Latest reviews by William Brent

(2018)
"It's a world major for a reason"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

I will probably not run Chicago again. But i am glad i did it.
I suggest you run it for the expereince and when you do sign up for the CARA VIP experience.

The good: Its a flat course
The bad : its crowded

A lot of this review will be in comparison to Berlin (sorry but its my frame of reference for a world major)

Communication leading up to the race: i really appreciated both the paper brochure and the email. Kudos to the RD!
Also with the weather being as tumultuous as it has been the communication about conditions was on par.

The Expo:
I am a bit torn. It was manageable (not borderline overwhelming lile Berlin) but it lacked some of the things i have come to expect at expos.... DISCOUNTS lol
In all seriousness though, the "official" race merch and the "other" race merch were difficult for me to distinguish. There were several vendors selling chicago shirts and 26.2 shirts but they weren't Chicago Marathon... If that makes sense.
I was happy with the samples and impressed with the beer and wine vendors.
The only problem was going in and out was a hassle. I understand its for secjroty reasons but at least with Berlin i had a wrist band which let me back in...

The course:
Good god the crowds...(I'm now anxious about New York....)
There were sooo many people and there were soo many in the incorrect corrals and there were so many everywhere.
Which on the one hand made this a really cool race. There was never a dead spot between the runners and the people cheering. Juat when the crowds thinned they picked right back up. SURPRISINGLY... The portopotties were never crowded or gross πŸ‘πŸ‘
I didnt like how difficult it was to navigate the bodies, especially when the course narrowed.
Course support was fantastic amd everyone was cheering and helpful.
Also running through the different parts of the city was really cool
The spiraling glass Towers were juxtaposed with the semi gothic-looking churches and the seemingly out-of-place IHOP made the race pass by pretty quickly

Also I don't know who put that guy in drag on the stage but thank him/her for cheering

I think the only thing I didn't like about the course was somewhere around mile 19 or 20 there was train tracks and they were annoying not impossible just annoying.
Okay and since i am complaining mile 5 and mile 15 do need to be repatched so if someone from the city of Chicago reads this please patch mile 5 and mile 15

Post race:
I like the bag of snacks they give you and the tape they use to hold you heat shield was pretty dope.
Beer was good. Really good.

I never made it to the Biofreeze mile 27 which i kind of regretted but....next time???

All in all-do the race.
I probably wont be back, but i also said i probably wont run a marathon πŸ™ˆπŸ™‰πŸ™Š

Login or sign up to leave a comment.
(2018)
"There is a reason 40000 people did this race. You need to be 40001"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

The good: I set a PR
Lots of energy on the course from the crowds.
The bad: I should have planned my nutrition better.

Registration:
Pretty straightforward, not difficult or terribly confusing even though there is clearly a translation gap.
Everything is extra though.
You pay for the chip (a rental fee if you give it back at the end of the race.
You pay for the shirt (if you want it).
You can pre pay for a massage if you need / want it which is cool.

The Expo:
Holy masses of people batman. I couldn't tell if i was at a race expo or the launch of the new iPhone! There were soooo many people lined up AN HOUR before the doors opened!!! Whaaaat???
The expo was in an airplane hanger....well in 3 of them. This expo puts anything RnR puta on to shame ( sorry comp group.πŸ™)
It was laid out pretty well too. You were routed from the front to the back to get your bib/chip and then you were free to do whatever you wanted. Leave, look at the vendors, eat at the food trucks
Yes, I said food trucks!
It was insane, but in a good way!
A map of thw vendors would have been helpful but not necessary.

Communication leading up to the race:
Really good. I think it was just enough. There were not too many or too few. I felt like I had ample information. 1 or 2 more wouldn't have been bad, but I was good.

The course.
Amazing. I am former student of German history so i was geeking out a bit, but there were so many churches and neighborhoods and and just all around interesting things to see!
Its a super fast course and there are so many peopke so there is a real danger of goinf out too fast (guilty)
There are race pacers and if you keep with them you will be good!
Its also really flat which helps you be fast!
There was never really a lull in the crowd either. There was always someone on the side of the road rooting you on.

A few things to note:
1. there is very little shade. Wear sun screen.
2. This is NOT an American Race. There is not water every mile, there is not nuun or gu at every stop. If you have a nutrition strategy pack it with you!
I made the mistake of only packing 3 gels assuming i would have a reprieve on the course.
I didn't
The one spot for gel was after the half. Maybe even further...
And it was gross.
The sample i had was NOT what they gave out on the course

The aid stations.
Well staffed plenty of water. Not enough of the "sport drink" early on.
But they had banana slices and apple slices and beer and tea and sport drink.

The finish line:
Super well organized. TONs of massage tables.
Tons of alcohol free beer. Lots of water and helpers. And really spread out so youre not on top of one a other.

The medal.
Okay.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.
(2018)
"Who gets a PR in San Francisco"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

First. I set a pr.
Whaaaaaat

Anyway.
Highlights:
Mostly Senic. The bridge and the trail after the bridge made the race. There were some cool neighborhoods and it was interesting the see the volunteers change in appearance as the neighborhood changes (different ethnic groups seemed to stick together ❀)
There are so many people speaking so many languages and this is just a really cool experience
Expo was IN-sane. There were so many people but there was a lot to do.

Race communication:
Good. At First i thought it was very sparse but as we got closer to race day lots of information came rolling in.

Expo: i didnt like the layout of the expo. You enter through the "back" of the expo (front of the building) and have to walk past all the vendors and navigate the masses of people to get your bib and shirt. It would have bewn helpful to route people through the rear of the building or have the signs numered (1 for pick up, 2 for shirt etc.)
Lots to do and see though.

Transportation:
On the 1 hand i really liked the option to take a bus to the start line. I didnt like the price but you pay for convenience. On the other i didn't like there was no signage or formal communication on the bus location other than the "bart station"

The Race
5:30 is a really decent start time because you can still run your race and get back to your hotel or Airbnb take a shower and a nap before everything is closed
I was a little let down by the run through the zoo. I thought that was going to be like running through a zoo...with animals... not running through a park...
I have to give the race directors and course marshalls kudos for putting on four completely different races all at the same time 5 if you can clue the ultramarathon
But unfortunately the folks that were doing me half marathons we're walking the water stations (which in and of itself is not a bad thing) but unfortunately they were stopping and there were still Runners coming by...
I'd like to take this moment to apologize to the three people who stopped that I ran into.
The last two miles (or maybe the Last Mile and three-quarters) were on a particularly uncomfortable Road in my opinion it should be paved but it's not even Cobblestone it's just broken asphalt so is just uncomfortable on the legs.
Enough bashing
the bridge was gorgeous. I was really surprised that there is a trail portion to this city run but it was welcomed and enjoyable. Actually mile 5 through 11 (or maybe even 13) had to be my favorite parts of the Run.
running through Fisherman's Wharf was really cool
Ghirardelli Square was nice

Still with me?
The volunteers were fantastic there were plenty of people handing out water
And the Finish Line Festival
It was good I was surprised at how much that they were giving away I was surprised at how much they were charging for other things
I personally like free or low-cost massages at the end of a race not having to pay for them but they were there the Biofreeze foam rollers and yoga mats are amazing and I'm going to suggest that to every race director I talk to you from now on

If you're in the Bay Area do the trace heck even if you have to travel through this rates it super worth

Login or sign up to leave a comment.
(2018)
"Must do- train first"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

The good:
1st - this has to be the most communacative race management team ever. That alone gives this a must do title.
2nd - everyone loves swag. The shirt is nice ( average) the draw string bag is average but you write your number on it for gear check. Post #race medal is sweet. After the race you get a bracelet and reusable solo cup.
3rd - Tahoe is paradise.
Other good things:
Parking is a breeze and they bus you from the finish to the start which is nice.

The bad:
1st - if you don't train at that elevation it can be rough on the body. Going down hill wasnt hard but; man... the moment the course turns to uphill. Yikes.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.
(2018)
"It was okay"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

All in all this was a good race; but probably not on my top to do a second time.
The good:
Friendly race staff. Communicative race management. Relatively flat. Nice swag (I really liked the shirt and back pack)
The bad:
I was really hoping for better scenery; the first half of the race was in a state park / nature reserve but it was not full of vegetation it was kind of blah.
The ugly:
Miles 1 through 13 were off by almost a half mile (as an example at mile 7; my Garmin read 7.57)

I really thought it would be cool to have to take a ferry to a race; but while the logistics worked out and the race director did a great job scheduling buses--it was still kind of a headache to take a ferry to the race start.
When I imagine a Martha's Vineyard run I was picturing cape cod houses on the beach and sand dunes...
while we passed some of that at mile 13 through 18...
for the most part it we were on the walking path or bike path in the nature reserve.

The expo was a tent. No biggie.
The finish line was 2 tents...

Amazing volunteers and there were plenty of places along the course where you could cheer form your loved ones.
In fact; you could cheer; drive to the next path opening; cheer--repeat...

If you're local this is probably an amazing race. I can't comment enough on the race staff the timing staff and the volunteers, they are the reason I have a hard time being overly critical of the race.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.