So it appears that Chicago is to be my first attempt at a full marathon. Lauren, an old friend and one of our teammates for the upcoming Madison-Chicago 200, moved to Chicago last year and convinced me to sign up and run it with her. After some goading from Lauren's husband and my sister, neither of whom are going to run of course, and the fact that she heard this morning that they were anticipating registration filling up by Friday, I acquiesced (oooh, SAT word), and here we are.
I was checking out the website earlier today, and was looking at the course map. In the legend on the map, they list what services are at the aid stations and hydration zones. Under hydration zones, they say, "contains water, medical, misters, toilets." I sort of stared at it confused for a moment, thinking, "Misters, huh? That's great for the ladies, but no misses for us guys? That's kinda lame." Then, of course, after another minute, it dawned on me what it actually meant, and it made a whole lot more sense than what I had originally thought they meant.
Lauren also pointed out when we were talking last week that given last year's horrors, the race is sure to be extremely well managed with extra everything, so there will be nothing to fear!
[Edited 2008-04-17: Added qualifier in first sentence at Danielle's suggestion so as not to anger the running gods of the Windy City.]
13 comments:
hooray! i'm excited. and i'll get my brother to put in a good word with his "connections" to get some misses for you at the aid stations. (and, for the record, there were no misters or misses at the aid stations last year. there were firehoses after it was called, but no misters...)
misters, huh? I totally need one of those!
I had to think for a good 4 minutes to figure out what a mister actually is if not a Mr.
I still don't know what it is!
Oh wait.
Now I get it.
Also, don't jinx yourself by saying that Chicago is going to be your first marathon. Kori and I both thought that in 2005. Kori thought it in 2006 too. And if she had signed up for it again last year (which she contemplated), she would have got pulled off the course during the disaster, making it three years in a row that it eluded her as her first. It is sort of an evil marathon that way.
lauren: nice. it's good to have family that's mobbed up. they can hook you up when you need.
danielle: i guess to be safe i could say that chicago is the first marathon i registered for. hopefully that will not anger the running gods of the windy city.
Ah better. That should keep them satiated until you cross the finish line :-)
Congratulations. Chicago is a great race. I've done it the last 2 years and, despite the 2007 fiasco, I still want to go back.
I think you're right in assuming what happened last year should not happen again. At least, one would expect.
I love traveling far distances to run (well, walk some too, as enforced by burly men in uniforms with guns threatening to arrest you) 26.2 "fun" miles.
Peter: Yeah, yesterday I was looking at the long races (> 10 miles) I plan (hope) to run in 2008. The closest to home (DC) is the Philly Distance Run. The next closest is Nashville. Kind of amusing.
Yeah, they won't let last year's race happen again this year. You should have a great year for it! Alright Joe!!
In my opinion, Chicago is the best race I ever ran, and (dare I say it) the best marathon out there - aside from a fantastic course, the spectators are amazing. If you can deal with the thousands of runners in the beginning, it will surely be a great experience. Good luck!!
Ooh, congrats on your bravery. I am signing up for my first marathon on April 30th, so I feel your pain. Scary but you will be glad that you did it (WAY after the fact).
Good luck. Hopefully the Cubs and Sox are both out of town and we have some nice chilly weather.
You'll be running through Pilsen (where I'll probably be living at that point) around the 20th mile. I will definitely Not Be Running The Marathon. Maybe I'll run 20 quarters or do a long bike ride. Or maybe I'll just lounge by the side of the course in a lawn chair eating cake and sipping beer, laughing.
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