Marathon Mania

• Overcoming obstacles
• Part 2: Pre-race prepping
• Part 3: Finding the finish line

The rocky path to the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, which is less than two weeks away, has been full of injuries and ailments for student runners. This year’s marathon would have been Communication senior Kat Shaul’s third Chicago competition.

Until Tuesday, Shaul was one of the Northwestern students preparing for the 26.2-mile race, starting at 8 a.m. Oct. 9 in Grant Park. The race’s convenient location, zealous fans and relatively flat course make it a favorite among NU distance runners.

The excitement and encouragement of the spectators brought Shaul back to the marathon last year and prompted her to train again for the 2005 race, she said.

“What stands out for me is how much support there is in the crowd,” she said. “There are millions of people, and they cheer on everyone who runs by. It’s very unifying to have such utter support.”

However, following a recommendation by her doctor, Shaul dropped out of the race Tuesday due to a foot injury.

“It’s quite frustrating after all this training to be told so close to the race that I can’t run,” Shaul said in an e-mail.

Weinberg senior Drew Austin ran the race for the first time in 2003 and said he was pleasantly surprised by the effect the crowd’s unbridled energy had on his performance.

“I thought it would be something painful, but I ended up feeling great,” said Austin, a former Daily staffer. “A lot of that was because of the people lining the streets and the adrenaline they created.”

But every runner knows that excitement will only get them so far. Effective training is the foundation of a good race.

For example, Jonathan Webber, a Weinberg and SESP sophomore, laces up his running shoes at about 10 or 11 p.m. throughout the week and heads out into the crisp air for a training run, which can last 20 miles and take three hours or more.

It’s the first few miles that are always the most difficult in long-distance running, he said.

“Once you get past five or six miles, you get into a rhythm,” Webber said. “I just space out and daydream.”

Although Webber’s tonsillitis has sidelined his training for the marathon temporarily, he said he still plans to participate in the event.

Austin, who will run the marathon for a second time this year, follows an online training program and completes his longer jaunts on Sundays. Over the summer, Shaul ran alone and with the Chicago Area Runner’s Association, an experience she said she found motivational.

“I’m very excited because this year I know so many of the runners because of my running club,” said Shaul, who added she trained twice a week with the association. “They’ve been setting goals, and it’ll be rewarding to watch them meet their goals because they’ve been working so hard.”

Even though Shaul won’t have a chance to cross the finish line this year, Austin’s goal is to complete the race in under three hours and 10 minutes, the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon. He said he might not run that marathon this year, but that his time in the Chicago race could qualify him for up to two years.

“I’m excited, but I don’t know what time I can expect to run,” he said. “I want to make sure I don’t run out of energy.”

As the race nears, the marathon runners continue to train hard and said they can’t wait for the morning of the event to arrive.

“I’m excited about completing a goal. I don’t really care about what time I get,” said Webber, who will be running his first marathon. “It’s a personal challenge, and I’ll get such a sense of accomplishment from it.”

Reach Allison Bond at [email protected].