HRN 374: (Chicago) Marathon Man on Ham Radio Now
Channel: HamRadioNow
Date: 2017-12-15

The New York Marathon. World's biggest, right? And Ham Radio is huge there.

The Boston Marathon. Ham Radio is big there, too. And it's, what, #2? 

Nope. Worldwide, it's not even close. In the USA, it's #3 (as of 2015, anyway, the last year a quick web search had stats).

So who's #2. The Marine Corps Marathon in DC? Nope. (But ham radio is big there, too).

#2 is Chicago. The perpetual Second City (even though Los Angeles took that USA title a few decades ago). And yes, even though you've never heard of it, nearly 150 hams pitch in to help it run smoothly.

Rob Orr K9RST has been the lead ham for the Chicago Marathon for the past decade, recruiting from a coalition of radio clubs and individual hams to provide communications for the medical side of the event (similar to the ham's mission at Boston). And as you'll hear, he really has a handle on it all.

Host David Goldenberg W0DHG leads this chat, as Gary KN4AQ hides behind the scenes (mostly). And note that this is the usual in-depth interview, but the show really runs about 95 minutes, and the rest is the 'post-show party' (aka The Best Part of the Show).