For spectators & future runners:
- • Read the signs of the people who made them and smile or laugh or if you have the energy, give a high five. It really upps the spirit of those who came out to cheer you on. They may not even have someone in the race after all!
- • Get something that distinguishes you from everyone else. One guy said that he remembered his friend was running behind an Asian dude with 3 red balloons. Sure enough, we saw him come by. Twice! Once at 16.5 and again at the finish. OR have your cheerleaders with balloons. I find that balloons, specifically something funny like SpongeBob or Cookie Monster really stands out.
- • Have someone run the race with you for a few miles. You won't believe how much of a boost it does for the runner and helps them along.
- • Have water, food, candy, whatever with you when you do see the runner. They will be forever grateful. Oh and also give them a hug and a kiss or a pat on the back. Don't be afraid of their stink or sweat. ;-)
- • As a runner, wear your name on your shirt. It may sound egotistical but hey, you're running 26.2 miles, you're allowed to be selfish for this amount of time. At 16.5 miles there was one spectator, late teens or early 20's, who for 45 minutes we were there, kept yelling out the names of those who ran by with their name on their shirt. If it was written, Go Lisa, he yelled out "Go Lisa!" He even made me smile with delight!
Chicago Marathon "Race" RecapWhat a fun day!
I made it to the train station WAAAY before the train even arrived! That was awesome. I signed up text messaging updates for some of the faster runners on my running email list for DeKalb & Sycamore. John K, Bill & Jill all run a 3:XX hour marathon usually. Lisa Rapp was running her first marathon and I ran into her at the SkirtChaser 5k in Arlington Heights. Of course on the train, I got updates for their times. John K was kicking it at 7:13 min/mi, Bill at 7:33, Lisa at 7:46 and Jill at 8:08. As I was pulling into the station, I got their half times so I knew that I wouldn't see them go by. I also signed up for Jesse's, my marathon friend from Blogger.
9:50a: As soon as I got off the train at Ogilvie, Erin called me and said that she's at the halfway point but she can't cross the street. Our original plan was to meet at Ogilvie. I didn't know why not so I just said that I'll head on down there. It was seriously very close to the station which was totally convenient. But as soon as I got there, I understood why she couldn't cross the street. It was still jammed pack!! I couldn't believe it! So she found me, called me and we were directly across from one another. After looking at the map and realising that the rest of the course was on her side of the street, I was saying to her on the phone how can people get across, there has to be a way. The guy beside me told me that you have to run into the crowd with them and then make your way over. I was like WHAAAA? I told Erin that's what I was going to do. So I packed everything up, found a good time to do it and just merged in! I managed to get across within a few feet of my original spot and we were so happy that I made it across!!
We stood there for a while with our signs up. It was an awesome sight. Let me tell ya. I never got notice of Jesse's 10k time. So I wasn't sure how long it took him to cross the starting line. I've heard it could be up to 30 minutes. So we waited and waited and waited. Saw a few oddities cross, like an Elvis or a guy with a wig. I also saw one guy with his eyes closed. He was trying to be Zen. Well, I was sure that I missed Jesse so we left and started to head to Jackson & Halstead. On the way there, I got a text message saying that Jesse made it to halfway! DARN! Made it there in 2:11 and pace of 10:02. 2:11 - current time = it took him about 18 minutes to cross the starting line!
10:30a: By this time I was getting notice of the 30k (between 18 & 19 miles) marks for the others. Bill 7:40, John K 7:52, Lisa 7:54, Jill 8:49. Well, so we were at Jackson & Halsted which was 16.5 miles and saw many of the same people that ran by us before. Elvis, a guy in blue polo shirt. I even saw a young guy wearing a sweatshirt and cargo shorts running with an older guy, I'm guessing was his father. Then these 2 guys came in behind us. They were looking for someone in the marathon as well and one of them was going to run from this point on down to Chinatown, 6 miles, with him. Which was great to hear. That's so awesome. They also remembered that their runner was behind an Asian guy with 3 red balloons. Sure enough, the Asian dude with the balloons comes whizzing on by with a SMILE ON HIS FACE!
We waited until 11:10a. It was only 3 miles from 13 to 16.5 so I thought if he was running he would make it there in 30 minutes which would be 11a. But no sign of him. We were even on the side that he said he likes to run on. I was looking for everyone in a white hat and was getting cross-eyed trying to scan the faces as they ran by.
Erin and I decided to head on down towards the finish after that. The course goes south and it's really hard to get down to that area. As we walked, we went by a Jimmy Johns and decided to duck in real quick for some yummy goodness! Been a while since I had JJ's! After we were done eating, we walked over to the finish area. On the way at 11:27a, I got notice of Jesse's 30k mark. Just a few minutes later at 11:35a, Bill finish 8:02 min/mi. Lisa was next at 11:42a 8:18 per mile. John K. was just after noon pace 9:08 and 3:59:48. Jill with 4:22:34 and a pace of 10 min/mi at 12:26p.
Jesse had talked about a hill on Roosevelt right before the finish that gave a great view of the runners. But I wasn't sure if we should head there or just to the finish line itself. We ended up walking through Grant Park and towards a bunch of tents and then towards the finish line. The sun was really beating down on us by that time. It was a LOOOOONG walk and there was a lot of fences and blockades up. That's why they call it the 27th mile! We FINALLY got to the finish line area and saw the runners run on down. We were also in eye shot of the Finish Banner too. I commented, I wonder why they're not sprinting. They're like feet within the banner, you would think they would sprint. A guy in front of me turned around and asked "Have you ever ran a marathon?" I replied, not yet, in December. Just wait he said. But after thinking about it, I guess by that time, it's not like you're gonna shave off a whole lot of time by sprinting! Might as well keep going at a steady pace.
Again, I saw many of the same people that I've seen earlier in the race. The guy with a big foam cowboy hat. The dude with a huge headphones, gloves, waterbottle in each hand and a Jesus shirt on. Then the Asian dude with the balloons. Erin said that she saw him STILL with a SMILE! So after waiting and waiting and watching the timer switch over to the 5 hour mark, I FINALLY got a text message that Jesse finish. 4:54 pace of 11:14. AGAIN, WE MISSED HIM! Geez... So we walked back again to the Runner's meeting place. BTW, Elvis was DNF. It's the suit man, polyester kill ya every time.
They were nice enough to have an area dedicated to have runner's meet their peeps. On the way, got stopped by a runner to use my cell phone to call his wife's number. No answer. Said that he was going to the runner's meeting place as well. Told him that's where we're going. He looked beat and sweaty. Got a good close up view of the Finishers Medal though around his neck. Spot on back where you can have it engraved with your name and time.
When we got to the M-N sign, we stood in the shade of a Energizer Battery sign and I called Jesse. He said that he was getting his bag at the Baggage check in and that he'll meet me over there. A while later he called me saying that he was at the M-N sign but I told him that we were at the Energizer sign and he came over. It was so great to see him! I gave him a hug. I introduced him to Erin. I showed him the texts. We asked lots of questions. He was still stretching. I asked if the race had that sort of crowd the entire time. He said that around Chinatown the crowd thinned out and got kinda quiet. Erin said that she understood why he was so motivated to run a marathon after spectating the year before. ME TOO!
Then it was time to head on out. Erin and I both walked together along Jackson and then she went towards her Blue Line stop and I kept going. I decided to hit up Union Station and print out my Amtrak tickets for my train to STL this week. I figured out how to get in and then went to the Amtrak part of Union. Found a kiosk, printed out my tickets and instead of going the same way, I went toward Canal Street. I went that way since I know that I'll exit Ogilvie at Canal & Madison. The Canal entrance/exit for Union will take you right to Amtrak. YAY!
And then back to ogilvie where I had sometime to kill for the train. Waiting in the waiting station, looked up the elite times on the phone, chatted with other marathoners about the race, etc. Everyone still had on their medal. I would too! Hell, I wore my HM medal all night long after my race! Then I saw the line forming for my train. Then it disappeared and became a crowd of people. Then once they let us on, it was a mass exodus and people were shoving and pushing to go to a car. Luckily, I didn't have to wait on anyone so I skipped by a lot of people. I walked down 3 cars before I saw my chance to get on and found a seat by myself. That didn't last long though. Sat next to a marathoner of course. He had an ace bandage around his ankle. Said that he hurt it in the race but still finished. He and his wife ran it together. His wife was sitting with her sister. At one stop they made people leave from the very last car and it took FOREVER to get everyone off. Was supposed to arrive at Elburn at 6:06p. Didn't show up until 6:50p.
