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@JAH1108
Winnetka, IL Raving since 2022 Active 9 months agoAbout Me
My Races
Organize, track & review your races and personal bests here.
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Half Marathon
Marathon
Ultramarathon
(Marathon or Ultra) + Half
Marathon + Ultra
Other
Future Races
Personal Bests (1)
| Race | Distance | Location | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCS London Marathon | Marathon | London, United Kingdom | Apr 21, 2024 | 3:39:07 |
Future Races (0)
| Race | Distance | Location | Date | Paid |
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Past Races (4)
| Race | Distance | Location | Date | Result | My Raves | My Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin Marathon | Marathon | Berlin, Germany | Sep 21, 2025 | 3:54:38 |
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| TCS London Marathon | Marathon | London, United Kingdom | Apr 21, 2024 | 3:39:07 |
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| Last Chance BQ.2 Marathon Chicagoland | Marathon | Geneva, IL | Sep 9, 2023 | 3:46:00 |
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| Eau Claire Marathon | Marathon | Eau Claire, WI | Apr 29, 2023 | 3:39:54 |
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Berlin Marathon
Good, but not great
Berlin Marathon
Berlin is a fun city, with a ton of history, and warm and welcoming people. I really enjoyed visiting here and experiencing the German culture. It’s very easy to get … MORE
Berlin is a fun city, with a ton of history, and warm and welcoming people. I really enjoyed visiting here and experiencing the German culture. It’s very easy to get around because everyone is fluent in English!
The pros and cons of the race:
Pros:
-this course is relatively flat
-water was plentiful at each stop
-I liked the water bottle refill stations
-energy and crowd support was solid
Cons:
-the start is way too late. I was in the second wave and we started at 9:45. It was very hot (high of 78) and this just made the heat worse.
-the starting blocks are sooooooooo far. Once you are in the start area, you have to walk an additional mile just to get to them. I arrived 90 minutes beforehand and was just on time. Way too much walking before a marathon.
-I stayed in postdamer platz which is a 15 min walk from the start, however the road is completely blocked from the race to get back over there after the finish! It took me 1.5 hours to get back to our hotel after finishing. Nightmare. Exiting the marathon needs to be better orchestrated for participants, with clear directions about how to get where considering all the road closures.
-there are no electrolytes on the course
-there are not enough water stops. Only 9. And they did not increase them considering the heat.
-not enough porta potty’s
-no hand sanitizer to clean your hands
-you have to walk several minutes after the finish line before they hand you a bag with water in it. Not acceptable after a marathon, especially on a hot day.
I would not do this marathon again due to the difficult pre-race start and post-race finish logistics, and lack of hydration on the course. Many runners had major problems with the heat and lack of electrolytes.
I ran my slowest marathon time here. Partly due to heat, but partly due to an injury that required stopping several times.
TCS London Marathon
Great experience, but too crowded!
TCS London Marathon
I was very excited to run London. It really is an iconic race, and a special experience. The pros for me were: -the course takes you by the most amazing … MORE
I was very excited to run London. It really is an iconic race, and a special experience. The pros for me were:
-the course takes you by the most amazing sights of London. It’s stunning! I was grinning ear to ear as I crossed Tower Bridge. It was an incredible feeling.
-the crowd support is strong and continuous
-London is such a cool city in general, that it is a great excuse for a fun holiday.
-The race medal was really cool.
-The weather was perfect.
The cons:
-TOO crowded! There are just too many people running this race.
-The organizers need to do a better job of getting runners into the right waves. I was in the correct wave (based on the pacers in my wave), but I would say the majority of runners were not. The entire time I spent weaving, dodging and attempting to pass slower runners. London should require proof of previous race times to resolve this issue. Maybe a ton of people lie about their finish time to get in a “better” wave? Not sure what is going on, but I have never seen anything like this.
-Race etiquette is pretty poor. I had people stop running right in front of me without warning. The people with large bulky costumes were annoying considering the lack of space on the course. There are water bottles everywhere after the water stops and you have to have your eyes glued to the ground so as not to trip. And to all the men who are spitting on the course. It is an absolutely filthy habit, unsanitary, and poor etiquette to do while running next to someone.
-It is a challenge to get to the start waves. We had to take two different train lines, and then walk up a step hill for a half mile before we reached the start. Schedule a solid hour to get there.
-Porta potty queues are crazy long.
-After the race, there are no bananas, granola bars . . . NOTHING! Just a bottle of water and lucazaide. This is BS on London’s part.
-The race shirt was ugly, and nothing special. Disappointing.
One thing to note, this race is not pancake flat. It has lots of rolling hills. Small easy ones, but constant enough so that by mile 23 I was feeling it in my calves while going down hill.
Overall, I loved this race for it’s amazing sights, energy, and crowd support. But I would never do it again due to how crowded the course was.
Last Chance BQ.2 Marathon Chicagoland
Course could have been better
Last Chance BQ.2 Marathon Chicagoland
The pros of this race: -Easy logistically. Easy parking, easy gear check, easy check-in, etc. -The water bottle stations during the race are genius and so helpful! -The race volunteers … MORE
The pros of this race:
-Easy logistically. Easy parking, easy gear check, easy check-in, etc.
-The water bottle stations during the race are genius and so helpful!
-The race volunteers are awesome and the running of the entire race is efficient and smooth.
-The course is pretty running along the river.
The cons of this race:
-There are not enough porta potties at start of race. There were only 6. There should have been at least 10. Very long line and I almost missed the start of the race.
-The continuous loop caused me left calf pain starting at mile 12, which has continued during recovery. It is from running a continuous loop where your right leg is on a slightly lower grade than your left.
-This course is not pancake flat. There is a long section that is uphill. By loop 6 through 8, this slight hill feels like a punishing mountain. My watch said I had an elevation gain of 281 feet overall for the race, even though the website says it’s a net downhill. I would have preferred a more flat course considering the high stakes involved.
-On the back-end of this course, it is flat with a lot of tree cover. It’s perfect, but the other half, there is little relief from the sun.
-The path is not closed to recreational cyclists, walkers, and runners. WHY?? As I crossed the finish line, an annoying guy on his bike was crossing next to me ringing his bell for me to get out of the way. At a minimum out of safety concerns, the path should be closed to cyclists.
-Sadly I did not make my goal time and actually had my slowest race to date.
Eau Claire Marathon 🏆
Very hilly race!
Eau Claire Marathon 🏆
I signed up for this race after reading all the other positive reviews, and hoping this could be a Boston qualifier race for me. The pros: this is a very … MORE
I signed up for this race after reading all the other positive reviews, and hoping this could be a Boston qualifier race for me.
The pros: this is a very fun, cute, hip town. The race is very well-run. The smallness of the race make all the logistics EASY! After the race, the support, the cheering, the snacks, and after-party are super uplifting. The whole town is buzzing. The race t-shirt was cute, although looks very small.
The cons: this is not a flat course. I’m from Chicago and not used to such a hilly course. Despite my hill-training, I found the hills extremely challenging. Except for two flat areas, it felt like there was a hill at every turn.
Another con, is that the half-marathon merges with the marathon at mile 16! That means you are weaving in and out, dodging slower runners and even walkers! It slowed me down considerably. And I lost some of the other runners I had been keeping pace with in the crowd.
Another con, is that many areas of the race are quiet with very few crowds. You are running in residential areas that may have a few people out, but not enough to give you a pick me up as you battle the hills. I found it depressing.
Overall, if trying to qualify for Boston, or get a PR, I would never choose this race. I feel like I made a crucial mistake. I qualified only barely, and thus will likely have to run another marathon this fall to get a better time.
Last con, the medals were pretty awful! Big giant rectangle with the huge word Decade on it since this is the 10th anniversary of the marathon. Tacky. Last year’s (state of WI shape) looked so much cooler!