Run, you crazy bastard!

September 15, 2009 11:32 AM

Best places to cheer on friends running in the Chicago marathon?

Next month I'm going to be in Chicago to cheer on a couple of friends running their first Chicago Marathon. Ideally, I'd like to see them at 3 or 4 different points on the course, preferably where the crowd and the runners might have both thinned out a bit, so they can clearly see the signs I'll be holding. I figure someone else on Metafilter must have done this, so before I start trying to plot my own route I wanted to solicit your suggestions. I don't know my friends' pace times yet, but I'll ask them before race day. We'll also have someone in our group with an iPhone, so we can track our friends' progress. Any thoughts on the locations suggested here?

posted by MsMolly to travel & transportation (5 comments total)

It seems like it would be easy to do this at the north border of the route. You could start out at Lake Shore around Belmont, walk to Addison, then over to Broadway (I think it turns south on Broadway). I live right around there, and the crowds are there but fairly manageable.
posted by Tchad at 11:45 AM on September 15

I usually see my friends at 4 points during the marathon when I'm spectating:

Division and LaSalle (Mile 4), Division and Wells (Mile 11, but it's only 1 block from the previous spot), then hop on the Red Line from Clark and Division to Sox/35th (about Mile 23), and then I meet them at Grant Park after they've already crossed the finish line.

These are pretty popular spots due to the ease of using the CTA. You might be able to hop off in Chinatown and see them there as well, but we've always worried about missing our friends, and not really knowing it.

I've heard, though, that spectating on the West Side is always appreciated, since the crowd is pretty sparse there. It's just harder to get from point-to-point.
posted by hwyengr at 12:40 PM on September 15

I have done this several times, and any of the approaches described above, or the approach at your link, will work fine. The only places the crowds are truly nuts are at start/finish and a few of the locations downtown which are kind of boxed in. I've known people who have seen their runners at as many as eight or so locations - it's just up to you where and how much you want to see people. Just plan your route so that the street closures don't prevent you from getting to where you want to be, but that's not hard.
posted by iknowizbirfmark at 1:07 PM on September 15

there's a great spot to watch the start from. on the west side of columbus, about 200 feet north of monroe, there are some walls raised above street level that are perfect for sitting on and viewing the runners. you're above the crowd so you can really see everyone. here's my attempt to google map the location.

this spot is also cool because you can clearly see the starting line and the mass of people behind it on columbus. a few minutes before the gun, all the elite runners come out of trailers. at the same time, the sea of humanity starts tossing of their foil blankets to the sidelines - it's a very surreal sight.

one toy proved to be super fun: a small bullhorn from radio shack. you can shout and be heard by all the runners. lots of people have their names on their shirts, so you can call them out by name (to encourage them, of course). i also made about 300 runners all laugh by yelling "you're almost to the finish!"... they had actually crossed the starting line about a block earlier :).
posted by bruceo at 4:36 PM on September 15 [1 favorite]

I cheered my coworker last year right by the finish, right by Columbia College. Not too crowded...if you go down by the new condo high rises you have a great spot (like, after Chinatown) and can easily cross over to the Roosevelt station.
posted by melodykramer at 6:03 PM on September 15