"Have you run Chicago?"
After hearing how many marathons I have run, the most common question is about Boston, but it seems to be about Chicago after that. I have never run this historic race despite having a house about 4 hours away. After knocking out Boston again in the spring, I felt it was time to finally do it. With a guaranteed entry time qualifier, I signed up.
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My goal was to run Two Hearted in June. I wanted to run it years ago but something always seemed to get in the way. First, I ran Grandma's, the next year I blew my ankle out playing volleyball, then the pandemic canceled the race, then I was stuck in China for the pandemic, and after that, I had to run Grandma's again to get the Boston qualifier. In 2023, I finally went to do the race. We drove up to the UP and set up camp. At packet pickup, the guy said. "We are all running the half tomorrow." I laughed. There was a half marathon, a full marathon, and a 50k. I was in the full. But the guy was not joking. Extreme heat and fire danger had them call off the longer races. I was livid. I had trained since Boston for this and wouldn't have come all the way for a half.
The race itself was insane. It is mostly a single-track trail, hilly, and muddy. We went out like a bullet and I found myself in 3rd. We were sprinting and I felt for sure the 1st place guy would come back. This continued for about 5 miles and the guy with me and I felt we had missed a turn. As we were debating going back, 1st place came running at us. We all had a little chit-chat on the trail and decided to press on. Soon we found the next mile marker and continued. At this point, I left the other guy and tried to chase 1st. I could see him occasionally in the woods but never got closer. At 9 miles I stepped into a mud bog, lost my shoe, and crawled around trying to get it back for a few minutes. I finished in 2nd on one of the hardest runs through the woods ever. The guys in 1st and 3rd were entered in the 50k. I felt robbed of my 87th marathon and another win.
Fast forward to fall. Summer training was adequate as I kept some miles going. I even ran a few 5ks in 18:05 and 18:35. These were the fastest times I have run in a 5k in more than a few years. After getting back to work I started running some with the XC kids and tucked in a few 20 milers, although not really following any workout plan. There was a big event happening I was slated for and when that was canceled, I decided to do something drastic. On Friday night, with one hour left before the race closed, I signed up for the Warsaw Marathon happening on Sunday morning, less than 36 hours in advance. Again, the weather was great and I jogged along, mostly running with some Irish guys, and taking it easy. They faded at the end but I enjoyed a nearly flawless outing, feeling completely in control, and finishing in 3:20 with no issues. With focus, I am sure I could have gone sub-3:10.
The next weekend was Oktoberfest. While the calories and the lack of sleep did a number, I returned home with an issue in the gut. This caused me to miss work and stay in bed on Monday and while it lessened over the week, it was persistent. I flew Friday night to Chicago. After being awake for 25 hours, I crashed for 4 hours and then proceeded to ride a bike about 15 miles to the expo and various shopping experiences. Sleep again was elusive, and I walked to the start line. The hype was incredible, the internationalism high, and the weather freezing. The race started when it was in the 40s and never got much warmer.
As the throw-away clothes began to fly, the countdown was on. My goal was minimal: enjoy Chicago. I was thinking around 3:10, and if that didn't work, back off from there. Things were not in my favor; Warsaw in my legs from two weeks before, Oktoberfest, the stomach issue, flying overnight, and that beast (lack of significant miles). I did not expect to make it without feeling the repercussions.
Chicago is the only race I have run where there is a separate start for each corral (not wave). Starting in B corral (wave 1), we watched the top people take off, and then we were held there for a few minutes before being sent off. This just added to the sprint that was the start as, combined with the hype of the race, we now had a clear road ahead. The pace was blistering and I frequently tried to slow down, to little avail. With the tall buildings and numerous underpasses, GPS was somewhat fickle and it was impossible to get a good gauge on continuous running pace. By 10k I was significantly under my fastest goal time of 3:10. Knowing that later I would pay for this, I resolved to just keep it steady and see what happened.
At halfway I was at 1:29:52, just eight seconds under the split for 3 hours. For a few miles after, doubt began to creep in. Slowly the legs felt a bit more fatigued and I figured that eventually, the wheels would come off. Yet through 20 miles the pace held. My resolve hardened and my goal was to just hit one mile split at a time, doing nothing significant. With about 5K to go, I started to feel it, and I caught the 3-hour pace group by 24 miles. The 25th mile was a challenge as my stomach cramp returned. Going any faster was not an option, but I could hold on. with 1.2 mi to go I dug in. If I could run the last mile in 7:35, I could make it in under 3. A little hill with 400m to go sent one last message that this was a fight. Cruising across the line, I was ecstatic. 2:59:10, a negative split.
A little over a year ago I was resolute that I would never break 3 hours again. Now I have done it twice since. And while that time is not what really matters, it does feel good to do at 43 what took me until my 5th try in my 20s to do - crack 3 hours. Marathon #88 is in the bag. Where to from here???
