This race is a beautiful running tour of Chicago. This was my first marathon and it was beyond my expectations. The city views were stunning and the crowd was so fun, energizing, and supportive. Being a back of the pack runner, the Bank of America cheer station around mile 14 just had only sad looking man and was being torn down when I ran by. The west side the city around the United Center was pretty desolate so I put in my headphones and got those miles behind me. The neighborhood of Pilsen was the best part of the race, coming at just the perfect time, around mile 20. The energy of the crowd in this neighborhood was amazing. They had been out there for hours by the time I ran by, but you'd never know it. Again being a back of the pack runner, people were stressing about the 6:30 cut off van, getting ushered onto to the sidewalks, and aid stations closing. While I saw some tables get knocked over, I was always able to get something at the aid station. It was truly an amazing experience. Highly recommended.