Reasons why the 30th running of the Chicago Marathon was memorable, if not enjoyable:
() The race was called and my first thought was, "Why? It's not even lightning".
() The Elvis impersonator at mile 20 singing, " . . . I'm caught in a trap. I can't walk out . . ."
() Runners "fighting" over unused paper cups.
() Very short lines at the race course port-o-potties.
() The 3:45 pacer finishes behind the 4:30 pacer, and legitimately argues he had a good race.
() Our parents had Woodstock. We had Chicago 2007.
() Joan, even more skipping workouts wouldn't have helped.
() Police helicopters hovering overhead announcing you had to walk.
() You will never feel stronger at mile 25.
() Runners referring to water stops as "Oases".
() You can, with a straight face, plead with the Boston Marathon Race Director, "Yea, I know my official time was 6 hours, but at the first water stop, I was on pace to have the race of my life . . ."
() Imagine a city running out of ambulances.
() Pat Christensen, on the week of her 65th birthday, beats all other Fast Trackers to the finish line, and has a medal to prove it.
() At mile 10 you couldn't run, because there were too many walkers to maneuver around, so all you could do was to throw up your arms and say, "Maybe now you people know why you're not supposed to pass the track pacers!!!"
() We've all swam in fountains, but have you ever drank out of one?
() Overhearing one runner explaining to a work colleague why he didn't finish: "At half way mark, I was on pace to finish 30 minutes off my target time . . ." Schmuck!!!
() Sports bras. Thousands of them.
() Pat Christensen dismissing a helpful airline passenger, " . . . I don't need any help storing my luggage. I just ran the Chicago Marathon."
() Beat cops blowing their whistles and yelling, " . . . hey, you gotta walk . . . !!! "
() Transportation was offered along the route to entice runners to stop, and the phrase "Cooling Bus" was coined.
() Fellow runners collectively humming the "Bridge Over River Kwai" theme song.
() Volunteer with fingers in the water cup? No problem.
() In what other race could the song "Walk Like An Egyptian" be an inspiration?
() At the end of the day, you could (gratefully) offer the toast, "To the heat, humidity and humanity."
Embellishment you say? Poetic license? Only one of the above was not true. Pat did happily let someone lift her luggage on our return flight.
Milo German
Stacy A.'s Synopsis from the Marathon
I was the spectator and the plan was to run Pat Christiansen in at mile 23. Not.
This was supposed to be my re-entry into running after healing from my summer
injury but who am I to complain? I'll let the others fill you in from the
runner perscpective....
The theme song for the 2007 Chicago Marathon was “Stayin’ Alive”. And that’s no
joke. If you weren’t careful, or even if you were careful, your chances of
collapse, heart failure, dehydration, etc were infinitely increased. In
retrospect it was a good idea to call off the race. Here are some of the early
indicators that told me why:
- too many people dropping out of the race early on. I was at the half way
point, past mile 13 at St Patty’s Church when I saw runner after runner simply
stop. I could only find 2 out of the 7 Fast Trackers at that point, Andi and
Milo.
- When I realized at 11:30 am, 3 ½ hours after the race began, that there were
still hoards of people still coming through at 13.1, the runners were not
thinning out. I knew something was wrong.
- I walked back to the runner update tent, probably about a mile from where I
stood, to look up everyone’s splits...they were so off base I knew this wasn’t
your granny’s marathon….
- Then the piece de resistance…when I went to take the green line on the CTA
to the mile 23 post, a transit cop asked me where I was going, I said, “to run
my friend in at mile 23” and she said, “oh no you are not, the race is closed.”
I was in disbelief!
Waking back to the hotel I began to see all the people being pulled off the
course, not knowing at the time that Pat was one of those people. It was an
unbelievable sight. Thousands of walking wounded, serously! I felt like I was
witnessing a march of war refugees instead of marathon runners. The air was
filled with police and ambulance sirens, non stop, for hours after the marathon
was called off. Sadly, one person died on the course.
My next task was to try and find where everybody was. Cell phones were our
saving grace. Pat called me to say she was in Grant Park and on her way to the
hotel – indeed she was the first to return from our group! Harry was with Andi
who didn’t feel very well and I could not determine the outcome of the others.
Slowly we got word that Debbie Z and Donna had finished with impressive times
close to 4:33 (sorry I don’t have everyone’s splits in front of me as I am
writing this). Harry and Andi came in together at 4:57. Pat’s time registered
at the half mark at 3:07 although she ran to at least mile 17 . Milo and
Robin’s times were 5:59.
I am so proud of and humbled by the Chicago Seven: Andi, Harry, Milo, Robin,
Debbie Z, Pat and Donna Radl. Their perseverance, support, camaraderie,
endurance, and respect for the sport came through yesterday. All of us felt
like we had witnessed marathon history. Hopefully, something we won’t see again
our lifetimes.
CONGRATULATIONS RUNNERS!
Harry Rimmer's Chicago Story
We arrived in Chicago Friday afternoon and after dropping off our bags at the hotel went to the Expo. It was huge and Milo was able to get Frank Shorter to autograph his bib. There were several other running stars there you could chat to.
The “Penguin” from Runners World was giving advice on running the course. He warned us about the heat and suggested that we ran by perceived effort rather than a specific pace. He commented that 4 hour marathoners would probably run a minute slower than their normal pace.
We kept checking the weather forecast the temperature at the start was expected to be in the low 70’s and later in the day there would be a record high of 88 degrees.
On Saturday we went sight seeing. We took a river cruise through the center of Chicago and had a guided tour of the architecture. We walked the Navy Peer and visited the Stained Glass Museum and that evening we all attended a cozy Italian restaurant for our pasta dinner. We filled our glasses with water or wine and the toast was “let’s stay out of the medical tent” – through out the day the conversation kept coming back to the temperature.
I couldn’t decide how to approach the race. My original plan was to run at a 9:10 pace; that would be 10 seconds faster than my last successful marathon. It gave me a good chance of a PR, and with luck I might even qualify for Boston. But I don’t cope well with the heat. I had calculated my sweat rate and to finish the race 3% dehydrated I needed to drink over 14 pints of water – that raises the question of hyponatremia. For a fleeting moment I even thought about not running the race. But I had been training for this race since January, I couldn’t throw it all away. Then I realized it was simply a matter of “no guts – no glory”. So I decided on a plan. I’d run at a pace of 9:15 but at the same time listen to my body, drink oodles of water and take a salt tablet at every water stop.
Andi, Debbie Z and myself stood next to the 4:00 pacer on the start line. The pacer said we would be lucky to achieve a 10 minute pace for the first couple of miles – so I relaxed.
We crossed the line 11 minutes after the gun. The field opened out and we had little trouble staying close to the pacer. As we approached the first mile marker I checked my Garmin – we were averaging an 8:30 pace – much too fast. So I backed off the pace. For the first few miles I was on my target pace and I felt good.
As usual I had a mental picture of the course, so that I could monitor my progress by landmarks rather than miles. Also I knew if the next turn was to the right or the left – by staying on the inside of each bend you minimize your distance and hence time. This can easily save you 5 minutes in a marathon. I was still with Debbie Z and Andi at that point. Shortly after, I saw Debbie moving off into the distance – she is a strong runner.
The water stops were about 600 ft long, and as is the convention Gatorade was at the first tables and water was further down. Andi headed for the Gatorade. I went to the end for water. I stopped to ensure I swallowed two cups of water to wash down the salt tablet. It took so long I was certain Andi was ahead of me. I picked up the pace to catch her. After a few minutes I recognized the purple shirt, hat and pony tail. I ran harder and when I was two feet away – I yelled Hi. But there was no response. I yelled again, still no response. So now I had to overtake her to see her face – it wasn’t Andi. Just her double - with a puzzled look on her face.
So I settled back into a comfortable pace.
When I ran Chicago last year the miles just ticked away, at least for the first half. But this time I started asking myself “are we there yet”. The northern tip of the course was just after mile 7; but I had only done six miles and my hip flexors were feeling sore.
Some one touched my back - it was Andi. I was in trouble! My sprint to catch up with her double meant that the real Andi had to work harder to catch up with me.
We discussed the conditions and the effect it was having on us. We agreed to consider the race a training run, and perhaps run Philly instead. A training run? I looked at my Garmin we were at a 10:40 pace – slow even for a training run. Andi and I have run thousands of miles together, but her race pace is much faster than mine. It would be nice to just run the race together.
We could hear ambulance sirens in the background, and some people were already walking.
At the next water stop Andi went for Gatorade, and I went for water. We were separated again. This time I just maintained a steady pace. The first part of the race is pretty and shady – beautiful gardens, tree lined streets and a view of the marina.
Eventually I reached the half way point and started heading west. I looked at my Garmin I was only achieving an 11.30 pace. But I was overtaking most runners. So most people were slowing down more than me.
Then I set myself a new goal – just to keep running. It didn’t matter how slow, I just didn’t want to walk. Walking would cause me to stiffen up and I wouldn’t be able to start running again.
Achieving any sort of time goal was out of the question. Last year I was faster than 67% of the runners in my division, if I just kept running perhaps I could be faster than 75% of the runners in my division. I kept hearing ambulance sirens, and runners were passing out on the side of the road. Even some of the pacers were down on the ground
I hadn’t seen Andi for a long time, there was nothing I could do. I just hoped she was OK.
There were lots of spectators, and many of them brought out their garden hoses to shower the runners; others had hand spray bottles. And if you were lucky they sprayed your face as you ran by.
I just kept jogging along taking salt tablets and swallowing water. The medical tents were filling up, and as I approached one of them I heard this guy screaming in pain. The screams continued as I jogged on. I kept hearing ambulance sirens, and there were more people lying on the side of the road.
I had a pain in my right kidney. Did that mean I was drinking too much or too little?
Mile 18 was coming up and Debbie Gordon would be waiting for me, to run me in the last 8 miles.
It was good to see her, and she did a great job of looking after me. At the water stops I drank two cups of water and she gave me another two to pour over my head and down my back. The roads were wide, but only a narrow strip was in the shade. Every one was trying to run on a 6 ft wide strip of black top – it was a little crowded again.
One of the banks had an electronic sign giving the time and the temperature in Centigrade and Fahrenheit. It showed 35 C - my mind was too frazzled to convert that into Fahrenheit, but I knew that was “bloody hot” and looked away before it displayed the temperature in Fahrenheit.
I felt a sharp pain in my chest. Debbie is a nurse, so I stopped and asked her if it was a problem. She said that if it was a heart problem it would be on my left hand side. The pain was on my right so we kept on running.
We eventually reached China Town - a highlight of last years run. The crowds were huge and spilling over into the road, and it was so hot. The dragon I saw last year wasn’t there. The crowd support was fantastic, but I was wilting.
Debbie kept encouraging and motivating me – she even threatened me with a hat pin – it’s a British thing! Some of the spectators had bowls of ice. Debbie passed me a piece, and I kept rubbing it across my head. Around mile 20 we were told at a water stop that the race had been cancelled – but what did that mean. And was it true. We kept running, but most were now walking.
As we approached the next water stop, I popped another salt capsule in my mouth. Then I started choking, and as I coughed, a cloud of white salt came from my mouth – it looked like smoke. The salt capsule was disintegrating before I could swallow it.
We reached mile 23, nearly there. Just like running the river trail at Betzwood. But now we were heading north. The sun was directly overhead, and there was no shade any where. We were running, but almost everyone was walking. Shortly after mile 24 a race official with a bull horn told us to stop running, the race had been cancelled and the clocks had been turned off. It was almost impossible to run anyway, you had to pick your way through the walking mass of people. At the 40km mark the clocks had indeed been switched off. So my resolve cracked and we stopped running.
A minute later, some one tapped my shoulder. Andi had caught up with me. I was delighted to see her.
Debbie left us at that point. She was flying home that afternoon, and she barely had time to shower and change.
It was quite a sight. Michigan Avenue was filled with exhausted runners, but no one was running. My legs started to stiffen, and I thought I was going to puke. We could still the hear ambulance sirens.
Just half a mile to the finish line. We both wanted to cross the line running. It took three attempts to get my legs back in action without puking.
We had such a sense of relief as we ran that final stretch with the finish line in front of us and the bleachers full of applauding crowds. Even then, the center of the line was congested with walking runners, and we just squeezed across on one side.
We grabbed drinks and food and found some shade to sit in. Andi was on her cell phone immediately to check on the rest of our group. We tracked down every one except Milo – he was later found in the hotel lobby munching on McDonalds.
Stacy A had been out to buy four bags of ice for cold baths after the race. She had difficulty finding any ice, most stores had run out.
That evening, over a juicy steak and a glass of good wine we relaxed and congratulated our selves on surviving a marathon which will go down in history – and no one actually went in to a medical tent. No one had a PR, but we all felt proud of surviving the ordeal.
The next morning we did more sightseeing and flew home in the afternoon wearing our medals and a big smile. I think we all felt that we had a fun and very memorable weekend – runners are crazy you know J
Chicago is a great city, and the marathon course is flat and interesting – but the weather … is a little unpredictable.
My heartfelt gratitude goes to Stacy A. She did a great job as our support crew. Debbie G was my guardian angel in the blistering heat. I’ll look forward to the day when I can return the favor
PS. Although there are no official placings I looked up the splits of 100 runners in my division. Only 40% of them crossed the finish line, and only 12% had a faster time than me. So I’ll take that as a pseudo PR on my placing in my division.
Pat Christiansen's Synopsis of Chicago Marathon
I thought you all might want the take on the marathon from someone who didn't actually get to finish the entire race. So here goes....
I didn't get the marathon I wanted, I got the marathon I needed. There I was after mile 17 participating in one big, incredible parade. I met all kinds of interesting people who were there for all kinds of reasons and goals. Many were incredibly disappointed that they were unable to finish and some were just bummed. I felt blessed to still be upright and moving. After my blackout and airlift from Betzwood in August, hearing sirens and seeing helicoptors overhead after mile 13 was unsettling. I did what I could to minimize any of the same things happening again and got creative withhow I took care of myself.The drama of the marathon itself was pretty crazy but the number of people who were in the crowd who tried to help others was pretty inspiring. I was going slow enough to watch lots of things unfold and I would say the most wonderful part of all were the number of people not running th e race who checked on people and offered assist ance. The volunteers' faces told some of the story. You began to see worried and concern faces as you moved along. No one said anything but encouraging stuff but you started to wonder what was going on.
So here is how I saw the day unfold. It's just my experience but for those who were in the back and didn't actually get to cross the finish line, it was a different marathon. I loved it that the other Fast Trackers insisted that I wear my medal on the plane home as well. I always felt part of the group even though my time (such as it was) was for a 25k. Who knew they published those things? I had a great time in Chicago and couldn't be more proud of the people I went with. I'm proud to know you and proud to call you my friends. I am one lucky Medicare recipient! I run with the best running club in the city. So here's my take on the marathon.
I got to the second water station and there was no water. No nothing. Now that was daunting! I worried I might be back in August and in trouble but I was in a good frame of mind and decided to just get creative and pay attention to what was around me. In the next couple of miles I saw people splashing water on themselves in a decorative water fountain. I stopped, went over and did the same. I continued on my way and used my handkerchief to cool my face whenever I got some water. The next water stop that I actually found water had no more cups. So now I'm thinking this is not going well today. I learned a new lesson. If you get a paper cup, save it in your pocket, sometimes there's water sometimes there are cups--and sometimes neither! Newbies don't always know these things! I always carry water bottles whern I train--I never thought I'd need one at a race.
Somewhere around the 13th mile people were looking grim and among the runners it was very quiet. Again, no water at the last water stop. I'm running along close to the curb and a young woman (Meg's age) touched my arm and said:"Would you like some water?". I said:"Sure!" She handed me a bottle of water and said that she had even unscrewed the cap for me. Then she went back to the sidewalk and disappeared. I almost cried except I didn't want to waste the water in my body. I heard later that people were going out and buying cases of water and handing them out to runners. Who knew there were angels on the course? After that I became more vigilant for open hoses, fire hydrants and any form of liquid available. I was glad I hadn't taken the boat ride the day before and risked a sunburn in an open boat on the river. People were dropping like flies. I saw a bunch of runners sitting on curbs and many more beginnin g to walk. For many, there were family and friends who had brought water to them and I know they were incredibly grateful. It was somewhere around noon and I'm hearing ambulances all over.
As I turned a corner heading towards 17 there was a medical tent. I thought for a moment:"Hmmm, I bet they've got water." I slowed down a bit and noticed how many runners were there and dismissed going over--it was lots of people and in truth, I really felt ok. My other big discovery had been ice cubes. A couple of times volunteers had big cardboard box with ice. I used my trusty saved paper cup, filled it with ice and put some of it in my hat. It probably looked odd but felt so good! Some of the ice went in my handkerchief and that went to face and the back of my neck. The rest I munched on while I slogged along singing with my ipod. I really think it was the ice cubes in my hat that saved me. It kept my head cool and took some time to melt so I wasn't pouring too much water over my head and getting my feet soaking wet.
Now at mile 17, I started hearing helicopters which I don't like much but I'm telling myself that I'
m fine and they weren't coming for me. That's when I saw the one thing that got me a little miffed. I'm noticing people cutting through a side street from the 13th mile mark! I'm thinking:"Give me a break, I had to get to 17, you should too!" It never occurred to me that they were beginning to reroute people. Some time after that I heard runners talking about the fact that they had stopped the marathon. I kept going and wondered what that meant for me--if they told us to stop, I worried whether I'd find my way back to the hotel. I hadn't a clue as to where I was. I asked the runner who was talking how he knew and he said someone called him. At some point later I stopped at a fire hydrant and got more water and should have asked the police there but didn't. I thought to myself that people were still running and maybe it was the group of people I had seen cutting through from 13. If you were there, it was the end of your race and the rest of us were still in. Then I saw a small hand written sign that said: "Race over at Halstad--Walk." They didn't have to tell me twice! I suddenly became part of the biggest, craziest parade. I met some of the most wonderful people. We walked along and chatted and I found out why they were there and how they felt about the marathon. Lots of interesting reactions. Some were furious, some were relieved and most were grateful they were still upright and walking. Someone told me that the reason they stopped the race was because they had run out of ambulances. Now that is a sobering reason. I knew I had seen lots of people on the side of the road but it never occurred to me that it was that serious. I called my kids and Niels said that he no longer could track me and he wondered what that meant. The site didn't tell him the race was over.
We finally got to the park where we started. At this point I was completely soaked. The police had opened every available fire hydrant and we were walking through an arc of water. I finally walked on the sidewalk because I was really feeling cold and didn't want to get any wetter. At the park it was a mess. So many people and no one knowing where to go. Volunteers started handing out water, bananas and apples. Someone was handing out medals and I ran over to get mine. I thought what the heck, I survived why not get the jewelry. Interestingly, the woman opened the plastic bag and actually put the medal over my head. I thought that was a really lovely gesture. It was such a sea of humanity at that moment and thought: " I wonder who told her to do that?"
It took me another half hour to wind my way back to the hotel and my room. Stacey had put a sign on the door that said:"Welcome to the Bataan Death March". What a hoot! I was the first one back and the only one who didn't cross the finish line. Of all of us, I'm glad it was me. I really didn't mind. I thought that morning that maybe I shouldn't even run at all after my experience in August. I was feeling fine, and although I was tired, I was grateful I wasn't dizzy. I took a shower and waited with Stacey for the others. Only Andi had to visit the medical tent and she was well enough to be dismissed without actually stepping inside. These are good things--we all got back safely and although people had slower times, they were all ok.
The next day I got up and was amazingly fine. I was sore but nothing out of the ordinary and I decided I had really dodged a bullet. The Chicago Tribune had some incredible stories and the fact that someone died put the race in proper perspective for me. I survived and that was enough.
What did I learn? Save your cup. Decorative water fountains are great to cool off your head in. Homeowners who turn their hoses on runners are a gift from God. Ice cubes are one of the greatest inventions of mankind. There are spectators that are really angels in the world. People have wonderful stories to tell about the experience and how lucky am I to hear some of them. I can run at least 17 miles and have a good time if not a good "time". Fast Tracks is the most wonderful running club in the city of Philadelphia. Having family at the race is comforting, even if you never get to see them but know they're there if you need them. Enduralytes make smoke when you take them and don't have water wash them down (I don't know this from personal experience but Harry can tell you). You can tell yourself that Gatorade is overrated but it's not. Life's too short not to travel with friends. Cool weather is a good thin g and I will remember this in January.I never want to do a marathon again when it's 91degrees and the humidity is over 60%. I probably should have gone to track and gotten faster so that I could have been with the more than 20,000 who actually crossed the finish line. I write long winded emails and it's time to stop.
