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Race Reports for Chicago Triathlon - International Course

[1]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Hope to look at the Triple challenge next year!!!
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[2]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Great race, with top notch course organizers, and countless volunteers spread out across the course and at the finish who make the event run smoothly.
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[3]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Finished my first Olympic triathlon! Very happy with my time of 2:57:58, as I wanted to beat a time of 3 hours. Very happy about my performance on the swim and bike, but perhaps I didn't leave enough in the tank for the run, which was plenty hard and the sun coming out towards the end certainly didn't make matters easier.
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[4]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: The week before this race I was contemplating switching to Sprint. With only 2 occasions of actually swimming 1,500 in the pool I was not sure if I was ready. Plus, not enough brick training. But having the right attitude was very helpful. I kept in mind that I dedicated this race to a friend, I knew I would do it if I just took it easy, I had some confidence knowing I did plenty of training, even if it was not the best training ever - I still did. I think this race was like anti-anxiety therapy for me. Every single thing I worried about was overcome. I am so proud of myself with the decision making, with being able to calm myself down at the moments of panic, with staying humble and patient. It may seem silly, but I proved a lot to myself and it was a great boost to the confidence. I am very grateful my kids were part of this experience. What else can I say? It was a perfect day :)
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[5]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: lots of crowd support, good course marking and organization. I was shooting for an age group podium but the run zapped me.
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[6]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: this was my first oly distance and it was great. i am in love with triathlon!!
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[7]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?No
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This is a second time I have done international distance here. Although organizers did a very good job allowing Olympic distance racers to start in early waves, the new bike course disappointed me. I liked two loops on Lake Shore drive from last year. It was much safer and less confusing. Also the food served at the finish line was not good. If you like races with large number of people, this one is very well organized.
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[8]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: What a great race. It was organized and very well run! Transition was a bit messy, but I guess in downtown Chicago your choices are limited when it comes to large spaces to rack thousands of bikes. I loved the cycling course, and I really appreciated the amount of water tables on the run. Also, the crowd support was amazing. The one issue I had was that the Lakeside path was kept open to the public, and during the run I would often have to dodge a cyclist, runner or tourist - however my understanding is the city won't or can't shut down the path for races. At any rate, it was a great race and I definitely plan on doing this race again!
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[9]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: First triathlon and thought this was a great event. Very clear instructions, setup (though transition was a little tough to find at first) and starting sequence. Large participant group was less intimidating than anticipated due to well-organized race officials and volunteers. Hooked, will be back at it next summer.
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[10]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: The race was good overall. I think the bike portion was somewhat dangerous. The blame is on the racers for not going to the pre-race meeting and not reading through the rules. In each instance it was clearly emphasized passing was to be done on the right and blocking was illegal. I think an announcement before the race when everyone is setting up transition areas would be a good idea. Just a reminder of the passing rules. That's my only bad thing to say about the race. Besides that it was pretty cool to race up and down Lakeshore Drive and through the harbor and down the trail. This is a great beginner race if you are nervous about the swim. The sea wall is always close so you can navigate easily and for the sprint you can hold onto the wall at any point to catch your breath or calm your nerves. I highly recommend it.
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[11]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Great race in terms of location and organization, but seriously, I am not a fan of the bike or the run course. Lake Shore Drive is boring to bike and the road quality is crap. Also, while the run is on our famous Lake Front Path, I feel it is not ideal for running in the heat since there is minimal shade. Despite these negatives, I am sure I will do this race again since it's in my back yard.
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[12]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Plenty of volunteers and all were great! The bike portion is quite congested and people didnt know the rules: ride on left and pass on right. For my first Olympic, I am very happy with my time 2:44. I anticipated 2:50, but swam and biked faster than anticipated. I will try to improve on this time at the ITU in Chicago next year :) Sad to see the tri-season coming to a close..only one more race :(
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[13]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: There was a short amount of time for me to enjoy post race activities because my wave was pretty late and I finished close to the transition closing time.
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[14]
Reported by:
Race rating (2)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Honestly, this race is simply too large. There were almost 3,000 folks in the olympic, and there is such a huge range, that is almost isn't worth doing. The transition area is huge and chaotic, making it difficult to find a spot to set up, even with the clear markings and designations. The volunteers are great, but it's too big, by and far.
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[15]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: Fun race but the wait between tranistion close and race start kind of sucked. Its a big city race so there really isn't a lot they can do. The issue however is it place my wave right in the middle of high heat.
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[16]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Good race, well organized but overcrowded. Not a good idea to schedule international distance before sprint, especially anticipating hot weather conditions during the day.I think that limiting the number of participants in order to complete the event around 9 to 10am as well as scheduling sprint on different day would be more rational.
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[17]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: excellent race. perfect organization. it was amazing to experience racing with 10,000 people but in a such organized race. swiming in Lake Michigan was the best
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[18]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: can't wait till next year
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[19]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Not sure why there are some that don't like the Chicago Triathlon, it's a great race. Some also complain that it's too crowded but for two years in a row now I've gotten my best OLY times here. It's possible that I may do it again next year because I like it so much.
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[20]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Solid race, very well ran, good support and great vendors
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[21]
Reported by:
User photo
  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: Not bad...hadnt done much since Racine, maybe 2 swims? Some crazy winds on bike at times, shifting head and side winds. All in all OK, always fun race.
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[22]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: The Triple Challenge was a hoot! Overall, the Chicago Triathlon is well run considering the sheer number of participants. But it is crowded on course later in the day. If you do the Sprint you don't have to wait long for your wave but you will have to wait till much later to get your gear out of transition. If you do the Olympic, you'll be waiting awhile for your wave start. Pick your poison.
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[23]
Reported by:
User photo
  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: Overall I am very pleased. I greatly improved my time from my last Oly. I improved on the things I set out to do: sighting, mentality, nutrition. I had a lot of fun.
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[24]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Great race!
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[25]
Reported by:
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I was very happy with my time and finishing position. My original aim had been to get close to 2:30 but that was before I realised that transitions alone (including the run from the end of the swim to T1) would take around 7 minutes. The tough swim conditions, and the strong wind on the bike course also probably cost me a couple of minutes so all in all 2:40 was a very good performance.
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