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Four and a half hours, an aching back and five blisters later, we had survived the Chicago Marathon. Oh, we didn’t run, we were just spectators. This year’s Chicago Marathon will surely be talked about for years to come.

The temperature had reached the 70 degree mark by 7:30 am and was rapidly increasing by the time we reached the three mile marker. We were able to catch the elite runners as they swished past us in a blur. We were there to support my sister-in-law, Emily (bib number 37131) and her fiance’ Tim (bib number 36172), as well as the 35,865 other athletes who showed up to run this year’s 30th anniversary race.

We cheered for all of the runners on the course, some by name and some by sponsor. We love this event because of the inspiring and energized atmosphere that surrounds it. However, this year was a little different.

With the temperatures reaching about 86 degrees by 10:00 am, we were just dripping with sweat. I can only imagine how the runners were feeling. Not exactly ideal temps to be running a race and not exactly the best idea to bring a sick two year old to watch. Hailey developed a cold over the weekend but we thought it might do her some good to be outside while the weather is still nice. She was a complete crab the entire time. I never did spot my sister-in-law or Tim in the sea of faces that were zooming by either. Much different than the year my husband raced (2003).

We held out as long as we could. As we were killing time in with the Legs of Agora, we witnessed numerous paramedics flying by with sirens blaring. An ordinary sound on the streets of Chicago but especially ordinary on a day like today with 45,000 overheated people running through the streets. We became concerned as the text alerts we had set up for our family members weren’t coming through.

At close to noon, we decided to call it a day and head back to the suburbs. Still, no text alerts. We tuned into on the radio to hear that the city police had shut down the race. They were averting people off of the course and telling them the race had been called. They were forcing the rest of the participants to WALK the rest of the way and diverting the course or take the cooling buses provided. Word was that the sponsors of the marathon were unaware that the city officials were calling the race. But the participants were told there were no medical resources left for them.

After a few hours had passed, we spoke to my sister-in-law. She said she had to walk the last five miles into the finish. Quite a disappointment for someone who is an avid participant in our city’s races. She said she walked past someone who had collapsed and was bleeding from the mouth. We then learned that a 35 yr. old police officer from Michigan had died on the course.

However, the spectators at the finish line had an exciting time though as the elite runners provided a photo finish with Kenyan Patrick Ivuti ultimately taking home the $125,000 prize. In the elite women’s race, Ethiopian Berhane Adere passed up Adriana Pirtea, who was already waving to the crowd, as she thought she had the race in the bag. Adere flew past her and ended up finishing first.

A lot of “firsts” during this race’s 30th anniversary. Hopefully next year’s race will go a little better than this years.

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