Jason Kell's Staging Area

This was my 15th marathon and first major marathon. This was the most energetic marathon in regard to crowd support I have ran. Couldn’t have asked for better weather at 58 degrees at the start line, with cloud coverage and gentle wind throughout. There were only a few areas past mile 18 on that had no spectators. But other than that there were crowds on both sides.

The expo was at Mccormick plaza, and was very large. Once there you had to go through security and show your QR code and I’d. Once entered you can then go to your designated number to get your bib. The expo had a lot of vendors, however very little freebies. The freebies were muscle milk, seltzer beer, and Gatorade electrolyte powder. There were plenty of photo ops, free poster and cowbell.

Getting to the start line was easy to navigate. I arrived via ride share. I recommend getting dropped off at the Hilton on Michigan Ave if you choose this mode of transportation. I arrived at 7:10 and got to my corral well before the closing at 7:45 for wave 2. The waves started promptly on time. The first few miles were very congested as I couldn’t maintain my proper pace. I was even at the beginning of my wave and still couldn’t pass people. There were also areas throughout the race that got congested, and slower runners wouldn’t move over. There were 18 stations of water/electro, banana stations, chafing stations, and 2 gel energy stations. Plenty
of aid stations, port a potties, and even a biofreeze station.

The scenery was spectacular across the course. A lot of old architecture, and buildings to look at. I like how the organizers put carpet on the metal bridges. It didn’t however always cover the entire bridge. The spectators were so loud and energetic in a good way, which made it very motivating to climb through each mile. It felt like every time there was a turn, there was a great view of something amazing to greet you. The one thing that was frustrating about the marathon were non marathoners running on the course along with friends, and outside people crossing in front of you with bikes. On another note, the marathon is .35 further after the first mile and .16 throughout, making the total distance 26.61, and a .50 post race walk.

Crossing the finish line felt very special. A lot of cameras so be prepared. Post race included aluminum water, Gatorade, the medal (which was quite a walk), the medal was meh. I expected it to be larger. I actually found the strap more appealing than the medal itself. There was a protein bar, banana, apples, rice crispy, stans donuts and muscle milk drink. If you are on the fence about running Chicago, don’t hesitate and sign up either by lottery or fundraising/charity

This was my first year running in Cleveland. Beginning with the expo, I was disappointed in that there weren’t any freebies. Only the usual “discounted vendors.” I did however snag a cool magnet. Hot tip: if you are staying in town, DO NOT stay at any of the hotels near centennial park. I had a rude awakening both Saturday and Sunday morning from music and announcing at 6am, which made me very exhausted after losing three hours of time change. Even though it’s convenient to be near the start line, you should consider being at least a mile out.

The race day weather was partially cloudy at 58 degrees, which is ideal for me. The marathon started promptly at 7am. It began and ended at centennial park. The run itself had many turns which was nice to tour the city. There was a lot of shade throughout the run thanks to tall buildings in the downtown, and trees in the neighborhoods. There was mile markers almost every mile, except for some in the beginning 10 miles. The mile markers weren’t accurate, and didn’t agree with my Nike app. I did enjoy the amount of crowd support throughout the race. There was a lot of soakers and misters throughout, however I did not partake. The course was relatively flat with a couple of hills, one most notably at mile 24. There were many water/nuun stations, about every other mile. Something that I did not like about the race was that the medals were sitting right at the start line for everyone to see. I prefer not to see what the medals look like, or even visually see them until the finish line. Crossing the finish line had a lot of spectators and can hear the announcer announce name and hometown. The finish line included a cup of nuun, bottled water, chocolate milk, bananas, pretzels, gummy’s, bag of chips, three options for chewy bars; smores, chocolate chip, and peanut butter chocolate chips and also a coconut bar. Overall, I would recommend the Cleveland marathon for a flat, cheerful, non-boring spring race.

The lifetime Miami Marathon offers a very scenic course. Coming from the cold weather in California, it took a minute to adjust to the humidity. The weather didn’t seem to make a negative impact on me as I was able to finish at my normal time. The expo was not too impressive as there were not to many handouts or freebies other than a few electrolyte drinks and a popsicle. The rar corrals were monitored before entering and began one at a time. The first few miles were hectic as there were many runners bunched together. The finish line festival did not offer much other than what you would expect traveling on an airplane. The bathrooms were too far away from the finish line and had to climb over people to get to them.Non of the port A potties seemed to have any tp which also stunk.

This race was very flat and fast. The expo was very well organized and even offered free posters. There was also an official asics shop which was cool. Beginning on race morning it was an early start as you were required to take a shuttle to the start line leaving at 5:30. Plan accordingly as all shuttles leave at different times depending on where you are staying. The bus arrives very early, so I just hung out in the bus for almost an hour. The race start started 15 minutes late for no apparent reason. Race weather was ideal right now and topped out at about 55 degrees. The finish line offered the most I’ve seen which invluded a bottle, backpack, jacket and gorgeous medal. Also plenty of food such as oatmeal, nutrition bars and a burrito. Overall would recommend.

I chose to fly out to this run from Cali due to many of the sites the course has to offer. Very scenic running through the zoo, empower field, colfax street, and a river. The organization was well ran and the expo was very unique as you entered through the broncos press box. The finish line included a few snacks and a fantastic finisher medal. Would recommend.

The race was celebrating 10 years, and displayed that on the strap of the medal. The race was well organized and started promptly on time. The race weather was perfect in November. My favorite stretch was the out and back part where you get to view San Francisco and Alcatraz. If you are looking for a smaller run in the Bay Area, the is the one to run.

The race mostly traveled through neighborhoods in Costa Mesa. There was a slight incline in the first few mile. I did not find this race particularly enjoyable as it was not very scenic and didn’t have enough water stations. At one point of the race I had to ask a volunteer for water because there wasn’t enough stations. The finish line festivities was a mess between the half and full at the fair. The one thing that was nice about the race was that the course didn’t back track and got to see everything once.

This was my first rock n roll race and thought it was well coordinated. The expo was held at the convention center and had plentiful supplies of supplements and clothes given it was just post pandemic. I ran this race in October due to its cancellation in June, and the weather was cool. The race had steady inclines, the one to be aware of is the one around mile 23 which is an uphill freeway leading downtown. After this race I developed pirifornis syndrome that I still deal with today in part due to that hill. The post race only supplied pretzels, bananas and water. There wasnt enough port a potties at the finish line. The race included a lot of water stations, live bands and a lot of crowd support to motivate

This race review was pre pandemic when the course went from dodger stadium to Santa Monica. This course was beautiful, net downhill, and full of iconic sites. The crowd support was amazing, as was the race production. Plenty of stations, and port a potties. The expo was held at the La convention center and had so many vendors and samples. My favorite vendor was clif. The finish line was unbelievable with so many handouts and a beautiful medal.