Chicago Marathon - 10/12/14

I turned the corner and saw a crowd that was in a state of shock. It was as if someone had sucked the life out of the crowd. I had been running for more than an hour now and was amazed at the amount of energy and excitement everywhere on this course. I was running on the left side of this course and was using that side of the crowd's energy to power my run. Seeing those shocked faces confused me and I looked to my right. There was a crew of police, paramedics, race volunteers and others trying to revive a runner who had collapsed while running. His body lay there lifeless. The paramedics were administering chest compressions and CPR on the collapsed runner. I started to pray for this runner. I had never seen anyone collapse before and this scene made me rethink my attempt at running two marathons and one ultra marathon in four weeks. I looked at my Mio Link and it was blinking pink. I slowed down to turn it green.

I was running Bank of America's Chicago Marathon to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Charities (RMHC). I was part of TeamRMHC that made up of 811 runners that were running the Chicago Marathon on this day. 

TeamRMHC (https://www.facebook.com/groups/649130945134833/)

Prior to signing up with RMHC, I did not know much about this organization except being familiar with its brand because it is always on full display inside McDonald's.

Ronald McDonald House of Charities provides a “home-away-from home” for families of seriously ill children. Since 1974, they have been making children happier and healthier by keeping families together. Their local chapters can now be found in 58 countries and regions across the globe. There are many heart-warming stories of these chapters healing children and their families every day. I committed to raising $1500 for TeamRMHC before the event. More about why I signed upto run Chicago Marathon here....

It did not take me a long time to surpass my goal for TeamRMHC due to friends, family and colleagues who donated generously to RMHC. TeamRMHC runners raised more than 1.1 million dollars. 

I had just completed the Clarence DeMar Marathon two weeks ago and was feeling good and fully rested as I was getting closer to the day of the Chicago Marathon.

The Chicago Marathon Expo was hosted at the McCormick Place. This is a large convention center that typically hosts Chicago’s largest conventions or events. With 44,000 runners participating in this event, McCormick Place fit the bill. The runners had two ways to get to the McCormick place. They could use free shuttles to travel from the Chicago Downtown to the McCormick place or they could drive and park at the McCormick place. The parking was free for the runners and so I drove to the McCormick place with my family.

When we entered the McCormick place, the first thing we noticed was Bank of America. The Chicago Marathon was colored in Bank of America's colors. 

The expo organizers did a great job of channeling the runners and families through the security checkpoints and into the bib pickup areas. The bib pickup process was very quick and the volunteers were cheerful and happy throughout the process. As with any expo, running related gear was on full show and the vendors were using this expo as a platform to showcase their products and offered a discount when possible. Bank of America's Red campaign was also on full display and everyone made it a point to walk up to it and put his or her footprint on the simulated Chicago Marathon course. RMHC booth was in the middle of the expo and was easy to find. I missed meeting Ronald McDonald due to the timing of my visit. I was excited to meet our TeamRMHC captain Renee at the expo. She gave me extra bands, so that I could have my family at the RMHC tent on the race day. I was thankful of the extra bands and excited to know that I will be able to see them at the end of the race and enjoy the marathon day.

I went to bed very late on Saturday night. I planned to travel with my sister-in-law as she was volunteering at the Medical tent by the final mile. Our plan was to get up early on Sunday, travel to Rosemont CTA station and take the Blue line all the way to the Jackson Station. We were expecting the CTA trains to run at a higher frequency, starting at 4am, as we were told at the Chicago marathon expo. It was not the case on this marathon morning. We had to wait at least 20 minutes for our train to arrive instead of the 7 minutes that was advertised at the Expo. It was a cold morning and we (including other runners) were pacing back and forth on the station to stay warm. Once we got in the train, most of us tried to catch some sleep as we had a 40 minute train ride ahead of us. 

Chicago Marathon's start line was a secure area and we had to go through one the five gates to enter this secure area. 

RMHC tent was easily accessible through Gate 1. From the Jackson CTA station, the walk to Gate 1 was about 10 minutes. 

The security around these gates was very tight. The gates were scheduled to open at 5:30am. I had to wait for the gates to open since I arrived at the gate at around 5:20am.

We walked through the gates as soon as the gates opened. It was still dark when we entered the RMHC tent. 

The RMHC team did a wonderful job of catering breakfast. I had requested for a peanut butter and Jelly sandwich, in advance, and the TeamRMHC captain Renee made sure that we had all types of peanut butter (crunchy, smooth etc.) and the rest to make a good PBJ. We had bagels, fruits, yogurt, water, energy drinks, coffee etc. After having a good PBJ, I relaxed in the tent. It was a bit chilly but as more runners started to gather up, it warmed up quickly.

The first wave of runners left the RMHC tent at 7:10am as their start time was 7:30am. These runners left early as they had to enter their prescribed corral by 7:15am. I was in the second wave of runners and we left the tent at 7:30am for an 8am start. Our formation was also divided up into multiple corrals.

I was part of corral F. The runners joined their corrals by going through another security line to confirm that they were running this race by showing their bibs.

 At approximately 7:55am, they closed corral F and anyone that did not make it inside the corral F area had to go to last corral and thus was going to start their race later than 8am.

The race started at 8am but I crossed the starting line at around 8:10am. I had to be patient as there were a lot of runners ahead of me that also had to cross the starting line.

The course was lined up with huge crowds that made up of families, spectators, charity organizers, volunteers and security guards with their dogs. We started out in Chicago Downtown and ran above and below several bridges. People were everywhere. They were on standing/sitting on the side, in the middle or on top of the bridges.  The noise was deafening. I was not able to hear my playlist and that was ok with me since I was enjoying the energy from the crowd. Because of the thickness of the crowd, it was hard for me to recognize mile markers on the course.

I had planned to run this marathon as a sub-4 marathon. I had planned to run the first 2 miles at a 10 pace and then pick up the pace every mile until I hit 8:30ish and then maintain that until the end. I had programmed this pace into my Runmeter app and was expecting the app to guide me through the race. The Chicago downtown and its large buildings, bridges and tunnels confused the GPS on my phone. At around the 3rd mile on the course, I heard my GPS say that I was approaching the 5th mile. I knew something was wrong and turned my Runmeter app, as I knew that the app would be of no use to me in this race since that it was already off by more than a mile. I was looking for a 4:00 pacer to follow. I finally found this pacer but then I quickly realized that this pacer needed a pacer himself.  This is because the 4:00 pacer was running with 4:10 pacer and two 4:30 pacers. Very confusing!!! Chicago Marathon organizers need to ensure that their pacers can perform at the pace they are signing up for.

Chicago marathon is a flat course that starts at the Grant Park and ends in Grant Park. The course loops through the "The Loop" and then goes around "The Old Town Triangle" before circling back through the downtown and then through the Greek town, UIC campus, Medical District, Chinatown before hitting the finish line. Even though we ran through major areas of Chicago, each mile had its own personality. The crowd was different and the energy level was different. The diversity of Chicago was fully represented throughout the marathon course. Chicago came alive for me, as it was still the same beautiful city and full of energetic people as it was 14 years ago, when I left Chicago for Boston. It was an emotional run and I enjoyed every neighborhood that I ran through.

Chicago Marathon was very well organized with thousands of volunteers scattered everywhere on the course and at aid stations and every turn. Security was very tight and it was hard to miss bomb squad dogs patrolling the course.

I felt a burst of energy when I hit Michigan Avenue at the 23rd mile. The last three and 0.2 miles were a blur. I was running my fastest and finished Chicago Marathon strong. I saw my family at the final mile and it felt good. 

It was a long walk from the finish line to everything else that a runner needs at the end of a grueling run. There were a lot of unhappy finishers walking after the finish line. Almost everyone around me was complaining and questioning this decision of the organizers. The last thing we all wanted to do was walk after running 26.2 miles. 

It took about 30 minutes (of a very slow walk) for me to reach the RMHC tent. TeamRMHC had laid out a red carpet for the finishers to walk on before entering the tent. We also took pictures with Mr. Ronald McDonald. We had a separate massage area and plenty of food to choose from. TeamRMHC organizers did a good job of providing an ultimate experience for the runners to relax and reflect on their run.

Overall, this was a very well organized marathon with tight security all around. The volunteers were very supportive and cheerful. The aid stations were well stocked and the crowd was unrelenting, supportive and loud. Running for a charity made this marathon worthwhile and special. I felt good about running every mile of the Chicago marathon in support of Ronald McDonald House Charities cause.

My overall time was: 4:20:30