CHICAGO!!!
By Jill Finklang
I’m so grateful for the amazing longevity I’ve had in the sport of endurance running over the last TWENTY years. My journey started after I was diagnosed with melanoma on my leg. I made a deal with God that if I got through it, I’d put my legs to good use every day. A 50 miler, 36 marathons, and 28 half marathons later, I feel satisfied that I’m upholding my end of the deal. I call my scar my “life line” and it’s a continual reminder that every day is a gift.
Running has evolved in so many ways for me over the last two decades. Many of the people I’ve logged countless miles with have come and gone, GPS watches are no longer the size of a laptop on my arm, Strava now allows us to cheer each other on daily, and I’ve watched shoes continue to evolve with everything from minimalist to carbon plates. Throughout the years, my one common thread with running is the Chicago Marathon. Chicago was my very first marathon in 2004 and I’ve been so fortunate to toe the line 14 times over the last 20 years. This race means so much to me and it's been filled with it ALL....PRs, BQs, pacing a friend, having a friend pace me, the 2007 marathon that was so hot they had to shut it down (but I finished strong!), using it as a training run for a 50 miler, my only DNF, a trifecta celebration where I had qualifying times for Boston/Chicago/New York, and honestly many years that are just a blur. One of my running highlights was at the finish of the 2009 Chicago Marathon, where a photographer pulled me aside and asked if I could be featured in the finisher’s magazine. Does it truly get any better than that when you are 1 in a crowd of 50,000!
After the 2017 Chicago Marathon, I trudged through another warm one and my friend’s and I vowed with a pinky swear that it would be our very last Chicago Marathon. While I dearly love the race, the majority of years there were hot and humid and as a cold weather runner, I just melted. Sometimes good things need to come to an end…or so I thought! When I received a Legacy Finisher invitation to run the 2024 Chicago Marathon, I realized it was 20 years from my very first, and saying no really wasn’t an option. Run, walk, crawl - it was an opportunity I knew I’d regret if I passed up and I was absolutely honored to accept it. Even though I had a solid training cycle, like the majority of my Chicago Marathons, this one proved again to be warmer and more humid than my now “senior” body wanted to tolerate and it was definitely a true test to finish. This one turned into a run/walk too early on, and while I could have been disappointed, it just gave me even more time on the course to count my blessings and realize how fortunate I was to be out there. All of the neighborhoods do an amazing job cheering and making you feel like a rock star regardless of your pace. What could have been a disaster of a day, was simply amazing. Yes, I was the one crying my eyes out with overwhelming gratitude on the final mile down Michigan Avenue to the finish where the cheering was just deafening. Racing a marathon seems easy compared to getting through one where you’re not feeling your best and you’re out there forever, but I wouldn’t have wanted this one to go any other way.
While I certainly won’t be running the Chicago Marathon another 20 years from now in 2044, it will forever hold a special place in my heart. Highs, lows, and somewhere in between, but there’s one thing that holds true and that’s the magic of the Chicago Marathon!
