Defending champions head world-class field
The first few rows of the runners lining up at the start line of any major marathon are reserved for the elite athletes who have been paid by the organizers to be there and to run fast.
For Sunday's LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, the first row of runners might as well be referred to as champions row as executive race director Carey Pinkowski has assembled another outstanding field of athletes.
In the men's race, three former Chicago Marathon champions will set up a terrific showdown before an expected 1.5 million spectators who will line the streets of the 26.2-mile course. Defending champion Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya is back. Kenyan Felix Limo won the 2005 race, and fellow countryman Evans Rutto captured back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2003.
Headlining the women's field are returning champion Berhane Adere of Ethiopia and Australian record holder Benita Johnson.
The men's and women's champions will collect $125,000 each and will have the opportunity to add to their payday with time bonuses. Top finishers also will earn points in the World Marathon Majors series.
Cheruiyot enters the race on a roll, having won the last three marathons he has run, including the Boston Marathon last March. He is a lock to win the first World Marathon Majors men's series title with 75 points so far. A $500,000 payday awaits him on the Monday after the New York City Marathon.
"I would like to run to run a quick time," said Cheruiyot, whose best time is 2:07:14.
Rutto enters the race with the fastest time of all the competitors. His time of 2:05:50 came in 2003 in his debut marathon here. That run also set a world record for a debut performance.
Like Rutto, Limo is eager to reestablish himself. After two consecutive wins in the Chicago Marathon and the 2006 Flora London Marathon, Limo did not to run here in 2006 because of a back injury. He took third in London this spring and would like to reclaim his crown this year. His fastest marathon is 2:06:14.
"Felix is dynamic and is the most athletic," Pinkowski said. "He is a great finisher. Some of the guys know they have to get rid of him and force the issue at 15 (the 15-mile mark).
"(Cheruiyot) has done the best work in preparation for this. The Cheruiyot and Limo matchup is two contrasting styles. (Cheruiyot) can set the tone and doesn't want it to come down to Columbus Drive and Roosevelt Road (the 26-mile mark). He has to force the issue."
Three other runners who will contend in the men's competition are Moroccan Jaouad Gharib, Korean Bong-ju Lee and Daniel Njenga Muturi from Kenya.
Jaouad has four sub-2:08 performances to his credit, including winning consecutive IAFF World Championship Marathons. Lee makes his Chicago debut fresh off winning the Seoul International Marathon in March, his seventh career victory. Two other career highlights are winning the silver medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics Games in Atlanta and the Boston Marathon in 2001.
But if anyone deserves to win in Chicago, it's Njenga Mutri. He has been a top-three finisher in the past five races here, including second place last year, only five seconds behind Cheriyuot. His personal best came in Chicago in 2002 (2:06:16).
Top American male runners will not have much of a presence Sunday, as the top ones will be gearing up for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in New York on Nov. 3.
In the women's competition, one of the more exciting story lines comes from U.S. runner Kate O'Neill, who is making her debut marathon. O'Neill was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic 10,000 meters team. She tuned up for the marathon distance by running a personal-best 1:11:47 at the Aramco Half-Marathon in Houston.
Adhere set an Ethiopian marathon record in winning Chicago last year in 2:20:47. Johnson has run a 2:22:36, but she is still relatively new to the marathon distance.
Other women who will push her at the top of the pack are Nuta Olaru (2:24:33) from Romania and Russian Alevtina Ivanova (2:27:48).
"Look to them as the dominant women," Pinkowski said.
On the feel-good side, American runner Linda Somers Smith is looking to qualify for a record six U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. The former Chicago Marathon champion turned 46 in May and had retired from running in 2004.
"I am really looking forward to the race," Somers Smith said. "I did radio coverage last year, and I got so excited doing it that I decided to do it one more time."
Warm weather a factor?
Warm weather could be a factor for both elite and recreational runners in Sunday's LaSalle Bank Chicago marathon. A record field of 45,000 signed up for the race. and about 37,500 will make it to the starting line.
According to AccuWeather.com, the forecast high for Sunday may tie the record from 1947 (86 degrees). It will probably be in the balmy low 70s when the race starts at 8 a.m.
-- Brian Pitts