Posted: October 9, 2005

Athletics: Chicago Marathon Weather OK

From David Monti

© 2005 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

CHICAGO (09-Oct) -- Under partly cloudy skies, runners at this morning's LaSalle Bank Chicag Marathon will be running in favorable temperatures, but perhaps a little too much wind and humidity.

Currently in Chicago it is 51°F (11°C), an ideal temperature for marathon running, but the winds are a little blustery off of Lake Michigan, blowing at an angle across the runners for much of the course, and the humidity is 78%. Your editor ran along the lake earlier, and close to the water, the winds were strong. However, the runners will not be running as close to the lake.

At yesterday's technical meeting Glenn Latimer, a race official who helps organize the elite fields here, declared that the lead pacers for the men's race would run 1:02:50 to 1:03:00 for the first half. The second group would be going at 1:03:40 to 1:03:50. The women's lead "escorts" (essentially male pacers, Clint Verran and James Lander) will be taking Deena Kastor at 1:08:30 to 1:09:00 for the first half, and extremely aggressive pace. A third male pacer, Chad Johnson, will take the second women's group at 1:10:00 to 1:10:30.

You can follow the race mile by mile at RunnersWorld.com; look for a quick story from RRW immediately following the race.