This was as my first Chicago Marathon and I loved it. We took the train in and had zero issues finding our way to the proper corral. It was a gorgeous day. The first mile and a half were challenging as we were really in tight quarters. I knew better than to zigzag around people so I just watched my step and reminded myself that I could make up for this time later. And I did. I learned from my experience at Glass Vity earlier that year and held my place and waited for the course to open up. Eadier said than done when you have tons of race anxiety but I ended up with a negative split. The family meet up area was easy to find though we had to walk quite a ways to get there. The race management did a fantastic job at coordinating 40,000 runners and a LOT of spectators. Don't be intimidated by the size of this race. Chicago's got you.