Deena Kastor to Run Chicago Marathon

Yes! Deena Kastor is running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 11. This will be her first marathon since going down with a foot injury at the Beijing Olympics last summer. She is the first elite runner to be announced by executive director Carey Pinkowski for this year's Chicago run. Kastor, 36, of Mammoth Lakes, CA, last ran Chicago in 2005 in a memorable victory against Constantina Tomescu-Dita, who was closing fast on the last mile. Kastor won it in 2:21:25 to Dita's 2:21:30. Kastor will have the flat, fast Chicago course in her favor if she tries to beat her U.S. record of 2:19:36, run in 2006 at London. Deena also ran Chicago in 2002, placing a quiet sixth in 2:26:53 on the same day Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain ran a world-record 2:17:18 (Radcliffe later broke that with a 2:15:25 at London). Kastor won the bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and Dita won the gold medal at Beijing. I'm thinking they'll be dueling again this fall on the streets of Chicago.