It's big, it's loud, and it's a blast. What a great way to see the city! This course is an excellent way to utilize the point-to-point strategy and I loved being able to run through all 5 boroughs. The fan support here rivals Boston with each borough trying to one-up its neighbor; it's pretty much loud the whole way. The bridges can be challenging, but I think the route, overall, is excellent. Finishing in Central Park, on a nice day in the fall, is a memorable experience I'll never forget. I will say counting down the blocks until you enter Central Park is a psychological beat down that late in the race, but it also facilitates the creation of small goals. The volunteer support throughout the course is terrific, and the finishing walk to leave the race (which is quite a substantial distance) is lined with cheering volunteers. Loved it!

The race isn't perfect, however. The start area is fine, although there's a fair amount of waiting around. That didn't bother me as much as the fact that you have to get into the corrals super early (close to an hour before the start, if I remember correctly). Then, it's a walk to the start, but it's really a free-for-all, and people in the slower corrals moved their way up into A. What a mess! As a result, we were dodging significantly slower runners, and even some walkers, who somehow made their way to the front. This lead to a frustratingly slow first mile. But what a cool view flying down the bridge with the city in the background!

While it's not a particularly pretty course, as far as nature is concerned, I'll emphasize again how cool it was that it managed to make it's way through different parts of the city while still ending in beautiful Central Park.

This wasn't my fastest race, but it's one of my favorites. Hands down.

The Chicago Marathon is the ideal course to run fast. It's pancake flat and there's a high level of amateur runners to make it so that you're rarely running alone (note: I can't speak to the sub-2:30 crowd). 45,000 runners can make logistics challenging, but I found navigating pre- and post-race easy. The course itself is nothing to write home about; there isn't much in the way of "views", but you get to see the city's spectrum and the fan support is quite strong (although it can't compete with New York or Boston). Aid stations are excellent, with block-long water and Gatorade stations.

One of the challenges with the race is that it's all concrete; there is no asphalt. On a personal level, this beat me up in ways that other races hadn't. I think that a shoe correction would be an easy fix. The finish is excellent, with a short uphill and then turning the corner for a short 200m sprint downhill with the finish line in sight. It's not like Boylston where the finish line feels like a lifetime away.

The expo was quite good, although parking can be challenging. If you can avoid it, don't park on the top level of the expo building (McCormick Place)! There's only one line out and you're stuck letting everyone in front of you in.

World Marathon Majors are always fun and Chicago is no exception. I love the international feel the race has as you run down the streets next to runners from all continents. Overall, great race (if you get the weather to cooperate!).

If you're looking for a PR, this probably isn't the course for you. But if you're looking for a fun marathon experience, this is an excellent option. What was most striking was how beautiful the course was. You begin by running through pretty tree-lined neighborhoods before coming to UBC, at which you're treating to sweeping views of snow-covered peaks against the bay. The last half is largely near water and the final 10k rims Stanley Park, which for any other run, would be spectacular.

The course is a net downhill, but that doesn't make it easy. There's a fair amount of climbing (more than New York and Boston, combined), and the course itself is just not meant to be fast. The final 10k through Stanley Park, though beautiful, has a lot of turns (some very tight) that are especially challenging that late in the race. The race ends on an substantial uphill, which given my state, I barely remember. Still, I love point-to-point courses and this one takes advantage of the city's natural beauty.

The fan support is hurt-or-miss. There are a number of spots, especially the long stretch around Stanley Park, that are void of supporters, but as you get closer to the city, there are a number of cheer sections that are great. The aid stations are okay, but not great. I'm pretty sure they had Ultima, instead of Gatorade, which I really liked.

The expo was fantastic. I was really impressed by it's magnitude and the number of free samples. Plus, it's in their beautiful convention center with spectacular views. Did I mention Vancouver is a beautiful city? And of course (Canadian stereotype here), everyone was super friendly and supportive.

Honestly, this is a great race and a very reasonable price. If you're shooting for a PR, you may want to adjust your expectations, but I'd highly recommend this race to anyone looking for a great race experience.

If you're looking for a challenging course with strong competition outside of Chicago, then this is a great race. There are a few sets of hills that make this is relatively difficult course for the area (if you train where there are hills, then this won't be a problem, but the north shore is otherwise quite flat). Because they offer prize money, the competition is pretty strong up front (i.e., 60 to low 70 minute pace). However, at least this year, they started the Illinois "elites" before the rest of pack, so anyone not in the elite category running in the mid-high 70s is going to be in no-man's land trying to catch up. This was especially a problem this year because of the wind that met runners head-on for the long stretch north. Still, I enjoyed the route and appreciated the excitement of the aid station workers. The addition of a separate 5k enables it to be a family event if some prefer the shorter distance.

I had heard mixed things about the Shamrock run leading up to this event. Despite living in Portland for 5 years, this was my first year participating. Often, the weather has been less-than-ideal and this year was no exception. It rained for most of the race, but can't fault the race itself for that. Yet, it still taints the experience. Overall, I really enjoyed the event. It's always a fast field, which is a major bonus, and the Broadway/Terwilliger hill is a fun challenge. The long downhill finish is a great reward for the long climb; the hills make the race fun and unique. I'm very happy I ran the 15k, which started and ended early. The sheer enormity of the event is overwhelming and deters from the experience. However, since the 15k starts first, you have easier access to parking/use of portopotties/gear check. The post race party could have been enjoyable, but I was too cold once I cooled down to stick around long. To sum it up, fun/unique course in Portland (where many are too similar to each other) and good competition. I'd probably do it again, but mainly because of ease-of-access. It wouldn't be because it's cheap!