Had it not rained on Nov. 12, 2006 in Harrisburg, Pa., I would have been in Chicago last weekend for the marathon. At least that was the plan, anyway. But the rain and bitter wind ruined my potential trip.
How could a November rain in Harrisburg ruin a trip to Chicago in October?
Let me explain:
The plan last November was to run the Harrisburg Marathon well enough to qualify for the Chicago Marathon’s sub-elite program. That’s the program that allows guys who are almost good marathoners to start close to the front of the Chicago Marathon in attempt to burn through the pancake-flat course fast enough to get close to an Olympic Trials qualifying time. Baring that, it’s a good way to develop American marathoners, though the sport seems as if it is in good hands with dudes like Brian Sell, Alan Culpepper, Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, Khalid Khannouchi and Abdi Abdirahman (amongst others) holding their own against the best runners in the world.
Anyway, it takes a 2:22 marathon to qualify for the Olympic Trials and though there is no way in hell that I would be able to average the 5:20 miles it takes to do that, it would be a lot of fun to try.
But in shooting for a 2:36(ish) in Harrisburg last November, the 30-mph headwinds and raw temperatures had the last say. In fact, I didn’t even come close to running my target time even though I believe I ran pretty tough over the final five miles of the course in which I went from 12th to 6th place.
That part was fun.
But since then I trained hard through the spring and summer with my mind set on running well in October and/or November with a time that could get me in position to get into position to one day run well at Chicago.
Or something like that.
Then the baby came, and then I traveled around to write about the Phillies, which further curbed my training. There’s a reason why most sportswriters are bordering on obesity and it has nothing to do with the preservative, carbohydrate and fat-laden garbage they eat at the ballpark. Sometimes it takes more time to watch a guy run than to actually do it yourself.
Or something like that.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem as if there was anything fun about the Chicago Marathon last weekend. As some may have already read, the unseasonably hot temperatures turned the race into battle of attrition. In fact, it got so bad that the organizers had to stop the race when they were unable to properly take care of the runners on the course. According to published stories, there was not enough water on the course to take care of the runners on the course after four hours. Hundreds more suffered heat exhaustion and cramps because they were not properly hydrated or maybe trained for the race and the conditions.
Maybe there are too many people in the Chicago Marathon?
Believe it or not, marathoning is popular and it’s not just for the folks out there looking for good times. Over the past decade or so there seems to be a new breed of “runners” who run marathons in order to cross it off the “things to do” list. After pushing their body through 26.2 miles, is sky diving next?
Anyway, Frank Shorter wrote about the heat and what went wrong at the 2007 Chicago Marathon for The New York Times. But one thing Shorter and everyone else forgot to mention about the 2007 Chicago Marathon and the heat is this…
They moved up the race date.
In most years, the Chicago Marathon takes place during the third week of October. In most years, the third week of October makes for cool and comfortable temperatures that are perfect for running fast times on Chicago’s notoriously fast (easy) course. But for 2007 the race was pushed up to Oct. 7?
Why?
My guess is because the deadline for runners to achieve an Olympic Trials qualifying time was Oct. 7. In order to accommodate the handful of runners that wanted to go for one last effort to get that 2:22 on a relatively easy course before the Nov. 3 Trials in NYC, perhaps the race was pushed up two weeks.
If this is why the race was on Oct. 7 this year it’s not smart. Though I’m more interested in the fast runners and serious training and have little patience for the Oprahization of our sport, I understand where the bread is buttered. Shoe companies and sponsors go after the middle-of-the-pack and beyond runners because that’s where the money comes from. These are the folks willing to shell out top dollar for the fancy, high-priced shoes that no one really needs, or are willing to travel all over the globe to run/walk 26.2 miles over the same path that Phidippides may or may not have crossed at one point of history… or not.
Look, I’m not sure if that’s the reason why the race was moved up from its traditional date. And as a result, only one guy made the 2:22 to get into next month’s Trials. That's one person with a Trials qualifier and one person who died from heat-related stress.
Not exactly a fair trade-off, huh?
Meanwhile, what’s going on with the Chicago Marathon? Last year, as some might remember, Robert Cheruiyot slipped on the finish line decal and suffered a concussion:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWheGgqmq0A]
*** So the big race is just a little less than three weeks away… anyone have a guess on who the top three will be?
It’s hard to sleep on Khannouchi despite the 65:04 half marathon he ran last week. I’d be willing to guess that the top runners will be keying off him if he takes the starting line.
Otherwise, it’s also difficult not to like Ryan Hall or Ritzenhein. Plus, Culpepper always comes up big in national competitions and Brian Sell seems like a really smart runner. Either way, it’s bound to be one of the most exciting Olympic Trials marathons in recent memory.
Next: going to the B&N