As I write this, the Bank of American Chicago marathon is one month away. It's an exciting time for runners, and their families. For runners, the reward for months of hard work is almost at hand. For their families, the sacrifices they make to support the runners are near the end!
Even though I'm not running Chicago this year (I'm doing New York instead), it is a fun time for me. I get to do stories for ABC-7 on the marathon, and for me, that really shouldn't count as work. In the last two days I've gotten the chance to talk to several high profile members of the running community.
The story we did on the air was about the changes they are making this year in response to last year's extreme heat, which led to problems with and water supply, and medical help. Noone will forget that they shut down the race early last year, denying many runners of their chance to finish. I ran it last year and believe it was the prudent decision, but every runner's opinion is shaped by his or her own experience.
This year, race director Carey Pinkowski is implementing changes to make sure they can handle any weather condition. I talked with Carey at length not only about the changes in this year's race, but also about the elite field he just announced for the race. Here is the link to the full interview: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/media?id=6388570
I also had the chance to talk to former Olympic 10,000 meter runner Todd Williams, and Runner's World magazine's Chief Running Officer, Bart Yasso. We touched on a number of topics as well, and I thought you might like to see the full interviews with them also. Here is the link: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/media?id=6386155
Now I've got to get some rest. 20 miles in the morning. The countdown is on!
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