The Color Run in Chicago

Sunset in Chicago from my back deck

A younger fan at the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup Parade

Kahn, my neighbors dog, lounging on the back deck

Colors of the 2013 Chicago Marathon

A gorilla at the Lincoln Park Zoo investigates some straw.

Racers in the Mens Category 3 race at the Chicago Cyclocross Cup turn down Cricket Hill at Montrose Harbor.

All the links above take you to the full set in Flickr. Before the new year I’ll have another photography wrap-up dedicated to aviation photos.

About 40,000 runners took to the streets of Chicago yesterday for the Chicago Marathon, a 26.2 mile trek through Chicago’s near north, west, and south side neighborhoods. I headed down to the race to cheer on my friends who were running and take some pictures. It was a beautiful day fro a race.

Here are the highlights from Miles 4, 10, 16, and 26. You can view all the photos from the 2013 Chicago Marathon over on the Flickr.

Smiling at Mile 4 and happy to be running her first marathon.

Dear Stranger, You’re My Hero

The oft-attempted, rarely-completed double-fisted-water-grab at Mile 10.

Seriously.

Boston Strong at Mile 16.

This guy was pumped.

]]> http://petchmo.com/2013-chicago-marathon/feed/ 0 http://petchmo.com/2013-chicago-marathon-spectate-like-a-champion/ http://petchmo.com/2013-chicago-marathon-spectate-like-a-champion/#comments Wed, 09 Oct 2013 17:21:04 +0000 http://petchmo.com/?p=205 Every year a bunch of people I know take to the streets of Chicago to run 26.2 miles. And while this is an activity in which I would never wish to partake, I do my very best to support them. I cheer, I shout, I urge them along. And it’s a lot of fun.After spectating my first marathon, I learned something: properly spectating a marathon is hard work. I’m not saying it’s hard work like running the marathon, but it’s a tough gig. When spectating a marathon you’re balancing competing priorities of seeing your runners as much as you can and easily getting from one point to the next as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

Location, Location, Location

The first thing you want to do is decide where you’re going to be and when you’re going to be. Find out which corral your runners are in as there are two start waves this year, 7:30 and 8:00. From there you’ll be able to determine about where you’ll find your runners based on their pace. An often overlooked, but important, piece of information is what side of the street you’ll be standing on. Your runners are concentrating on running 26.2 miles, they don’t need to be searching through the crowds to find you. Make sure you communicate with your runners where you’ll be.

Properly spectating a marathon is hard work.

For Chicago, you can comfortably see your runners 3 to 4 times during the race depending on their pace. The faster your runners, the fewer times you’ll see them before the finish. Miles 3 through 12 are basically a big loop through the north side so you can easily see your runners twice while only walking about a block. Miles 3 & 11.5 or Miles 4 & 11 are going to be good places to catch your runners. The annotated map below shows where I plan to be on Sunday during the race. I’ll be moving around a lot, but you can safely visit 3 spots and see your runners 4 times. Mile 16.5-ish is a great place to see runners as it’s right off the Blue Line, so you can hop right back on to head to the Finish near Roosevelt and Columbus. The Roosevelt Road bridge is a great place to cheer finishers, but get there early as it gets crowded.

There are additional security precautions in place this year, so be aware that spectators are not allowed in the Start or Finish area during the race.

Tracking Your Runners

An easy way to keep track of your runners for the Chicago Marathon are text messages from the marathon. You’ll get a text message when your runners cross the 10k, Half, 30k, and Finish. If you and your runners have iPhones you can install the Find My Friends app and track them in real time. The Chicago Marathon also has an official app this year with maps and spectator information.

Post-race, have a designated place for a post-race meet up away from the finish line, as the finish area is a sea of sweaty near-incoherent runners. Don’t rely on your phone as 60,000 people trying to use their phones within a few blocks of each other tends to crash the network.

Have fun, take pictures, and enjoy! And to all you runners: have a great race!

Getting to the race was a bit of a challenge as traffic to the parking area went from five lanes to one without much traffic direction from police. It took 45 minutes to go 1.8 miles. That made me question paying for parking until I realized that the shuttle busses from the free lot were stuck in the same traffic.

A lot of people just got off the shuttle busses and out of their cars and walked to the race. The race ended up starting 30 minutes late because of the traffic, but once we got there things improved. The race itself was well organized and clearly marked—which is important considering that going off course during this race could lead to running on an active runway.

United was the aviation sponsor of the run and they sweetened the pot by parking a 777-200/ER at the end of the runway. Last year they had a 747, but didn’t allow anyone near it. This year they allowed us to get up close and personal with the 777. You can view the full gallery from the run and community day on Flickr.

777 Nose Gear

Rear of the PW4090 Engine

The great thing about this years race was instead of being on the north side of the airfield, we were in the heart of the action. During the race ex-Korean Air, China Airlines, and EVA Air 747 freighters landed on the next runway. That was worth the price of admission alone. After the race we were shuttled back to the end of the runway for a photo-op with the United 777. I got a few shots of the 777, but was also treated to ANA 11 and JAL 9 departing on 28R a few hundred feet away.

JAL 9 departs for Tokyo.

It was the perfect day for a race and some planespotting and I’m always happy to support such a worth organization like the Wounded Warrior Project. If you’re interested in running (or just showing up) next year, keep an eye on the Chicago Events page.

This year’s run adds a 10K in addition to the 5K, so you can run on the runway even longer. Also new this year is the location of the race. The race will take place on the brand new Runway 10C-28C, which will not open to aircraft until October. That’s right, we’ll get to run on the runway before it’s used by aircraft. Even better, as you can see in the map below, 10C-28C is much closer to the action than last year’s runway 27R-9L.

Last year United parked a 747-400 on the taxiway and used as a the centerpiece of the course. After the race was over, trolley’s took anyone who wanted to go back out to the runway to take pictures with the aircraft. I’m crossing my fingers that this year the 787 makes an appearance. You can check out the full gallery of photos from last year’s event here.

Go here to sign up for the Run on the Runway. To get $5 off your race fee before August 31, use coupon code RUNWAYrun2012.