Once exhausted by short walks, Grayslake woman ready to tackle second marathon

Grayslake resident Candice McLaws will be among the expected 55,000 runners Sunday in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and hopes to improve on her second-to-last-place finish last year.

But that’s not the point for McLaws, who once was overweight but says she has been physically and mentally transformed by running, an activity she thought she could never do. For her, the marathon is not so much about where you finish but how you got there.

Running the marathon is a feat McLaws couldn’t have imagined while working as a race volunteer in 2021. She was stationed at Mile 22 to keep spectators off the course and support her husband, who was in the race, with an extra cheer when he needed it most.

The front-runners certainly were a sight to see. But something else clicked.

“The later waves (of runners) came and you see wonderful people. They’re plus size. They’re doing it. I don’t have to want to be like people in wave one and wave two,” recalled the Bank of America wealth management client associate. “It was definitely an inspiration.”

McLaws said she was “quite overweight” at the time and knew something needed to change. During the pandemic, walking a quarter mile to the park with her two young children was exhausting.

“I’d have to sit and make my kids play for at least an hour” before going home, she said. Once there, she’d hit the couch for more rest.

“I was only 40 years old, but I felt like I was 60,” she said. “I knew I needed to make a change for myself and my children.”

She dropped 45 pounds and in 2022 was accepted to run in the marathon but deferred. Instead, she completed the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle, a 5-mile event. That’s where she gained a deeper appreciation for the experience and the running community.

“After crossing your first (finish) line, it’s a high. It makes you feel like you accomplished something really hard,” she said. She tried the big race the next two years before completing it in 2025.

But it wasn’t easy. McLaws said she became ill at about Mile 14 and was going to quit until a group of “back of the pack” runners stayed with her through the rest of race and celebrated the finish together.

It took 9 hours and 29 minutes, but McLaws is listed on the official record as a race finisher.

McLaws connected with the Raza Run Club in Lake County and runs three days a week and has lost about 84 pounds.

“It’s the smartest thing I’ve ever done — it’s really expanded my world,” she said of joining the club. “They keep me on track. You know they are watching out for you and they care for you.”

Nineteen club members will be running in the marathon Sunday, and will meet for a group picture.

Besides this year in Chicago, where McLaws will join participants from all 50 states and more than 100 countries, she said she was unexpectedly accepted for a marathon on Sept. 27 in Berlin, Germany.

However, in her first trip outside the U.S., McLaws said she became “extremely sick” after 5 miles and had to withdraw.

mzawislak@dailyherald.com