Personal Memories of the Chicago Marathon | Russell Publications Online

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The morning of the marathon, I was determined not to miss the Metra train as I had a couple years before and had to run a marathon before the marathon to try to make the race on time.

Two friends from work, who were also running, were waiting for me on the Metra as it left the station for Grant Park. The trip was quite eventful as the train was packed with both runners and spectators, and war stories flowed like the Amazon River, with yours truly adding to the flow.

It's hard to describe the feeling of exhilaration when the horn goes off to start the marathon and you begin to make your journey of pain and determination with 40,000 other runners over 26 miles.

The first 5 miles you feel dwarfed by all the tall buildings as you wind your way through the Loop heading north towards Lincoln Park.

The only thing I can say about our arrival at Lincoln Park is the race organizers need to make the porta potties look like trees because it seems most runners preferred to use a tree to relieve themselves.

Being a Cubs fan, when I do the Chicago Marathon I normally like to wear some Cubs baseball attire - not so much because I love the Cubs (even though I do), but because of the positive reaction I get from the rowdy spectators you encounter between Belmont Avenue and Addison.

But countering that is the slightly less positive feedback I receive a couple hours later when we run past U.S. Cellular Field - home of the White Sox. But any kind of feedback is good feedback while you are running 26 miles.

I love all the bands and celebrations each part of Chicago has to offer the runners as they make their way through each district towards their goal at the finish line.

At the beginning of the race the runners are full of energy with a lot of yelling, jumping up to touch the banner you pass under at the beginning of the race, and a lot of camaraderie. As the miles wear on, you can see and feel this energy being slowly zapped away. By mile 22 or so when a lot of runners have hit the legendary "wall," there is nothing but stone silence and sweat and determination to complete the goal.

Some people's minds play tricks on them too. While running in his very first marathon, my friend, Lemont, told me that when he saw the last mile marker, even though his legs were drained, he decided to give it one final kick. He said he felt like he was flying along until he saw a girl pass him and she was walking!

The dragon at China Town, Spanish dancers in Pilsner, Elvis on Broadway, cheerleaders at University of Illinois Circle Campus, male cheerleaders with their hairy legs, countless bands and kids slapping you "five" as you run by, help keep the adrenalin going.

One year while running the marathon, I especially liked the showgirls along Clark Street doing a rather raunchy routine. They were starting to look pretty good until another runner beside me, noticing my interest, started to chuckle and said, "They are cross dressers from the gay bars here on Clark."

I think I picked up the pace very noticeably for a while after that!

The next year, the showgirls were absent, but the "Village People" entertained us. I still picked my pace up, nonetheless.

The racecourse is slightly different now than when I ran it in years past. For one thing, it extends farther north to Addison (deeper into Cubbie land, which is a good thing). We also ran the last 2.5 miles on Michigan Avenue instead of Lake Shore Drive.

I kind of missed not running through the tunnel at McCormick Place like we used to on Lake Shore Drive. When you hit the tunnel, you knew you were going to finish even if you had to crawl. The entrance to the tunnel looked like the gates of heaven opening up to me, but once in the tunnel, it was dark like I was in the other place - where bad runners go!

But Michigan Avenue has many more spectators and they were very vocal about how you were definitely going to reach the finish line.

Don, my other friend from work, told me he had a little over a mile left to go, but he was just plain beaten. He began to walk, with his head down and spirit broken. Some lady, who he'd never seen before, carrying a sign, began to yell at him to get running and that he wasn't going to quit. He said she ran after him all the way to the next water stop with that sign ready to whack him with it if he started walking again. Don said that he ran the rest of the way to the finish line with his spirit revitalized.

Even after nine marathons, when I cross the finish line, it seems like all sorts of different emotions try to surface at the same time. It is one of those things that I can't describe. You just have to finish one to see what I mean.

I would recommend a marathon to anyone who wants to challenge his or her body, mind and soul.

With my medal around my neck, I head back to the gear check tent, to reunite with my friends with my spirit feeling like William the Conqueror, ready to take on any challenge. My body, however, says, "Maybe tomorrow!"

If you have never attempted a marathon before, I hope this article inspires you to try one some day. If you have done a marathon, I hope that maybe you relived some memories from your own marathon, just as I have while typing this.

But for now, see you at the races!

For more information on the Chicago Marathon, see www.chicagomarathon.com

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