Rock and Roll Chicago Race Day

We awoke Sunday morning at 5:30 to temperatures in the low 60's and virtually no humidity. This was a welcomed change compared to 90 degree + temperatures we have been training in this summer. We took the train to the park and joined the other 15,000 at the starting line and waited for our corral to make it to the starting line. The course was pretty much flat and fast. There were lots of spectators to cheer us on the whole way. We passed many landmarks such as Trump Tower, The Sears Tower, The Shedd Aquarium and Soldier Field to name a few. The true delight came when we made a turn along the lake to head back to the finish. Running along Lake Michagan with a cool breeze and the Chicago Skyline in the distance was almost breathtaking. We made it to the finish and each one of us managed to set a personal record which made the trip even more special. After a couple of post race beers and relaxation in Grant Park we made the trip to the airport and headed home realizing that the next time we made this trip, it would be in October for the Big Daddy.

The Rock and Roll Chicago Half-Marathon

Chris, Tonianne and I arrived in Chicago this afternoon and with the help of GPS we found the expo and picked up our race packets and t-shirts. After checking into our wonderful room at the Renaissance Chicago hotel we headed to Wrigleyville for dinner and a couple of drinks. We ended up at Harry Carry's had a couple of bites to eat and headed back to the hotel. On the way back we devoloped a hankering for some ice cream and stopped at a little Italian bistro for gelato and then called it a night since we have to get up early tomorrow for our race.

My Journey Begins

On May 14th I committed myself to run the 2009 Chicago Marathon for St. Jude's Research Hospital. All of my friends have been blessed with beautiful, healthy children in the last couple of years. Jason and Lisa have Olivia, Shawn and Erica have Rylie and Dave and Julie have Jake to name a few. I decided to run for St. Jude's not for those whose children are healthy, although I feel truly blessed that they all are, but for those children that are sick and terminally ill. Many of these children will never know what it is like to run a race or even what it feels like to run. They fight the fight of their life every day. A fight that makes a 26.2 mile run seem like a stroll in the park. If my small contribution makes the slight difference in one of these children's lives or helps to brighten one of their days, I would gladly run 100 more marathons.