If you’ve been following along, you know that I said I’d never run the Chicago Marathon again. The 2007 Chicago Marathon was an inferno. It remains a personal worst for me. In fairness, I’ve enjoyed spectating, hosting runners and helping friends since then. A few years ago, a group of my friends came to San Francisco with me to run the marathon to celebrate the 20th anniversary of my first marathon. This year’s Chicago was the 20th anniversary of Wendy’s first marathon. Since turn about is fair play, I signed up.
I enjoyed training this summer and got to participate in a ton of fun events. The city goes all out for Chicago and there are more cool events than anyone could possibly attend. I did some of the Nike Unsanctioned Races, led an Athleta run club and attended the Rebound Book Launch.
Pre-Race
I had a bunch of friends in town from NYC for the race. We had a packed weekend. We started with the Nike Shuttle to the Expo. The number pick up was super efficient but the Expo was pretty jammed so we didn’t stay too long. We swung by the Rx Bar office to load up on snacks. That was a fun marathoner perk.
Friday night, I joined Hanna, Jen and Tahnee for the Nike Unsanctioned Race 004. It was a 4 x 800 relay at Soldier Field. It was unexpectedly chilly but we had a great time participating and cheering. There were some really fast runners!
Saturday morning, Marie, Sue, Lia and I went to the Runstreet Shake Out Run. It was in West Town. We had such a fun group and loved the art. Chicago Truborn Gallery was an awesome host. Clif set us up with all the goodies. I even won a cool piece of art from Getaround in a raffle. Woot! Then, I swung by for brunch with Kim and her family, Michelle, Lacey and Jen. It’s so fun to meet/see blogger friends in real life.
Saturday night we went for dinner at Angelina (for the fourth year in a row) and got race ready.
Race Day
Everything was smooth on race morning. We got to the start quickly. Sue, Gordon and I took some pics, dropped our bags and ran into Dan and our friend Kelly from NYC. Before we knew it, it was time to head to the corrals. They were in D and I was in E so we parted ways. I went to E and quickly found Susana and Violeta. The energy was great and we chatted with some folks around us and got ready to start. There was a break between corrals and after 22 minutes we headed across the line.
Susana set the pace and I was proud of starting conservatively (for a change!) I haven’t done the race in years so I enjoyed exploring the city. I didn’t expect to see many friends in the early miles but I saw Dale and a few other folks in the Loop.
When we headed north toward Old Town, I started to look out for folks. I saw Jeana and Justin, then Sapna, Bobbi and Gayle. Heading into Lincoln Park, Daniela spotted me and then I was on the look out for Susie and crew. We were running very comfortably and it felt great. The weather was perfect.
Heading to the 10K mark, I knew I had a big crew. It was such a boost to see Jamie, Kathy, Josh, Leslye and Lynn plus surprise visitor Katie! Then I knew by my place Neal would be there with Lia and Marie plus folks from our building. I had to rein myself in a bit after that. We headed north to Sheridan and looped back with no issues.
Coming down Broadway through Boystown was a blast. I wish I could remember what the emcee was saying. “She” was hilarious. The volunteers there were so lucky. They had fun entertainment for hours! We kept our eyes peeled for friends and saw the crew from 10K, Neal, Marie and Lia and Stacy and Kelli on Broadway. At that point (around mile 9), Vi wasn’t feeling great so she and Susana slowed a bit. I was feeling good, so I picked up the pace a bit. It was cool running through our neighborhood.
I had to contain my excitement heading back to Old Town. I knew I had a lot of friends there and a ton of A Sweat Life friends were manning the aid station at mile 11. I saw my friend Gary randomly which was a boost. Then Heather, Mary, Brandon and their awesome crew were such awesome cheerleaders. Then I ran through the water stop and loved seeing so many friends.
Sapna caught me again right after this and had me sort of pause for a pic. Right after this, I met a woman from Brooklyn named Kelly. I knew both of these things from her shirt. We chatted and worked together for the next 6 – 7 miles. [And I convinced her to jump in with the 3:45 group so she beat her time goal. We’ve been in touch since and she’s meeting me in NYC for the Runstreet NYC shakeout run!] It was such a great boost!
I looked for friends at the midway point. I saw Marcia and Wendy at the “blogger press box” but I was on the wrong side of the street and they didn’t hear me call out to them. I’m familiar with the neighborhoods and crowds from 13 – 23 from helping friends with that section so many times. I ran into Nikki around mile 16 and that was amazing. I loved running through Chinatown and Pilsen. Maria spied me there and I got a boost from Robyn and the folks from Edge. This may be TMI, but I had to go to the bathroom since before the start so I took a pottie break at a medical station around mile 18.
After my pitstop, I felt good and tried to get back to my pace. I got a great boost from seeing Holly and the Heartbreak Run Club after mile 20. I rode the struggle bus a bit from mile 21 – 23. I tried to remind myself that this was a perfect day to run and that I had trained well for it. The November Project cheer station at mile 22 was AMAZING. I even got a hug from surprise return guest, Dani! I saw Liz and Heather at a low point but those fast mamas reminded me that I could keep moving.
Once I got to 37K (5K to go), I was able to push myself again. I wasn’t super speedy but I felt strong. I knew I had a lot of friends in that last mile. I ran into Nimrod with about 2 miles to go. He reminded me that we’re not as young as we used to be (haha). I saw Maureen, Cliff and Zoe at 25 and then Amy. I knew our huge cheer crew with Neal would be coming up and kept reminding myself I had less than a mile to go. I saw the crew and started crying tears of joy.
I ran up “Mt Roosevelt” and turned the corner. I was elated to realize that the finish is closer than it is for some other races. And I ran as fast as I could to the finish and like that… marathon #50 was complete. I was so excited to run into Susana and Violeta again. Susana ran super smart (of course) and finished in 3:49 (a BQ!).
I finished in 3:53.59. This was my 43rd sub 4-hour marathon and over a minute faster than my 1st in 1996. It wasn’t my “A” goal or my fastest Chicago, or even my fastest this year, but my face hurt from smiling so that’s a huge win. It erased most of my Chicago Marathon PTSD from 2007.
Congratulations to all of my friends who ran. I had friends who ran epic times, huge PRs and many first timers. Wendy ran her 20th anniversary race (and 20th marathon) with a smile to rival mine. Carolyn ran her first marathon in 10 years (and maybe her last). Amy ran 2:55! Gordon and Sue both scored huge BQs and had a blast. SJ, Scott and Jen are now marathoners. The list goes on and on. (Sorry if I missed you!)
Thank you to all of my friends (and Neal) out on the course and who ran with me all summer. In 2007, I had a few people out there. This year, I had too many to count. The love and support before, after and during this race is beyond my wildest expectations. I told a few people that my heart is so full. I could never have imagined the community we’d have in Chicago. There are no words to express my gratitude for it, my health and our amazing life.
And if you’re still reading this… THANK YOU for all of the love and support. Here’s to the next 50!