Bank of America Chicago Marathon (10.11.2015)
Over the weekend I successfully completed my fourth marathon & the second marathon to qualify for Marathon Maniacs!
- Fun course!
- Amazing crowd support!
- Second race in the Chicagoland Triple Crown series done!
- All of my gear worked fabulously – especially my Orange Mud Hydraquiver Vest Pack 2 (VP2)!
Here area my key “take aways” from this race!
THE GOOD: A Marathon Maniac is born!
This was my fun marathon for the year! *I know, I know – I just said fun & marathon in the same sentence . . . I need my head checked . . . BUT it is the truth!*
After running the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon last week – this weekend’s race was purely for the fun, the experience, & to top it off to qualify as a Marathon Maniac!
This has been a mission of mine ever since I found out about the Marathon Maniacs & this weekend – I successfully marked this bucket list item as completed!
THE BAD: Crowd Support.
I don’t think I have ever said this & I may not say it again . . . this is a positive & a negative . . . WOW there was a ton of crowd support!
I never thought that this could be a bad thing until they started crowding the course so much so that it caused numerous runners to trip over each other & in some places caused us to completely stop. YIKES!
On the other hand – there wasn’t a single inch of the course that didn’t have someone cheering on the runners. I have NEVER EVER seen so much crowd support.
In addition, to being amazing cheerleaders – several people gave out water, bananas, beer, Coca Cola, etc. That was awesome! I stole a banana that was strategically placed on a sign that a guy was holding up in front of him that said “Wanna have a taste of my banana??” How can a girl pass that up? I needed some potassium. *hee hee*
AND THE UGLY: Expensive Experience.
WHOA was this marathon expennnnnssssiiivvvvvee! Normally a marathon runs about $75 – $100 . . . this one has taken the cake!
- Registration Fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $185
- Expo Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$25
- Race Day Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25
- Once in a Lifetime Chance to Run this Marathon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Priceless
SUMMARY:
Overall, this was a great experience & I’m glad that I did decide to make this one of my marathons! And I qualified for Marathon Maniacs to boot! And as a Double Agent . . . shhhhh . . . I’m secretly INSANE!!
Half Fanatic #: 12734
Marathon Maniac #: 11670
Double Agent #: 1775
Every Mile Becomes a Part of Me 