I knew it was big. I figured I've run huge marathons like Chicago and New York before, so the crowd would be similar. But I've also run the Shamrock Shuffle back when there were six thousand or so runners, and that was considered a big crowd. So it was still startling to see the mass of humanity making their way to Grant Park early Sunday morning. 40 thousand runners were signed up to race, and about 35,000 showed up.
There were runners everywhere, and many of them were nervously waiting to begin their first race ever. I basically gave up on the idea of meeting my running partners for a pre-race warm-up. We were all on our own. But members of the newly formed 'media team' managed to meet for a pre-race picture. More on that later.
For some reason, with the race on a Sunday, I was out of sorts much of the weekend. I'm so used to doing a long run on Saturday and an easy run on Sunday, that I didn't know what to do with myself most of Saturday. I rode a stationary bike for a while, and tried to avoid indulging myself too much at the wine tasting event we attended that evening.
Even though I had nothing on the line, and was planning on only trying to get a good workout from the race, I was still pretty keyed up. I believe it's because I haven't tried to run fast really since last fall. And even though I've been doing this since I was a teenager, the nerves never seem to go away!
So it was a great relief when the starting horn finally sounded and we were off. I was fortunate to be seeded in corral 'A', which meant I was able to cross the starting line within about 25 seconds of the horn going off. And I never had a complaint that it was too crowded. I'm pretty sure there were a lot of runners who started further back who had a much more difficult time deal with the crowds.
I started off at a pretty good pace, and at the first mile marker was right on the split I hoped to be at, about 6:52. My objective was to run under 35 minutes. I kept on that pace for most of the race, but by the time I hit the 4th mile split, I realized I had slowed down, and was a few seconds behind. Fortunately, the last mile was lined with good crowds and familiar sights. I pushed it a little and managed to finish just under 35 minutes.
That was good for 953rd place overall and 54th in my age group. I guess that's the humbling thing about big races! But the most startling thing about the finish is that as I slowly made my way out toward the gear check back near the start several blocks away, I saw there were still quite a few people who lined up in the back, who had yet to cross the starting line! That means that at least 40 minutes after the leaders started, many runners had yet to cross that line. That takes patience! The winners were already showered and headed home!
My training partner Rick Staback (pictured on the far left) was racing just a week after running a great time at the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in Washington D.C. last weekend. He managed another strong effort, and won his age group Sunday. The others pictured include my wife, and my friends 'Wojo' and 'Rican', part of our weekend training group.
Back to the media team. This is a great group of friends who work for various print and broadcast media outlets who are going to be running a number of races this season.
The group is generously being sponsored by Nike and Fleet Feet Sports, and is hoping to spread the good word about running and various races through social media and other outlets. There are some familiar faces in the picture, as well as some 'behind the scenes' folks, but all are committed runners who love the sport. Thanks to my wife Christine and Amy Freeze (soon of WABC in New York) for their help in organizing the team.
We also took an 'after' photo with several of the team members after the race. We don't look quite as fresh in that shot!
Shamrock traditionally kicks off the running and racing season in Chicago, and with the great weather and fast times, this was a great start. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it, and now we can all go back to our more 'normal' sized races!
See you on the roads......
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