Latest reviews by Katie Bluestone

(2016)
"Awesome First Marathon Experience"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

They send you all of the race information in a detailed packet/brochure several weeks before the race, which starts to make the race feel REAL, and the excitement/nerves kick in. The expo was a great pump-up prior to the big weekend, with so much energy, cool new gear and music. I arrived early Friday am to pick up my packet, fearing the crowds would just get worse as Friday and Saturday wore on. Was VERY glad I did - highly recommend if you can.
The pre-race was very well laid out - easy to find gear check, bathrooms, etc (the incredibly detailed maps they send you in advance are a huge help as well). Corrals ran smoothly and I didn't feel like we waited in there for too long. Plenty of bathrooms and aid stations along the way.
My only complaint is that it was so crowded. Of course it was, being one of the biggest/most popular marathons. But I thought the crowd of runners would thin out a little bit around 4-5 miles. Wrong. There was a lot of ducking and weaving through thick crowds of runners and walkers - sometimes the same pace was held across the course, so you definitely have to train for surges/bursts to get you through taking an opening when you see one. I think I'm also in a pretty popular pace group - 4:10:00's, so that might've had a lot to do with it. Guess I need to get a lot faster :) Around 20 miles, it was pleasant and there are plenty of signs telling you how far along you are, and how much further you have to go. I was warned repeatedly about the dreaded last hill right before the finish, but I didn't think it was bad at all (maybe it was just bc I was prepared for the worst). It was actually pretty short and not that steep (although a little bit of a kick in the gut, placement-wise: ;-)
Awesome, awesome first marathon. The crowd is incredible. You are cheered on throughout the entire course - people are so excited for the runners, and the signs, smiles, cheers, (in some areas, shots of tequila), cow bells and high fives truly make the experience unforgettable.
Post race was disorienting, mostly because you are spent and any marbles you had in your head a few hours ago are gone, but still tons of volunteers cheering for you, congratulating you and handing out medals, food, water, Gatorade and beer!
2016 was one heck of a year to run, as the weather was perfect - you never know what you'll get in early Oct in Chicago - from snow to 90+ heat.
Loved the race and will cherish the memories. So glad to have had the Chicago Marathon as my first - It actually made me want to run more! Next time though, I'd love to try a less popular marathon to see how it goes with less runner crowding.
Don't be intimidated if this is your first one, even though it is a BIG one - it's so approachable and a great experience for the fastest to the most hesitant new marathoners.

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(2014)
"Great race for all levels!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

Thoughts from start to finish:
- Swag bag was pretty light. Cute tank top, but could do without the fliers;
- Took a cab. Drop off at the race was painless and the instructions for how to beat traffic, best time to arrive, etc. were helpful;
- Plenty of bathrooms - that actually had toilet paper (the very least to expect for a women's race)! ;-)
- The corrals were a little crowded;
- Really cool to run down a deserted Michigan Avenue! Because of that, the first few miles were exciting. Once the course headed south, it was still beautiful along the lakefront and Chicago landmarks.
- The course felt deceiving to me though! It felt like you were never going to reach the turn-around point - it was like the lines at Great America - you think you're almost there, and then what, wha?! ugh keep going keep going keep going, the turn-around has to occur at SOME point. The turn-around was literally an about-face, so if you found yourself in a thicker crowd at that point and you were really set on a PR or had a certain time goal, it's something to be aware of as a potential seconds-sucker;
- I thought Chicago didn't have a degree of incline anywhere, so I was surprised to have some inclines along the course (nothing terrible, I just wasn't used to even that little amount of incline);
- You run along the same course coming back north to finish which is good and bad: nice to see the awesome scenery again, but it would also be nice to see more of the downtown area (if, for instance, the course headed west, north, then east to finish, you'd get some cool downtown routes and the buildings would provide better shade (it was getting pretty darn hot along the lake without shade);
- The finish line was the same as the turn-around -- you kept swearing the finish would be right around the next curve, but nope, keep going keep going keep going. I have maybe one (MAYBE two) higher gears I can kick in if I know I'm almost done, and I definitely burned through those a good 1/4 mile before the actual finish, so I definitely felt like I was going to have to throw myself across the line, as opposed to crossing and feeling strong (as I'd hoped). My bad for not paying closer attention to the markers I guess;
- Awesome crowd, tons of encouragement, and a high five from an Olympian at the finish was hard to beat. Cool medal, tons of yummy snack bars, fruit and water.
- The volunteers were truly outstanding - plenty of water and gatorade during and after the race.
- Overall, it seemed very well-fun (no pun intended.. eh, why not - pun intended) and it would be a great race to try and get all of your girlfriends (especially the non-runners) to do together because it was really cool to see a race of mostly women, all shapes and sizes, out there running hard and achieving their goal.

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(2009)
"Not bad for your first 1/2 marathon"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

I don't have too many races to compare it to, but the Chicago Half was a nice. The weather was beautiful, so that definitely enhanced the experience, but as far as the race itself I thought the event was well-organized (I didn't get that "this is a cluster" feeling that I sometimes get upon arrival) and a great intro to 1/2 marathons. It's very flat and you run along Lake Shore Dr. almost the entire time. The good news is, that's a lot of lake viewing. The bad news is, there's not a whole lot else to look at (except all of the people way ahead of you that are running towards you (albeit in separate lanes of the freeway -- no collisions to worry about) on their way back, which can feel a little discouraging. Unlike, say, the hidden lines at Great America, you can see all of the ground you're about to cover. And recover. I remember getting a lot of food afterwards - they were handing out bananas and cookies which was nice, and there was a lot of space to sprawl and hang out afterwards. Overall, I'd recommend it for your first challenge, for sure.

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