Chicago Marathon - is it too big?

[Phil M.]

I am on a training path to run the Chicago Marathon on
October 10th. The last time I ran it was in 1998 when there
were 17,000 finishers. It was a great marathon. My only
complaint was the crowds. Now, I see that in 2003 there
were 32,000 finishers. I assume there will be even more
finishers this year. It could even reach their maximum of
40,000. Yikes!

I've noticed on the web site that they now have "Competitive
and Preferred Starting Positions." I would certainly qualify
for a preferred starting position, since you have to run a
sub 1:45 half marathon in order to qualify. Does anyone know
what a preferrend starting postion means? Would it make a
big difference on my finishing time?

Since I want to run the marathon as fast as I can and not be
hindered by other runners, I'm having serious doubts as to
running Chicago. There seems to be several other October
marathons that might better suit my needs.

Thoughts anyone?

Phil M.

--
If you can empty your own boat Crossing the river of the
world, No one will oppose you, No one will seek to harm you.
-Chuang Tzu

[Kevin]

On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 15:26:24 GMT, "Phil M." <pmarg@charter.net> wrote:

>
>I've noticed on the web site that they now have
>"Competitive and =
Preferred=20
>Starting Positions." I would certainly qualify for a
>preferred starting=20 position, since you have to run a sub
>1:45 half marathon in order to=20 qualify. Does anyone know
>what a preferrend starting postion means? =
Would=20
>it make a big difference on my finishing time?

It is going to help but you will still want to get there
early. I had a competitive start position last year and it
still took about 20 seconds for me to reach the starting
line. They don't police the corrals like they do in
Boston. I saw plenty of people that really didn't belong
in either of the corrals. I passed a lot of folks the
first couple of miles and went out pretty conservatively.
They have also in years past released the corrals well
before the start. I was up in the crowd far enough last
year to not notice it, however.

The other side to the crowd slowdown is that there are
plenty of folks to pace with and plenty of folks on the
sidelines to cheer you on (for those that like the cheering
section). The rerouting of the last couple of miles made it
much more crowd friendly at the end. The only exception was
the hill around mile 26.

Besides all of this Chicago does put on a quality race. The
water stations are all very well manned, the expo is first
class (except for the walking) and the crowd is very
supportive. I would highly recommend trying Chicago at least
once. Good luck on whichever one you run. --=20 E-mail:
kevjay@attglobal.net

[Dangling]

"Phil M." <pmarg@charter.net> wrote in message news:<Xns951F74484920Dseilogramp@216.77.188.18>...
> Chicago Marathon - is it too big?

No, it's exactly 26 miles and some change.

[Miss Anne Throp]

40,000? That number must include the people running from
thugs, landlords, and cops, too.

[Ravenwolf]

"Phil M." <pmarg@charter.net> wrote in
news:Xns951F74484920Dseilogramp@216.77.188.18:

> I am on a training path to run the Chicago Marathon on
> October 10th. The last time I ran it was in 1998 when
> there were 17,000 finishers. It was a great marathon. My
> only complaint was the crowds. Now, I see that in 2003
> there were 32,000 finishers. I assume there will be even
> more finishers this year. It could even reach their
> maximum of 40,000. Yikes!
>
> I've noticed on the web site that they now have
> "Competitive and Preferred Starting Positions." I would
> certainly qualify for a preferred starting position, since
> you have to run a sub 1:45 half marathon in order to
> qualify. Does anyone know what a preferrend starting
> postion means? Would it make a big difference on my
> finishing time?
>
> Since I want to run the marathon as fast as I can and not
> be hindered by other runners, I'm having serious doubts as
> to running Chicago. There seems to be several other
> October marathons that might better suit my needs.
>
> Thoughts anyone?
>
> Phil M.
>

I have run Chicago twice of the past few years, and plan to
run it again this year. For the most part the crowd isn't
that big a deal. It did take me 15 minutes to get to the
startline after the race started. They have plenty of
volunteers helping out at the waterstops and after the race.
It is very well organized. Also, there many hotels by the
start/finish line. This is a nice convenience. I believe
Chicago is a very fine marathon.

[Phil M.]

> Besides all of this Chicago does put on a quality race.
> The water stations are all very well manned, the expo is
> first class (except for the walking) and the crowd is very
> supportive. I would highly recommend trying Chicago at
> least once.

Yes. I've run it 3 times. The last time I ran it was in '98
when there were only 17,000 finishers. I expect there to be
twice that number this year. Again, back then that was my
only complaint. I shudder to think what twice that number
would be like.

Phil M.

--
If you can empty your own boat Crossing the river of the
world, No one will oppose you, No one will seek to harm you.
-Chuang Tzu