Salem, Oregon's
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Willamette Valley Road Runners (WVRR)
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Chicago Marathon October 11, 2003
by Ron Hartwig

Chicago: what a city. So many things to see and so little time. It is a city that was much cleaner than anticipated. On an average day we probably see more homeless people in Salem than we saw in Chicago. People were so friendly to us. Perhaps it was because the Cubs were winning.

Organization: After our experience in Denver it was great to see what professionals and millions of dollars will do for a race. From information before the race to packet pickup, to expo, to the race itself, all was top notch. A few more porta-potties before the race would have helped but that was a small thing. The food at the finish was good: apples, bananas, bagels, cookies and Michelob beer. There were reportedly 9,000 volunteers on the course on race day. Some of them were as enthusiastic as the crowds.

Race Course: World records have been set here so you know it must be flat and fast. The "hills" are essentially elevation rises to get you over the canals in the city. One of these inclines comes just before the finish so you feel you are running up a hill. At the expo they had a video showing the course. On race day we had to concentrate on running in the masses so we really didn’t get to enjoy the sights. There was very little running on concrete, which Charlotte appreciated. On a couple of occasions the road narrowed to two lanes, which made running more difficult but for most of the time is was three or four lanes wide. We liked the course.

Weather: After worrying about the weather it turned out to be great for running. It was about 50 when we started and in the 60’s when we finished. Later finishers had temperatures in the low 70’s.

How we did: We had decided a long time ago to run together. Ron’s job was to pay attention to the pace. It took us 2 minutes and 18 seconds to get to the start where we could finally start running. The plan was to walk for forty seconds at each mile marker. This was adjusted for water stops. For example there was a water stop at 8.25 miles so we walked there instead of at mile 8. It is harder to apply the Galloway method in very large races. Because you usually are running faster than the people around you when you are running, wall-to-wall people make for a lot of zipping in and out. This takes an amount of energy to accomplish and certainly constant focusing. We were very steady mile after mile with a pace slightly faster than John Gallagher had suggested for Charlotte. At mile twenty Charlotte said no more walking and off we went. The result was a negative split race with the second half almost two minutes faster than the first. After being unable to run this race last year Charlotte was ecstatic about her time. She finished 3^rd out of 176 in her age group. Ron finished alongside her and was 64^th of 661 in his age group.

Tourist Stuff: So much to do so little time. After the race we went on a 90-minute river cruise, which explained the history of most of the buildings in the downtown area. It was well worth the time and cost. That night we went to a Chicago Black Hawks hockey game. The game was free to marathon participants. The seats would have been $40.00 each. Our flight home didn’t leave until 5:00 PM so on Monday morning we walked to the Field Museum. Francis had recommended it us. It is wonderful. The museum may have every wild animal that ever was displayed in a natural setting. We could have spent at least a full day there. On Mondays and Tuesday in the off-season the museum is free. We then took a bus to see the Hancock Tower. It’s a bit spooky looking down from the observation deck but we would recommend it.

Comments: Four of the past five years a runner has died in this marathon. All were under fifty. We passed one man being put in an ambulance just a quarter mile from the finish. This however hasn’t diminished our feelings for the marathon. We have run in Boston and New York where the crowds were large and supportive. For noise Chicago beats them both. Maybe it was the Cubs but these people were absolutely amazing. If you couldn’t get up for this run you must be dead. We wore our Oregon singlets and lost track of the number of times people called out to us. A number of times people said "thanks for coming to our marathon."

Jesus Ceja asked us to bring back suggestions for him. He may run the race next year. So Jesus, here are a few thoughts.

1. Get to the start early. We got there an hour before the start and got in a porta-potty line. After 30 minutes it became apparent we would not get to one by the 7:45 time they said they would close entry to our corral. I stayed in line and Charlotte went to warm up. She returned shortly and wanted her plastic bag back. She said there were people in the trees and she wanted to join them. At the expo they had given us bags to wear to keep warm before the race. The bag was so big it came to within two inches of the ground. Yes, it was the Boston porta-potty trick for her. She came back and Ron went to see the woods. He found that the trees were wet on one side.

2. Move up to the front of your corral. Yes this is a chip race but the course narrows at times and will certainly slow you down if you have to fight to pass slower runners.

3. Run in the middle of the road at water stops. There is about a block of people passing out Gatorade followed by another block of volunteers passing out water. A couple of the water stops are on two lane roads so it gets very congested. It also gets very slippery so running ahead of the mob is good.

4. Get a room reservation early. With 40,000 registered runners rooms downtown get booked in a hurry.

5. If you stay downtown don’t rent a car. We stayed at the downtown Holiday Inn. We took a train from O’Hare Airport to about 50 yards from the hotel. The cost was $1.50. It took some walking on our part but we took a taxi only to and from the hockey game and took a bus only one other time.

6. Prepare to have a great time. The race is one you will always remember. You will remember the creative signs in the crowd (Arnold - Governor??? – Run for your life) as well as some of the runners around you. We saw a man who appeared to be wearing a pair of blue Jockey underwear. On his back was written, "#11 Never bet when you are drunk"

Along with New York, this is one race everyone should try to run.