Chicago—the Windy City, home to The Bears, The Bulls, and famous deep-dish pizza. Now, here I am, ready to take on the 2024 Chicago Marathon, one of the world’s best races! With an electric crowd, flat course, and scenic views, it's the perfect place for a marathon. This is my race review!
My Chicago journey began in October 2022 when I achieved a good for age time at the London Marathon by three seconds, and a (then) PB of 3:19:57.
This meant that I qualified for Chicago 2024.
This meant that I could achieve my third Abbotts Majors Star.
This meant a first trip to America....ever!
Fast forward to 2024 and suddenly the training block was starting again. I run most days but was having some problems at the beginning of the 16 weeks plan with a back niggle that was causing some discomfort. Fortunately, come early July I had managed to shake it off and from that point on my training went perfectly to plan. Long runs, tempo and speed sessions all fitted in perfectly around the erratic British summer time of heat, wind, rain and more rain. Was this summer or January?
Training in the English Riviera with Steveo
Before long the taper arrived, as did the standard head cold and ‘maranoia’. The run up to a marathon is usually a whole heap of anxiety but when you are travelling to another continent it brings a whole new mix of nervousness and faffing.
What should I take? What’s the weather? It could be hot? it could be cold? (The weather swung from 26 degrees on the Friday to 18 degrees on the Sunday and then 14 degrees on the Monday).
My marathon running, Abbotts Major hunting, buddy Steveo Panteli also qualified with a ‘good-for-age’ time, so we were taking on Chicago together!
PRE-RACE
We flew on the Friday before the race. A 9-hour plane journey meant we would arrive in Chicago at 5pm that evening. What followed was a 2-hour taxi trip through rush hour to get to our hotel in downtown. We carefully selected a hotel just one mile from Grant Park where the race starts and finishes.
The Saturday mainly consisted of getting the train to the expo to pick up the race packet (bib/bags etc) and purchasing every available piece of merchandise on offer despite firm assurances we would not be indulging in this merchandise malarky.
We may be marathon runners, physical specimens with a strong mentality but we crumble at the first sight of the fabulous jumpers, T-Shirts and jackets. We are weak and easily influenced when challenged with buying ‘race merch’.
Anyway, once we were done here, we wondered around downtown, along the Magnificent Mile to the Nike store to see if anything had slipped us by. It had. We duly bought more.
The remainder of the day was spent trying to keep off our feet ahead of the evenings Pasta Party in the hotel. We went in early around 5pm, had our pre-race carbs and retired to our rooms. I fell asleep at about 8pm, which although early worked well as the next morning would be a mega early start
The flight, the expo and the beautiful city
RACE DAY
Our race started at 7:30am as part of Corral D. The Corral opened at 5:30am. We decided that we would leave our hotel at 5:45am and take the one mile walk to the start line. We estimated this would leave us plenty of time but at the same point not hanging around too much.
With our body clocks on UK time, I woke at 3:30am. This was good. I’d had a solid 7-hour sleep. I didn’t need to rush......but of course I still did.
I had a cup of tea.... then faffed.
I’d bought some bagels and jam the day before so had my breakfast in my room.... then faffed. I
arranged my nutrition, got kitted up.... then faffed some more (all with the obligatory toilet visits scattered throughout).
Before long, Steveo and I were walking to start line. There were thousands of people up and about at this ridiculous time and it was pitch black. The sun wasn’t rising until 7am, at some points in the park it was quite difficult to see.
We dropped the bag off at the Bag Drop and headed to our Corral patiently waiting as the clock ticked by.
As the race was about to begin, the loudspeaker blasted out Bruce Springsteen and ‘Born to Run’.... how very appropriate. The corral was bubbling with excitement. The nerves and anxiety were strewn across everyone’s faces. ‘The Boss’ certainly put those nerves at ease with his all-time classic as the final minutes ticked away for the start of the 2024 Chicago Marathon.
Pre-race pictures and the walk in the dark
HERE WE GO!
We were off....and so was Steveo. We run our own races and my goal was consistency. Ease into the race, see how I’m feeling and potentially pick up the pace after 10km or so, get to halfway and stick with it. My target was anything under 3:30. A PB would be nice but that would depend on how things felt. I had no idea what impact the travel etc would have.
The first few miles take you underground, over bridges and through downtown passing the iconic ‘Chicago Theatre’. The crowds were incredible, packed and noisy. The GPS for the first 3/4 miles is erratic due to the underground parts and tall buildings.
I was running steady, around the 4:45/4:50 min/km as I headed towards Lincoln Park. I felt ok. I could tell straight away it wasn’t going to be PB, but I felt that the consistency goal and this pace would be sustainable.
The route continues north until mile eight where it takes a turn and sends you back towards downtown. The crowds were still packed, and the streets and houses were just like out of the movies (I think I’ve always wanted to say, especially with an American twang). I even saw Big Bird and some Sesame Street characters. I got excited and clapped Big Bird when I saw him......I have NO IDEA why!
As I reached halfway, I did a time check, 1 hour 41. This was decent and I was pacing well, though picking up the pace wasn’t going to happen. I wanted to hold this. If I did, then I’d come home in the sub 3:30 as planned.
First half and going well.
THE SECOND HALF…..
Mile 14 is the charity mile; the pavements are packed with all the charity supporters and it’s quite fabulous. The next few miles take you out in a westerly direction with picturesque tree-lined streets.
With 10 miles to go I was feeling it. I knew it was going to be struggle (I mean I know it’s always a struggle). Was this the travel catching up with me? The 9 hours on a plane? The 25,000 steps from the previous day? Who knows, who cares. Marathon certainly doesn’t. I needed to dig in and get my head straight. I’d done the training. I had done Chatham Hill at the end of 22-mile-long runs. I would do this. Yeah, it WAS going to hurt. But this is marathon. You NEVER beat marathon.
Little Italy came up around mile 18 followed by Chinatown at mile 20. 6 miles to go. Yep, still hurting but I’m holding a pace of just under 5 min/km, so this is good. Keep plodding. Keep the mental focus.
Mile 22 brought us on to a highway with runners on the other side of the road heading the opposite direction. The question when this happens is ‘WHERE IS THE TURN POINT?’ The answer was quite a way as I could see the runners on the other side hit the 24-mile marker.
I didn’t know what to feel here other than ‘There’s my answer, it’s far enough’, however it was a positive as it became a mental marker to hit next.
I kept plodding, still hurting, still focused. Before I knew it, I was one of those runners hitting the 24-mile marker. It was a huge mental achievement.
TWO MILES TO GO......
Mile 25 came and so did the wind. The ‘Windy City’ was now telling me why it is called the Windy City with some strong headwind that came out of nowhere. At least there’s just a mile to go....
As I passed last kilometre, and the last 800m sign, there is a bit of steep, short hill to get up on the right as you approach and go enter Grant Park. It’s not a bad hill but it is a hill, and coupled with the wind it was just another thing. Anyway, it was only 100m or so and once up it you could see the finish line and BOOM, I was over the line. DONE. FINISHED. Three hours twenty six minutes and 39 seconds (3:26:39).
One of the best things and feelings in the world is just to stop at the end of a marathon. The simplest thing that gives such divine pleasure after telling yourself for 26 miles not to stop.
IT’S SUCH AN AMAZING FEELING.
And then the pain of the achy muscle’s kicks in. The coldness going through the body. I walked down, picked up some water and a banana, got my medal, foil blanket, Goose Island beer and headed to find Steveo (who had finished in 3:19).
I found Steveo in the queue for the bag drop. The big queue. The very BIG queue. Fortunately, no-one minded that I jumped in with him.
I was freezing. I felt like Leonardo DiCaprio at the end of Titanic when he was hanging on to Rose’s raft. Steve said I looked like him (he was right).
Before long I was changed, warm and walking the mile back to the hotel where we would enjoy the beers and burgers. Our hotel bar was buzzing with excitement and pats on the back. So many marathon runners from all corners of the world swapping stories of the eventful morning/day. A joy to behold!
An early night followed and then a flight home the next day. A flight home that would take 8 hours and leave me to dwell on the whirlwind of the last few days. It felt surreal!
‘My Kind of Town’ as Frank Sinatra had famously sung.
WHAT A SUPERB AND AMAZING EXPERIENCE I HAD JUST BEEN PART OF.
It sounds crazy to fly across the world, run 26 miles and then fly back.
It’s crazy, it’s ludicrous, it’s sadistically fun.............IT’s LIVING LIFE TO THE FULL.
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