Chicago Marathon: The Odd One Out of the Three World Majors in the United States?
Chicago Marathon is my number five of the six World Marathon Majors. After having been lucky enough to qualify for Boston and run it in 2023 and then even top that with a New York City Marathon finish later that same year, now the time has arrived for my third consecutive Major in the United States of America.
While all Majors are notoriously hard to get into these days, Chicago must still be the easiest of them. According to my recollection, they required a qualifying marathon race that wasn’t slower than 3:10 hours for my age group. I’m in one of the toughest of age groups, the 30-39 year-old males, but I’ve moved up into the next one this summer, which would have meant a 3:20h marathon would have been enough. My old 2022 personal best of 3:00:40 hours which I got at Hamburg Marathon was still viable for Chicago 2024. At the point of registering, I thought I’d better use the chance right then because no one can be completely certain such a fast marathon is in their future yet another time. I’m taking all the opportunities.
The six World Marathon Majors are Berlin, London, Boston, New York City, Chicago, and Tokyo.
All of them have significance attached to them and were therefore included by that organizing body.
- Berlin has been host to countless world records, because it’s one of the fastest courses in the world. The city also represents the connection between the global East and West, having been divided after World War II and playing a major role during the Cold War that followed.
- London is the economic center of Europe and has made a cultural impact on almost any part of the world during the hundreds of years when the British Empire sailed around colonizing all it could. One of the consequences of it is that I write this blog in the English language. Also, the exact marathon distance of 26.2 miles was first established for the London Olympics in 1908.
- Boston has the longest tradition of annual marathon races. It started in 1897 and was only skipped twice: Once during World War I and once during Covid-19. It being the longest running marathon race event in the world led to the whole city being absolutely marathon-crazy every year.
- New York City is arguably the most recognizable city of the world and would maybe be its capital if we had to select one. The United Nations reside here and the cultural impact of the city on the whole world cannot be understated. The race celebrates its diversity and melting pot of cultures that is New York City.
- Tokyo has for a long time been the world’s largest city and still is among the most populated ones. It’s a dignified metropolis and people from all over the world respect its individual culture. Having another part of the world in the mix in addition to Europe and the USA was certainly also an important point when including it back in 2013.
…but what about Chicago? Yes, it’s a huge city and many people all over the world are aware of its existence. But other than that?
🦅 Why Is There a Third World Major in the United States?
The question was on my mind before and during the trip and I’m afraid to say the answer I found disappointed me. Sure, Chicago is huge and significant. But there’s no good point to be made for including it when you would like to hold it to those same standards listed above for the other five. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have come here if it hadn’t been on the Majors list. To the other five I would have gone without that additional Majors appeal they all share.
What’s the first thing you associate with the city of Chicago? For many, it’s a mundane thing such as the strong winds. The Chicago Bulls. The Willis Tower and Lake Michigan. Or how it’s not as cool as New York. The influential comedy club that is even named “The Second City”. Maybe that it’s been the center of crime in the 1920s during prohibition, and the legendary criminal Al Capone. Personally, I associate with it the Chicago Style headline capitalization method which I use for this blog, but that’s quite a nerdy thing to first come to mind about the city.
People say they would one day love to go to New York, not Chicago. Los Angeles, maybe. San Francisco has some specific appeal, too. I’m sure many also really love Chicago and I don’t want to play down the greatness of the city here, I just think it’s questionable it’s included in the Majors.
Why not Rio de Janeiro? Cape Town? Sydney, Istanbul, Moscow, Shanghai, Paris, even Mexico City?
Not to mention, that Greek marathon race which starts in the city of “Marathon” and ends in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. Would that not make a worthy World Major? A marathon race at the birthplace of it which is even bearing the name “Marathon”?
In my opinion, a much better case could be made for most of them. But still, it’s Chicago.
And the reasons I’ve found are mainly revolving around making money.
That might not sound great, but it may in fact be a unique argument to be made in favor of Chicago, after all! It’s a great city for a marathon race because it’s possible to make a lot of money with hosting a Major in it. The amount of participants has long been huge and in the vicinity of 50,000 runners. The metropolitan area of Chicago houses many millions and its huge international airport makes it easy for lots more to visit. Therefore, any company doing a huge advertising campaign here during the marathon will enjoy millions of interested eyeballs on it. And when it all comes down to it, an economic argument is often a good one. The money brought in goes to people in the end who will use it to make a living. It’s funny how people opposed to that sometimes need to be reminded of it.
Sure, the other five cities make making huge amounts of money possible, too. But they have other good arguments to be made for them as well.
As a side note, in recent times there have been moves to include more races into the Majors, and it has now been made official that Sydney Marathon has been selected, making it Seven World Majors. I welcome Sydney into the bunch, although in terms of diversity I don’t think it adds too much. But seven is a nicer number than six and Australia is just cool. No doubt about that.
🇺🇸 The United States, Three Times in a Row
Some might think I would get tired of doing so much running in this country. Visiting twice last year and again this time. The year before I visited to run the Manhattan perimeter on my own, so this is my fourth visit in the span of just over two years. But I still love it and I would come again. In fact, I’m already making plans to revisit Boston Marathon in the future! Many have a sort of Love-or-Hate relationship with the country, but I don’t. I really like it here. Both words are fairly strong ones to describe something as trivial and mundane as a country. And those feelings don’t have to be mutually exclusive as opposed to what some are suggesting by saying things like: “This is America! You can either love it and embrace our freedom and liberty, or you can get the f*ck out!”
For me, it’s a mix. I do enjoy some aspects and I’m not so keen on some others. Big revelation, right? Only if you care about something, you notice its shortcomings and root for it to improve.
It’s expensive, but I spent less than a thousand euros (~1,100 USD) for the marathon ticket, the flights, and the hotel total. That’s not too bad! The amount of enjoyment I got out of the race was outweighed by that cost multiple times. Booking a race so long before it happens, as you have to with a World Major like this one, adds the aspect of cheerful anticipation. I was excited about this big trip for many months! That alone is worth a lot to me. Buy yourself some prolonged happiness! It wasn‘t the smartest of moves to book one of the cheapest possible hotels for those three nights in the city, but more on that later.
🛫 From Hamburg to Chicago
The short trip away from my responsibilities regarding household and children is also a break I sometimes need and really appreciate. I’m super grateful for my wife Sophie making this possible. And spending time in airports, planes, and hotels is actually something I enjoy doing.
Which is part of the reason I chose to plan a layover night at London Heathrow, in my favorite airport hotel, the cheap and cozy Premier Inn, connected right to Terminal 4 via walkway.
I didn’t have a great week before leaving, though. The previous weekend I was a volunteer pacemaker at Bremen Marathon for those who wanted to run a marathon in under 4:00 hours, and I delivered on that promise with the help of my friend Mathias who carried my pacemaker flag while I had to do an unplanned pitstop caused by stomach distress. I had been slightly sick on that day and recovery wasn’t aided by running that marathon – but it worked out and I fully recovered during that night at Heathrow airport, actually. The quietness, the comfy beds, the shake out run in the nearby park before a full English breakfast for just 10.99 GBP – it all was the secret to reaching full health again. (I wish this was a Premier Inn ad 😉)
An uneventful flight and a short shuttle bus ride to the hotel later I found myself in my ground floor room of the motel-like place I booked. The walls were thin, American style. Through the window I could hear a few people arguing outside during the night. Oh well, what can you expect for a small budget.
🛍️ Day Before The Race
If you’ve read my Boston Marathon blog post, you might know that I regretted mainly two things: not spending the money to book a hotel closer to the action and not doing all the fun events that surround race weekend. On the first bit I already failed, so I didn’t want to miss out on all the cool things to do at least. Good thing my buddy Nico was here with me.
🚉 Mass Transit and the US: Getting Around in Chicago
Chicago’s public transit system feels more like a shelter for the homeless and drug addicted, powered by a what seems like a jet engine that somehow just has that noise level but fails to translate the power onto the rails, sneaking along. The suspension system of an ancient horse carriage mixed with some not-so-carefully placed trampoline springs rounds it all off. Nico and I sat across from each other, an arm’s length apart, and couldn’t understand a word we were saying despite nearly screaming. Most of the time we were afraid the train would derail.
Our first ride into the city center went especially badly. Several homeless were sleeping on the train, which is sad but they didn’t negatively impact the journey. That’s until a group of a few young men entered the train, sat down next to us and started smoking marihuana. Inside the train. I was immediately feeling the high, but not in a good way. Flashbacks to the last time I smoked that stuff some ten years ago added to the jet-lag. I got dizzy and wasn’t sure how to react. One of the homeless woke up and got so annoyed he pulled out a knife and threatened the weed smoking men. That blade was just a foot from our faces. The other few passengers on the train didn’t react at all. Either they were used to these sorts of situations happening on trains, or they were afraid to confront the men, too. After a tense minute or so the knife wielding guy calmed down and walked towards the other end of the train while more smoke filled the place.
Nico and I had stopped talking-screaming and I suggested we leave this train at the next stop and take the next one. He agreed.
Welcome to Chicago!
If you’ve read the 1,300 page behemoth book that is called “The Power Broker”, written by Robert A. Caro, or, like me, listened to the currently ongoing multi-episode “Power Broker Breakdown” on the 99% Invisible podcast, you know why it’s like this in the US. Although The Power Broker centers around the building of public infrastructure in the city of New York, there’s a lot that can be applied to Chicago as well. In fact, in episode #10 this exact Blue Line in Chicago we’re on is mentioned as a positive example, because planners had the foresight when building the I-90 highway to leave room for building mass transit later in the middle of the highway road. That’s usually a rare occasion.
Yes, the United States are car country. No news there. It makes sense because the land is so vast and things are far apart. But you wonder why the densely populated cities don’t have proper transit systems in place, because in those cases it really makes a lot more sense as opposed to building these huge 20-lane roads leading in and out of the central parking garage buildings. In “The Power Broker”, we learn why. The short answer is, because money, power, and classism, with some added racism. When most roads were planned and built in the first half of the 20th century, cars were exclusive to the wealthy. To some smaller degree, they still are. Highways were constructed in some areas to often deliberately split apart or underserve certain neighborhoods populated by “undesirable” people. Highways raked in lots of money in tolls because it was possible to extract more money from car owners as opposed to from poor people reliant on mass transit. This all led to city planners with power like the title figure in The Power Broker, Robert Moses, to handle railway as an afterthought at best or often downright hating and avoiding to build it at all cost.
Unfortunately, not much has changed since the 50s and 60s in this regard. Public transit still is weak and used mainly by poor people in the US. The services in the different cities differ wildly, though. I never really had problems using the metro in Manhattan and felt like it generally runs quite well. But this trip to Chicago was for sure overshadowed by the unfortunate situation that this city’s railway system is in. I’m glad we’re not in L.A. though, because I hear public transit over there is even worse.
I’m not writing this down because dunking on the shortcomings of the US is a fashionable thing to do as a European. In my opinion, things can only get better when enough people know about them and the pressure from the people on those in power is high enough.
If we all just don’t care at all, nothing will ever get better.
I see myself as a citizen of the world and I hope the state of the whole world improves, not just in my home country. It has to get better for all of us, regardless of where we live.
Public transit is certainly not great in many parts of Europe, but in my hometown of Hamburg we have recently shown that electing officials who promise to improve it actually sometimes helps. The amount of bike lanes and subway lines is finally increasing again in my city.
“A developed country isn’t a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation.” – Gustavo Petro, former major of Bogotá, Columbia
🪇 The Shake-Out: Getting Ready for Tomorrow
After that thought-provoking trip into the city center, Nico and I met up with Nico’s friend Patrick from The Hague, Netherlands. It’s a great idea to have a slow and easy guided jog around the town the day before the race, so we were in on the fun. Nico was happy to receive yet another free cap, adding to the eight others he already got yesterday at other shake out runs and events.
Having a large body of water next to a city, such as Lake Michigan in this case, always levels up the whole city, I think. When I first came here in 2015 with my wife Sophie and our then very small oldest two daughters (the other two hadn’t been born yet) I loved running along the lake for hours. There’s something so relaxing about it. It’s a wonderful contrast to all the noise and nervousness the big city radiates. Now, the weather was sunny and actually relatively warm for mid October.
It’s interesting how so many companies use the marathon weekend to their gain and advertise as hard as possible by pulling off these types of events. We got to test out some new running shoes, enjoyed free food and drinks, took part in a sweepstakes, and received yet another trucker cap, personally airbrushed with our names on it. I was wondering if all these expenses justified the gains experienced afterwards by the companies. It can certainly be stated that there’s not much of a middle ground. People do it big over here, or not at all. I respect that and have often envied that mindset. People in decision-making positions in comparable companies here in Germany are a lot more timid and shy away from ideas which seem a bit over the top at first sight.
Big ideas are a lot more fun and failure is the best teacher!
👨 Trying Out Public Transportation Alternatives
The plan was to pick up my bib number at the big race expo, but I stupidly forgot my passport at the hotel, a mere 1.5 hours of traveling away from where we currently were, in the city center. The thought of spending another three unnecessary hours in these trains here made me regret that cheap choice of hotel even more.
But first, Nico and I decided to do some cool stuff. Have some Chicago deep-dish pizza, visit the Magnificent Mile, go to the Hoka and Nike stores, and stroll down the Riverwalk along Chicago River.
In order to do that hotel roundtrip I checked out some options. There weren’t many, but a viable one seemed to be using a Lyft cab. Of course, the highways were congested despite their incredible amount of lanes. You build new lanes, more cars will come.
Over three hours later and with more than one hundred dollars less to my name for the fares, I finally arrived at the bib pickup sight, McCormick Place Lakeside Center. Clutching my valuable passport.
That’s more like it. I like these big marathon expos. All the running related stuff to explore! The building felt very rundown and dirty, though. Compared to Javits Center in New York City, this didn’t exactly take my breath away. But that’s not what I’ve come here for, of course. With a lot of free giveaway stuff in my race number bag I made my way back towards… somewhere. I wasn’t exactly sure what to do now!
The thought of another two hour trip back to the hotel or the seventy dollar Lyft cab alternative that’s diminishing that timespan by a tiny percentage both didn’t appear very appealing to me right now.
So I walked.
Along Lake Michigan, next to Grant Park – the main sight of tomorrow’s race. Everything has already been fenced off and looks like it’s ready to go. The excitement is mounting in me.
At the end of the day, it was inevitable, I had to get to the hotel at some point. I went through with another public transit trip that took as long as traveling from Hamburg to Berlin in our German ICE highspeed train, which is almost exactly ten times the distance. Maybe one day there will be a change of mind and building out public transport will be a priority again in the US. I hope so for the sake of everyone living here and visiting.
Nico and I had some carbs at the only places that served food in the vicinity, Subway. That’s fine. It plays into our hands that we’re still a bit jet-lagged now, because the race tomorrow and especially our position here near the O’Hare airport require a 3:30am alarm.
🌅 Day of the Race
Of course I wake up ten minutes before the alarm goes off. I’m just so excited the day is here! All of the pre-race stuff is checked off, we’ve made it so far already. A quick coffee at Nico’s hotel room. Only the long journey into the city center is still standing in our way, but even that worked out fine today. The Blue Line had more likeminded marathon runners occupying it today and fewer knife-swinging criminals. It’s a good day.
The recommended time of arrival at the starting area for our starting wave was 5:30am, so naturally we arrived at 5:20am. You can’t take our German-ness out of us. The security check at the starting area gates is relaxed apart from the metal detectors. All good.
And we’re in. Now, not much is left to go wrong. It’s still not crowded here. As fast runners, Nico and I were both assigned to the first of all starting waves, scheduled to leave at 7:30am. We’ve got two hours to kill. Although there are around 50,000 runners expected who all need to go through these fenced paths and find their starting corrals after handing off their finish line gear bags, it’s looking like there won’t be any problems here. The event is flawless, so far. That’s not a given! Still, you have to wonder why you are asked to arrive a whole two hours before the start. One hour would have been plenty, especially since everything went so smoothly.
Hanging around and joking with Nico made the time fly by and the excitement for the race grow some more. Because of the long waiting time we had brought breakfast. Donuts, cereal bars, the first energy gels of the day, a bottle of Gatorade. Getting into the groove.
The sun rises, it’s looking like a cloudy day. Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect marathon conditions.
Nico and I then said our goodbyes and moved into separate corrals of our starting wave. He was in Corral C, myself in D. I was expected to finish in 3:15 hours, he a bit faster. Just two weeks ago, Nico had improved his personal best to an astonishing 2:34:57 hours at Berlin Marathon.
I wasn’t so sure about my expected finishing time now, though. I had to put a number into the registration form, but that was many months ago. The previous week I had been sick and not much quality training was possible. My priority here in Chicago is finishing the race with a good feeling, so I decided to go for an easy 3:30 hours goal time and not let myself get distracted by the faster runners assigned to my corral.
We organized our corral to feature a little warm-up lap and many took part. Getting the limbs ready. Many people threw away their old warming clothes they had brought for exactly this purpose. The amounts of discarded clothing at these huge events always astounds me. I hope it all goes to the homeless.
The only tiny problem here in the corral was the lack of porta-potties. Once in, you weren’t allowed to leave again. It wasn’t a problem for me, but it led to some public urination which was not great to witness.
Then, the MC starts his plan, acknowledging everyone involved in putting together this incredible event. We do a minute of silence for the late Kelvin Kiptum, who last year broke the world record here at this race before tragically dying in a car crash a few months later, this February. He was so young and a unique new talent, on his way to become the first person to break two hours in a proper marathon road race.
They play some great music. “Sweet Home Chicago” is among it – which makes me realize that there are actually good songs about Chicago! Back in New York City during the previous year I remembered how many popular songs have been made about that city and here was reminded of that.
All of this adds to my excitement for this race. It is just so amazing to be able to stand here and do this today! My health is back at 95 percent, I feel relaxed and have slept well, ate enough, I’m not cold, everything is just great. I want to run!
🔫 The Chicago Marathon 2024 Has Started!
Curiously there’s no gunshot to be heard. In gun-crazy U.S.A. I was honestly surprised by that. It takes around twenty minutes for the faster runners to move across the start line so I can follow them.
This is the moment. The release! Finally running.
More stories like these?
Subscribe to the free newsletter here:
You’ll never ever receive spam email and you can unsubscribe at any point.
-
This was one of the best articles I've read so far in telling about a race. I couldn't put it down. Your details were so awesome. You made New York just come alive.
-
Great review, enjoyed reading it and recognize lots off related subjects and hurtles. I’m amazed by all your running and races well done.
-
Great article! I've read so many long blogs only to get bored in the middle as I suffer terribly from ADD and move on to other things. Yours has been one of few that held my attention all the way to the end.
-
Your good humor and ease in telling stories make this blog a really cool space. Nice review.
-
Amazing effort Tim, well done! Thank you for taking the time to write down your thoughts, feelings and memories from the event. There’s always something to learn from your posts and this one was no exception!! Another cracking read.
-
What a ride! Surely the race, but also reading about it. Thanks for taking the time to write up such a detailed report, almost feel like I was there.
I start at my planned pace of around 5:00 minutes per kilometer or 8:00 minutes per mile. The people around me run at a similar speed, so it feels good. My choice of shoes has again fallen on the HOKA ROCKET X 2. Carbon plated reactive racing shoes which last three times as long as the comparable Nike shoes. I feel so good in them that I already want to increase the pace. The heart rate is looking good and allowing me to do so. Somewhere between 4:30 and 4:40 min/km (7:15 to 7:30 min/mi) is my feel-good marathon pace today, I find out by experimenting.
Right from the beginning, the Americans and fellow tourists create an atmosphere that is so enjoyable I feel very welcome here. The noise is high at most points, people scream at everyone and not just their own family and friends. I like that about the US. It doesn’t happen like this in most European countries I’ve run marathons in. (Braggy reminder: I’ve actually run marathons in all of the EU countries.)
We head north and nearly touch Lake Michigan. Stretches here are not lined with spectators, but that’s not often the case.
I do like it how there are some streets which are more quiet and then you run into a huge crowd again. Apart from the obligatory noises such as “Wooo!” and “Goooo!”, people most often scream things like “You got this!” or “You’re doing amazing!” at the top of their lungs. Big emotions. I see a handful of spectators crying, even. It looked like they were overwhelmed, and my guess is they just witnessed a loved one coming by and knew how happy it made them to be able to run this race today. I also sometimes get emotional in similar situations when seeing someone overcoming a big hurdle and rising up to a challenge they have set for themselves. Last time that happened was when I saw Laura Lindemann surprisingly outsprint the incredible Taylor Knibb and Beth Potter to take home Gold in the Mixed Team Relay Triathlon at the Paris Olympics.
Right in front of me I notice a guy with a bib on his back showing that today’s Chicago Marathon is his sixth of the six World Majors. That causes a short burst of goosebumps in me as well. What a day he is having!
I’m doing rather well myself, really taking it all in. A pacemaker runner appears, carrying the 3:20h sign. It’s a wooden stick to be held in the hand for the whole race. I preferred the light backpack flags we got when I was a pacemaker at Bremen Marathon the previous weekend. I overtook him, feeling strong.
🪧 Cheerful Creativity
Over the past handful of years I have noticed how spectators are doing an increasingly great job of drawing funny signs for us runners to read. This time there were a few occasions which made me laugh. Here are some of those I can remember, first those cute ones:
- “Where is everyone going?”
- “It’s called ChicaGO and not ChicaSTOP!”
Then there were some that went slightly further:
- [Standing at around 8k] “That’s 5k, you’re halfway there! I think. I’m not good at math.”
- “Free Shrugs”
- “Therapy was also an option!”
And my personal favorite:
- “Hello, we’ve been trying to reach you to talk about your extended car warranty!”
In many places, people are standing in multiple rows along the streets, but are very respectful of the race course. Security is also super on point due to an army of volunteers. This has been similar in NYC and Boston, and I think it’s very cool how many people are trying to help and be part of it.
The roads are always very wide and there’s enough room for everyone to go at their personal pace, but the road quality isn’t the best. There are many potholes, so you really have to watch where you’re putting your feet. A few of the bridges are built with metal grates instead of asphalt or concrete as the road on them, see-through to the water below. Those feel tricky and slippery, but often feature a red carpet on one side you can use if you want. Just don’t take out your phone over those grates – when accidentally dropping the device that would be it.
🍹 The Aid Stations
Almost exactly as in NYC and Boston, these are of top quality. And there are so many of them! The first one appears after just under two miles, after what felt like just a few minutes of running. Then, you won’t ever go for much longer than a mile until the next one. I make use of them very often. There’s always Gatorade Endurance and water, but the other staple foods such as bananas are noticeably missing. Some well-organized fans offer some bananas and other snacks. With all the carbs and electrolytes in the Gatorade it’s fine, though.
At three points during the latter half of the race, sponsoring company Maurten offers their gel products for free. I like those and eat a bunch of them and also sneakily take a few for later since they’re just so expensive at around four euros per 25g gel. Should’ve brought a backpack to get my money’s worth!
Two other companies also offered their products to try during the race. First, there was BioFreeze, creators of a cooling spray for sore muscles. Like at a Formula 1 pitstop, you need to run into one of two little diversions with about five spraying stations each. There’s a volunteer spraying next to a huge ventilator each, possibly to avoid those chemicals flying into the eyes of everyone. I can’t help but think of how very American that is. It’s a huge waste of energy for very little gain. But the cool thing is (no pun intended) that they just do it and try out these ideas. Cooling spray isn’t new, of course, but the way it’s applied here is unusual.
Then, we have renowned bottled water company Evian with a completely pointless idea. Sprayable water. It’s a fad over here with my daughters, too, but the old man in me finds this absolutely ridiculous. It’s just plain water in a spray can. Volunteers spray it in your face if you like. Peak BS. Take a cup of water at the next aid station.
You can’t blame them for not trying, though! And as stated I do appreciate the new ideas.
In general this race is really great. The course is flat and easy, crowds are great, aid stations leave not much to be desired. And the unchangeable factors such as the weather played nicely today, too. The whole thing of getting around fifty thousand people to the starting gates and then to the finish line can feel like a nuisance when you’re one of them, but here it didn’t. Everything was so smooth. The only thing that was annoying was our far-away hotel, but that’s of course completely our own fault.
In New York, the waiting area before the start was a bit better with free bagels and coffee, an awesome view and even some therapy dogs for those nervous ones of us, but I would call all that just the cherry on top. Chicago delivered an absolute top notch race here so far. Maybe that’s enough to warrant that Major spot.
🏄♂️ Relentless Optimism
I recently heard extreme endurance athlete Jonas Deichmann say that the most important thing to help him achieve great things is what he called relentless optimism. This summer the guy broke the world record and did 120 long distance triathlons in 120 days. Before, he ran and biked through the whole world multiple times, breaking many other records. A positive attitude and the belief that he will be able to accomplish what he sets out to do is making it possible.
For me, just finishing a marathon race isn’t a huge achievement anymore, but for many others here, it is. I remember that feeling well and so I am very empathetic to it. A few times now I’ve chosen to radiate some more positivity to inspire that optimism in others with a very simple gesture: wearing my awesome Hawaiian shirt. You’ve seen it on the pictures. It never fails to make people smile! Here in Chicago, people especially loved it and made so many nice comments. I think it lifts people up and gives this otherwise quite serious athletic undertaking a certain lighter edge. Former world record holder Eliud Kipchoge says that with a smile everything is easier.
Today I also did really well. I was able to keep that relatively fast pace up. Naturally, over the course of the race the heart rate will slowly rise up in what’s called the cardiovascular drift. It was fine though. At around 35 km (22 miles) I cracked the 85% of my maximum mark and that’s right were I’m starting to get uncomfortable. I did some calculations in my head if a time under 3:15 hours would still be possible but landed on the conclusion that it would require more effort that I was able and willing to spend. The next best thing would be to make it my personal best Marathon Major. So far I have done all previous four Majors faster than the one before. Keeping that up would be cool!
- Berlin in 2013: 4:17:02
- London in 2015: 4:00:48
- Boston in 2023: 3:22:36
- New York City in 2023: 3:18:28
Landing under 3:18:28 should be well within reach without going crazy now and risking it all. My main goal here is making it to the finish line in one piece and with enough energy left to enjoy the rest of the day in this city to the fullest. So that seems like a good idea.
The western loop through Chinatown was a welcome change of surroundings. Back to the city center we only had one loop left to do, the southern one. After around 38 km (23 miles) we reached the southernmost tip and turned around towards the finish. That’s a good point in the race to return home, because it’s always hard towards the end. A marathon remains a marathon. The crowds and noise thinned out a bit at first, but the closer we got to the finish line, the better it was. Especially the last two miles were loud like a rock concert. I loved it. The energy transfer works.
I’m increasingly more happy to be here, if that’s even possible. Marathons are the greatest. One last push and then a right turn reveals a tricky little uphill stretch at the beginning of Grant Park, requiring an even bigger push to get up there. The whole course was so flat and now they present us with this abomination! Just kidding, of course. Left turn at the top and there’s the finish line view. These finish line views are something to live for.
🏁 The Finish
And then it’s suddenly over. Done. 3:16:47 hours, my fastest World Major so far! Here are the Strava stats.
There’s a bottle of water which I immediately down. We are told to keep moving to avoid congestions. Sure, but I have to admit that crowd control bit took me out of that celebratory mood quickly. Then, there’s a few volunteers handing out the special edition “312 Electric” beers. Not unusual to get a beer after a race finish, but I am very surprised to see it’s one that contains alcohol! It’s always zero alcohol ones. Here, they’ve put in some electrolytes and an enthusiastic volunteer exclaims that that’s what the power of science is able to do today: beer with alcohol AND electrolytes. What a world we’re living in!
I haven’t had any alcohol for around 500 days starting in the beginning of 2023, but have recently decided to go back to a very occasional way of consumption. This here seems to be a worthy situation. That first sip does not disappoint! It is a delicious beer, I think. Everything tastes great after a marathon. A guy from Australia notices me let out that typical “aaah” exhale after that first sip, smiles, and toasts me. We chat a little.
Due to our chat I unfortunately miss the Maurten Solid cereal bars and the protein shakes, I’m later told. Those would have been good. But going back isn’t an option because of the big crowds coming in from behind us.
It takes just a couple minutes until I have my checked gear bag back and found Nico. Everything is still working out extremely well here. Nico casually finished in 2:53 hours, just two weeks after setting his new personal best. Incredible. He spent the twenty minute wait until I arrived here with another friend from the Netherlands who showed up here. The beer makes me euphoric and therefore does exactly what it’s supposed to do. I feel amazing.
The clouds have cleared up and we’re now warmed up by the sun. That’s the perfect moment.
🍻 Cheers!
During the time we’re spending here, we witness lots of people spontaneously vomiting. Into the grass by the fountain, onto the pavement, into the trash bins. This long after the race, that’s most certainly the alcoholic beer, we figured. Puking during races is not unusual, but that’s because of the high heart rate which leaves no blood for the stomach and intestines to properly digest. It must have been the alcohol. I think there’s a reason why it’s zero alcohol beers at almost all other races. But it seems like those people aren’t suffering too much from it. And I simply find it hilarious right now, really enjoying my rare beer high!
The race staff should probably think this over for next year, though. It’s very rare that people have experience with running and drinking alcohol, and they’re just handing out fifty thousand large beers to them. In order to learn more about beer and running, I’d recommend signing up to Nico’s and my next event, the Munich Breweries Ultra! The run is an 80k (50 miles) visiting all seven Munich breweries and having a beer each. It’s lots of fun. The big difference is, we’re running slowly and not racing it. That way, the alcohol is no problem. Most people here, on the other hand, have just gone all out and are on the verge of collapse already.
Then, the next highlight. The 27th Mile Party.
It has been a great day already and I’m super happy, but this just puts it over the top. There’s a big meadow next to the finish line area, still part of Grant Park, where lots of booths have been put up. Mostly it’s from sponsors who are promoting their products. There’s music, you can hang out, get another free beer and lots of other free samples such as a box of hot Mac ‘n’ Cheese to go, there are more sweepstakes to win stuff, and the atmosphere is very relaxed. Brilliant idea. It’s a bit like that finish line area at Rennsteiglauf, which is also amazing. Hanging out here in the sun, talking with Nico, eating and drinking. A win-win for us and all the brands involved.
Here, at the latest, I’m fully convinced Chicago is a deserving member of the World Marathon Majors. It’s just an exceptionally great race, nothing less. Sure, here and there things could have been slightly optimized, but that’s always the case. I am completely happy about having traveled the long way over here to run Chicago Marathon. Worth it.
We find out that today another world record was broken. Ruth Chepng’etich set the new women’s world record to 2:09:56 hours, nearly two minutes faster than the previous record. This now moved both the men’s and the women’s world record away from Berlin to Chicago. So, is Chicago the faster race? It definitely is an easy course and with good weather conditions like today it’s well suited for that. It’s hard to compare though, because my Berlin race is over ten years ago. For a professional, I don’t think it makes much of a difference. Chepng’etich would probably also be able to do that in Berlin. But my feeling is that for an amateur like me to go for a new personal best, Berlin is better suited. The reason is that while both races have around fifty thousand participants, in Berlin it’s a lot less of a problem to make it to the starting line in the morning. You don’t have to arrive two hours early. Two weeks ago, Nico arrived there less than an hour before and it was no problem at all. And with public transportation you can get there from anywhere in the city easily and quickly. That’s a lot less stress and possible problems right before you want to give it everything you’ve got.
🍔 Procrastinating the Long Way Home
Without having a shower but with fresh clothes thanks to our checked gear bags, Nico and I decide to spend more time here in the city center. I do the short detour to take another very important tourist picture.
We meet up with Patrick, who slightly missed his goal of running sub 2:35 hours by a couple minutes. I talk them into walking to the next White Castle burger restaurant. That chain is significant, because it was the first of these fast food chains selling that type of food in the world. All the other huge chains copied from White Castle. The reason most of the world has never heard of it but visits McDonald’s regularly is that the White Castle folks decided against franchising and kept it a family business. The burgers are called “sliders” here and are tiny. The idea is to just order five or more of them to fill you up.
The walk there takes us along the route of the race and we get to cheer some more for the runners arriving now. It takes us nearly an hour to reach the restaurant in these crowds.
On that picture you can see a guy from behind wearing an unusual shirt. Here he is zoomed in.
US politics is just such so strange. You would never see anyone in my country wearing such a shirt with a German politician on it. What is it that makes you want to do such a thing?
The “sliders” do taste nice. Of course they have the plant-based Impossible patties as an option. All that salt and fat and sweetness feels so good after a race. But apart from that it wasn’t something to write home about.
Patrick returns to his hotel, while Nico and I decide to check out one of the after parties, located a train ride south of here. There’s free drinks and some cool clothes to buy, which I do, but other than that it was a bit underwhelming. We just felt like we should do something else before embarking on that long way back to the much-too-cheap hotel. Half past five, we decide to take it on. This time it’s almost exactly two hours until we reach the place. Finally a shower!
What a wonderful day.
🇺🇸 Three US Majors Done: My Conclusions
This country is just so crazy! Crazy bad and crazy great in all aspects. The poverty, the glamour, the bullshit, the awesome ideas, the intense crowds, the organization of these huge events, everything is so far away from average. Love or hate, love and hate.
The food is the one thing where I did only find one extreme this time, and that’s the bad kind. Everything that’s accessible is so unhealthy. Nico and I found it impossible to buy a plain Apple. Or get a decent meal in the area that’s not from a fast food chain. That’s probably only possible with a car.
I love this country and enjoy being here very much, but going home is great, too. I’ll cherish easily eating fresh veggies and traveling on a train without people smoking in it or pulling out knives quite a bit more, now.
Chicago was host to a great race and I’m glad I’ve come here. That being said, it’s the only one of the three US Majors I think I don’t want to repeat. Boston and New York City have more appeal on me. If I’d live in the US, that would be a different thing. Flying over “just” for a race like this is of course a very privileged thing to do, I’m well aware of that. In fact, that thought was on my mind for a good part of the trip. When is something worthwhile? When does it justify the cost and time invested? It’s always subjective. Nobody can tell me that it’s not worth it, I have to make that decision for myself. If the greatness of the experience is so huge that I’m willing to part with that amount of money and take on the less-than-comfortable but necessary parts of it such as waiting at immigration at the airport for hours or the bespoke horrifying train rides, then it’s good.
Frankly, on the day before the race I wasn’t so sure. But now, after all the amazing things I’ve witnessed and which have made room for themselves as lifelong memories in my brain, I am absolutely sure I’ve done the right thing here. It has been so much fun and so special to have been able to come here and run Chicago Marathon. Worth every penny.
How do you feel after reading this?
This helps me assess the quality of my writing and improve it.
Leave a Comment