LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon - RunMarathon

Extremely tough. Legendary conditions. 1 person died and over 300 carted away for medical treatment. Record high temp for the day and very humid. Over 20 degrees above average temp for the day.

Not a thing. This was as close to a perfect marathon as I'll probably get. Took 1-2 big Gatorade cups at EVERY aid station. Then had 3-4 small cups of water, taking a sip from some but dumping most on my head. Kept a very even pace until about the last 4 miles wouldn't I couldn't help but slow on the sweltering pavement.

Walked around for a long time before sitting down. Then ate/drank a little in Victory Tent and walked back to hotel.


HEAT! I almost surely could have been 3.5 minutes faster (and qualified for Boston) under reasonable conditions. I beat people that are normally MUCH faster than me. I was running by dozens of people walking with 3:00 and 3:10 pace bibs.


This was my favorite marathon to date. Great crowds, neighborhoods, and atmosphere. But the race was called shortly after I finished and for the back of the pack was something of a debacle. They really did need more aid stations (had just 15), and had significant distribution problems to the aid stations that they had. But I didn't experience any of this. While I was really hurting for the last 3-4 miles, it wasn't any worse than my other marathons. I believe this is my best, gutsiest race performance to date.