Daniel Otto's Staging Area

I’m not what you’d call an experienced triathlete, but with that disclaimer now out of the way, here are some things I really liked about the Chicago Triathlon:

ORGANIZATION/PRODUCTION:
–Packet pickup and the expo conveniently took place at a downtown hotel that was near a number of ‘L’ stops, rather than way out at McCormick Place or Navy Pier
–Triathletes were allowed to rack their bikes in the transition area the day before the race (a fenced-off area under 24-hour surveillance), meaning I didn’t have to ride my bike down in the morning or take it down with me on the train at 4:30am. This was GREAT.

THE SWIM:
–The swim took place in Monroe Harbor, where athletes swim south and then north without ever straying too far from the wall. It would be easy for spectators to walk along the (paved) shoreline and follow their athlete, and there were plenty of boats out on the swim course for athletes to hang off of it they needed a breather. Past a certain point, athletes could hang off of the wall if needed.
–My only complaint about the swim is that upon exiting, there’s somewhere between a 0.25-0.5 mile run to the transition area

THE BIKE:
–The bike course goes north and then south along Lake Shore Drive for about 15 miles before descending into Lower Wacker, and then descending *again* to the Lower Randolph Busway, which is described by organizers as “Chicago’s most secretive and unobstructed expressway.” The bike course used to be 2 loops of LSD, but this setup doesn’t require any loops or circuits. I liked it.

THE RUN:
–The 10K run goes south and then north along the lakefront path, running through the rather fetching museum campus, before turning onto Columbus for a big finish. There was plenty of aid along the run course, I had no complaints.

POST-RACE PARTY:
–All finishers received a big plate of food from Goose Island catering, as well as 1 complimentary beer. There was a band playing at the post-race party, and there were trolleys to shuttle runners from the finish area to the transition area to reclaim gear and bikes (though the transition area was only about a mile away, easily walkable).
–The medals were LARGE and very well-done; I greatly preferred the 2015 version to the medal I received from the same race in 2014.

This race mostly takes the guesswork out of competing in a triathlon, so I would say it’s an ideal race for beginners all the way through pros.

PROS:
–Impressively organized, I found myself wanting for nothing
–Plenty of space near the Start/Finish area for runners to set up chairs, coolers, etc. under the cover of canopies
–With a USATF-certified loop length of juuuust under 1 mile, you’ll never be more than 1 mile away from aid; it’s easy to change out shoes/clothing on the run, and you don’t need to carry a bottle or aid if you don’t want to
–The 1-mile loop has enough variety that you won’t be losing your mind. There are left turns, right turns, ups, downs, and you run over a bridge at one point. During the night, the course is lit up with Christmas lights.
–Excellent selection/variety of food/drinks to choose from
–All races start in the evening, meaning the 6-hour and 12-hour runners won’t be exposed to the hot sun for too long (sorry, 24-hour runners, you’re pretty well screwed here)
–Very runner-friendly setup for anyone looking to try their first ultra….just start and stop as you’d like! Take your time, take a nap in the car, you’ll never be too far from where you started
–Really impressive SWAG — us 12-hour runners got a short-sleeve tech shirt, long-sleeve tech shirt, and a race-branded winter hat. Age group winners received some pretty great nutcracker trophies

CONS:
–It’s a 1-mile looped course that you run over and over and over….it’s not so bad when you’re running at night and everything looks the same, but when the sun comes up, it can drive you a little loopy (pun intended)
–The entire course is paved. That’s nice because you can wear road shoes for the entire race, but my legs were a lot more beat up than they are after a trail 50-miler
–With the race being held in July, don’t be surprised to see race temps climb into the 80s & 90s during the day.
–The 12-hour race starts at 11pm, which I liked (I slept for 6-7 hours during the day prior to the race), but I passed some runners who were VERY sleepy around 3-4am

What an amazing marathon! It turns out that Paris in the springtime is pretty damn great, and our friends across the pond know how to put on a good race. The race weekend itself was a blast, from the expo to the Saturday morning Breakfast Run (more on that below) to the race itself. Here are some thoughts in no particular order:

THE GOOD:
–Race expo was laid out quite sensibly– it was easy for me to get in and out quickly, but I could have spent quite a while there. Bonus points for the expo being very easily accessible by metro/public transit.
–The course itself was incredible, starting on the Champs-Elysses (in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe) and heading east through the heart of Paris before reaching Vincennes and coming back west. Running along the banks of the River Seine, looking up at the Notre Dame cathedral across the shore, was among the most peaceful moments in marathon racing that I’ve ever had. The course was a great mixture of city streets, neighborhoods, and green parks.
–The swag was pretty good! All registrants got a drawstring backpack that included a SPIbelt-type waist belt and a poncho for race morning (nice touch), and finishers received an Asics finisher’s shirt at the end of the race along with a medal. If you wanted to spring 7ish euros for a beer at the end, you also received a cool-looking marathon pint glass (plastic, but good quality). There was plenty of very reasonably-priced merchandise available at the expo, and I picked up another race tech shirt, which I almost never do.
–There was a pretty good selection of food for finishers, and if you wanted some hot food, there was a huge selection of reasonably-priced food vendors just outside of the area where you pick up your bag from gear check.
–It was definitely a party atmosphere at the end of the race
–The crowd support was excellent, significantly better than what I found at the Berlin Marathon. Many chants of “Allez, allez!” along the way
–THE BREAKFAST RUN WAS SO GREAT. The morning before the marathon, the Paris Marathon holds a 5K “breakfast run” that a little starts west of the Arc de Triumph and ends right by the Eiffel Tower. You have to pre-register for this, but for only *7 EUROS*, you get a tech shirt, a small flag from your home country to carry, a leisurely/untimed jog through closed city streets, and a continental-style breakfast at the end of the run. It was really well-done, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone running this race.

THE “MEH”
–The Paris Marathon’s gear check is located at the finish line, so that they don’t have to transport any gear during the race. It works well that you can get your gear shortly after you finish, but it’s a good mile from the starting line, so be prepared for a non-insignificant walk before you run a marathon.

THE BAD:
–Aid stations were located only every 5K, which is a departure from the frequency of aid stations at American races, and the only beverage available was bottled water. There was no sports drink at any of the aid stations. This isn’t even close to a dealbreaker, and I knew this coming in, but you’ll want to make sure that you have GUs / salt tabs / electrolyte tabs on your person. It got quite warm on race day, with temperatures reaching the 70s, and I wilted a bit at the end. Extra aid stations in the 2nd half of the race would have been very welcome.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: This race was incredible, maybe my favorite behind Chicago and New York. I’d put Paris in the same tier as Big Sur and ahead of Berlin, this race deserves a spot on anyone’s running bucket list.

This was my first time running The HUFF 50K, and I was very impressed with both the course as well as the event’s overall organization. Aid stations were plentiful, and the large heated tent at the Start/Finish area made for an enjoyable pre- and post-race experience. In no particular order, here are what runners can expect from the event:

THE COURSE;
–I’d estimate that between 75-80% of the course is “runnable,” but with enough hills to satisfy ultramarathon diehards out there. The course is around 85-90% trail, with a few short stretches of paved & dirt road mixed in, and the entire course is double-wide trail at minimum. There is no single-track, which makes it ideal for running with a companion.
–The 50K course consisted of 2 loops, each loop roughly 15-16 miles in length. Aid stations were no more than 4 miles apart, and with the cool race-day temperatures, I didn’t even need to run with a water bottle.
–The course difficulty would be somewhere between a 2-3 out of 5. For comparison, this course was tougher and with more hills than the Palos trail network that’s southwest of Chicago, but it was easier than the Ice Age 50K course that takes place in Kettle Moraine State Forest in Wisconsin. Obviously, the HUFF’s terrain won’t compare with any of the mountainous ultramarathons out west, but it has a fair number of hills during the latter 1/3 of each loop.
–Chain O’ Lakes State Park is BEAUTIFUL, even in winter, and I can only imagine what the course would look like in the summer. By my count, the course took us past 9 or 10 different lakes, and ran virtually the entire length and width of the park. This race was a great showcase for the area.
–There weren’t any “wet feet areas” to speak of in the 2014 running of the HUFF; it sounds like past events may have run through a river or two, but the race organizers helped fund the building of a footbridge for the 2014 race.

ORGANIZATION:
–The Start/Finish area features a very large, HEATED tent in which runners can loiter before and after the race, or even during the middle of the race after coming in from first loop. Gear check was located inside the heated tent, with an area for drop bags for 50K runners.
–LOTS OF SWAG: As a 50K runner I received a shirt, a plastic HUFF mug, a HUFF glass, a HUFF running hat made of tech fabric, and a HUFF santa hat also made of technical fabric. All 50K runners received belt buckles, rather than medals.
–Aid stations came roughly every 4 miles, with lots of water, Gatorade, Coke, and salty foods on offer. The aid station that came at Mile 8 of each loop had plenty of broth/noodles, and that station even had cheeseburgers on the 2nd loop.
–There were plenty of radio personnel visible out on the course, in case any runner was having medical difficulties.
–The post-race spread featured a variety of “world famous” soups, and I can vouch for the chili in particular (my friend Betty also raved about the vegan tomato soup). There were at least 4 different kegs of beer from local Indiana breweries to drink from, too. The heated tent for the post-race party was a godsend.

All in all, great race — I plan on being back in 2015

Taking place in the middle of summer, this USATF-certified 0.9732971994-mile looped course starts in the evening to allow the 6-hr, 12-hr, and 24-hr runners the opportunity to run in cooler temps. The course winds up, down, and around the Lisle Park District, mixing in mild hills with long stretches of flatland. The 2014 course loop featured plenty of both left and right turns, and the course was illuminated by stretches of Christmas lights in addition to a staggering amount of luminaries to keep runners on the correct path. The 1-mile loop is about as varied as you could hope for, for a race that takes place in the middle of a suburban park. Giant inflatable Christmas decorations out on the course also added to the holiday flavor, and there was an aid station every mile at the Start/Finish area, which also included canopy tents and an area for runners to set up chairs & drop bags. There wasn’t much shade on the course, but as I “only” ran the 12-hour event, that only applied to about 3-4 hours of my race.

This may be the best-organized race that I’ve ever run, of any distance; this is a race for FOR ultrarunners, BY ultrarunners. The RDs for the 2014 CIJ race were all seasoned ultramarathoners, and their attention-to-detail showed. The 29-page digital course guide covered details both vague (An entire page was devoted to answering the question, “What is an ultramarathon?”) and specific (parking directions, road closures, aid station offerings, etc.). The aid station tables located at the Start/Finish area were well-stocked with all the usual ultra fare: PB&J sandwiches, M&Ms, pretzels, potatoes (and salt!), chips, granola bars, Skittles, Gatorade, water, flat Mountain Dew, flat Coke, flat ginger ale, and a bevy of other options. Hot pizza made an appearance a few hours before dawn, and the volunteers started cooking up bacon shortly after the sun came up.

Race Swag consisted of t-shirts and sweatshirts for the 6/12/24-hr runners, and there were t-shirts and hats for the 5/10K runners. Runners of all distances received a finisher’s medal (with the distance/event noted on the ribbon), and any runners who ran in excess of 100 miles received a belt buckle.

At the end of the day, I understand that this race isn’t for everyone: it’s a 1-mile looped course, taking place at night, in July. It’s not the most interesting or exciting course in the world, but since there aren’t all that many ultramarathons within a short drive of Chicago, this race fills a specific niche. There are bigger races out West, scenic races that transport runners to a different world and really capture the imagination, but this race is a 5-star event for what it tries to be.

Aside from the Chicago Marathon, this may be my favorite road race that I’ve ever run. Beautiful views of the rugged Pacific coastline and a just-challenging-enough elevation profile are among the highlights of this race.

Anyone running Big Sur should brace themselves for an early wake-up: runners are bused to the starting line of this point-to-point marathon ahead of the 6:45am start, which means that you’ll be boarding a bus shortly after 4am local time. It’s vital to bring along a throw-away layer to stay warm at the start, as it’s not unusual for the pre-dawn temperatures to hover in the 30s & 40s.

Once the sun comes up, though, this race is heaven. A rather droll-but-pleasant first few miles soon give way to some of the most breathtaking scenery that I’ve had the pleasure of feasting my eyes upon during my 20+ career marathons. Soaring bluffs and cliffs mesh with lush, green hillsides reminiscent of the Irish coast, occasionally broken up my man-made wonders such as the iconic Bixby Bridge. What other marathon can boast of a tuxedo-and-glove-clad piano player at the halfway point of the race?

The handcrafted ceramic medals are beautiful, the long-sleeve participant tech shirts are classy, and they don’t care how many free beers you drink at the finisher’s party. This race should be on every marathoner’s bucket list

If you like running in a mostly-straight line alongside massive freshwater lakes, then have I got a race for you! Grandma’s Marathon is a late-June race in northern Minnesota that (usually) features typical fall race conditions, thanks to Duluth’s relatively high latitude.

Runners are bused to the start line from a few different drop-off points, where a packed & crowded start line gradually spreads out over the opening miles. If you’re a runner that thrives off of crowd support, then this may not be the race for you; aside from aid station volunteers, you won’t see much of anyone until you reach the college about 20 miles into the race, where early-rising students will be more than happy to hand you a full beer for enhanced carbohydrate replenishment.

I can only remember 1 or 2 hills of note, as most of the course is flat and/or very gently rolling. The final few miles of the race travel insidiously over cobblestone streets (WHY?!), and the final 3/4-mile of the race features no fewer than 2,000 turns. The post-race party rocked under the big tent, and I’m certain that I was overserved in the end.

Overall, Grandma’s is a biggish marathon with a nice small-town charm, and one that I’d recommend.

I ran this race in 2012 — its timing makes it a very convenient tune-up race for some of the bigger fall marathons out there.

I’ll get right down to it, I drank a 6-pack of beer *during* this race en route to a sub-2 hour finish, and so my experience is bound to be very different from that of others. I remember aid stations coming every 2 miles or so, enthusiastic volunteers, and a mostly flat course that runs through various neighborhoods in suburban Batavia. The last long section of the course ran on some shaded, hard-pack trails, and that was a very nice way to end the race.

The post-race spread in 2012 featured lots of Domino’s pizza and as much Sam Adams as you could drink, and the cool medal doubles as a bottle opener. This is a race that I’d like to run again down the road.

I’ve run New York, Berlin, Big Sur, Marine Corps, Grandmas, and a number of other marathons, and Chicago is still THE BEST. In no particular order, here are some of the reasons why:
–The location is perfect. Of any big race that I’ve run, the Chicago Marathon is by far the easiest to get to on race morning, just a short walk from the red line subway. Grant Park is very spacious, and its capacity for runners & spectators makes gear check a total breeze.
–The course is F-L-A-T, and along with London & Berlin, it’s one of the only courses in the world where there’s a legitimate chance for a world record to be set during every running.
–The race takes you on a true tour of the city, through neighborhoods that all of their very own, distinct vibe. Downtown, Lincoln Park, raucous Boystown, Old Town, River North, West Loop, Little Italy, Pilsen, Chinatown…you’re going to see the entire city, man, and the crowd support is perhaps second only to NYC
–For spectators, it is SHOCKINGLY EASY to use Chicago’s public transportation to follow your runner around and see them in 3, 4, or even 5 different places on the course. It’s very easy for spectators to be actively engaged.
–The aid stations are huge, long, well-stock, and plentiful.
–Seriously, the crowd support is unbelievable.
–Swag is nice: there’s always a cool medal every year, and the Nike running shirt is a top-of-the-line lightweight tech shirt that’s suitable for racing. It’s of a much better quality than the typical low-end, wearable polyester sheets that you get from most races.
–Plenty of beer at the finish, typically Goose Island; you’re only supposed to take 1, but they never care how many times you come back.
–Grant Park is a wonderfully relaxing place to chill, stretch, and hang out after the race; it’s the complete opposite of the Central Park experience after the NYC Marathon, where you embark on an unending march without having any time to stop.
–As far as the scenery goes, it’s one of the loveliest big-city marathons you could run….very cool architecture, and each neighborhood has its own character. And the only hill to speak of comes at Mile 26!