Chicago Marathon

Marathon's under way -- and it promises to be a warm one

9:06 A.M. -- In the 20th mile of the men's race, Tsegaye Kebede surged with a 4:40 mile. The leaders were down to 3: Samuel Wanjiru, Feyisa Lilesa, and Kebede.

8:44 A.M. -- Legendary Swiss wheelchair racer Heinz Frei turned his Chicago Marathon debut into victory.

In the women's race, Astede Baysa took the lead by herself in the 16th mile. She won this year's Paris Marathon in 2:22:04. Although only 23 years old, this is her 14th marathon. Reigning Boston Marathon champion Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot fell off the lead pace in the 19th mile of the men's race.

8:40 A.M. -- In the women's race, Mamitu Daska and Astede Baysa moved away from Askale Magarsa as they reached the halfway point in 1:09:45.

8:26 A.M. -- The men went through the halfway point in 1:02:35, with all the top pack of eight including all the contenders. In the women's race, Askale Magarsa, Astede Baysa and Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia were running together at the lead through the first 10 miles, with defending champion Liliya Shobukhova of Russia hanging about 10 meters back.

7:56 A.M. -- Despite the heat, the elite men's pace began to accelerate dramatically in the 5th mile, which they covered in 4 minutes, 40 seconds, and the 6th, in 4:39. It was projecting to a 2 hour, 4 minute, 27 second finish, which would match the 3rd fastest marathon ever.

The expected contenders, including defending champion Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya and four Ethiopians, all were in the nine men running at the lead after 6 miles.

The women's race shook out earlier, with a group of four moving into the lead.

With little cloud cover and little shade, the fast early pace was unlikely to continue.

7:36 A.M. -- Temperatures hovered in the low 60s as the 1st runners spilled out onto Columbus Drive at the north end of Grant Park at the start of the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

For the 3rd time in 4 years, the race began in unseasonably warm temperatures.

The forecast for today is for temperatures to peak in the mid-80s, the warmest weather for the marathon since 2007, when temperatures reached nearly 90 degrees with high humidity and the course was closed after 3½ hours to those who hadn't reached the halfway point. Another significant difference between Sunday's race and the heat disaster of 2007 was humidity and dew point. The humidity was considerably higher in 2007, when some 300-plus runners were treated for heat problems.

Runner Chad Schieber, a 55-year-old police officer from Midland, Mich., died that year after collapsing on the race route and 317 other participants were hospitalized for heat- and dehydration-related illness.

The course this year features 6 more aid stations than in 2007, and race planners have adopted a colored warning system for runners.

The 2010 marathon promises to be the most competitive in the 33-year history of the event, with 3 of the top runners in the World Marathon Majors standings competing in the men's field. Defending champion Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya and 2010 Virgin London Marathon champion Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia are tied in the marathon series point standings, and a victory by either could seal the WMM title and a $1 million season prize.

Also in the field is Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot of Kenya, who's competing in his 1st marathon since breaking the course record at the Boston Marathon by 82 seconds this spring. Defending women's champion Liliya Shobukhova of Russia, who won the Virgin London Marathon in April with a time of 2:22, leads a strong women's field that includes 2009 runner up Irina Mikitenko of Germany.

But the overwhelming majority of the 45,000 runners registered for the race will be happy to navigate the winding 26.2-mile course in double or triple the time of the leaders. Only 12,000 runners qualify to run in the seeded "corrals" of experienced runners who can prove they have finished a marathon in four hours or less.

"I am hoping to finish before they turn the timer off, maybe 6 hours," said Matt Covington of San Luis Obispo, Calif.

At 295 pounds, Covington is some 30 pounds lighter than when he started training three months ago, after a co-worker convinced him to run to raise money for autism research. "People keep telling me you get a second wind and feel great, but I have hated every minute of it. But I signed up and I do not want to let anbody down."

For Chicagoan Sue McGrath, there was no better day to run her 1st marathon.

"It is 10-10-10, what better day to do it than today," said McGrath as she walked to the starting corrals around 7 a.m.

chicago marathon

Cool temps a change of pace for Chicago Marathon A rather chilly 2009 Chicago Marathon is underway.

As many as 45,000 participants from all 50 states and around the world braved sub-freezing temperature for the city's 32nd marathon. The runners, handcyclers and wheelchair riders left at 7:30 a.m. for the 26.2-mile jaunt that will take them from Millennium Park north to Wrigley Field, as far west as Damen Avenue, then south near U.S. Cellular Field and up Michigan Avenue to the finish line.

While some elite runners are competing for a chunk of the $450,000 in total prize money, most, like 34-year-old Mark Harry of Aurora, are competing against themselves.

"It's cold," said Harry, "but cold is better. Once we get going it should be OK."

Harry, a lifelong runner participating in his first marathon, battled the cold with layers of disposable clothes: an old sweatshirt and a garbage bag covering his torso and a tattered towel keeping his lower half warm.

"I'm throwing this all away as soon as the race starts," he said.

He wasn't alone. Moments before the race began, the starting area more closely resembled the end of a graduation ceremony as disposable clothing like the Harry's was thrown to the sidelines to be collected and given to charity.

After the runners had left, said one volunteer, "it looked like a wasteland."

On the men's side, last year's race was dominated by Kenyans, with five out of the top six finishers in 2008 hailing from the East African country. Evans Cheruiyot won in '08, finishing the race in just over two hours.

Russia's Lidiya Grigoryeva, who won last year's Chicago Marathon on women's side, will look to repeat this year.

For one runner, the experience running last year's Chicago marathon was enough to convince her to return.

"It's an unbelievable feeling to run past all those spectators," Melinda Schaller, 24, of Detroit said. "That's what makes Chicago such an amazing race."

Jeff Butcher, 44, made the trip from Los Angeles to run his 13th marathon. Like Harry, he donned garbage bags and disposable warmup pants to keep warm.

"You know, the Long Beach Marathon is today," said Butcher. "We could be running in 65-degree weather. But we're happy to be here -- wouldn't have it any other way."