2007 Chicago Marathon

Posted by Ronnie . . .

Well, I picked a great marathon for my first -- if you didn't hear, this year's Chicago Marathon was BRUTAL - race officials actually shut down the race for people who had not finished the halfway point after 3:30, due to running out of both water & ambulances. Fortunately, I got to finish, in spite of 93 degree temperatures during most of the race. I finished as follows:

OFFICIAL CHIP TIME = 4:08.32

OFFICIAL PACE = 9:28 per mile

OFFICIAL FINISH = 4,668 / 45,000 people

To see all of my pathetic photos, you can go to http://www.marathonfoto.com/ & click on 2007 Chicago Marathon (name = cordrey; bib = 5182). Typically, I make fun of guys who take their shirts off, but due to the extreme conditions, I found myself trying to ventilate anyway I could. It was a great experience & sense of accomplishment, even though the weather was bananas. The biggest bummer was that my brother, Dave, & I only got to run the first 11 miles together, due to bro getting injured. The race photographers didn't get a shot of both of us ... double bummer. And to add a triple bummer into the mix, my ipod Nano got wet and is now DEAD!

I was only 2 hours & 3 minutes from winning the race -- watch out Kenyans!