Shamrock Out-Takes

First, I'd like to salute the first three Chicago runners to finish against the strong regional field on Sunday at the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle. Chad Ware, 25, of Deerfield, was our top dog, finishing 9th in 24:09. Greg Costello, 29, of Chicago, was 11th in 24:09, and Todd Ptacek, 24, of Chicago, came in 13th in 24:21. Yep, we had three of the top 15 finishers! Our local ladies, led by Claudia Becque, 33, of Chicago, who finished 4th in 28:10, did a little better, getting five finishers into the top 15. Next was Jean Marinangeli, 26, of Arlington Heights, who ran a 29:05 for 11th place. Jessica Langford, 38, of Rockford, was 13th in 29:11; Columba Montes, 30, of Chicago, was 14th in 29:16; and Elizabeth Chenoweth, 35, of Chicago, was 15th in 29:19.
As for the rest of us, the total amount of finishers is around 25,560, with final tweeking sure to add a few more. One thing I can say is the early age-group results seem to have some wrong times and splits but have the runners in the proper finish order. I'm a perfect example. I know I ran 48 seconds slower than the results show. I'm listed behind four runners with slower times, but I know for a fact they ran faster times. I'm hopeful that it all will be straightened out. I'll wait a while and then make sure they know they are wrong if it isn't fixed. I've noticed quite a few other results that aren't right, but that can be fairly normal at this point (Sunday night). Meanwhile, I thought the new course was fine. It could be a keeper as far as I'm concerned. My only problems were self-inflicted. I have sore ribs from an XC ski fall and couldn't really breathe well. Trust me. Bad breathing will slow you down!
I got in OK, and I have no complaints whatsoever. So how did your races go????