10 Things I Think About Running

10 Things I Think About The Chicago Marathon 2024

1. The Why

I think marathons are awful, they are far too long and it is impossible to be motivated by pure hatred for two and a half hours. The only reason that I am doing marathons is that it represents my best hope of having a PB faster than Michael Herlihy. I entered Chicago last year in a fit of envy, rage and jealousy after seeing Viv run very fast in idyllic conditions on a perfectly flat course. I’ll have some of that I thought.

2. American Development

I think that Chicago is the easiest of the Major marathons that I have been to. I was lucky enough to qualify for the American Development area which was sort of like how the elite runners for the Cork Marathon gather outside Elverys and are marched up to the start line except it was in Chicago with huge skyscrapers and in the dark. They were no queues, a million toilets and a nice loop to warmup in, stress free.

3. Influencers

I think that I must have been the only influencer in Chicago who didn’t organise a shakeout run the day before the marathon. The path along the lakefront was thronged with huge groups of people following messiahs holding GoPros. It’s an unusual sport in that the most well know runners are far from the best runners, there were no Kenyans doing shakeout runs.

4. GoPros and Nosestrips

I think that John Kinsella is the best running influencer in the world never mind Ireland. It was great to see the Limerick man in action in the warm up area. He needed a cameraman and I was delighted to volunteer after I had applied the nosestrip that Sean Doyle gave me to help with the headcold that I had failed to shake off. I may be offered a contract yet as chief videographer.

5. B Goal

I think that it was only right that I was on the front line of a major marathon. I didn’t even have to use my physical advantages to push my way to the front. When we were let into the start area after the playing of the Star Spangled Banner all the elites went to the right hand side of the dual carriageway leaving the left hand side free for people like me. It was great to be on the TV right from the start which is probably my B goal when running a major marathon. As the B goal had already been accomplished I decided to give it a good lash, nothing to lose.

6. Running by Looking Around

I think that for GPS watching running runners like myself Chicago is a terrible race. The first mile of the race is in a tunnel with a road surface similar to the first mile of the Ballintotis 4 mile. I had no idea how fast I was going as the GPS data was nonsense. I had to run by feel which is never good especially when you are sweating heavily after only a mile. I used the old method of judging how fast you are going which is look at the people around you and guess what time they look like they should run, it’s a surprisingly accurate method.

7. The Dream is Over

I think that you can’t run a race with fitness you don’t have. After about 8 miles my GPS was telling me that I was well ahead of tormenting Michael Herlihy pace. I was extremely delighted with this. Unfortunately the clock at halfway told a different story than I was expecting, 1:15:06, an impossible task given that I was already horribly sweaty and being passed by an alarming number of runners.

8. Four Five O Way to Go

I think that American supporters are the best. Boston and Chicago are definitely the two most atmospheric marathons I’ve runs. It makes it worth the ridiculous entry fee and hotel price. The support is constant from start to finish. I even got a personalised chant based on my number, 4 5 0 way to go.

9. Random Poster

I think that I was a little disappointed about how early I gave up on tormenting Michael Herlihy pace. After about 16 miles I had resigned myself to getting home uninjured, I even started to notice the fantastic handmade posters, Random Poster was my favourite. Then a horrible little man barged through a gap clipping both me and another runner without saying sorry. I asked him to say sorry but he refused which made me very mad. For a brief two miles I was in full cross country mode, a man with a vendetta, but then he was gone and I was back to looking at posters and Chinatown.

10. Perfect is the Enemy of Tormenting Michael Herlihy

I think that the last few miles were a real struggle. As bad as I’ve ever felt in the last few miles of a marathon. The only consolation was that there were a lot worse than me. Fellas that had bombed past me earlier in the race were reduced to a slow walk, which didn’t make sense as there were no hills. I was miles off tormenting Michael Herlihy pace by the end. I should probably train properly for the next marathon but I really want to do sub 2:30 without perfect training because that will maximise the tormenting. That makes sense doesn’t it? Anyway, do Chicago, it’s great, possibly the best of the Majors.