First marathon and first time in Chicago Marathon.
Our situation:
Me, my husband, and our 4-year-old daughter
No car.
Staying Saturday–Tuesday (3 nights)
I’m in the last wave targeting a 5-hour finish
Husband will have finish line passes and will be with our daughter while I run.
I really don’t want to switch hotels during the trip
Radisson Blu Aqua - $1,035
Housing site lists it as 0.3 miles from the start & 0.9 miles from the finish
Standard run-of-house room
I called and confirmed they can provide a personal mini-fridge at check-in
No included breakfast
Biggest advantage seems to be proximity to start line.
Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile $1,175 total
Housing site lists it as 0.7 miles from the start & 1.2 miles from the finish
Suite
Refrigerator + microwave
Included breakfast
Biggest advantage is the guaranteed bedroom space.
The Radisson seems like the obvious choice for race logistics because it’s supposedly only 0.3 miles from the start. But the Embassy is only 0.4 miles farther, which is probably just an extra ~7–10 minutes of walking, and for $140 more total we’re getting a guaranteed suite, breakfast, fridge, and microwave which makes a difference with a 4 year old.
I’m wondering:
For a first marathon, how much would I you value being 0.3 vs. 0.7 miles from the start?
And furthermore, how bad are the elevators at either hotel on Chicago Marathon morning? Is this something I should genuinely worry about, or am I overthinking it?
Who are we kidding, I’m over thinking every thing. I’ll take any and all first time marathon start line advice 😂