The date, 10-10-10…the event….the 2010 Chicago Marathon. After about 10 months of preparing for this run, I finally made it. I completed the run with a time of 4:57:14. My goal for this run was to simply cross the finish line with a descent time. This time isn’t bad considering the temperature. That day had a relatively warm or hot temperature for a long run. The temperature range for that day was between 60 degrees and 82 degrees.
I ran this race with my sister-in-law. We stuck together for the first half. As a result her half marathon time and mine were exactly the same: 2:25:31…not bad.
As part of a charitable effort, I ran for a cause–St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Some of my friends supported me there. My wife contacted others and was also able to get pledges. I estimate that the total pledges comes out to be around $1000. I will be happy if this effort will make a difference in the life of one child.
There is one thing very different from this run–many people running are running for a cause. I don’t see this on 12K or lesser runs, and I’ve done many such runs. I think a marathon is different and that it takes a special dedication and determination to complete such a challenge. Drawing from my own experience, the dedication and determination were definitely there. Since December of 2009, I have been training for this run, waking up at 4:30am and running at around 5:00 am. Not too many people can do this. Sometime during the training, I suffered through multiple injuries: plantar fasciitis, knee soreness, and maybe even IT. I rested and recovered. As a matter of fact, I was still recovering from a knee sprain/soreness/inflammation when I ran this marathon. The good thing was that my knee didn’t even bother me during the run!
Observing the crowd, I saw many people from different walks of life, some people stood out in that they obviously had some form of injury or disability as can be seen in the way they run, yet they are there doing the marathon. That is very inspiring. I have never seen this kind of determination in any race I’ve been to.
Running a marathon has been an experience. Knowing that not many people can complete such a challenge makes one feel somewhat special. Now that it is over, it seems that I have caught the marathon bug. Which one should I do next? Someone suggested the NYC marathon. Hmmm…maybe.
