Marathon

Today was the 30th Chicago Marathon. Wes and I have made watching this an annual tradition, made extra special this year since we live .5 miles from the finish line in Grant Park. It was a balmy day for the marathon , almost 85 degrees here, which is really hot for Chicago in October. Ten years ago, there was a foot of snow on the ground for the race, and I remember being at least a little covered up for the races the last two years. They actually ended the race at 11:45 am, just 3 1/2 hours into the race, because they were afraid the heat would cause too many health problems for runners. It's too bad for those running their first race, as most take at least 4 to finish.

The men's race was incredibly close -- the closest finish ever. When they ran past us with just about a half mile to go, they were literally neck and neck. The winner was decided in a photo finish and with a 5/100th lead on the runner in second. In the women's race, the winner seemed clear when they came past us. The front runner was a good 30 seconds ahead of her competitor. But at the end, the woman in first slowed down and waved to the crowd, oblivious of the fact that the Ethiopian woman behind her was in fact passing her. The Romanian finished the race and didn't even realize she hadn't won.

We even saw a familiar face in the crowd. One of Wes's chiefs, who also graduated med school from UVA, finished 79th for the men overall (in a field of more than 40,000), finishing in 2:45. I've only met him twice, but it was cool to see him go by and be able to cheer for someone by name.

I've often toyed with the idea of running a marathon, but I think at some point I realized that I'm not really inspired to do it. I like the idea of doing something big, but I would never be truly committed to the idea, and so it's not worth it. More relevant for me would just be keeping up a daily exercise regimen for a period of time. Unfortunately, we don't support or herald people for running 3-4 miles every day for a year, which I think is why so many people do this kind of thing. Sometimes it seems like we put too much emphasis on something big, when really a bunch of little things hold more meaning and a greater challenge.

To all who ran here today or ever anywhere else -- my hat's off to you!