I woke up early and a little anxious around 4:30 AM for a
7:00 AM start. The ground was still a
little damp from some overnight thunderstorms, but the sky was clear as was the
forecast. Checked some emails, put on my gear I laid out
the night before, and was out the door.
It was still very early, about 5:30, so I went to go get a coffee. I really didn’t plan on drinking it but since
it is so apart of my morning routine I thought I could just take in the smell
as I drove over to the race.
My pre-race dinner consisted of 5 pork tamales and a couple
of big glasses of water around 6:00 PM. When
I woke up, I drank another 16 oz of water had some caffeine waiting for 20
minutes before the start. The smell
alone of Starbucks must have done the trick so I headed over to the ample
port-o-lets near the start. Met up with
a couple of friends from work and before long they were singing the National
Anthem.
There were 1050 runners spread across a wide street for the
first ¾ of a mile so it was very relaxed and comfortable. The opening 2 miles were primarily downhill
so I was able to ease into the race ahead of my planned pace and felt
great. I did start to think at some point
we would have to start climbing back uphill, so I tried to make the most of the
descent.
The course winds around the outskirts of McDonald’s corporate
headquarters and through some beautifully manicured Oak Brook parks and
trails. At about mile 7 there is a sharp
ascent on Spring Road before ducking into Fullersburg Woods for some great
crushed limestone trails. At one point you
climb a sharp hill, then dive back down and then climb that same hill again
before leveling off. My Midwest legs weren’t
ready for these back to back climbs, but looking back it was pretty fun. My wife and kids were waiting for me after
mile 8. Molly screamed “Irish Kenyan”
and Danny(3) and Ellie(2) yelled “Go Daddy”.
The kids looked in awe as all the runners rushed by just a couple of
feet away. It was just what I needed as I
headed into the home stretch.
Once out of the woods the temps had risen and the sun was at
full strength with minimal shade. I was
still cruising near goal pace until I hit mile 11. Thanks to the ample aid stations that seemed
to be more frequent just when I needed them the most I was able to top off with
some water and Gatorade before making a charge in the final mile. Oh and a buddy of mine Dan Kozdron from the
Western Cook Running Club gave me a nice surprise as a pacer for the final mile
and a half. It was good to see a familiar
face and there was no way I was going to slow down now.
I charged into the final quarter mile and several spectators
yelled out “Irish Kenyan” after reading my custom (iron-on) shirt. This propelled me into a mad dash for the
final stretch. I had to reach back to
grab a medal from the volunteers because I was still trying to slow down well
after the line. I finished with a new PR
of 1:54:21.
Overall, the race is a must to add to your schedule. Free parking is 500 feet from the start,
there are ample aid stations, spectators can catch you at several points along
the way, and the constant change in in terrain keeps it exciting. The only thing lacking is a more eventful
after party. A beer tent and a couple of vendors for the spectators could
easily turn the post-race into a real party.
