After a one-year absence, Chicago`s marathon is back.
But-and blame this on the Olympics-most of the world-famous runners who`ve led the pack in the past won`t be here. They haven`t had time to recuperate from last month`s games in Seoul. As a result, this year`s marathon will be a wide-open affair that may be the most unpredictable Chicago has ever hosted.
”It`s a super opportunity for an unknown runner to get some recognition,” notes Bob Wright, executive director of the 26.2-mile race now officially called the Old Style Marathon/Chicago. ”There are absolutely no favorites.”
Unless, of course, Rosa Mota of Portugal, the Olympics` women`s marathon gold medalist, shows up for Sunday`s 9 a.m. start. If she does (which is not impossible but seems unlikely, according to race insiders), she`ll be after her third first-place finish in Chicago.
Unknowns have won the marathon in the past. In 1984, no one could have predicted that Steve Jones of Great Britian would even make it to the finish line. After all, it was his first marathon. But he wound up winning-and breaking a world`s record.
The next year, Jones-no longer an unknown-triumphed again, setting another world-record time of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 13 seconds.
Historically, the winding race through Chicago neighborhoods has been a fast one for women, too. Joan Benoit Samuelson of the United States finished the race in record time in 1984, then returned in 1985 to demolish her own mark with a time of just over 2 hours and 21 minutes.
Not bad for a race that began in 1977 as the Richard J. Daley Marathon with only a few thousand entrants running up and down the lakefront. The next year, Beatrice Companies Inc. took over sponsorship and organization of the race.
By the mid 1980s, record times were being set, and Runner`s World magazine was calling the race-renamed America Marathon/Chicago-the top-rated marathon in the United States.
But after the 1986 race, in which 11,000 runners participated and as many as 100,000 spectators lined the route, Beatrice withdrew its sponsorship.
”We weren`t prepared with another sponsor,” says Wright, who has been the race`s executive director for seven years. That`s why there was no marathon last year.
Finally, Bond Brewing came to the rescue, signing a $3.9 million agreement to sponsor the marathon for three years.
”We did lose momentum” in skipping a year, Wright says, ”but we`re determined to get it back in a hurry. It`s always been a good, fast race. But it`s the community involvement and spectator support that`s always made the race really work.”
And work is exactly what thousands of volunteers will be doing. Approximately 2,000 medical and communications personnel, including doctors and off-duty police officers, will line the course. Nearly 500 members of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago will also help out.
But the marathon runners are returning the favor. Since its inception, the Chicago marathon has raised more than $650,000 from race entry fees for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago. This year race officials say they hope to raise $100,000.
The Old Style Marathon/Chicago will begin with about 8,000 runners who have paid $15 to join in the run-and the fun. The vast majority of runners enter not to win but to have a good time. For hundreds of runners, Wright notes, this will be their first marathon.
As for beginners` advice on how to run a marathon, the person to consult is 85-year-old Ben ”Chick” Mostow of Skokie. He has competed in every Chicago marathon-and 25 marathons altogether. He even holds the record for his age category (75 and up) for the grueling 50-mile ultra marathon, a record he set when he was a mere 78. Mostow`s tips:
– ”Run every day to train, up until just a couple of days before the marathon.” (He walks 35 miles and runs 35 miles every week.)
– ”Think positive. Keep saying to yourself, `I will finish, I will finish.` You know, I`ve run in rain, snow and sleet, but Mostow always finishes on his feet.
– ”Run with a soft step, and don`t burn yourself out too fast.”
If you want to see how Mostow is doing this year, look for a small, gray- haired man wearing No. 85 on his chest and a smile on his face. The smile will be even bigger when he reaches Chinatown, his favorite spot to run.
”It`s fun with all that entertainment going on,” Mostow says. ”The smell of all that good food makes me hungry.”
Runners will have to stay hungry for a while. (One year, a runner complained that a belly dancer in Greek Town distracted him from the race.)
But watchers can sample the entertainment and food in Chinatown, Greek Town and other spots along the route. Entertainment is timed to coincide with when the bulk of runners will be passing by. Here`s a schedule of the various acts; locations are keyed to the map on Page 3.
A (LaSalle Drive at North Avenue). Henry Horner Hornets; 9-9:30 a.m.
B (Orchestra Hall, Jackson Street and Michigan Avenue): Pianist Faron Evans will play show tunes on a white baby grand piano; 9:10-9:50 a.m.
C (Field Museum, Adler Planetarium and Shedd Aqaurium): It`ll be hard to miss the dancing dinosaurs; 9:20-10 a.m.
D (35th Street and Martin Luther King Drive): Blues band (still to be named); 9:40-10:50 a.m.
E (Comiskey Park). Fireworks display. Between 9:45 and 11 a.m.
F (At the gate of Chinatown, 22d Street and Wentworth Avenue):
Traditional Lion Dance will scare away evil spirits; 9:45-11 a.m.
G (Along 18th Street in Pilsen): Six-piece mariachi band; 10-11:30 a.m.
H (Taylor and Carpenter Streets): Caliendo, a 30-piece Italian band performing traditional Italian celebration music, and dancers; 10-11:45 a.m.
I (Halsted and Adams Streets): Belly dancers, accompanied by a three-piece Greek band; 10:05 a.m.-noon.
J (Wells Street, near North Avenue): Roberto Clemente High School Steel Drum Band; 10:20 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
K (Oz Park, Lincoln Avenue at Webster Street): Dance to oldies from the 1950s and `60s; 10:35 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
L (Racine and Lincoln Avenues at Diversey Parkway): Trinity Academy of Irish Step Dancing with Irish bagpipes; 10:45 a.m.-1 p.m.
M (Clark Street and Montrose Avenue): Country-and-western music from the Virgil Kane Band; 10:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
N (Montrose Avenue and Lake Shore Drive): Regina Dominican High School cheerleaders and pompom girls; 10:50 a.m.-1:45 p.m.
O (Lake Shore Drive near Irving Park Road): Aerobic dancers will lead the crowd in a freestyle aerobics class; 10:50 a.m.-1:45 p.m.
P (Belmont Avenue and Lake Shore Drive): Salsa band Flamboyan; 11 a.m.-1:50 p.m.
If you can`t join in the fun in person, the marathon will be broadcast live from 9 a.m. to noon on WLS-TV (Channel 7) and WBBM-AM (780).
What: Marathon/Chicago
When: 9 a.m. Sunday
Where: Beginning in Daley Plaza, Dearborn and Washington Streets.
How much: Free for spectators