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Jun 2, 2024

Naperville Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Naperville Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.0

Organization 4.6

Spectators 4.4

Number of comments: 78 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > ]

D. B. from Hampshire, IL (11/18/2015) "Awesome Race" (about: 2015) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Loved the start and finish being downtown. Great time of year for a PR. Plenty of aid stations. Thanks to all the Volunteers.
K. P. from Downers Grove, Illinois (11/18/2015) "Nice race route - Boring course" (about: 2015) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Naperville Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 It was a good course - not too hilly and not too flat. No spectators on course or volunteers throughout the course after 13... BOOK Rd from 75th to Leverenz was BRUTALLY boring - not one spectator or volunteers with music. It was awful. Needed more nutrition at the aide stations (bananas, pretzels - etc) for the marathon and Music at the aide stations from mile 20 on.... That is when you need it most. A boring race overall. There was no Energy - marathoners NEED energy.
H. D. from IL (11/18/2015) "Improvements every year" (about: 2015) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Naperville Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run the half marathon since the inaugural year and still find this race to be one of the best. As with any race, there are areas to improve, but the race directors make an effort every year to listen to feedback and make improvements. I think the branding of the race could be better as it is now 'Healthy Driven' but seems to be focused on veteran's day. The shirts were absolutely hideous and the medals look cheap compared to last year's medal which was beautiful. The race directors need to decide if they want to be viewed as celebrating 'Naperville' or stick with the patriotic theme, however if you are going to market yourself with the surrounding Naperville area/restaurants,etc, I think they should go that route. The course has changed every year, however this year was my favorite due to running through the main downtown streets which is what this race is all about. The crowd support is wonderful! My phone unexpectedly died around mile 5, but I did not mind all as people were out cheering, handing out tissues, and shouting encouragement the whole way. I also appreciated the clock at each mile, as I was easily able to figure out my pace despite the dead phone. The race is organized very well with plenty of information provided well in advance. I think that the charity village information is lacking. There was limited information on what to expect in the charity tent. I was extremely disappointed that despite being a charity runner, I could not check my bag in the tent because my charity did not have a table. Additionally, my husband was not allowed in the charity tent. I realized the tent is only so big, but it does not seem right that someone coming to support you (and has paid money into the charity as well!) has to stand out in the freezing temps while I sit inside a warming tent. This was poor communication as well as the race booklet read that friends and family could get warm in the tent, when clearly this was not the case. Please open this up to allowing a limited number of people into the tent with the runners, and do not exclude runners whose charity does not have a table. The downtown pre-race party was a nice change considering the 2014 outdoor festivities were very cold and everyone was trying to huddle in a tent. If you are going to promote attending restaurants and bars in the area, why not ask several of the restaurant to offer a pre-race dinner special? That would get a lot of people spending money the night before. Lastly, I was excited about the legacy medals that are provided for consecutive year runners, but the pickup of these medals was poorly executed. When I finished the race, there was a LOOOOONG line leading up to the tables where the special medals were. No one indicated that there were different lines for the challenge medals vs the legacy medals. After finishing a race, the last thing you want to do is stand for a long period of time to get your medal(s). Before someone communicated that the legacy medal holders could just walk up to the table, I had already waited in line for 20 min. Despite the bibs indicating the medals you should receive, a person still had to look for the name on the list which added time. While I love this concept, this needs to be improved greatly as it was a huge letdown after finishing my race.
B. H. from Downers Grove, IL (11/18/2015) "Pleasant run through Naperville" (about: 2015) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I liked the race but found it very hilly. There could have been more potties near the gear check garage. The lines were very long. Crowd support through the neighborhoods was amazing. Nice medals. The pizza was cold. I ran the half marathon.
L. M. from Naperville, IL (11/18/2015) "Great half-marathon" (about: 2015) 3 previous marathons \| 3 Naperville Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The change in the half-marathon course was great. Spectators were able to easily see the runners in several places, fun to run down Chicago Ave and Jefferson Streets and through the neighborhoods, awesome downhill finish!, Cool shirts this year, legacy medals a nice addition. Well-organized, lots of good communication. This is my third year running and the best overall experience so far. Keep up the great work! See you in 2016!
J. B. from Illinois (11/18/2015) "was fun for all" (about: 2015) 3 previous marathons \| 3 Naperville Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great design for half marathon, great for spectators and easy to get to. Was much better than last year for spectators and runners. Gear check was awesome, compliments.
C. M. from Naperville (11/18/2015) "Too much uphill, too much concrete" (about: 2015) 1 previous marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran the half. More convenient than going to Chicago and less congestion which is nice but too much uphill. I ran the last two years and feel it was well organized. The City of Naperville should really pick up the leaves prior to the race.
J. A. from Illinois (11/18/2015) "Overall Great - Needs better work with the City" (about: 2015) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Overall the race was great. However, many parts of the course were too crowded and many of the streets had piles and piles of leaves on the side of the road. This should be coordinated with the city to ensure all leaves are picked up before the race and residents need to have their cars off the streets. Both of these things made the course more crowded than it should have been. Also, maybe have the water stations after hills, not before!!!
R. P. from Illlinois (11/16/2015) "Pleasant suburban marathon." (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A pleasant run through a Chicago suburb, great organization, beautiful medals, but too much concrete.
D. S. from Downers Grove Illinois (11/25/2014) "Nice Job" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is a really nice local marathon - the course is through a suburb of Chicago and the course map was up far in advance of the race (i.e. shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone). I live in a nearby suburb - parking was easy, ran the marathon and home by 12:00, can't beat it. Nice Job Organizers!

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