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Chicago Marathon 2017
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Good luck Nathalie! Hope the foot holds up, or at least holds up enough so it's not too painful!
I'm sure you're all aware but in case not, planned industrial action by the RMT on Thursday so may have an effect if anyone is using public transport to get to the airport...
Welcome Nathalie. Hope the foot behaves
Three weeks after posting waaaaaay back in Jan I developed severe tendinitis in my Achilles. 5 months off and I’ve managed to do some training but not much. Yet weirdly I feel more relaxed with no self-imposed pressure...
Any yes, excellent spot about lack of Tubes = more traffic...
Run was brutal for me. Lack of mileage due to my time out and the heel injury itself caught up with me after 30k and I was running (slower and slower) between drinks stations and walking through them for the last 10k. Weather was also a factor. So a disappointing 4hr 20 after getting to halfway in 2hr 3 (and I would have been very happy with anything under 4hr 10), but ho hum. I’ve realised I can’t do a marathon without the full training / fitness though, as it’s just not as fun.
First half of the course through the city and the park/neighbourhoods on the north side of town was great, with brilliant support all the way round. Second half was a bit dull to be honest. And the finish line / straight is poor. Why not find 400m elsewhere on the course and finish on the wide street you've just come up before rounding the corner on to the hill. More people can see you finish and then you can walk up the hill to collect medal etc. and head into the park.
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the day and the organisation was excellent (very quick security checks, plenty of toilets, loads of pre- and post-race space), but a few tweaks and it could be even better when I compare it to other marathons I've done (Paris, Berlin, London).
Enormous thanks (as always) to the volunteers and the supporters. It takes something special to give up your time for free to cheer/help random strangers on for 8 hours. Some cracking signs out there as well. And as for the random Elvis...
4 majors down. 2 to go.
The race didn't go well and I ended up walking a lot - a combination of heat and a massive cramp meant that I scraped in at just under 5hrs after targeting 4:10
However I have never experienced support like that during a marathon.
Sure, it had it's quieter bits but even they support.
I was blown away by the massive support in so many places.
I loved the city, the buildings, the incredible volunteers and thought the organisation was exceptional.
The finish line was a little quieter than some races I've run but I'll let them off with that.
If you experienced the rain on Saturday night then you will be glad to hear it returned last night and is still here. We're in a cab heading to O'hare to fly to Georgia to visit a friend that I met through running the Paris marathon.
Running takes you places.
Where is your next race?
I got the annual rejection letter from London (7 and counting) so I'm looking for my spring race and I've got Liverpool booked in May.
Now onto the next one. I was going to do Barcelona next but it looks like that's out at the moment due to current political instability. I may do Brighton as it's relatively close to me.
Firstly, wow! huge congratulations to all the runners, to the sub3'ers on here and also to one of the guys in our group, who I know was in supreme shape and did not have time to get bogged down by the lovely weather. He went steaming out of the blocks and allowed himself a little fade at the end to still cruise in at 2.57.
Me personally, I went out a little softer with the temperature in mind, and went through half way in 1.31 .... but I could feel it starting to warm up. I was relieved to not be in the mix for my fastest time and prioritised getting in, getting the bling around my neck and getting beer down my neck. It's a good thing I did that really, as by 20 I had started to wobble. I couldn't really cope in the heat and was tipping a cup of water over my head at every water stop. At 23 I stopped for a walk, water and a banana, ran another half a mile and repeated a couple more times till I got to about 24.5 miles and then ran in for 3.18 and plenty of finish line love from the WMM mob who draped the big medal around my sweaty neck. The finish line photo is a bit rough with nipple blood soaking through onto my bib!
I'd managed to get a squeeze into Hospitality (along with my friend) which was just off the finish. They had my bag, we had a massage, got cleaned up and changed, recovered and then into another area where they have posh catering and drinks and all sorts. I was keeping the medal in full view, it got quite a bit of attention, and had a chance to meet and have a chat with the winners of the main races. Got snapped with Rupp, Hug and McFadden which was great. Really nice and down to earth people.
After a couple of hours we left and headed to various pubs and places around Chicago meeting up with various crew. It was such a long day and I got back to my Hotel at 9.30pm, hot shower and was snoring by 10pm.
I loved it! The race execution itself was not my finest hour, as I feel like I'm in OK shape. My legs didn't feel that trashed afterwards, feel like I could do another, but I needed to just get over the line, as completing this challenge is very costly and I can't be blowing up and having to come back. If i'd been completing it in London you could take a bit more of a risk, as you could just come back next year for 35 quid! The Chicago course itself is a very fast smooth course that in the right conditions is one of the fastest in the world. You can see why WRs have been taken there in years gone by. The good thing about the hot weather, it makes everyone come and support which makes the atmosphere better and afterwards you can drink cold beer with the hot sun on your face