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by Samantha Hoffman
On Saturday, October 10th, the streets were teeming with people. Michigan Avenue was jam-packed with marathoners and friends of marathoners enjoying the perfect Fall weather, shopping, carbo-loading in some of the best eateries in the world. You could feel the excitement in the air. Many people wore racing t-shirts so they could be easily identified. When they did they would meet other runners instantly and talk forever about the marathon, the day, the weather, how many marathons they had done you know what it’s like. Runners love nothing if not trading marathon stories, comparing training regimens, espousing the virtues of a certain running shoe, and on and on. I didn’t go to the expo at the Chicago Hilton and Towers but I’ve been to enough of them to know exactly what it was like. Heaven if you’re a runner, tiresome if you’re not. I wonder how many times you heard, "C’mon honey, you already have 154 t- shirts at home. Let’s get out of here and go to the top of the Sears Tower." There were 20,063 entrants this year - almost 10,000 more than started the race just two years ago. Try finding someone in that crowd. That’s exactly what I was doing, searching the crowd for my friend Sal, wanting to be there to wish him well and give him a good luck kiss. I saw some pace leaders with their signs. There were quite a few of them. Sal was running with Team in Training in their bright blue shirts, a wonderful organization that trains marathon runners and walkers and raises money for Leukemia. There were lots of bright blue shirts around but no Sal. I figured he’d be somewhere around the four hour pace mark so that’s where I concentrated my search but time was running short and the crowd was massive. I was starting to panic. Damn. I told him I’d be there. And then like magic there he was, Team in Training singlet, blue baseball-type cap, big smile. Don’t ask me how we found each other but we did. And he was ready. A little nervous but nothing unusual. This would be Sal’s 6th marathon and he had trained hard and felt good. The start of the race was an awesome sight. The runners went on forever, laughing, waving, whistling, psyched for a good race on a picture perfect day in one of the most beautiful cities in the world (okay, so I’m prejudiced). It was thrilling to watch and I felt a tinge of envy. Being there at the start but not running the race is a tough thing for a runner to do. The atmosphere is electric and the enthusiasm is contagious. I wished I were out there with my computer chip attached to my shoe and my bib pinned to my chest. But I was just a spectator and cheerleader at this one. I stood and watched until the very last marathoner crossed the start line and gave him a rousing sendoff and then I went for breakfast. I had some time to kill before I met Sal at the 10 mile mark. The spectators were out in force, everyone looking for a friend or relative, some with hand-painted signs, some with oranges, some waiting to be handed a t-shirt from an over-dressed runner. The crowd was so deep at the 10 mile mark that I walked on until I could find a spot close enough to take a picture when he ran by. And then I waited and watched, afraid I would miss him. The runners were still pretty thick at this point, still looking pretty comfortable, some waving to the crowd appreciative of the applause and encouragement. Anyone with a name on their t-shirt or hat would feel like a celebrity as the crowd shouted, "go, Spike, go" or "Hey Debra, lookin’ good!" This was about mile 11 and mostly they looked pretty happy. And there was Sal. He still had a big, broad smile which I captured on film as he ran by. He looked relaxed and strong. At this pace I figured he would finish somewhere around 4-1/2 hours give or take 15 minutes. As I looked at my watch I realized that the winners would soon be crossing the finish line and that I would not make it back in time to see them. In fact, Khalid Khannouchi, last year’s record-setting winner, and Odoro Osoro were competing for the lead right about that time. Osoro put on the after-burners in the final mile to open up the gap and Khannouchi never came back (if you can call a 2:07:19 not coming back). Osoro’s time was the fastest debut marathon ever and he set a new North American record of 2:06:54. Unbelievable. Think about trying to run one sub-5 minute mile and then think about doing it again 25 more times. It is unimaginable to me. I got to the finish line at about four hours. I didn’t want to take any chances on missing Sal come in. Again the crowd was too deep to see so I kept walking until I could get close to the curb. I was about 200 yards in front of the finish line. It’s an amazing thing to watch runners completing a marathon. Some are smiling, some have a grim determined look on their faces, one guy stopped to kiss his wife and get a big hug before finishing. Another was being helped by two buddies, one on either side, practically dragging him but he was determined to cross that finish line, and he did. One man stopped, put his hands on his knees, and stood there like that for a while. Another runner stopped to see if he was okay and he nodded so she went on but he stood up looking dazed and just stood for a minute staring at those balloons 200 yards away. "Just walk it in," the crowd shouted. "You’re there. You can do it!" And he started moving, slowly, inexorably toward the finish line. Not to take anything away from those elite runners who are so dedicated to the sport and whose achievements are dazzling and superhuman, but the true heroes are the ones like that dazed runner who through sheer determination, obstinacy and purpose reach that finish line and accomplish something that a very small percentage of human beings will ever be able to say they can do. My friend Sal logged his first DNF. Right after I saw him he slipped on something and twisted his leg causing him to injure his IT band. He ran a bit further, like any dedicated runner would, hoping that the pain was a temporary thing that he could run through, but by about mile 14 he was in some major discomfort and feared injuring it further if he continued. It was a great disappointment to him. He had worked hard for this one. He was mentally ready for it and excited to be doing another marathon. It’s never fun not to finish but that’s why there’s a marathon somewhere in the world at almost any time you want to do one. Sal is healing and starting to run again and his indomitable spirit will have him running another marathon before long. Maybe he will cross the finish line with that runner who was assisted by his friends only this time he and Sal will grin hugely and high-five each other as they pass under those balloons.
Contributing writer & runner Samantha Hoffman
Have you got a human interest story about a runner you know or a race report to share ? OTR is happy to share stories like this with our readers. Send us your stories, your experiences!
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It was a Chamber of Commerce kind of day. If the day had been ordered
specifically for the Chicago Marathon it couldn’t have been any better. Oh I
suppose it could have been just a touch cooler but really, let’s not get
picky. It was 50 degrees at the start, no humidity, clear and bright, calm
wind. It was the kind of weekend that will give all those tourists a new
perspective on what Chicago is all about. Next year when they’re planning a
Fall trip they’ll remember and say, "Hey let’s go back to Chicago. It’s
beautiful this time of year." 