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Jul 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 41 to 51]

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

T. W. from Illinois (11/13/2013) "Impressive for an inaugural year" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Dont mind the hills in the course, but something bugged me about the course I can't articulate. Starting chutes were a joke, not nearly enough room. That MUST change. Unbelievable spectator support for a Year #1 race. No Post race beer? Really?
D. B. from Illinois (11/12/2013) "A good start" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 2013 was the inaugural Naperville Marathon. The race organizers were experienced and it showed in their pulling off an outstanding and well run event. Naperville is a mature (est ~ 1850) large (~140,000 pop) city located about 30 miles due west of downtown Chicago. It has a vibrant downtown with a river walk, a number of parks and many great restaurants. Registration sold out within hours and was capped at 3500 with about 1100 marathoners and remainder half marathoners. The race was a looped course with its terminus at North Central College just east of the core downtown area. The course evolved over the months as the mayor of a neighboring community refused to permit the 'Naperville Marathon' use of their streets for a small portion of the race. In the end this resulted in a number of turns and some short 'out and backs'. The race was run about 70% on pavement and about 30% on limestone paths. This made for a much more comfortable feel. Per my Garmin it had about 627 feet of elevation gain which, coupled with the many turns, made it a moderately difficult course. Expect the course to change in future as they seek to increase the field, add a wheel chair division (which means all pavement) and reduce the number of turns. Race day was very cool - about 32 degrees Fahrenheit at the start climbing to low 40s by the end. Volunteers were plentiful - as were the crowd support throughout the neighborhoods. One negative - start area was very cramped with all runners squeezing into a narrow street. Runners self-seeded and, with difficulty, I was able to get up to my proper area. However, once the race started, had no problem with crowds. Post race had good food - including roast beef sandwich. Also, the many restaurants in the area provided ample choices for those seeking a post-race celebration venue.
K. B. from Chicago (11/12/2013) "Impressive inaugural marathon" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 It was cold; it was windy; I fantasized briefly about skipping it altogether. That being said, this first-time marathon was impressively organized and well-done. I have done several inaugural marathons - all RNRs - and this one was as well done or better than those. I am from the area, and running in what is essentially my backyard was pretty cool too. The aid stations were well-stocked. The volunteers were helpful and the spectators were plentiful and encouraging. The scenery at Springbrook Prairie and along the DuPage River was beautiful. Across the finish line, volunteers approached me immediately with a wrap. However, I had to look for someone with the medals. I also had to stop and have a volunteer take the timing chip off of my shoe. Did I mention the HUMONGOUS hill we had to run up at the very last .20 mile before the finish?? I never heard so many people use the F-bomb as when I was going up that hill! Finally, as an add-on, while the tee shirt design was fabulous, it hangs on me like a dishrag. But those are the only issues I can come up with - and they are truthfully minor ones. The hot Buona Beef sandwiches in the race tent after the marathon made up for that awful hill! Also, I especially appreciated that there were plenty of massage therapists available for a post-race massage, so one did not have to wait. Great marathon overall. I would do it again, and I am already encouraging people to consider it next year!
Tim Servi from Plainfield (11/12/2013) "Fantastic pacer" (about: 2013) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran with 3:25 pace group for 24 miles, the pacer Mike was fantastic. Always there for every ones needs. Always making sure we were ok, if we needed any thing. Plus he got the crowd cheering us on as we passed them.. Extremely friendly and curious to all. I finished behind 3 minutes, he was at the finish line congratulating me and asking if I was ok. First class pacer.
m. k. from batavia, illinois (11/12/2013) "well run race with a challenging course" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 very well run race, especially for an inaugural event. The course was advertised as fast and flat (as they all are) but it was definitely not. Lots of rollers and a couple of challenging hills at the mile 25 and 26 mark.
L. M. from Naperville, Illinois (11/12/2013) "Well-organized event with awesome volunteers." (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 In the future, please don't just call it the Naperville Marathon with 'half-marathon' is smaller letters or left out completely. There were just as many half-marathon runners as marathoners and we trained just as hard. Please don't forget about us! :-) Great course. Well run. Good number of aid stations. Need more spectators. Awesome volunteers. Thanks for a great event!
J. B. from Naperville, IL (11/11/2013) "Great race - half distance was long" (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran the half marathon. You guys did a GREAT job organizing this event. It was a great experience all around, and I look forward to running it again next year. Two pieces of constructive criticism: the half course measured quite long on my phone (mapmyrun) - 13.4 miles. I'm not saying my phone was more accurate than your measurements, but others I spoke with said their GPSs also measured long by at least a couple of tenths. I know there is some uncertainty in the measurements, but seeing 13.3 and 13.4 miles seemed to indicate it was more than just measurement variation. The second piece is much more trivial - it would have been convenient to have a small bag in the food tent. Lots of nice treats were being handed out, but no good way to hold them.
J. M. from Suburban Chicago (11/11/2013) "Inaugural Race Was Smashing Success" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was an extremely well organized, and extremely well supported inaugural race. Plenty of close, free parking. Start line had a building open to stay warm (start time temps about 33 degrees). Much of the course is on eight foot wide gravel trails through prairies, and then residential streets, along a river for a while, and finally a suburban business district. Lots of residents held parties on their driveways, to cheer the runners. All the local high schools were well represented, with cross country runners spreading out along isolated trails to provide support.The spectators were very boisterous and supportive. A pretty chilly day for spectators, but perfect for runners. It was in the mid 40s when I finished in the middle of the pack. They had lots of portapotties on the course, and plenty at the start/finish as well. There were 1,409 finishers for the half marathon and 1,079 for the full marathon. The half marathoners split off at about Mile 9 (If I remember correctly). I think the volunteers might have outnumbered the runners. I have never seen so many course marshals, protecting every little cross street. The only tweak would be to slow down the start (runners were started in waves of 100 every 30 seconds). The course turns onto narrow trails fairly early in the race (while the half marathoners and full marathoners were still together), and less congestion through Springbrook's narrow trails would be nice. The course is not entirely flat, but the hills were either short or gentle or both. Enough to keep it interesting. Nice job all around!
M. S. from Naperville, Illinois (11/11/2013) "Awesome Race!" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 You would never have guessed that this was an inaugural race. The level of preparation and organization was amazing. The volunteers were phenomenal - so supportive and positive!! Nice job, Naperville!
A. U. from Channahon, IL (11/11/2013) "Forrest preserve boring and long..." (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Naperville Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Green Valley Forrest preserve boring and confusing. Very painful and long part of the course. The start was very crowded and seemed unorganized. Difficult to meet up with proper pace groups due to over crowding! Overall an ok race. I will not run this course again. Spectators were awesome! They kept me going!

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