Running The Race

I have now run in five marathons. Each one was unique. But to have been in one that has been stopped really makes this year’s Chicago Marathon stand out.

We flew up to Chicago Saturday morning and caught the train into the city checked in at the hotel and then headed to the expo. The Expo is huge and just a crush of people. We only stayed about an hour and a half and then caught a cab back to the hotel.

We ate at the pasta supper that the race puts on at the Hilton. It was rather pricey but at least it was handy. We sat at a table with a group of women from Nova Scotia. It was really cool to talk with them. They were concerned about the heat like everyone else. We did discover that we were all were aiming for a 4:15 pace.

Headed to bed early and was up early. We had a great room. It was in the Hilton on the front corner looking out on Grant Park. When I looked out the window Sunday morning about 5:30, there were already people arriving for the race which didn’t start until 8.

When I left the room around 7, it was already 76 degrees. Walked to the park and got in a bathroom line.

By 7:30 I was in the crowd at the start. I sat down to rest because I knew it would be a while before I actually started to run. Had only been sitting for a few minutes when one of the ladies from supper came over and said they were sitting near by. So I got up and joined them.

Finally the race started. It took 15 minutes to get to the starting line. It was good to finally be running but with the crush of people it was hot and I knew before heading north out the city around mile 3 it was going to be a long day.

I stayed with my new friends until we got to Lincoln Park and I took a bathroom break. I had hoped to catch up with them but there were just too many people.

The first clue that I had that there were going to be “water” issues was when I got to the first aid station at mile two and saw a number of the tables already folded up. This was not at all like the race in ’05.

I knew I had trained well in the heat but Sunday it was the humidity that was really the killer. By mile 10, my heart rate was up and I knew that I need to change my plans if I was going to finish. So I started running for 4 minutes and walking for 1 minute. I kept this up as long as I could but the walking was getting longer and the running was getting shorter.

At every aid station I would take and extra cup of water and pour it over my cap. One guy was handing out small sponges that I took and soaked in water and then placed under my cap. That sure felt good!

By about mile 17, my time was about 3:10. That was about what I did my last 20 miler in when the temp was in the 50s. It was not to be this time.

Shortly after that I passed some fire trucks and I heard over their radio that the race had been canceled and that they were going to fly over the course and tell the runners. I kept going. By this time doing more walking than running.

At the next aid station, the station captain was using a bull horn telling runners that the race had been stopped and to walk to the finish line. I called Gayle who was at the finish line. She said that they had not made any announcement and that folks were still streaming across.

About 15 minutes later, she called back to say they had finally announced that the race was over and the clocks were stopped. From that point on, officials said it was a “fun run”. I’m sure by time the race was quickly turning into a nightmare for the officials.

By this point I was at mile 20 and the only way I knew back was to follow the crowd. Finally everyone was walking. I struck up a conversation with a guy named Pat from Chicago. This was his first marathon. He said that there was no Gatorade for the first 8 miles.

We walked the last 6 miles talking about everything from sports to the race. It was good to have the company.

After they called the race, the situation with fluids on the course got even worst. Water and Gatorade was scarce but there was only one station that did not have anything. The Fire department opened up hydrants and sprayed the runners. It felt good but then my socks were so wet they the soles of my feet hurt from rubbing the wet socks.

The medical tents looked more like a MASH unit. All of them were full. Runners were on cots with IVs. It was not a pretty site. The Monday morning paper reported that almost 400 people were transported to area hospitals. One runner even died.

I finally made it across the finish line with a time of 6:00:09. But I was allowed to finish. There were a lot that were not because they started turning folks back if they had not passed the half-way point when they called the race.

Did race officials make the right decision? Yes. Sunday was a record high of 88 degree but the heat index was well into the 90s. I know it was a hard decision. I would rather be safe and run another day.

Am I disappointed? Yes. I felt like I had prepared well but it was just not to be.

So what’s next? Rest a few days and work on a new training plan because the Rocket City Marathon is less than 9 weeks away.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 8th, 2007 at 2:29 pm and is filed under Race Reports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.