Chicago Marathon '05

Finishers Chicag05. It wasn't pretty for the bookends, but we all got there. Run onward....

Next time, let's meet where there's better head rests.

Feeling spry 26.2 later, and why not -- he got off the course much earlier

Eddie drinkin' da beer in shytown at da fountain.

Before the Expresso, after the death march.

7:05 a.m. Steve, Ed, Kurt. Does Ed's cap look a bit small? Or is his....

7.am. What's with the glasses?

Finish Line -- Chicag05

26.2 is a wicked distance that can't be cheated. At the 24M mark, Kurt had the 4:00 Pace Team in sight 100 yards ahead, but his legs wouldn't go. He came up 4 minutes short on a terrific run on a cool, sunny day in Chicago. Me, at 4 hours, the original time goal, I was shuffling along with two inflamed IT bands, a twitching back, legs caked in lactic acid in Chinatown and another hour of running to go. Nothing went right. Since mid-August, I'd spent nearly all my miles on a treadmill, trying to stay out of the heat and minimize the fatigue, but my legs weren't ready for more than 16 miles of real road pounding and my repiratory problems never went away. I never felt so horrible for a start. I thought the cold temps might help but.....You can't cheat the distance. For me, #13 was cursed for the last 6-7 weeks. Kurt, on the other hand, had a great race but, for whatever reason, his legs lacked a final drive. So he takes his summer training, punches it up with more tempos and drives down his 10K times another few minutes, maybe he makes it next time -- all other conditions being equal. Ed walked the distance as well, around 5:50, but not satisfied with his time either. He didn't care for the crowds and packed waterstops of the bigger marathon. Over 26 miles of Chicag05, there were all sorts of harzards....