Chicago Marathon

Chicago Marathon Race Weekend Re-cap

The week leading up to leaving for Chicago I was really nervous! I was excited to race, worried about some teeny tiny “injuries,” and feeling overwhelmed with getting ready to go all while solo parenting. My husband, who was supposed to by my travel buddy, got called away to Denver for a work trip the few days leading into Chicago Marathon weekend.

When I dropped my kids off with my parents on the Thursday prior to the race, I had major mom guilt. I felt badly for being stressed about travel and my race and not being focused on being fully present with my kids. I tried to just remind myself that it is a huge gift to have wonderful parents who so kindly take care of my kids and to be grateful that my husband was joining me on Saturday in Chicago, just in time for my race.

Friday morning, my alarm went off at 3:45AM– dark and early! I had completed the packing the night before for the most part, so I was pretty close to being ready to go. I arrived at the airport long term lot at 5:00AM and met my friend, Anjelica, where we boarded the shuttle and headed off to PDX! We got through security quickly and arrived at our gate. We were both tired and both tried to sleep on the plane, but I spent a lot of it looking at pictures of my kids and organizing photos that were long over due. I also had a backpack full of snacks so I could continue my carb-loading journey on the plane!

After we arrived at O’Hare, we took a Lyft to the hotel and then left our bags with the concierge. Since we hadn’t had a real meal yet that day, we decided to grab burgers (vegan and GF for me!) at the hotel restaurant prior to hitting the expo. The expo was BIG and FULL of people and booths. We were able to get our bibs easily and because we scanned our tickets at the front, they greeted me by name when I arrived at my designated area– a nice touch! There were a few brands we wanted to go to and booths we wanted to see and it was a little hard to navigate since there was so much going on. We had tickets for the Ali on the Run Show that evening and intended to head out shortly for it but by the time we got done at the expo, time was running short. It was sad to miss the live show, but we found our way to the lake front path and it was so beautiful! We walked along the path for quite a while (since we still had another full day until race day) and ended up by Soldier Field where the Bears play!

Once we took a Lyft back to our hotel we had a low key night and were so tired from our long day that we snacked on some of our carbs and hydrated before going to bed around 8:45PM!

When we woke up on Saturday morning, things started to feel more real and we started to get really excited for the race the next morning! We went to the lobby and met a friend and took an Uber together to the shake out run that Endorphins, Believe in the Run, and New Balance were putting on. We made sure to get there a good 30 minutes before it started because they were anticipating 1500 people with the first 1000 people getting a cool shirt! We waited in line for a long time and were able to get the shirt we wanted! One of the founders of Endorphins and one of the founders of Believe in the Run spoke and then we were on our way. I got to see Meaghann Featherstun and Meaghan Murray which was pretty cool! The run was full of people and so congested that we started and stopped so many times with the stop lights that when we saw a Target, we ran in their for a few supplies before continuing on our own shake out run. Towards the end of our run we stumbled upon The Bean in Millennium Park and were really excited to get some good pictures there! Next we moved on toward the Endorphins Fuel Bar pop up and Brooks pop up. We crossed Michigan Avenue for the first time on foot and it was so cool to see such iconic Chicago scenery and see runners everywhere we looked!

Brooks had a promo where if we tried on a pair of shoes, we got a really cool tote bag that a local artist designed for the 2025 Chicago Marathon. We tried on the shoes and then got in line to use the Normatec recovery boots and then walked across the courtyard to the Fuel Bar while we were in the “virtual line” for the Normatec Boots. When we got to the Fuel Bar they had free coffee and mush and bars for the runners, which was so cool! This big run club basically had taken over the store and created a little pop up for runners. When it was our turn, we used the recovery boots, which felt amazing to rest and put our legs up for 15 minutes prior to race day– Thank you, Brooks! On our walked back to the hotel, we were hungry and happened to stumble upon a great restaurant that had a whole gluten free menu! We both ate a big brunch and then got lunch/dinner to take back to the hotel too. It was so delicious and nice to have food I could eat. We hit Whole Foods on our walk for a few items and saw many more runners. Everywhere we walked we saw runners and that was so fun! In the picture below, I had randomly ran into an online friend and it was so fun to chat and meet her sweet family!

We spent the rest of the day getting our gear ready, continuing our carb load, and resting! We watched cheesy Hallmark Halloween movies and lounged. My husband arrived around dinner time from his trip and joined us for the night. We had a really relaxed night in, Anjelica and I ate our left overs and more carbs and more hydration drinks, and Nathan got food from the hotel restaurant. We were in bed by 9. I tossed and turned a little bit but got a pretty good sleep for the night before a race!

On race morning we got up at 4:00AM and had time to get all ready, eat more carbs, and hydrate! We were met with so many other runners on our walk to the start and it was really awesome to see hundreds or thousands of runners making their way across the city in the dark to the race! Once we got into the athlete village, I was blown away. Everything was so well organized and ran so smoothly. The line to get through security was easy and we immediately found porta-potties and the first time we went the line wasn’t bad. Since we had arrived around 5:30AM at the start, we had time and sat for a while by the Buckingham Fountain. My friend’s coach had told her to stop drinking water one hour before the race and that may have been the best piece of marathon advice I’ve heard in a long time. After relaxing, we made our way to gear check and then back to the porta-potty lines. This time the lines were much longer and I didn’t even think about planning it better with my corral closing at 7:20AM, so I got a little nervous when the line wasn’t moving very quickly. When I had 15 minutes to spare and a walk to my corral, I decided to go ask the two women at the front of the line if I could please cut, they were so kind and let me cut and I made it just in time to my corral. I was so grateful!

Once in the corral, it was like sardines with a lot of nervous and excited energy! We heard a little bit of what was happening on the loud speakers but mostly just when it was our turn to move forward. There was a helicopter and a drone overhead and it felt so monumental and exciting to be there at the start of my first World Marathon Major with all of the city in the background.

I was in corral E and when it was our turn to start the race, we heard Coach Bennett from Nike talking and giving an inspiring speech. We finally crossed through the start around 8:00AM I think- with a 7:35AM start time, so it just shows how huge the corrals were and how many runners were filling them. I was so glad I was able to go to the restroom one more time before starting. Once we started, we went under the “batman bridge” as my husband calls it, I’m not sure what it is really called, and they had a DJ set up in the middle of the lanes of traffic bumping the loudest music, pumping everyone up, it was amazing!

We ran across the main bridge downtown and there were crowds of people cheering and with signs everywhere you looked! There really aren’t words to describe how incredible the experience was to have so much support from so many spectators. I had been warned that my GPS on my watch would likely be a little off due to all the buildings and tons of people, but it was pretty spot on. My coach had given me 5k splits to follow and that was super helpful!

My husband was able to be at 3 different spots and I saw him at one of them and he saw me at all of them! He was texting me and I tried to look but it was a little hard to look and not run into people and there were often spectators who were dashing across the course that I was cognizant to avoid. It meant so much to have him on the course though and it powered me through when things were tough knowing that in 4 more miles I got to see Nathan. When I did see him, I waved and blew kisses and he got a great video!

I wore my name on my shirt and the feeling of having someone yell your name while running is amazing! There would be one person who would yell, “go Katie,” and then next thing I knew, it would be the next five people in a row. I tried to smile at each person if I could muster it! The other super cool thing was to hear “go TEAM” for my Team in Training singlet. I raised $2,240.00 for Blood Cancer United and I thought of my Dad the entire time I ran. Anytime I got tired or something hurt or I was feeling out of it, (which happened a lot this race toward the end), I thought about how much harder cancer treatment is and how blessed I am to run for enjoyment.

I was right on with my splits up until about mile 17 and then fell off. At mile 15 I had to use the porta potty and crossing the whole lane of traffic to get to the rows of porta potties was harder than it sounds. Once there, I went the only open on (of something like 10-12) and it was BAD. I won’t go into details, but lets just say I couldn’t even squat and not be scared of sitting in something yucky, so I got out and waited for a short minute for another to open. They were just trashed! I felt better and tried to recover my pace, but my tummy was upset and I had lost some time. After reflecting back on it, I think the Gatorade played a factor. With each aid station, the Gatorade was first and then the water. I had my own hand held but I was so thirsty I often took both Gatorade and water and I think that the combo of lots of liquid, a foreign type of hydration, and the jostling just made my tummy unhappy. For the first 17 miles I was really good about a gel every 5k and two salt tabs every 10k with sips of my Skratch high carb and I tried my best to continue on with that. Another difference I made for this marathon compared to the last three was that I used only SIS Beta Fuels and that may have been too much. I had two Maurten’s since they were on course and I know my tummy tolerates them. For my next race I am going to go back to alternating between SIS Beta Fuel and Precision gels.

The neighborhoods sure came out to party and celebrate runners, since I wasn’t feeling great, I made the best of it and soaked up all the fun that Chicago Marathon is! Boystown had a stage with people dressed up dancing, Chinatown had some beautiful dragons, and there were throngs of people with music, DJs, run clubs, you name it. I didn’t see it while running but apparently people were doing keg stands! It was just a wild party! Around mile 18 I knew to look for Wyatt Moss, who had said he would be out there and he was! I got a picture with him and that was a little morale boost. I saw Coach Bennett next and got a photo with him, so that was awesome too!

When I started on the South Loop, I saw the mile 24 sign and was still not even to mile 23 yet, so that was a bit tough. Once I hit mile 24 thought I pushed a little harder, still walking and running a little. My watch screen had stopped showing my overall time a while ago and I couldn’t get it to come back on so I had no idea how I was doing time wise. I got passed mile 25 and since started to say 800 meters to go and were counting down. I knew the last little bit was up the “hill” and did my best to push up the hill. I saw the stands where I knew Nathan was and ran my best through the finish line. Knowing he was there propelled me forward so much!

Immediately after finishing I saw my time was a 4:02. I cried. I was so incredibly disappointed. My last three marathons were well below 4 hour marathons and I was so sad that my tummy had what I felt, failed me. It is so hard to prepare for months and months, run hundreds of miles and then have an outcome like that. If I had been able to see my running time, while I was running, I would have been able to get under a 4 hour marathon, but I didn’t see it and walked whenever I felt like it after mile 17 and that slowed me down a lot. I cried and felt so defeated and sad about my stomach because I have been fighting stomach issues for a while and especially during this marathon block. After reflecting on it though, I do believe the Gatorade played a roll as did taking primarily SIS Beta Fuels and not alternating. So I am encouraged that at least I know for my next race what to do. A 4:02 marathon is a great time and I recognize many people work hard for a time such as this one, but when my goal was a 3:35 and I was on track for that initially, it was just disappointing.

I went to the gear check and grabbed my bag and met my husband a the runner unification area. It was so wonderful to be able to hug him and collapse in his arms. We sat for a while and rested and then walked back toward our hotel. On our walk, we walked with the thousands of other runners and their families and that was so cool! We walked across the bridge and that was so pretty. I felt so grateful to be there and tried to focus on the positive.

That night we went out to a yummy Italian dinner with Anjelica and then headed to my family’s house to go spend some time with them. We had a wonderful rest of our visit and created memories I will always cherish! I absolutely loved my Chicago Marathon experience overall. I was definitely disappointed with my stomach and my time, but I truly learned a lot and have a good idea of how to try my best to make things better for Every Woman’s Marathon next month!

Thank you to all of you who have donated to Blood Cancer United, it means the absolute world to me to have money going towards cancer research and to support patients fighting cancer.