Running Fri Oct 09 2009

Make A Run For It

It's Chicago Marathon weekend, which usually places the locals in three categories: those who are in it, those who watch it and those who are annoyed by it ("Dang, I just wanted to get to Home Depot and I run into THIS?").

If you're in it, there's a good chance you took part in Thursday night's pre-race pep rally at Niketown that featured a number of elite runners and a Chicago Bear thrown in for good measure (wide receiver Johnny Knox, not a bad runner himself). U.S. marathon legend Joan Benoit Samuelson and other U.S. running stars took part in a Q-and-A session and led runners on a short run just to keep those marathon juices flowing.

Outside of Niketown, first-time runners and vets alike searched for their name on a special recognition wall that listed all 45,000 runners entered.

For the ones who like to watch, you can either get into the thick of things and stand on the side of the actual course or pick out a watering hole or restaurant along the way and taunt cheer on the runners as they go by. If you choose to wait near Mile 22, you can join Nike at their cheer station.

For those of you who'd rather wait in line to get a new city sticker than watch thousands of people run, well just remember that it's only one day. You may not understand it, but it beats trying to figure out what's wrong with Chicago baseball.

— Ken Green / Comments (0)