We officially made it and are in Chicago!
I can’t wait to document the whole weekend and share it with you.
Today we have plans to pick my husband’s parents up at the airport first thing, head over to check into our hotel, and then enjoy every minute of the race expo.
Our hotel is located directly beside the expo, which makes it super easy to get to!
One of my favorite parts of a marathon (even if I am not running it) is going to the race expo. Today I can’t wait to watch my husband light up like a kid in a candy store and enjoy every moment.
There are so many reasons why I love marathon race expos:
1. Samples, Samples, Samples
We stock up on more samples than we know what to do with.
I am pretty sure this replenishes our stash of bars and gels for at least a month.
2. Official Race Gear
The husband and I put money aside throughout the year to make sure we have some money saved so that he can buy things he wants at the expos.
Even though the official race gear is usually not the cheapest, it is always great to look back at!
Here are some goodies I’ve picked up in years past:
If I had taken a picture of all that Wes had I probably couldn’t have fit it all in one picture!
3. Discounted Running Clothing
Even though there are lots of Brooks, Asics, Nike, and Adidas apparel I prefer to go to the smaller booths and stock up on the discount apparel.
I always find great running clothes for the winter at expos. I can’t wait to see what I discover this year!
4. Fun New Gadgets
We also like to always participate in the various fun things they have to do.
We often like to go to the booths where they actually tape you running from behind so you can really see how you land! I really wish I could have done it this year, but oh well!
I’ve also had my bone density checked one year.
5. Seeing Running Celebrities!
We have seen so many running celebrities in marathon’s past.
Josh Cox and Desi Davila
We’ve also seen:
Jill Biden
Montel
Both shot the starting gun for the Marine Corps Marathon in years past.
There is always so much to look at. We always go pretty early to avoid the crazy crowds, but lets face it when it is the Chicago Marathon no matter what time you go it is crowded!
I always leave the expo feeling so motivated. I am sure this year will be a bit harder not running Chicago, but I know that it will give me the motivation I need to hit cross training hard when I get back to PA!
I have a really special guest post coming at you tomorrow from a man who is very special to me.
If you want more updates on the race and my travels try one of these social media outlets, as I update them much more frequently:
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lovingontherun
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lovingontherun
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lovingontherun
The samples are great … but don’t let Wes eat anything he’s not familiar with 🙂 ! I used to grab ANY samples and eat them all, and Kevin convinced me to stop doing that since I have such a sensitive stomach anyway. I’ve never actually bought race clothing from any of the races I’ve run (aside from the standard race t-shirt that everyone gets). HAVE FUN!
Oh don’t worry he won’t! He is paranoid about only eating the things that are “pre-marathon” approved today! Tomorrow is the night we can go a little crazy 😉
I love getting samples! I once got a pureed berry pouch mix and then one of the chewy gel packs. I can make those chews last forever! Good luck to Wes! I hope you guys have a blast! 😀
Oh yes I can make those chews last forever too! They are DELICIOUS! We definitely stocked up this time!
Awesome! I want to hit up a race expo! I love getting info and free samples and seeing celebs! The run analyzation on the treadmill is cool – I’d love to do that! Have fun 🙂
-Sammy @ http://www.peaceandloveandicecream.com
Yep! Samples are the best part 🙂 We had a blast!
I LOVE expos! I always make impulse purchases and try to get as many samples as posisble. I really like your Nike shirt!
Karen @karenlovestorun.
Thank you! It is one of my favorite!
Yes – I may have made a couple impulsive purchases myself! BUT I tried to let Wes do all the shopping he wanted!
I love race expos so much! Nothing like the energy… and free samples 🙂
Yes!! You can’t beat the free samples!
Chicago!!!!! LOVE that area! Lived in the northwest burbs for a while, met my husband downtown, ran several races downtown… I REALLY want to run that marathon some day! Thank you so much for sharing this special weekend with us!!! I can’t wait to hear how your hubby does! Can’t wait to read about it tomorrow!!!!
I love Chicago!! Of all the big cities it is for sure my FAVORITE! 🙂 Thank you for reading- I Promise a full recap is coming up soon!
That looks really cool … but one thing I like about smaller marathons is how they end up involving the town in the ‘expo’. Wineglass in Corning the whole town lights up as they hand out the wineglasses and champagne bottles in the info center for the main street, landing loads of people downtown. Makes for loads of fun and is great for businesses. As opposed to all of the big brands gathering up in a spot isolated from actually enjoying the town of the race.
Wow that sounds really neat! I really have never done a smaller marathon, but it sounds amazing!
I think large and small marathons (and mid-size, as Wineglass is called) all have their positives and negatives. I like Wineglass because it essentially takes over the area (5000 runners between full and half) and yet feels intimate and personal.
The one I ran in July (PA Grand Canyon out of Wellsboro PA), was theoretically 500 (but actually was ~250, I think the organizers inflated numbers to create a sense of urgency around signing up). We had fun on the day before around Wellsboro, but it was largely unrelated to the race – a few coupons and so on, but that is it. On the day of the race it was torrential downpours and my wife and kids were having a hard time finding the finish area, and also had a hard time finding someone in town who even knew there was a race to help direct them!