If you’ve been around here a while, you know I have a love/hate relationship with the Chicago Marathon. Well, I was holding a grudge after a miserable day in 2007. 2019 was a great day for running with an amazing crowd and so many friends supporting me (recap). I got the bug and signed up for 2020 which was cancelled. 2021 was an awesome return to racing but it was another hot one. (recap) I liked running the Chicago/NYC double (read: I’m a sucker for punishment), so I signed up again for this year.
The weather was perfect this year and the crowd support was AMAZING. This was my fifth Chicago and definitely the most fun! I dare say that I may give up my grudge and say that my new “hometown” race is pretty epic. My face hurts from smiling – so I call this a winner!
Pre-Race
I volunteered at the Expo packet pick up this year. It was so much fun checking in runners and talking to so many international folks and a lot of first time runners. Thanks to slow buses due to construction, I literally had to run through the expo to get my shirt and was able to pick up some Chicago Marathon Goodrs and my GU gels before signing in to volunteer.
Saturday morning, I led the shakeout run with Arc’teryx Chicago Rush St. Holly and I were joined by Haroon, an Arc’teryx London ambassador. My A Sweat Life crew (Jeana, Maria, Heather, Lauren, Achisa, Amy and Tammy) joined in. My friends Richard from TX and Victoria from Go! Running Tours NYC also joined. We ran a 5K on two parts of the course and had support from lots of great sponsors.
I laid out my kit and fuel early this year. It was nearly the same as last year except I swapped the Hoka Rockets for Saucony Endorphin Pro 2s. Then, The Husband and I did a pre-race dinner at Happy Camper with Lauren, Scott, Jen, Amy and Stacy.
Race Day
Lauren and I walked over and took the El downtown. It was so much smoother than last year! She headed in to the start area and I went to meet Jen. Jen and I were in Wave 2 (1st corral) this year so we had a bit more time. We head in, dropped of my gear and went to find the corrals. We lucked out and were able to use the porta-potties that were pretty deserted as Wave 1 corrals were closing. We met Wendy and went to the F corral. It was packed like sardines. We wormed our way up to be in the front quarter and ran into Stacey.
We decided to start together and I almost blew it by going to the left side of the median when they went right. Once we were able to merge together, we weaved through a crowded first two miles but were able to stick together. Wendy and Jen did a great job or pacing (and reining me in). We saw Ryan for the first of EIGHT times and then Liz B as we ran into the Loop.
Jeff captured an awesome photo of us on the first bridge.
We saw Sapna at 5K and made our way toward Lincoln Park. We looked out for Nikki and got ready for our cheering crew after 10K. We saw Charlotte and then came upon The Husband, Stacy, Lauren, Scott, Josh and Leslye and got a big boost. I ran across the street to see my neighbors and then spotted Brian (a neighbor and running friend). As we headed up Sheridan, we saw Laura and her Lynn Sage cheer station. The ladies had to slow me down (I get so pumped up seeing everyone) but we stayed together and chatted and kept on the lookout for our friends. The miles were ticking by and soon we were at mile 8.
At mile 8, we saw Carla and her sister. And then headed south through Boystown and hit an awesome water station that was Grease themed and the were singing Grease songs. Liz H. spotted us near Belmont. We saw our crew again with Jamie, Todd and the kids and headed south toward Lincoln Park. Lori caught me again in the same spot as last year and we saw Ryan for the 3rd time. Before we knew it we were at Mile 10.
On Sedgwick, Wendy did a quick pit stop. Jen and I carried on and saw Carolyn and Michael. At Twin Anchors, my epic “sweaty crew” was cheering us on. Wendy caught up to us and we went on as three again. We hit the half marathon at 1:52.04 (which was a few seconds faster than my Hidden Gem Half in September on a very hot day!) We all felt really good and happy with the pacing.
Jeff caught us again at mile 14 and Maria jumped in to run with us to the A Sweat Life crew. They had an awesome sign for me! That was a nice surprise. We cruised through 25K and headed through Little Italy toward Pilsen.
Wendy and Jen are such good pacers. We hit every 5K with an average pace between 8:27 and 8:38 through 30K. At 30K, they pulled ahead and I told Wendy to help Jen get negative splits. I kept them in sight until mile 20 and then I stopped at the next set of porta-potties I saw. I lost about 90 seconds to two minutes but I felt MUCH better afterwards. Right after, I saw Zenaida and Kerl heard her call my name and we high fived.
After my stop, I focused on trying to pick the pace back up for the last 10K. I felt much better and enjoyed some great cheering crews from Edge Athlete Lounge (thanks Allison and Robyn!), November Project (saw Ria and missed Kristen and Maggie), Peace Runners and more. Ryan popped up a few more times and waited for me after spotting Wendy and Jen (so amazing!). I enjoyed the crowds and ticked off the miles.
The course changed this year and there was an out and back on Michigan Ave. Once I turned north and hit mile 24, I could not stop smiling. 2.2 miles to go! Nancy cheered me on as I ran toward mile 25.
I saw Maureen and Cliff at Mile 25 and then Ryan for the final time. As I ran up Michigan Ave, I looked at my watch and saw that I was on target for a 3:50 finish which was right in the middle of the range I was hoping for. I saw Stacey B. right before Roosevelt and we encouraged each other. Before I knew it, I had 400 meters to go. And then I was done!
I got my medal and some water. I met a lovely woman from Brooklyn and we walked through the finisher’s area to Buckingham Fountain. We took each other’s pictures and I found Jen and Wendy. We were all elated with our runs and enjoyed running together for most of the race. Everything’s better with friends!
My finish time was 3:50.04 (8:46/mile). This was my 56th marathon, 5th Chicago and second Boston Qualifier this year. It marked day 962 of my run streak. Next stop NYC Marathon on November 6th.
So many thanks to everyone who cheered, sent messages, trained with me and supported me this year (and for the last 25 years of marathons!) I’m so lucky to have you all and am grateful to still be out there and able to finish strong and healthy after all of these years.
And if you’re still reading this… THANK YOU for all of the love and support.