Marathon Diary

The name marathon comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger. The legend states that he was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming "Νενικήκαμεν" (Nenikékamen, 'We have won.') before collapsing and dying.

The marathon was brought into modern day culture in 1896 at the first modern Olympic games held in Greece. The initiators and organizers of the Games were looking for a great, popularizing event recalling the ancient glory of Greece. The original distance of the marathon was 24.85 miles which is roughly the distance from Marathon to Athens. In 1921, the distance of 26.2 miles became standard and has been used since.

The first marathon I remember watching was in Chicago with my mom. We walked down the street from our house to Lake Shore Drive which in the late 80s was part of the course. I don't think I comprehended how far 26.2 miles was but I do remember being amazed at how fast they ran and how cool it was that people were running on Lake Shore Drive.

As a kid I hated running, I prefered spending my time on the baseball diamond where during my high school years, I was routinely pinch run for when I got on base in the late innings. As you can tell, the coaches thought a lot of my speed and running ability.

I took up running in college as those freshman 15 began to expand my waistline. The usual run was through campus, up Pine to Forest Park and back. It was a short distance about 2.5 milest. A usual companinon on those runs was my college roommate Nick Dietz. Dietz and I chatted several times about doing a marathon and I began to think about what it meant to run 26.2 miles. For me, it seemed as if it was the ultimate physical challenge of an individual against themselves. It seemed crazy and the more and more I thought about it, the more and more I wanted that challenge.

I spent 4 years running my Fraternity's leadership program and one of the subjects we talk about is strategic planning. We discuss the analogy that strategic planning is like climbing Mt. Everest. You can't go out and climb Everest without the proper equipment, proper guides, proper training and by setting goals on your way up the climb. I also learned that sometimes for your own safety you have to revise your goal. My goal was to train and finish the Chicago Marathon. I knew along the way I would need to make sacrafices and at times my goal would be questioned because of fatigue, lack of desire and other opportunities that would come up. I knew that if I set this goal, focused and trained properly, I would achieve my goal.

After over 400 miles of training over 4 months, the day had finally come to run 26.2. I was extremly nervous about the marathon and the entire experience. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to run the marathon with 2 of my good college friends, Bif and the aforementioned Dietz. We had set a goal of finishing the marathon in 4 hour 30 minutes and were going to run together for as long as possible.

As we got into the corral I finally realized the enormity of the race. I was in a tight spot with 33,000 other people who had a goal of finishing 26.2 miles. Each person had different reasons for running the race. Some were running for charities, others in the memory of loved ones. Many were like me they wanted to push themselves to the limit.

As I began to run my race, I was amazed at all the fans that had come out to cheer all the runners on. I even had a few fans come out to cheer me on.



The excitement of the spectators made me forget that I was running and before I knew it, I had run 5-6 miles. I had even forgot to drink anything until Dietz, a doctor, advised me that it would probably be a good idea for me to drink some water or Gatorade.

Bif, Dietz and I stuck together for the first 9 miles and then Dietz had to go to the bathroom. Our prearranged plan was that the rest of us would keep going and the other person would just catch up. That was the last time I would see Dietz until after the race.

Bif and I continued to run together but Bif was falling behind. The temperature had risen to close to 80 degrees and we were both feeling the effects. Right before the halfway point, Bif motioned for me to go ahead. That is the last time I would see Bif.

As I crossed the half marathon point, I was feeling good. I was right on pace for a 4:30 marathon and while it was getting hot it wasn't unbearable.

Things were going well until mile 16, I started to get a pain in both of my hips. I had felt a pain like this before but I had never run 11 miles through it. I continued until mile 17 and then I couldn't bear it any more, I had to stop and walk. Eventually, I stretch out my hips and it seemed to work. I was back running again.

Halfway through mile 18, I felt a sharp pain on the inner part of my left knee. Again, I needed to stop. I continued to walk. I decided to start running through the pain and made it about a quarter mile and then I felt the same sharp pain on the inner part of my right knee. I thought to myself, I was breaking down right here on the marathon course. I tried to run to the next aid station deciding to walk through the aid station and then run to the next aid station. Eventually, the pain became too intense to do even that. I modified my strategy and spent a majority of time walking and running a block or two at a time.

Between mile 19 and mile 20 the 4:45 pace group past me. I was demoralized. I had a big 4:30 on my back indicating my pace group and now people whose pace was 15 minutes behind me had caught me.



As I approached mile 20, I went through a range of emotions that I had never felt in such a short period of time. I was mad that I wasn't going to achieve my time goal, I was in pain that I hadn't felt in a long time, I wanted to quit. I knew there were over 6 miles left but I wanted to stop, tuck my tail between my legs and sit down. I had hit the wall.

All of this must have appeared as a miserable scowl on my face because as I approached mile 20, a medic looked me directly in the eye and asked if "I was okay?" I know he was just doing his job but I must have looked awful.

Looking back, I don't think it was my miserable scowl that made the medic ask if I was ok. In 2007, the Chicago Marathon was run in 88 degree heat. Halfway through the race, the heat forced a a cancellation that left many recreational marathoners frustrated. This year they were out for redemption. While the temperature hit 85 this year, the humidity wasn't as bad. Chicago had developed a warning system: Green meant ideal conditions, Yellow meant use caution (the 2008 Chicago Marathon started under a yellow warning), Red meant dangerous conditions, Black meant the event was cancelled. I first noticed at my 20 that the alert condition had changed from yellow to red and now, 6 miles from the finish, I was concerned that the marathon would be cancelled.

I continued to push along running when I could. My brother-in-law, sister and nieces and nephew met me at mile 16 and told me that my parents were in Chinatown. As I approached Chinatown, I mustered my strength and resolved to run through Chinatown. I didn't want my parents to see me look defeated. Unbeknowest to me they had decided to meet me down by the finish line.

As I left Chinatown, I kept pushing towards the finish. The pain in my legs was becoming unbearable. Before I left my house in the morning I decided to bring along two Advils. Now was as good of a time as any to pop a couple of pills. I was hoping the pain would go away.

Around mile 22 my brother-in-law, sister and nieces and nephew surprised me. My brother-in-law who had run a marathon a few years prior asked how I was doing. He knew that I was in pain but he knew I was close. He walked with me for a few blocks and kept encouraging me. My nephew kept telling me that I had to beat 5:17 which was his father's time. That perked me up, I had another goal. After a few more minutes and more encouragement, I continued along with a new determination.



I tried to run and was fine for about 30 seconds, the pain pills had worked but I started to feel a pain in my heart and in my chest. I was scared. The marathon had been my goal for a long time but it wasn't worth dying for. I am not a doctor and Dietz was no where to be found so I stopped. I continued to walk and push forward, there was no pain when I walked. Finally, the course turned north and I knew there was under 3 miles left in the race.

As I walked through the southside, I thought back to the experience. All along the marathon path are thousands of spectators and volunteers cheering you on, helping you to achieve your goal. When you think about all the people that go into making the marathon the event it is, it simply amazing. Each one of these volunteers has a smile on their face, their job is thankless. They deal with angry, ungrateful racers and they keep cheering and they keep making sure people are hydrated. Without these volunteers, the marathon would not be the success it is. Thank you volunteers!

In the home stretch, I had no answer for the pain that would shoot through my heart every time I tried to run. I had no clue if I was on pace to beat 5:17 but I did know that I didn't want to walk through the last turn and the finish line. I would save whatever I had left for that final run. As I decide upon this, the 5 hour pace group past me.

As I approached Roosevelt Rd., the final hill before the final straightaway I broke into a trot. I was feeling ok and I started to run. As I climbed the hill, I heard the unmistakeable voice of my mother yelling for me. She had managed to see me on the other side of the race course. The yelling gave me a little extra motivation. I made the final turn and was ecstatic to see the words "FINISH" straight ahead of me.

At this point, I had no clue when I had started the race but I wanted to finish strong. I kept pushing and pushing and finally crossed. My final time was 5:20:02. I had finished. I had achieved my goal.

For a while on Sunday, I was disappointed with my performance. I had to walk most of last 8 miles, my time was higher than I wanted and I know that I could have done better. Over the last 72 hours, I have had the opportunity to think about my experience and in the end, I am extremly proud of my accomplishment. I compelted my overall goal and when I realized that I wasn't going to achieve all parts of my goal, I revised my goal. There was a time around the 23 mile marker where I could have pushed myself but who knows what the shooting pain in my chest was. The most important thing is that I crossed that finish line and finished the marathon!

Over the last few days I have been asked several times if I would run another marathon. I am not sure yet. I am still trying to process through this marathon. I learned a lot about myself and the kind of person I am over those 5 hours and 20 minutes. For me, the marathon was more than 26.2 miles of running. It was the ultimate physical challenge of me against myself. It was also an emotional rollercoaster that I had never anticipated but in the end, I will always look back on those 26.2 miles and those 5:20:02 and think about what I accomplished and how I accomplished it and I will take those lessons with me for the rest of my life.