots of people like to get a marathon windbreaker type jacket, they were sold out before the event. I like to get several T-shirts that promote the race, especially one with the course map on the back. They didn’t even make a normal T-shirt. Only Tech shirts and race singlets (all about $60). I’m not sure I have ever seen a worse apparel selection at any race I have been to. Thankfully, Nike was not the only gear vendor there though, sadly nobody else can use the phrase “Chicago Marathon” so all the gear says “Run Chicago” or “Run 26.2 Chicago”, this came from both Aesics and Under Armor. These guys were doing business like crazy, their prices were half that of Nike and they actually made hoodies, and normal cotton T-shirts, and my personal favorite shirt with a course map on the back. I had literally dozens of people ask me where I got those items while I was carrying them around. If you look online before the race and don’t like the official gear then make sure you get to the expo as early as possible before your size is picked over at the smaller gear vendors. The expo vibe though at any major is electric and full of worldwide excitement, sign your name on the giant banners, take pictures in front of course maps, enjoy.

Parking/Access: Either get a hotel near the start/finish (Grant Park-very expensive) or take the L-Train(Subway). Don’t drive there. Getting into the start area was a breeze with your bib, zero line and very easy. The start area is Grant Park (Really big park). This meant tons and tons of room to warm up and stretch with nobody around. My personal advice is to get an air b&b along the blue line. Most people stay along the red line, however the blue line has the advantage of still taking you straight to downtown and it is the only train line that goes to O’hare airport so you will save lots of transport time.

T-Shirts/SWAG: Continuing my bashing on Nike I was really displeased with the material of the participant shirt, it honestly reminded me of an old 80s/90s football jersey, rough material with the large holes in it. I like to race in the participant shirt and I had to wear another softer shirt underneath to prevent chaffing. The shirt design was fine, black with a green Chicago Marathon logo on the front (see picture). The medal seems to follow a similar look each year, silver with city scenery on it (see photo). I really liked the medal this year and I think the ribbon on it looks sharp as well. Looking at past years the medal can be a bit hit and miss in my opinion but this year they got it right, although not sure how you can cover a medal in Chicago landmarks and not put the bean/cloud gate on it.

Now that I am done talking about gear it is time to start covering how the Chicago Marathon race day experience and logistics knocks it out of the park it every single aspect.

Aid Stations: Aid Stations in this race were the best and longest that I have experienced. There were 20, yes 20 aid stations on the course, every one of them well stocked with Gatorade and water, some with Bananas or energy gels. This meant you had an aid station around every 1-1.5 miles. The next thing to know about the aid stations is that they are long, really long. I estimate 30 people spaced 5 feet apart on each side of the road giving out Gatorade, then another 30 people on each side giving out water. Aid stations are something like 300 feet long. It is normally a good idea to skip the first person at an aid station to avoid congestion, in Chicago you can skip the first 20 and still be fine. I also applaud them for trying to reduce waste.
In Berlin they use plastic cups that can be recycled to reduce trash, but plastic cups cant be squeezed to create a smaller opening that is easier to drink from. Chicago uses paper cups which are easy to use and apparently are all made from some 100% easily biodegradable material that fully dissolves in less than 2 years.

Course Scenery/Elevation Difficulty: There is a reason the Women’s World record was set on this course. It is really really flat. The scenery is pretty bland though. Lake Michigan is on on your right for part of the first quarter of the race and it was cool to run through Chinatown but you are mostly just running through a city, not past the sites. The start and finish area are pretty but other than that this course was made for speed not sightseeing.
That being said the support on the course is constant and incredible. You won’t really notice the lack of a view because you will be too busy looking at the hundereds of thousands of people cheering you on. The shortest route blue line was well marked and easy to follow and most of the course was kept clear of spectators crowding the runners. The streets were very wide and I never felt crowded, except for the first half when I was tucked behind the pacers I was following, once I eased in front of them the course felt full but never crowded. In several areas people would cross when there were no barriers but I didn’t see any collisions.

Weather: This race is held in early to mid October so the weather could be anything from 35-85 during the race. In my case we got upper 40’s changing into high 50s to low 60’s during the race. This was perfect running weather. This even led to a new American Women’s record being set. This perfect weather helped me to a new 8 minute PR. But of course the weather is luck, 3 of the 4 years before my race the temperatures were in the upper 70’s to mid 80’s and was getting dangerous for people.

Race Management: I’m not sure I can find much to really criticize about the race. Communication was frequent but not overwhelming from the race and really every single thing about the race day experience felt well thought out. The Chicago Marathon App was really easy to use and my family used it extensively to track me and another family friend. I always had plenty of room to do everything I needed or wanted to do on race day, before, after, and during the race.

The bathroom situation was actually quite reasonable. There were maps everywhere showing you where they were (also easy to pull up on your phone). The shortest lines are at the bathrooms right after you get through the initial bag search security, make use of them. There are more bathrooms past the 2nd layer of security where you have to show your bib but these were getting more crowded as people funneled there. Unlike NYC and Berlin gear check was free and easy. Look for the banners with your bib color and find your #. Tie your gear tag to your bag (you can only use the clear plastic one they give you at the expo) and turn it in. Tons of volunteers and easy to drop off and pick up.

The start corrals were guarded to make sure you were in your proper area. These close 10 minutes before your wave starts, zero exceptions or you start at the very back of your wave which could be 15 minutes later and behind much slower people. There were not exceptions to this. They had tons of security and 6 foot fences making sure people did not get through. When they closed the corrals I saw lots of people sprinting up to the entrances and they were all turned away. Finish your bathroom breaks early and get to your corral on time, they don’t mess around in Chicago. They had fun pump up music and an MC getting people pumped up before introducing the elites on video boards they had throughout the start area. They did a good job making it feel like an epic event in the start area. Each group starts in a 2 minute gap, with roughly 5-6 groups per wave. This means that the metered start takes well over 30 minutes.

The finish area was easy to navigate, was extremely spacious and just a straight shot back to the start area where you can pick up your gear. The family meet up area is near the start line and bean/cloud gate where you will of course want to snap a picture. Very well organized and it wasn’t overly long. Once you got out of the immediate finish area and back into the start village you had all the room in the world to relax or lay down. They also were giving out free beer at the finish from a local brewery if you can manage alcohol on a dehydrated empty stomach.

Pictures for the event if you pre-order are reasonable $40 for a full digital download of all of your pictures. I ended up with 126 pictures with me in them (some very similar). There was an official photographer after the finish where you could take your picture with your medal as well. Once you finish I would also grab your own camera/cell phone from your gear check and snap a few pictures around the start area of the fountain and the city skyline in general behind you.

Overall this race isn’t the biggest, run through the most amazing scenery or the most elite compared to other majors but it is still epic and the actual race day experience and logistics might be the best. I would highly recommend it as part of both your 6 star journey and just a race that you do as you travel the country/world.

This was my first international marathon & my 2nd World Marathon Major. Berlin is a very unique city with a lot of history and it really behooves you to spend some time after the race seeing the city and it’s history. From it’s government buildings to the Berlin Wall to the Cold War History and of course the WWII history there really is a ton to see. A nice walking tour in the days after the race will help you get your mobility back and something I would recommend.

Rather than comparing this race to other smaller local races which this of course blows out of the water, I’m going to compare it to the other Marathon Majors which is more apt comparison. This was also the first Major Marathon to take place in the Covid world so some of my observations may only be truly applicable to 2021.

EXPO/PACKET PICK UP:
Getting to the Expo was very easy. It was held at the old Berlin Airport so public transit by bus or the U-Bahn (Subway) were both easy options. There was a long but fast moving line to get into the expo for participants. Considering they were checking for ID proof and Vaccination proof the line went smoothly. Sadly we didn’t notice a seperate line for visitors until we were near the front so that cost us some time. They used this ID check to give you a fabric ribbon that they tightly put around your wrist that you then have to wear until the race was over. We went on Friday and wearing it for 3 days was only mildly annoying. The old airport was a unique place to have any event. The baggage claim area serves as a lobby after the wrist band area and from there you walked out onto the old runway/gate area to walk to some maintenance hanger where the expo proper was. You first had to enter a racers only area to pick up your bib and bag. They print the bib when you arrive at the front of the line and this part was pretty easy. It being a piece of paper meant that it tore more easily than a normal bib and I had to re-pin a torn corner mid race. I run mostly half marathons so although they say you can use a full or half time to prove you pace my bib said I was in the very last corral because i didn’t have a marathon time recently, not accurate at all. There was another line to get this fixed, I was able to move through this line in 20 minutes but I heard many people say it took them well over an hour. When I reached the front the volunteer took a swag at what my full pace would be based on my half marathon time (His opinion a 1:31 half last month => 3:25 full) I disagreed but he didn’t care and put me in the slow corral, I was pretty disappointed by his attitude. Another 30 minute line in the regular customer service/question line got me in the proper corral. My advice, print and bring with you a proven Full marathon proof time recently if at all possible, worst case a half marathon time. I heard many many people say they had registered with a proof time that didn’t process so they had to stand in line to fix their start corral as well. If you didn’t have proof of a recent race time for your desired corral then you were out of luck. Lastly in the runners only area you could pick up any merchandise that you pre purchased.
The rest of the expo had a large gear purchase area (I spent my fair share as I do at majors but rarely at small races), get there early so everything isn’t picked over in your size. Also heads up several items are only in the women’s section or vice versa. I found my favorite T-shirt over there and another shirt that I couldn’t find in my size in the Mens area. None of them were Women’s cut so it is worth your time if you can’t find what you want in your area. The rest of the area was large with quite a few vendors but in comparison to an expo like NYC this was a tiny expo.

Parking/Access: Either get a hotel near the finish or take the U-Bahn(Subway). Don’t drive there. Getting into the start area was a breeze with the wristband and bib, zero line very easy. The start area is the Tiergarten (Really big park). This meant tons and tons of room to warm up and stretch with nobody around.

T-Shirts/SWAG: Oddly the default race shirt is NOT provided for free. I suppose it is nice to not be forced to buy it but it is the only race I have ever run that has done this. The shirt was nice with some track suit stripes on the shoulder which felt pretty European (See picture). The medal seems to follow a similar look each year. German flag ribbon which is very cool and distinct but made out of a cheap fabric. The medal is a silver color and come with quite a few chips and dings which happens when you have medals in a stack but felt like more than usual. One side of the medal was a unique Berlin highlights collage, the other side is apparently always a person. I lucked out that this year it was Kipchoge setting the world record. A few years ago they had the face of the retiring race director, I can’t really imagine anybody wanting that on their medal. I would have been really disappointed with that, but this year was ok.

Aid Stations: Aid Stations in Europe are different than in the US. Until about the 30k mark they were spread out closer to every 2.5-3 miles rather than every 1.5-2 like you would find in the US. They all had water and some kind of “energy” drink that I had not heard of so I didn’t trust it. They also had tea which was odd but I guess common over there. The other unusual and a little frustrating thing is the cups they use. You are likely used to paper cups that you can crush/crimp to make it easier to pour the water in your mouth. These were more like small clear Solo cups so they didn’t really crush well without breaking. Getting water down your throat without soaking yourself was extremely hard. Also those cups being tossed all over the ground make incessant noise of clacking that you will take weeks to get out of your brain. The aid stations were long and well stocked through and also had food at a ton of them. Aid station frequency did increase near the end, like every 2 miles instead of 3. Also of note each aid station had a hydro pack filling station.

Course Scenery/Elevation Difficulty: There is a reason the World record was set on this course. It is really really flat. The scenery is a real mixed bag. The start area is pretty and has you run past the victory column like .5k into the race and the finish at the Brandonburg gate is one of the most iconic in the world. That said the rest of the course is really blah, I do tend to laser focus during a race and not notice much but it was mostly just running down residential streets in a major city. The shortest route blue line was well marked and easy to follow and most of the course was kept clear of spectators crowding the runners. In several areas people would cross when there were no barriers but I didn’t see any collisions. I heard the crowds were maybe 50% of normal so it could be a bigger issue in normal years. The course is overall also quite narrow and has some bottlenecks. Again not a huge issue in a year with “only” 25k instead of 43k but certainly something to be aware of in a normal year.

Weather: This race is held at the very end of September so the weather could be anything from 35-80 during the race. In my case we got upper sixties changing into mid to low 70s during the race. This of course slowed down everybody’s pace. Even the race winner was nearly 5 minutes slower than 2 years ago. If those guys lose 5 minutes I feel great about only losing 6 minutes from my goal time.

Race Management: Overall pretty good but also a bit of a mixed bag, of course some grace has to be afforded to the organizers for actually pulling off the first major since Covid happened. Communications in the months leading up to the race was really lacking in my opinion. I found the event Facebook page comments from other runners to have better info than the emails from the event during planning. Eventually the race would send info or respond to emails but it took forever.

The unique fabric wristband/ribbon system for the event to get into the start area worked well. At first I thought it was odd and useless to make people wear the wristbands but it ensures there is zero bib swapping because only a person with a wristband and a bib was allowed in the start area and on race day it meant the lines to get in the start area were non existent since you just walked up flashed a bib and a bracelet and they waved you through.

The bathroom situation was however less than ideal and lines were LONG. Men everywhere (and a few women) were making use of the bushes and trees to make their own bathrooms. This race only had 25,000 people instead of the 43,000 they had pre covid, did they have fewer bathrooms? The same? If it was the same then it would have been truly crazy in a normal year. FYI there are additional bathrooms near the start corrals which are a bit of a walk from the warm up area. They also had standing 4 person urinals near the start area, very fast and convenient but probably not the favorite visual for most ladies.

The start corrals were guarded to make sure you were in your proper area which was nice but of course a few people made it into other areas. They had fun pump up music and a clapping “Skol” chant before introducing the elites on video boards they had throughout the start area. They did a good job making it feel like an epic event in the start area.

The finish area was a little confusing to navigate and shaped like a cross where you had to go down different arms to get things like a free beer, finisher poncho, bag pick up, or food. Eventually you spill out into the park again with plenty of room to recover before leaving for the family meet up area.

Pictures for the event are reasonable $35, and I ended up with 266 pictures with me in them (lots of them very similar). I heard that there was an official photographer after the finish where you could take your picture with your medal but I never saw it and nobody I talked to seemed to have done it either. So either be aware to look for it immediately after finishing or use your own camera to take a picture on the podium they had set up in the park after you exited the finish area.

Overall this race has quite a bit to nit pick about compared to other majors but when compared to other non Majors events it is still epic and very well done. I would highly recommend it as part of both your 6 star journey and just a race that you do as you travel the world.

This was my first time visiting the amazing state of Alaska, and wow what an experience. Do not be the person who flies in checks off this state and leaves, the opportunity to get out and explore this state before or after the race should not be wasted. Waiting in line for the bathrooms I was chatting with a guy running the marathon in his 48th state, he flies in does his job and leaves. He treated it like a job and even described it as something he just wanted to get over with. I can’t imagine flying all the way to such an amazing state and leaving before I saw a thing. My wife and I flew in 10 days before the race and visited 3 National Parks and Drove all over the state doing hiking and sightseeing. I didn’t run at all in the 10 days leading up to the race (no chance to do laundry and who wants to stuff sweaty running clothes in their bag repeatedly for a week plus). Zero running and tons of strenuous hiking is hardly the ideal way to prepare for a race but traveling the country doing races can’t only be about the races, the travel experience should mean just as much. My advice if you can is to fly in, run the race then go see the state. I’m married to a teacher though so we had to hurry back for the start of the school year. On to the review…

EXPO/PACKET PICK UP:
I did not go to the expo for this race, I was too busy exploring the rest of the state. That said, I have never in all the races that I have run seen a race that provided more opportunities for your shirt/bib pickup than this race. The race was on Sunday and you could pick up your packet on Thursday, Friday or Saturday during windows of 4-7 hours. I was out traveling the state during this time and couldn’t make it so I emailed the race team and they said they were happy to accommodate me on the morning of the race for my bib and shirt pickup (Insider Info, they are actually willing to do this for everybody the lady who gave me my bib told me, but it would not be practical to do so for several thousand people, but it is good to know in case your schedule requires it). They also give the option to have a friend pick up your packet for you.

Parking/Access: Anchorage is a very unique layout for a city with a pretty large population. Downtown doesn’t have many tall buildings and both street and parking lot parking were easily available just 2-3 blocks away. No real need to do public transit.

T-Shirts/SWAG: The medal for this race was one that I liked. It isn’t the prettiest one on my medal rack but it does accomplish what I find most important about a race, it was sturdily made and depicts something unique about the state. It seems like most years in the past had a similar medal which included a picture of Alaska, this year had a jumping salmon (See Attached Picture). The shirt this year was a nice blue tech shirt (See Attached Picture), it has a giant bear head as part of a painting looking over a lake/mountain, again just look at the picture. Each shirt also states the distance you ran instead of just an event logo that lists every distance which is a bit unique. Is it large, quirky, over the top and not exactly a wear everyday shirt? Yes, is it truly unique and in line with the spirit/essence of the state it represents? Also Yes. And in case you think it is still weird, do a quick google search of some past years, I would say this years shirt is pretty tame by comparison.

Aid Stations: The aid stations were well stocked and spaced every 1.5-2 miles (it is an out and back course on a park trail so you hit the same stations in each direction), they all had Gatorade and water. Nobody was handing out any energy gels or chews but I carry my own so this was a non issue. I didn’t hear anything about things running out at any time during the race. I was near the front so I was never really in a group, and most stations only had 3-5 people which is sufficient but may have caused an issue or two when the big pace groups came through but the race said ahead of time that volunteers were really tough to come by this year due to covid so I give the volunteers who were there an A+ for doing the job, being really clear about who had water or Gatorade, and being happy cheerleaders for each runner who came through.

Course Scenery/Elevation Difficulty: The course is pretty flat over 90% of the course, as a true out and back every hill you go up you will come down and vice versa. You mostly follow a river on a greenbelt path through a park with a decent hill right at the turnaround point and another between .5-.2 miles from the finish, it won’t seem like much of a hill at the start, but a 50ft climb over a quarter mile will feel like a mountain so close to the finish. Overall though minor difficulty with little bumps or bridges over streams along the way. As for the scenery you get some views of the ocean and surrounding mountains during the first 1.5 and last 1.5 miles before running through a park along a path the rest of the time. It is pretty, it is calm, it is green, tree covered and shaded but not exactly breathtaking (but you will get that everywhere else in the state during you travels so no big deal). You might see “scenery” of a different kind though, while I didn’t see them runners posted pictures of a black bear on the half marathon course around mile 4 and a mother moose with her calf on the 49k course so keep aware of your surroundings.

Weather: Since 2008 the race day weather has been between 53 and 63 degrees every year except one, when it was like 67. Top notch running weather, it is usually always dry and it was this year too. It did rain in the afternoon so If you were a really slow Marathoner or Ultra runner you maybe got a little wet but it doesn’t downpour in this state.

Race Management: This Race was very well run overall. I found their emails and Facebook Page to be the best source of information. Oddly the Skinnyraven page (the sponsor) had information that was outdated in terms of maps and time. Make sure you use the Anchorage Runfest site for everything and make sure your read their emails. They accomodated me needing to pick up my packet the day of and had a very fun announcer at the start talking to people and having fun. The half was the biggest race but only had 631 people (a down a bit from a normal year). They had all the pace setters get in the corral first (Half 10 minute Incriments 1:40-3:00) (Full 15 minute incriments 3:30-5:30). After the pace people were in place they had people enter the start area and everybody went to their correct area. I ended up running a 1:31 and I had tons of room up front with the other fast people and the elites. I have never been at a race where I didn’t feel crowded at the start. I think this has a lot to do with how many people travel for this race. Supposedly over half of all entrants each year are from out of state which means they know race etiquette. They line up correctly, they communicate when passing, and they know how to use aid stations. The most educated crowd I have run with. They also have a ton of events and options they include a “Military Mile” on Saturday, a 5k, Half Marathon, Marathon, Marathon Relay and 49k Ultra (a 49k you say, that is weird, why not 50k like normal, well Alaska is the 49th State). Tons of options for everybody. They even had a half marathon walking or just need extra time option. Races went off in 15 minute increments. Walkers @ 8:00am, Marathon & Ultra @ 8:30am, Half Marathon 8:45am, 5k 9:00am. We were all on the course at the same time and I was definitely running upstream on the way back to the finish but people kept to the side without me needing to say anything and the 5k runners were all done before I got back to the finish although the winners may have seen a tiny bit of traffic. Other things that were unique and very nice: shirt swap the morning of the race if the one you picked up at the EXPO didn’t fit, free showers at the Gym near the finish if you show your bib, especially nice if you are flying out the same day and already had to check out of your hotel before hand. Also free race Photos.

Overall I would say this race is a great way to check Alaska off your 50 state list. It is a well run race that feels similar in a lot of ways to races you would see in other states, it just happens to be run in a state that is unlike any other.