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Chicago Marathon Experts |
Question:
A new year and my goal is to qualify
for Boston. I am looking for opinions
on the corral system I see that is
used in Chicago.. (I would be in the
Preferred Start (I) corral if I registered)
I love the crowds of big marathons
so I would love to qualify here..
but I hear lots of people say 'you
don't run PBs at big marathons'..
This qualifier corral system looks
appealing to me as it seems to negate
the problem of having to dodge around
too many slower runners.
I would like to hear about runners
experiences at Chicago and whether
they would recommend it or not.
Answer:
If you have a time that will get you
in what they call preferred start
at Chicago, then you are home free.
The COURSE is fast.
If not and you can't manage to move
yourself into the low 3 hour corralls
then you are SOL. I've run Chicago,
NYC, and Boston. Chicago is by far
the most crowded at the start and
persists for the longest time. Wall
to wall people for 5 - 6 miles and
then thinning to simply crowded.
Everyone there wants to cross the
start line ahead of everyone else.
NYC has WIDE, multiple starts, BOSTON
simply enforces their corralls with
the threat of execution.
Best bet for a BQ is somewhere else.
Don't get me wrong though, Chicago
was a blast. I enjoyed it. Just would
hate to have you build your year around
something that could slow you that's
beyond your control.
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