Binary Candies

I wrote this guide to help my friends track me during the 2010 Chicago Marathon but it contains information that can be used generally for most races or for people to track any of their friends.

Expo
The Friday and Saturday before a major race, there is often a Health and Fitness Expo where participants can go pick up their bibs and packages. It is a way for sponsors and vendors to sell merchandise, and for participants to get last moment equipment. Also, often times they have the elite runners or other VIPs coming to give talks or presentations. This event is for the participants but it is also open to the public and it is a great way to get into the excitement of race day.
The expo for the Chicago Marathon is always located at McCormick Place on Friday from 9 to 8 and Saturday 9 to 6.
Transportation to McCormick Place as most know, seriously sucks. There are several shuttle buses or public transpiration methods that one can take to the expo but I think the best one is to go to the Chinatown Red Line L stop and take the bus from there.

Pre Race
While it is fun cheering on the runners, it is even better when you can cheer on specific people. Problem is, with 45,000 people running, it is very difficult knowing when your friends will be running by. To minimize the chances of missing your friends you should sign up for runner tracking.

This system sends you a text message when your friends passes key points along the route giving you a good idea of when to look for your friends. Problem with this is that given all the people around Chicago during this event, it is possible for cell phone towers to fail. Often you would have to do some guessing where your friends would be. To help with that is to know the pace your friends are running at and with some simple math, you can know about where your friends will be given the starting time. Starting times will vary a lot because it takes quite a while for all the people to cross the starting line. There are pace leaders who run carrying signs representing the total finishing time they are pacing and groups of people who run with those numbers also attached to their backs. If you know your friend is aiming to finish in 4 hours 30 min, when you start seeing people with 4:15 on their backs running by, it may be a good time to start paying attention. Make sure you communicate with your friends exactly where you will be located, mile markets and side of the street so that they can try to position themselves to be seen. Know exactly what your friend will be wearing so you can spot them and try to bring signs or something that will help them see you. Signs, balloons, printed faces attached to long sticks etc are common ways to stick out in the crowd.

Race
There are so many ways that you can cheer on your friends. Some run around the entire city to see their friends multiple times, some go to cheering areas, some hang around the start/finish lines and some people buy kegs of beer and setup beer stations for the runners. (I counted 4 beer stations last year)
If you are going to chase your friends around town, you have to know the course. Good locations to catch your friends are anywhere from miles 2.5 – 13 due to the fact the north and southbound paths are separated by 3 blocks or less through this area, you can catch your friends twice while doing minimal movement. Around Mile 8 is particularly fun due to the party neighborhood of lakeview and mile 4.5, 10.5 on North Ave is also a great area. Chinatown mile 21 also is a great place to cheer and then there are all the cheer zones marked on the map. If you want to see your friends cross the finish line, make sure to get there much earlier than your friend does. Due to the large crowds it is particularly difficult to get your way to the finish line to see. Remember if you are trying to move about the city to see your friends, the CTA, especially the red and brown lines are your friends!

Post Race
Make sure you know where you are meeting your friends at the end. Most runners run without their cell phones or leave them at gear check so try to plan ahead.

ME!!!
The most important part of this article, me!
If you guys wanna track me, my bib number is 11180 and I am planning on running at about a 9 min mile pace. That puts me at about 3:55-4:00 to finish so look for me when those groups pass by.
Before and after the Marathon I am going to be at the CARA room at the Congress Hotel.
I am going to be wearing a blue shirt with gray shorts and blue shoes.
Please let me know if you guys plan on coming out to cheer me on so I know to look for you!

Tags: CM10, Marathon, Running