I was up early on Sunday. My running clothes were laid out, and I threw them on. After making sure my daughters had breakfast, I checked my watch, realized the race was starting in five minutes, I tore down the stairs and started to run. On my treadmill.
Yup, I turned on the TV, and watched the first few miles of the 33rd running of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon while running on my treadmill in the basement. It was beautiful outside. A wonderful fall day. My time, however, was committed to children's activities, church, and a full day of family holiday weekend fun.
I love the Chicago marathon. I've run it 8 or 9 times, and go to watch it as a specator on most years when I sit it out. I've had the pleasure of interviewing several of the top elites, as well as many others connected with the race who I call my friends. Lots of my friends were running Sunday as well.
But I was home watching on TV, kicking myself that I wasn't among the runners winding through Chicago. I had already endured several dozen inquiries during the week about whether I was running the marathon this year. Despite the fact that I've done dozens of races, this year, and have been training pretty well, the Chicago marathon is the only race that registers on the radar for most of my non-running friends.
That's fine. Like I mentioned earlier, I love the Chicago marathon, and I am proud of the important place it holds in the world of distance running. It encourages thousands of people every year to accomplish their fitness and fundraising goals. Their personal stories are inspiring. It has become a huge event, and brings millions of dollars in economic benefits to the city. I could go on and on about the benefits.
But the race itself was amazing this year. I watched with great interest to see whether Ryan Hall could find a way to win his first major international marathon. I wanted to see how Moses Mosop would fare, in just his second marathon after the amazing race he ran this spring in Boston. Kenyan Wesley Korir was also on my radar after
meeting him on Friday. And Liliya Shobukhova was also a great story, as she tried to win an unprecedented third straight race.
If you follow the sport, you probably already know how it turned out. Mosop set a course record despite an achilles injury that hampered his training. Ryan Hall ran a very strong 2:08, but finished in 5th place. Korir ran a p.r. and finished in 2nd. And Shobukhova also ran an incredible race winning in 2:18. My friend Tom Smithburg snapped shots of the leaders as they ran by on the course. He also sat out the race this year, but says he had a blast watching it as a fan.
I would be remiss if I didn't acknowlege the tragic death during the race of North Carolina firefighter William Caviness. By all accounts, he was an experienced runner, in good condition. It is an unimaginable tragedy for his family, including two young children. And it is a sobering reminder for the rest of us, that we should savor every bit of the joy we get from running, because we never know what it all might end. My prayers are with his family.
So now the marathon is over, and for those who ran it, now is a time for celebration and recovery. Congratulations! For the rest of us, there are more races on the schedule!
See you on the roads......
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