Chicago marathon

BigEeyore

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 22, 2008
Those of you who have done Chicago before - any tips/tricks/advice? Favorite things to do in Chicago before/after the race? Logistical tips - getting to/from, navigating expo, etc?

I am going to be there solo and feeling apprehensive about being by myself in a big city!
 
Here's my 2018 Chicago Marathon recap (link). I remember:

-The expo parking lot was hard to figure out.
-We ate at Stan's Doughnuts, Sienna Tavern, RPM Italian, and Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe. We also considered getting doughnuts from Do-Rite and Doughnut Vault.
-We visited the Aquarium and Navy Pier.
 
I've never done that race but go to Chicago at least once every few years. I drive in, park, and don't drive again until I'm going home. The more you can walk, use public transit, or rent Divvy bikes the better. The bikes are very easy to use and I found myself using them a lot.

https://divvybikes.com/
 


I did it in 2016 solo.
-I took the shuttle down to the expo that Saturday morning at open. It was super easy. There was a ton of people waiting at open but it was easy to navigate the expo. Bib pick-up is easy and there is a ton of space in the main hall where all the vendors are.
-I recommend the architectural boat tour. It was really interesting and a great way to see a good amount of the city, plus it keeps you off your feet for a bit.
-I stayed across the river on Water St. and it was a real easy walk to Grant Park in the morning. There's a ton of entries with security so I don't think you'd ever have a wait to get into the park.
-In terms of the race, the gatorade and water stops are massive so don't feel like you need to get over immediately like everyone does when they come across the first one. My watch was thrown off within the first two miles from going under the river and the building density downtown. Hopefully GPS accuracy is better in the six years since.

Good luck and have a great time. It's an awesome event, the crowd support is amazing over the entire course.
 
I've never done the race in person, but I've been running the 2021 Chicago Marathon virtually on my treadmill with pro runner Ashley Jensen Paulson through iFit! They have recorded several of the major marathons (NYC, Chicago, Boston) and set them up as workouts. You can do them on the phone app or the smartTV app if you don't have iFit equipment. They're broken up into 5-7 workouts each. They show the course map, and she talks about the course and interacts with other runners and the crowd along the way. They show the water stops, the starting setup, etc. It's been a fun way to experience a race I haven't had the chance to do (yet)!
 
Also following for tips.
@BigEeyore lmk if you want to meet up! Staying with a friend who's not running but I'm sure she'd also be up for meeting new folks. We'll be heading to the expo on Saturday morning. I suspect I'm much slower (in corral J) but also happy to meet up pre or post race.
 


@Guidman reminds me that I set up my Garmin to not do pace because GPS gets weird. So instead I set it up so that I could keep track based on mile markers and hitting the lap button. At least I feel like that’s what I did.
 
I went solo for a 10 mile race in 2019 the week before the marathon and walked/ubered everywhere. Flew in on Friday and flew out on Sunday. Stayed at the Chicago Hilton. I went to Millennium park and had deep dish pizza at Labriola Chicago Friday night. On Saturday I ran in the morning, had lunch at some place (can’t for the life of me remember, but it was very good) on my way to the Field Museum, napped then went to the John Hancock Center for the 360 Observation Deck and appetizers/drinks at the Signature Lounge and got cheesecake to go from Cheesecake Factory. Sunday morning I went to Stan’s Donuts.

I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2021. Had my husband and daughter with me and we stayed at the Chicago Hilton. Husband declares he refuses to use train 🙄 so we walked and ubered everywhere. Getting into the expo was a hot mess due to vaccine and Covid test verification. We waited forever in line, but once we were inside bib pick up was a breeze. We ate at the hotel twice, Nobu (highlight of our trip) and The Signature Room at the 95th (50% of our bill was comped, my wine was free and they offered us free dessert. It was not a good experience). We also went to Lou Malnati’s for pizza, Stan’s Donuts and had Chicago dogs. I wanted to go on an architecture boat tour, but family thought it was lame 🙄 We went to Millennium Park and the Shedd Aquarium. Last year we had to buy tickets ahead of time for the aquarium for a specific time slot.

Now the race itself…….
It was amazing seeing Michigan Ave closed to traffic. It was surreal. You will be assigned a gate to enter Grant Park. Once you go through security you will see the porta potties and corrals. The lines were horrendous for the porta potties. I barely got into my corral in time. Watch was completely wonky the first couple miles from the tall buildings, but I knew that would happen going in so I had turned auto lap off and recorded my splits at each mile marker. Running over some of the bridges hurt. They are spiky metal grating type bridges and even when I managed to get on the carpet they put on top of them it still hurt the bottoms of my feet. The crowd support was awesome and aid stations were plenty. They paint blue stripes marking the official course measurement so if you stay on top of them you won’t pick up as much extra mileage. Honestly, most of the race was a blur. I remember crossing the finish line, getting my beer and my body saying no more walking, sitting in a curb, sending my location via google map pin to my family and just waiting for dry clothes 😂

This year it will be a whirlwind trip. Fly in Friday and fly out Sunday night to Vegas for a conference my husband is attending. I have our hotel booked and that’s it. I think we will eat at Manny’s Deli on Friday and go to the expo on Saturday. We will be going on a boat tour too.
 
I see @Bree mentioned the blue line, but really find it and stay on it. It is the official line with all the tangents. I stayed at the Chicago Hilton, which is a great location. I used the shuttle to get to the expo and then walked everywhere else. You do have the Field Museum, the Adler Planetarium and the Shedd Aquarium close by. If you like to shop you can go to the Magnificent Mile.

For those in from there might remember the commercial. "Between the Field Museum and the Adler Planetarium, there's always something jumping at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium."
 
Not a marathon participant, but lived in Chicago most of my life. These are my standard suggestions to people going to Chicago for things to do:
  • See if any of the neighborhood festivals look good: https://news.wttw.com/2022-chicago-festival-guide
  • Chicago Architectural Boat Tour is really good.
  • Lincoln park zoo is free and pretty nice.
  • The Lakefront trail runs 18 miles along the lakefront. Rent a bike for a few hours and ride around: https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks.../lakefront-trail
  • Dining... you really can't go wrong. Portillo's is a staple (Italian Beef dipped with hot peppers is my go to). Deep dish pizza is overhyped but there are options for it. Definitely get a Chicago dog somewhere.
  • Millennium Park is worth walking through to say you've been. Buckingham Fountain (best known from Married with Children) is just south of there. Maggie Daley Park (east across the bridge from Millennium) has some fun slides and swings.
  • If you're interested in arcade or pinball games, look up Headquarters Beercade. It's a bar with like 100 games on free play.
  • Avoid Navy Pier. That's tourist/suburbanite stuff. Chicagoans don't actually go there.
    🙂
  • Public transit is pretty good so I would recommend that as your way to get around. A 1 day pass is $5 and 3 day pass is $15. Can also pay per ride but it's $2.25 IIRC so the day passes quickly make more sense.
  • Museums... my favorite is the Museum of Science and Industry (I'm an Engineering nerd) but the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium are also good.
 
Thank you thank you! Dis'ers are the BEST!
I will try to figure out the trains - $5 day pass is a deal compared to Ubering everywhere!
I never would have thought of doing an "architectural boat tour" but sounds like something I should do!
@Bree I really hope they aren't checking covid vaccine/test stuff still at the expo, and that they have more porta-potties!! When I did NYC in 2016, I couldn't believe the lack of portapotties - I think I waited 30 minutes or something crazy. Appreciate your race report, and I will read @DopeyBadger 's race report too!
 
Thank you thank you! Dis'ers are the BEST!
I will try to figure out the trains - $5 day pass is a deal compared to Ubering everywhere!
I never would have thought of doing an "architectural boat tour" but sounds like something I should do!
@Bree I really hope they aren't checking covid vaccine/test stuff still at the expo, and that they have more porta-potties!! When I did NYC in 2016, I couldn't believe the lack of portapotties - I think I waited 30 minutes or something crazy. Appreciate your race report, and I will read @DopeyBadger 's race report too!
If you're worried about figuring out public transit, I think cta has an app that you can use to track trains/buses. The multi day pass is definitely the way to go if you'll be there for the weekend.
You can also use Google maps. I've used it for public transit directions in several cities, including Chicago
and currently in Bilbao, Spain.
 
They give out posters at the Expo and it's a nice keepsake.
Architectural boat tour was interesting and kept me off my feet the day before the race. I would suggest booking in advance as the morning and early afternoon slots fill up.

I'll be there solo as well so let me know if you want to meet up - planning on going to the expo Friday afternoon.
 
I did Chicago Marathon 2016-18 and am returning this year. You have received lots of good advice. Doing an Architecture Boat Tour is definitely more fun/interesting than you would expect.

The course is flat and goes through 19 (?) neighborhoods with different personalities. As was mentioned, the hydration stops are huge so feel free to take your time to cut over for liquid. If you use a pacer, I've found the pacers at Chicago to be fantastic. They have very strict standards, so they will hit their marks. In 2018, the our pacers were telling us about the various areas of Chicago as we were running through them.

A couple of race tips: 1) You may want to practice starting slow. When I first ran this, I had no idea how many spectators there would be. It was overwhelming. The first 1/2 mile or so is in the park and goes under a road, so not really any spectators but you are busy settling in to a pace with thousands of other runners. However, before you get to the first mile marker you will start to hear a lot of cheering and then you will see tons of spectators. I wasn't prepared for this and I could not slow down. In my head I was competing in the Olympics or something like that. The Chicago crowds are fantastic. 2) If you aren't doing this already, try to get some flat long runs in. The course barely changes elevation. You will be using the same muscles for most of 26.2 miles. While it is nice/easy to have a flat marathon, the repetition on your legs can be taxing. Midway through this course I will mix in some very brief surges/fartleks just to change things up a bit.
 
In addition to @GollyGadget 's suggestions, I would also recommend an app called CityMapper. I use it all over the world to get around. You just put in your start point (or location) and destination, and it gives you every option (including time and cost) to get there. Walk, rent a sidewalk scooter, rent a bike, public transit, drive, Uber, taxi, etc. LOVE that app, and it's free!
 
Those of you who have done Chicago before - any tips/tricks/advice? Favorite things to do in Chicago before/after the race? Logistical tips - getting to/from, navigating expo, etc?

I am going to be there solo and feeling apprehensive about being by myself in a big city!
Good luck! Is this your first major? This should be an incredible experience for you.
 
If you aren't doing this already, try to get some flat long runs in
I live in GA north of Atlanta - nothin' flat around here! We do have a greenway that I have been utilizing, but even that has elevation.
Good luck! Is this your first major? This should be an incredible experience for you.
This is #2 for me - NYC was the first. I do have a lifetime goal to do all 6 world majors eventually (although Covid has messed that up with all the deferrals and cancellations it's even harder to get in some of the international ones!)

One more question - Does the train go from the airport to downtown? Or should I just Uber from the airport? Staying in a hotel by the park where we start/finish.
 

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