When Allison Naval’s (Weinberg ‘16) phone buzzed with repeated calls after she crossed the Chicago Marathon finish line, she said she worried it was spam – or that she had been disqualified.
Instead, she found out, she had just become a unique figure in the marathon’s history.
Crossing the finish line with a time of 4:23:13, Naval became the Chicago Marathon’s one millionth finisher on Oct. 8. One of the six World Marathon Majors, the Chicago Marathon’s 45th running welcomed an estimated 48,500 participants that day.
“I had never expected (the millionth finisher) would be me,” Naval said.
During her time at NU, Naval ran on the women’s cross country team but quit in her junior year due to injuries. She also met her now husband David Russell in a freshman year Spanish class.
But, after taking some time away from running, Naval said she was inspired to return to the sport while watching her husband’s first marathon last year.
“I just felt this pull start taking me back into running, which I didn’t expect initially,” Naval said.
Continuing her battle with off and on injuries this summer, Naval said she was only really able to train for two “quality” months, starting in August.
However, Naval said, she used the mental fortitude she learned during her time on NU cross country to persevere in a shortened training timeframe and on race day.
“You’re not going to feel your best every single mile of that 26.2, and there’s some digging deep and some pushing through that you need to do in order to get to that finish line,” Naval said.
Beyond checking off a long-standing bucket list item, Naval said giving back to the community motivated her while running the marathon. Naval, who works as a manager of global communications at Kraft Heinz, ran on the company’s team fundraising on behalf of the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
The GCFD combats food insecurity, providing food to more than 800 pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other programs throughout Chicago and Cook County, according to the organization’s manager of communication, Camerin Mattson.
So far this year, the Kraft Heinz GCFD marathon team has raised over $100,000 to support its cause, Mattson said.
“We were just really grateful it was one of (our runners) because it helps raise awareness of the high incidence of food insecurity throughout Chicago, and how important it is for everyone to help,” Mattson said.
Russell, who also ran the Chicago Marathon this year, said the pair doubled as training buddies, jogging along the lakefront and local Evanston trails this summer.
He said these long runs were a wonderful way to spend time as a couple.
“You’re out there in the woods running for like three hours, so it’s nice to have your best friend next to you, doing it together,” Russell said.
Naval said the “village” of family members cheering for her and Russell kept her morale high on race day. Acting as a cheerleader herself, she tracked Russell’s race progress on the marathon app while she ran.
When Russell finished with a time of 3:48:04, he said the first thing he wanted to do was call Naval.
“I just told her that ‘I did it, and you can do it, too — finish the way you want to,’” Russell said.
Naval said this mid-run phone call was the “most memorable” part of her race and gave her the boost she needed to join him under the celebratory red arch.
After her one-in-a-million finish, she said the most rewarding part of her marathon journey was the progress she’s felt in herself as a runner.
“When you first start training, maybe that first three to five miles can be really challenging and then when you finish, you ran 26.2,” Naval said. “I mean, that’s a huge achievement in and of itself.”
As the millionth finisher, Naval said she got to meet the race’s winners, including Kelvin Kiptum, who broke the marathon world record that day with a time of 2:00:35.
Coming off of the high of the big day, Naval said she “definitely caught the running bug.”
Russell and Naval said they both hope to run more marathons in the coming years.
“I mean, she has free entry to the next (Chicago Marathon), so I think we have to,” Russell said.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @anna__bock
Related Stories:
—Opinion | Inside the mind of a first-time marathon runner
—NU students participate in Chicago Marathon
—Northwestern students race in first Chicago Marathon since 2019
