Somewhere in that mass of humanity at the start line of the 34th running of the Chicago Marathon this past Sunday, is our son, Jack, amongst 45,000 of his closest friends. No, that's not he in the second picture or the third picture. Jack is pictured in the bottom frame in blue shirt/white cap making the final turn to the finish line after 26.2 miles of kicking "ass-phalt." The two pictures above Jack's are of the Men's Champion, Moses Mosop of Kenya, and the Wheelchair Champion, Kurt Fearnley of Austria, both pictured at the finish line. But, for all intents and purposes, all 45,000 runners were winners in my book for participating in one of the truly great road races on the planet.
The Chicago Marathon is considered one of the top five marathons in the world. The other four major marathon cities of the world are: New York, Boston, Berlin and London. These are all premier running events that attract runners from all over the world. This year's Chicago Marathon had runners from all 50 states and over 100 countries. It was truly a spectacular event of epic proportions not only for the runners but for the supportive fans that lined the course from start to finish. It was estimated that over 1.5 million spectators watched the race wind through the 29 ethnically-diverse neighborhoods of Chicago.
Not so long ago, Chicago's first marathon in 1977 had 4,200 runners. Since then, running Chicago and other marathons, has become so popular that entries to premier marathons have sold out quickly. Some, notably Boston and New York, have strict qualifying standards to even apply for an entry form.
And why do they, the runners, run? For as many reasons as there are runners. But, I think the baseline reason is that running for many is a daily addiction, albeit, a healthy addiction with risks. Just wondering if the timeless quote, "pain begets joy" by the 19th Century German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, applied to running long distances. I don't think so. Nietzsche had loftier pursuits. What remains is this inexplicable contradiction that running almost simultaneously stimulates both suffering and pleasure within the runner. A physiological mystery indeed!
There's a question asked many times about marathon running, "what's harder, the months of training or the actual day of the marathon?" As I looked in the faces of many of those runners on a rather warm Sunday morning, I'd say race day was harder. Severe pain and suffering was evident from many of the runners. In fact, a fireman from North Carolina, a father of two, and an experienced marathoner, William Caviness, 35, tragically collapsed and died 500 yards from the finish line from cardiac arrest. Cruel way to die. He was running to raise money for burn victims.
Another runner, Amber Miller, 39 weeks pregnant, ran all 26.2 miles with CONTRACTIONS. Within hours after the race, Amber delivered her healthy daughter, June, at a nearby hospital. (And I thought pepperoni pizza accelerated delivery.) Amber passed her husband, also running, at mile 10. Spectators were yelling, "Go, pregnant lady, go!" It took her 6 and a half hours to run the race and alot less to deliver their baby girl. When asked if she would do it again pregnant, she responded like any addicted runner would, "Definitely again."
So, Jack, why did you run it? "I ran it...to finish it." Pithy. Finish what you start. I like that. And boy did he finish well, 3 hours and thirty minutes. That's an 8 minute mile pace over 26 miles. Not bad for a non-Kenyan, hard-working Irishman from Monterey.
So, see you next October in Chicago, Jack?
"I'll let you know when my body recovers."
That's marathon-speak for "definitely again."
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