Wheeling runner hopes marathon win enough for shot at Olympics

Sixteen seconds may not seem like a lot of time, but for Chad Ware, it's all that's standing between him and an Olympic dream.

Ware, 27, of Wheeling, won the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Va., on Sunday, but admits his excitement over finishing first in the highly regarded race is tempered by the disappointment of falling just 16 seconds shy of a spot in the 2012 Olympic trials.

"It was kind of bittersweet, but at the same time amazing to win the race and have a good race for the first time in a while," said Ware, a 1st Lt. in the Army Reserves.

"Going into the last few miles I thought 'OK, I have a good shot at this,'" he added. "To come up 16 seconds short was kind of a bummer. But the last two miles were a struggle."

Those last two miles featured several hills and a final climb up the Iwo Jima Memorial before crossing the finish line at Arlington National Cemetery with a time of 2:19:16.

It was the fastest finish the Marine Corps Marathon has seen since 1997, and more than four minutes better than the runner up. The event, which included more than 21,000 runners this year, is the fourth largest marathon in the United States and eighth largest in the world.

"I actually held back on the first few miles because my goal was only to place as well as I could," said Ware, who's competed in several other marathons. But by mile 19 Ware realized he had the lead and held onto it.

Although disappointed he didn't get an automatic spot in January's Olympic trials, and therefore a shot at the 2012 Olympics in London, Ware said some are appealing on his behalf to get him there.

"The Marine Corps Marathon is a little more difficult and this is the best time run there in a few years, so they're hoping that will mean something, but we'll see," Ware said.

A native of South Bend, Ind. and former long-distance runner at Butler University in Indianapolis, Ware moved to the Chicago area to attend graduate school at Trinity International University in Deerfield.

He earned a master's degree in divinity in hopes of becoming a military chaplain. But because chaplain positions are hard to come by, Ware is switching gears and going on active duty in January to work in military intelligence.

Ware said his faith gets him through disappointment and pushes him to keep running.

"I go out and pray as I run and get away from the rest of the world," he said. "It puts things in perspective, even when I have a bad day it's not the end of the world"