With many of their classmates still sleeping, approximately a dozen Northwestern students will find themselves facing a 26.2 mile race this Sunday at 7:30 a.m. October 13 is the date of the 25th LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, an event that draws 37,500 runners and nearly 900,000 spectators annually.
NU students, some of whom have trained for years, will be joined by Wildcat newcomers completing their first marathon on the city’s flat, loop-shaped course. Chicago is currently one of the world’s fastest courses and holds the women’s world record, set last year.
This year’s runners, who had to register by Aug. 31 at $80 a pop, will be greeted by weather in the 50s and must finish within six hours. Racers are divided into four categories: elite, sub-elite, seeded and open; each group will wear its own color bib number. On Sunday, purple bib numbers will mark 12 alumni runners who will be running their 25th Chicago Marathon this year.
Sibling Rivalry?
Among NU students running the marathon this year are Weinberg freshman Tyler Jaeckel and his sister, Weinberg senior Laurie Jaeckel. Although they do not train together, they will be carbo-loading on Saturday night with family. Tyler, who says he is “antsy” for the race, has been training for the past four months and plans to run the course alone. “If I still have energy after finishing, I might try to find Laurie and run the last mile with her,” he says.
Training Tips
“It helps to train with other people,” says Weinberg freshman Caroline Moses. A marathoner since age 16 who has completed three Music City Marathons in Nashville, Moses trained with runners at her gym at home for her first race. She currently alternates three runs a week (at an average of eight to 10 miles with longer runs thrown in) with cross-training, including swimming and using a stationary bike.
Two NU students, Medill senior Amanda Katzenstein and McCormick senior Leslie Revitt, are planning to complete part of the race together. Both have found the hardest part of training for their first marathons has been balancing preparation time with studying and working. Katzenstein and Revitt used the 18-week Virtual Training Programs available on the Marathon’s Web site, www.chicagomarathon.com.
In addition to the site’s three Virtual Training Programs created by Hal Higdon, a senior writer for Runner’s World and the race’s official training consultant, runners can access a personal training log and receive daily e-mails about workouts. Higdon developed several 18-week training guides specifically for this week’s race for runners ranging from novices to experienced racers. Other training options are available through the Chicago Area Runners Association at www.cararuns.org.
Weinberg senior Jessica Schoen has been training for her second Chicago Marathon with the help of one of CARA’s programs. CARA currently offers 10 training programs.
Overcoming odds
Training for the 25th Chicago Marathon has not been smooth sailing for some NU students. Weinberg junior Jenn Manne, a self-described running addict, will be running her first marathon this weekend. Her summer training schedule consisted of 50 to 60 miles per week, made especially difficult by the fact that she was running in Florida for part of the summer. The heat there made running long distances during the day nearly impossible, and Manne found herself waking up at 4:30 a.m. twice a week to complete 20-mile workouts.
Mark Salierno has not had an easy time preparing either. A Communication junior, he has been plagued by a foot injury since the spring. “It has been a struggle to motivate myself, especially since getting tendinitis,” said Salierno. “But I have put a lot of time into training, and I’m excited for Sunday.”
You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby: History
According to the the Marathon’s official Web site, Chicago’s marathon was founded in 1977 by a group of five founders at the Metropolitan YMCA on LaSalle Street. A $5 entry fee persuaded 4,200 runners (2,128 of whom finished) to participate in the “people’s race anyone can come and enjoy,” as ads promised. The race went smoothly despite the injury of two spectators as the result of a misfired ceremonial starter’s cannon.
Prize checks were first awarded in 1982 at $12,000 each to the two winners from a $77,000 purse.
The ChampionChip timing system was first used in 1998. Since then, racers have worn computerized chips on each of their shoes to promise accurate times from the start. The chips also record times at several intervals throughout the course.
Chicago can boast of having held both the men’s and women’s world records as well as both American records. The course’s current fastest time is 2:08:52, held by Ben Kimondiu.
This year’s race raises money for 14 charities, including the American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Association, the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. nyou
