Chad Ware Wins Marine Corps. Marathon

Chad Ware of Wheeling won the Marine Corps. Marathon today in Washington, D.C. with a great time of 2:19:16. "Oh so close to that sub-2:19 OT (Olympic Trials) Qualifier, but praise God for a good marathon and a win today," Ware wrote on Facebook. Ware, 27, won by 4:30 over runner-up Mike Wardian, 37, of Arlington, VA, who ran 2:23:46. U.S. men's standrds for the 2012 Trials are 2:19 for the marathon, 1:05 for the half-marathon or 28:30 for 10,000 meters. Congratulations to Chad, who leads the male CARA Overall Runners Choice Circuit point standings. Trians, or no Trials (yet), we are lucky to have such a talented runner living in our midst. Photo: Washington Post.

Sliwa, Setzler Beat Wind, Win at Sycamore 10K

As you might have noticed, I've been on a blog break. I'm back mentally, although my running was a bit stale this morning at the Sycamore Pumpkin Run 10K, one of my all-time favorites. With temps at about 41 degrees and a strong southeast wind, we got it in our faces much of the first 3.5 miles. We worked hard and got slow splits, but it seemed pretty universal. Emerging through the breeze and the rewarding tailwind, which showed up on parts of Miles 4, 5 and 6, Max Sliwa, 20, of Yorkville, won in 33:50. Cari Setzler, 33, of Wonder Lake, was the women's winner in 39:41. She knows the course. She's won this race before. Second-place male was Max Cauley, 30, of Bloomingdale, in 34:22; and third-place male was Nathan Kennedy, 25, of Bolingbrook, in 34:34. Runner-up female was Holly Porter, 35, of Oak Park, in 39:51, and third place went to Jacqueline Mayweather, 25, of Schaumburg, in 40:13. The initial count shows 1,645 finishers. Like many others, I was really feeling it out there. I finished and am always happy to just participate when all cylinders are not at their best. It's been a good weekend for running and racing with the Chicago Fall 50 on the south lakefront as well as the Carrera de los Muertos and the Trick or Treat Trot 5K and 10K, on the north lakefront. And then the high school and college cross-country meets. This is an exciting time.

Marathon 2011

The Bank of Chicago Marathon was full of wonderful moments as Moses Mosop of Kenya and Liliya Shobukhova of Russia blazed to the finish line, Mosop setting a Chicago record and Shobukhova winning here for the third time. As you undoubtedly know, a tragic moment also occurred as a 35-year-old father of two from North Carolina died after going down with about 500 feet to go. It's not the first time this has happened in Chicago. It is sad and does taint the overall joy that typifies a marathon Sunday in Chicago. But as awkward as it is to get back to the results, here goes. Mosop, 26, proved he is for real, winning in 2:05:37. Second went to Wesley Korir, 28, of Kenya, who finished in 2:06:15. You'll remember that Korir was the guy who didn't start in the elite wave two years ago but placed, eventually getting prize money. Third went to Bernard Kipyego, 25, of Kenya, in 2:06:29. Shobukhova, 33, ran her best marathon yet with a powerful 2:18:20. Ejegayehu Dibaba, 29, of Ethiopia, was second in 2:22:09. Kayoko Fukushi, 29, of Japan, was third in 2:24:38. On the local level, Chicago-area runners did quite well. Brandon Mull, 25, of Wheaton, was the top area male with a 2:22:34. He was followed by Brent Alexander, 31, of Chicago, in 2:27:45; Logan Beausoleil, 24, of Gurnee, in 2:27:59; Ryan Giuliano, 26, of Schaumburg, in 2:29:11; and Todd Ptacek, 26, of Chicago, in 2:31:59. Top area women were Christina Overbeck, 25, of Oak Park, in 2:47:07 (great time); Amy Haney, 38, of Libertyville, in 2:50:31; Kristen Heckert, 24, of Sugar Grove, in 2:51:04; Angelina Anliker, 31, of Chicago, in 2:52:24; and Jean Marinangeli, 27, of Schaumburg, in 2:56:03. It's recovery time. Congrats to all who ran. Thanks to all who volunteered.

Hydrate and Use Common Sense Sunday

That's the word for Sunday's Bank of America Chicago Marathon. It won't be in the 80s, but it will be in the 70s with full sun. That's warm to hot, depending on who you are. On the open parts of the course, you will be doing a slow bake. Be prepared ahead of time with adequate hydration and don't forget that sunscreen. Temps should be in the high 50s at race time. Take it cautiously early and you'll get dividends later. It's one of the world's great marathons. Make it one of your great marathon days. Good luck!

Chicago Elite Field Fast and Hungry

Race director Carey Pinkowski has done it again with a sparkling field of elite athletes for the Bank of Chicago Chicago Marathon on Oct. 9. The field includes stars from North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and, of course, Africa. Get your scorecards ready. Who will have what it takes on race day? Yjrdr runners have done well in the past, but all want more.
Men
Moses Mosop, KEN, 2:03:06
Ryan Hall, USA, 2:04:58
Bazu Worku, ETH, 2:05:25
Evans Cheruiyot, KEN, 2:06:25
Marilson Dos Santos,BRA, 2:06:34
Bernard Kipyego, KEN, 2:07:01
Bekana Daba, ETH, 2:07:04
Atsushi Sato JPN, 2:07:13
Joshua Chelenga,KEN, 2:08:21
Wesley Korir, KEN, 2:08:24
Dickson Kiptolo Chumba, KEN, 2:08:44
Terefe Maregu, JPN, 2:09:03
Takayuki Matsumiya, JPN, 2:10:04
Takashi Horiguchi, JPN, 2:12:05
Kouji Gokaya, JPN, 2:12:07
Joseph Chirlee, USA, 2:12:10
Hironori Arai, JPN, 2:12:17
Masaki Shimoju, JPN, 2:12:18
Jason Gutierrez,COL, 2:13:24
Yuuki Moriwaki, JPN, 2:13:34
Martin Fagan, IRE, 2:14:06
Shawn Forrest, AUS, DEBUT

Women
Liliya Shobukhova, RUS, 2:20:15
Askale Tafa, ETH, 2:21:31
Inga Abitova, RUS, 2:22:19
Benita Willis, AUS, 2:22:36
Wei Yanan, CHN, 2:23:12
Maria Konovalova, RUS, 2:23:49
Christelle Daunay, FRA, 2:24:22
Atsede Besuye, ETH, 2:24:26
Yue Cao, CHN, 2:29:50
Belainesh Gebre, ETH, 2:32:13
Kayoko Fukushi, JPN, 2:40:52
Cruz Nonata da Silva, BRA, Debut

Wheelchair Men
Bleakney, Adam, USA
Chalmers, Ryan, USA
Dodson, Travis, USA
Fearnely, Kurt, AUS
Frei, Heinz, SUI
George, Joshua, USA
Grassi, David, USA
Iniguez, Tony, USA
Kozerak, Rob, USA
Park, Peter, USA
Pike, Aaron, USA
Sieman, Brian, USA
Swoverland, Josh, USA


Wheelchair Women
Dawes, Christie, AUS
Forber-Pratt, Anjali, USA
Frederick, Maggie, USA
Galli, Jessica, USA
McFadden, Tatyana, USA
McGrory, Amanda, USA
Moore, Jill, USA
Roy, Diane, CAN
Scaroni, Susannah, USA

Twin Cities, Milwaukee on Front Burner

Chicago's Bank of America marathon is on the horizon, but a lot of locals will be traveling to Minneapolis-St. Paul and Milwaukee this weekend for those two great marathons. I never have run Twin Cities, but did run the accompanying 5K one year. It's a great atmosphere and is the home of the USATF masters championships. I have run Milwaukee Lakefront four times and have enjoyed it every time. I ran my PR there back in the day -- a 3:06 that included a full bonk after I had been on sub-three pace. Now, if I get under four hours, I'm happy. Good luck to all of you heading north this weekend.

WR That Counts, Now Focus Shifts to Chicago

In the crazy world of marathons, world records (Geoffrey Mutai's 2:03:02 for instance) at Boston aren't counted because the IAAF thinks there is too much downhill running on the famed Beantown course. So what happened Sunday? A 2:03:38 was run at Berlin by Patrick Makau and will be recognized as the world record because the course is not "downhill." Kudos to Makau. That is a fantastic time. He is to be commended. But in a sport barely followed in the mainstream media, we don't need world records that don't count (Mutai in Boston). I have news for the IAAF that means nothing to them. There is a lot of uphill in Boston that makes it one of the toughest, not easiest, courses in the world. Back to Berlin. Florence Kiplagat debuted with a 2:19:44 to win the women's race. That's quite a first act! Yes, the Kenyans are in control as always. What does all of this mean for Chicago? The lead pack has a fresh 2:03:38 to shoot at. Oct. 9 will be an interesting day here if the weather cooperates.