A look at the 2007 Chicago Marathon
By Steve Richey
Yes, it was hot and yes, the race was closed early. In cased you missed
them, here are some video clips from the 2007 Chicago Marathon:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uuVP6RfB3_A
http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=36199@wbbm.dayport.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ8Dj5F00ig&NR=1
The elite finishes were interesting and exciting to say the least. The media
reporting of the race -- well, superficial at best. Folks who don't know much
(i. e., nothing) about endurance running trying to make a scandal out of
everything ....
And, sports writers who say that anyone not being paid but still willing to run
26.2 miles or run in the heat is an idiot are equally off base (see link below
to Mr. Downey's article from today's Chicago Tribune). Most of the folks
receiving this e-mail have ran the marathon distance or longer multiple times,
and have ran in hotter conditions multiple times. Based on this article, maybe
I should apply to the Tribune for a job writing about tennis -- haven't ever
played, but have watched it on TV a time or two (seem to recall a lot of talk
about love or peace ...) and back in college I once picked up a racket -- hit a
few fouls balls. No base hits, but I don't think I struck out .....
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-071008downey,0,4773526.column?coll=chi_tab01_layout
Here's me around mile 10, having bagged the thought of trying to maintain any
race pace, and feeling good about the decision:
(See attached file: IMG_3578.JPG)
There were a lot of heroic efforts out there this past Sunday, though mine
wasn't one of them. I started off at a slower pace with temperatures in the
70's, faded in the middle as the temperatures broke 80, and finished with a
whimper as the temperatures approached 90. To paraphrase Ray K, I spend a lot
of money and picked a warm day to do a 22 mile long run with a 4 mile cool
down. I set a PW (personal worse) by a full half hour, and ran a full hour
slower than my training and history (74 miles a week for the summer, with peak
12x800 workouts at 3:00 each) said I could do. And, I ran again the next day
.... This was not my longest or hottest race of the year (the 12 hour Hawthorn
this past June, with 94 F temperatures comes to mind ...), but it was not a day
where I was going to run marathon race paces. No apologies -- and
congratulations to everyone who ran or finished -- and to those many of you
came in way ahead of me. If you want to give me a rematch, I'll be at the Chicago
Lakefront 50/50 on 10/27, JFK50 on 11/17, Boston in April, and a few others
in-between. Just kidding -- I fully admit that I don't race well in the heat,
and that even if I had wanted to, I could not kept up with you this past
Sunday. While I felt pretty good during the race, even as slow as I ran I still
felt lousy for a few hours after the finish line.
The Chicago Marathon is not my favorite race -- there are simply a lot of other
lower cost, less hassle and more racer friendly marathons and ultramarathons in
the Midwest. However, I don't think many of the issues reported in the media
were the fault of the race organizers. Maybe there are some things they will
learn from this one -- the obvious one probably being Aid Station Sprays (A. S.
S. ?) so as to alleviate the perceived need to consume so many cups of water by
pouring them on one's head. At the end of the day, the runners are adults who
have to make decisions for themselves. You know what you're trained for, you
know the weather conditions, and you can see the supply conditions. I'm not
trained to do a high altitude 100 mile trail race at this time, so I don't
think I'll do one ..... nor at age 52 am I well enough trained to run a 3:15
marathon when the temperatures are above 80 .... You have to adjust to the
situation that you're in. A DNF is not the end of the world. Having said that,
it usually a matter of pace -- one can slow down. The challenge then becomes
one of trying to stay ahead of the cut-offs (i. e., in this case, race
closure). Most ultras have cut-off points (if you don't get to mile 35 within 8
hours, you're yanked from the race, etc.). While I heard conflicting reports, I
personally did not see any aid stations completely out of supplies at Chicago.
There were some tables that were out of cups, and there were places where
volunteers were valiantly trying to keep up by pouring water directly from
large bottles into containers for the runners as they came by. If you need
fluids, then you have to take whatever wait or detour is necessary to get them.
The flip side of this debate, of course, is that when you pay over a hundred
dollars for a race entry fee, you have certain expectations that supplies will
be convenient for you during the race.
A somewhat interesting side point here: It's actually more practical to run a
loop or crew supported ultra in the heat than it is a road marathon. The
reasons are simple. In a loop or crew supported ultra, you're running slower
and have means for cooling off during pit stops (ice, cold drinks, sponges,
etc.). In a road marathon, marathon race paces leave you hotter with not much
way to get cool, other than to stay hydrated and to stop and walk ....
I suspect this past weekend's events will mean a boom for the other Fall
marathons remaining in the Midwest this year -- a lot of folks trained for that
Boston qualifier, and few if any got it in the heat. Time to reload, and try
again ..... by the way, this morning (Tuesday, after the marathon on Sunday)
when I came out at very near what would have been "race time", it was
50 F, with a heat index of 47 F ...... I think I'll go for a run.
Steve
P. S. Thanks to Brian Pike for the mile 10 photo of me. It was great seeing the
ever grinning Eric Wedow at mile 17 handing out Gatorade cups from the aid
station. And, Elena Shemyankina, why were you watching instead of racing?
Running that last mile is and seeing Debbie at the finish line ...... and
finding almost everyone else from CMC already in the finishing area when I got
there (Emilo, John, Scott, Mungai, Steve D., plus Angela who took a tumble on
the carpeted bridge and had to drop after mile 10) -- you all had great races.