Chicago Marathon

Prologue
Although I was staying at a hotel on the park, only a few blocks from the start line, due to the size of the marathon, 45,000 entrants, I had to leave an hour before the 8 a.m. start. The crowds were immense and it took me about twenty minutes just to get to the bathrooms near my starting corral.
My Tucson time was fast enough to get me entry into the third corral. The first corral was for the professional runners and the second corral was for the elite 100. To get into my corral I think you had to be under 3:10 which meant everyone had at least run one marathon and was relatively fast.
In 2006, the Chicago Marathon was run with temperatures in the 30’s, wind gusting over 25 mph and wind chills in the 20s. This year’s temperatures were not even close to that. The temperature was in the mid to upper 70s at the start with humidity to match.
As I waited in my corral for the start, I was already perspiring. There were so many runners in the corral and we were packed so tight, my GPS was giving my weak signal warnings when my hand was at my side.
Act 1 – The Shady Half
My original, pre-weather, plan was to run with the three hour pace group for the first twenty miles and then decide if I should push on, hold steady or fall back. Based upon everyone saying Chicago was fast, I was hoping to finish under three hours, maybe around 2:55. After arriving in Chicago and walking around for a day, I changed my expectations to be 3:10 to 3:15. I’ve already broken three hours so there’s no need to risk getting hurt.
I worked my way towards the front of the A-corral and was about ten rows from the front when the gun went off. I hadn’t found the official three hour pacers but I did see several three hour back bibs so I knew I was close. The gun sounded, the crowd surged forward and got up to speed. What a difference being in a seated corral and near the front. It took my about fifteen seconds to hit the start line and the whole group moved out. As we went under a bridge, I looked to my left and was amazed at the mass of people moving with me. Everyone looked relaxed, fast and ready to fly.
And fly I did going through the first mile in 6:15 and the first 5k in 20:54. I pulled up on the pace a little hoping to settle around 7 minute miles, wait for the three hour pacer and then drop down to 6:50s. It sounded like a good plan in my head but I settled around 6:45 as we headed north towards Lincoln Park.
During the first half, I saw women dressed as cheerleaders, guys dressed as cheerleaders and Elvis singing in the middle of the road. I knew it was going to be warm but I didn’t think I’d be hallucinating.
Act 2 – Into the Loop
As we passed the half-way point, we started to move west into the neighborhoods surrounded by the loop. While the first half was characterized by tall buildings, this section was mostly one and two stories tall. The tall building offered the opportunity for shade and since the route was mostly north-south, there was plenty of shade to run in. This section was mostly east and west so the shady spots were few and far between.
I was still holding a pretty good pace and feeling pretty good at this point. When I went through the half under 1:30, my mantra became Harvest Moon is this hot. Drawing on my Harvest Moon experiences, I knew I could run a half in the heat in 1:40 so I started thinking in terms of half-marathons and 10ks.
Act 3 – Out of the Frying Pan
By the time I went through 30k, I knew it was hot, I was hot and that I wasn’t staying as cool as I wanted. My pace was good with the first six 5ks being right at twenty-one minutes with a split of 2:06 for 30k. With 12k (7.4 miles) to go, the decision became to push for sub-three or to relax a little and finish comfortably. As I progressed through the race, I saw more and more runners reduced to walking and decided to easy up a little and see how I felt. I was a little bloated so I knew I wasn’t absorbing liquids as fast as I should or could.
The next 5k, I decided to ease up a bit and gave up about two minutes completing that 5k in twenty-three minutes. That left me close to sub-3 with only 7k and thirty minutes. It’s then that I saw my first and only three hour pacer. He was all alone as he caught and passed me. Apparently his entire group of other pacers and runners had all succumbed to the conditions and dropped off the pace. At that point I decided to not push for sub-3 and cruised the last 7k to the line. If all the other pacers and all the other sub-3 runners had been dropped by the heat, I wasn’t going to risk it. At the remaining aid stations, I made sure I took plenty of fluids and I even ran through a medical tent to grab some ice.
Epilogue
Shortly after finishing and finding Susie, the race director made the decision to end the race. Apparently conditions out on the course had deteriorated and the aid stations were having trouble keeping up with the demand for fluids. The temperature continued to climb and it was having a devastating effect on the remaining runners. The people who hadn’t reached the half-way point were diverted back to the finish area. Buses were dispatched to the aid stations to pick up runners and police were instructing all the remaining runners to stop and walk to the finish.
Personally, I had a very good run considering the conditions. Being near the front of the race meant that I had access to plenty of fluids and wasn’t trapped in the sea of humanity. I don’t know if I will do another mega-marathon or if I’ll stay with the smaller races. I was originally planning on running the NYC marathon next year but now I’m not so sure. I think I’ll take it easy for a month or two and then think about it.

Official Time: 3:09:35, Chip Time: 3:09:20
1/2 Split: 1:28:48