Posted: September 17, 2007

Athletics: Counting Down To The 30th Anniversary Lasalle Bank Chicago Marathon

30 Inspiring Stories in 30 Days Australian marathon record holder Benita Johnson returns to The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon after setting the national record on the Windy City course in 2006. With three World Marathon Major races under her belt, Benita is establishing a solid marathon career with sights on the 2008 Olympics Marathon in Beijing. WHO: Benita Johnson AGE: 28 OCCUPATION: Runner HOMETOWN: Mackay, Queensland, Australia (Currently resides in Melbourne, Australia and London, United Kingdom) PREVIOUS MARATHONS: 3 (ING New York City, Flora London, LaSalle Bank Chicago) RUNNER STORY: Benita Johnson’s competitive drive began at an early age when she engaged in every sport possible with her brothers in the backyard. In her hometown of Mackay, Queensland in Australia she began playing hockey and was driven to be the best. She enjoyed the aggressive training and skill required for the sport and at 16 earned a place on the under-18 national team. As much as she enjoyed the team sport, Benita’s true love sided with individual sports. She packed away her hockey gear and started training as a long distance runner. She was offered a scholarship from the Australian Institute of Sport where she trained to compete in organized races. She earned her first victory by making the Australian Olympic Team and won her heat at first trial in the 5000m at the Sydney Olympics. She went on to break a number of Australian national records including the 3000m at the World Indoor Championships and the 5000m in Berlin. She was proud of her success, but wanted more. She persisted with a bronze medal at the IAAF World Championships Half Marathon in 2003; once again setting a new national record. In 2004, Benita entered her first marathon in New York City and placed 14th with a time of 2:38:03. She followed that performance with an exciting finish of 2:26:32 at the Flora London Marathon in 2005. She had cut nearly 12 minutes from her original marathon debut. She continued to compete in a variety of long distance races and set the bar for future runners with yet another national best at the Crescent City Classic 10K (31:28). In 2006 she attacked The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon – her third World Marathon Major - with everything she had and it paid off nicely. Her 2:22:36 finish earned her third place, established a new personal best, and broke the Australian record previously held by Lisa Martin for 18 years. Benita is now preparing to race in the marathon at the Olympics in Beijing. In an effort to prepare, she ran the 10K in The 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka taking 17th place with a time of 32:55.94. She will also be competing in The 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and eagerly hopes to finish with a personal best. RACE INFORMATION: The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Sunday, October 7, 2007 as 45,000 participants advance to the start line, embarking on the culmination of 45,000 personal journeys. Along with the massive field of recreational runners, the 26.2-mile course will welcome a full field of world renowned professional athletes drawn to the flat, fast, urban setting and the potential to break world and national records. The professionals will compete for prize money and points in the World Marathon Majors series which will crown its first male and female champions with $500,000 each at the close of 2007. Since the inception of its charity program in 2002, The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon has generated more than $27.5 million for a variety of charitable causes including $9.5 million in the 2006 event alone. Registration for the race opened on January 1, 2007 and closed when it reached capacity on April 18. Benita’s story and all previously released runner stories are available at ChicagoMarathon.com. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest