Chicago 2002

At my brother's house again for a mid-October run thru the city...

Flashing lights in the basement. Rise and shine!
Toast and raw honey. Hot coffee, and a couple of bottles for water.
A plastic bag for you, my brother Ben says.

Riding a packed CTA train before a Sunday morning dawn.
Rush hour on an off-day.
Those three guys who just got on are looking around at the crowd.
They're not runners.

Palmer House for a pit-stop away from the crowds.
Short line at the bathroom. And a friendly attendant checking the stalls.
Look at the runners congregating. Look at the ceiling.
Sit, stretch, wait.
It's nice and warm in here.
It's time to go.

Sidewalks and streets crowded in the pre-dawn light.
The starting line with elite runners warming up.
Towering speakers powered by watts and amps.
Happy faces. Hopping runners.

It's almost time. This'll do right here.
Stepping into the crowd, we leave behind our curbside crew.
Clothes flying thru the air.
T-shirts, ragged cotton sweatshirts, fleece pull-overs.
Gloves, headbands, hats.
Plastic bags. (We keep ours on.)

Was that the start? Wave goodbye to our smiling crew.
Surging runners. Run, walk, run, walk.
Under the starting banner, and now it starts...

01[9:16] Look back. Look back! (But don't trip like that guy just did.)
02[9:42] An alley with dozens of dumpsters. Perfect for a quick pit stop!
03[8:40] We're doing just fine.
04[8:29] Separated from Ben. I can see him waving his glove in the air.
05[8:29] Lincoln Park. Trees, grass, an old stone bridge. I've been here before.
06[8:29] The cheering crowd. The cheering crowd.
07[8:06] You go ahead, Ben says.
08[8:19] Steve is here again, just as he said he'd be, waving and cheering and jogging along! He smiles his wide smile and has some words of encouragement, handing me a banana and jogging along for a while.
09[8:19] Lots of high-fives with the crowd. Run, Tex! Lincoln Park!
10[8:23] Maybe I should slow down a bit.
11[8:40] Coming up on the turn... Wee!
12[8:07] Where's Trudy? Where's Trudy? There's Trudy! Will I stop for a smooch? Weeee! High-five! I guess not.
13[8:42] There's that hamstring. Relax. Relaaax.
14[8:20] Where's Trudy? Where's Trudy? I didn't see Trudy. (But she saw me, and Ben did, too.)
15[8:44] Behind me a runner's buddy finds her running friend and runs along for a while. You rock girl!
16[8:34] Fallen in with the second 3:40 pace team.
17[8:34] Clif Shot Zone. Vanilla. Mocha. Goo all over the road. Watch where you step. Sheesh, this is worse than the banana peels.
18[8:38] 8.2mi to go. I can do this.
19[9:00] I think I'll let the pace team go, now. Downtown looks so far away.
20[9:11] Good crowd cheering. Loosens up that hamstring. Relaaax.
21[10:00] Across the highway: those guys are running back to town!
22[9:30] Finally we're not running to St. Louis, anymore!
23[9:50] It's a piece of cake from here. Doesn't feel like it. Once I tried to speed up, here. Not this time.
24[10:00] There was a great band here a few years ago, playing booming tunes in the cold. I can still hear them. ... Why did that woman just shout, One and a half miles to go!!? These people need to study their maps.
25[10:00] Into the tunnel under McCormick place. Darkness. Silence. We are all inside ourselves.
26[9:39] Ok, go faster now. Maybe beat 3:50? Relax. Smooth strides.
26.2[2:00] Wind. Cold. Finisher's blanket. Finisher's medal. Water. One banana.

Final time: 3:52.

I have to sit down.
I'm sitting down and can't get up!
I think I'll just sit a while longer.
Stuggle to my feet.
Cramping thighs. Hurting feet. No light-weight shoes next time!

It's so far to the runner reunite place.
One step at a time. Don't sit down. Don't sit down.
Oof! The G-H reunite banner is on the far side of the fountain.
Sore thighs. Hurting feet. Shivering cold.
One step at a time. Keep moving forward. You'll get there.

Ben finds me with a look on his face only a companion runner could have.
He smiles and comes up to me. He knows.
He puts his arm around me and takes me to our family.
My Ben is standing on a post looking for us.
Trudy comes up and hugs me and lets me go my tears.
And my Ben comes up and puts his arms around me, too.

And mom is there, as she has been year after year in the dark and the cold of these mornings, watching her sons run with that smile on her face and that sparkling light in her eyes.

And my father was there, although he was not there. He sat in the rain at a jubilee for the queen. But he was there as he also has been, year after year in the dark and the cold of Chicago in October to watch his sons do this strange thing.

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Chicago Marathon, 13 October 2002
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