From: Running USA

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Nearly 200 runners raced out of the gates of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® for the 30th St. Jude Memphis to Peoria Run. One event has grown from less than 20 people to an estimated 2,000 participants in 27 cities, all finishing in Peoria, Ill. Since its inception, the event and the satellite runs have raised $22 million for St. Jude, one of the world’s premier centers for the research and treatment of childhood cancer and other deadly diseases.

The Peoria community was first introduced to St. Jude when the hospital opened an affiliate in 1972. Ten years later, Mike McCoy, started the race as way to rally the community around one cause: to raise funds in support the lifesaving mission of St. Jude.

McCoy was joined by 18 other St. Jude supporters for the first race raising $22,500 for the hospital. “It feels great knowing this event has grown from raising more than $20,000 in the first year with an expectation of raising more than $2 million this year in conjunction with the various satellite runs around the country,” said McCoy, who has participated each year since the race’s inception.

“The first year, some people laughed when we stated one day this event would raise $1 million. You know what? They aren’t laughing anymore.” Over its 30 year history, the St. Jude Memphis to Peoria Run has grown to include affiliate runs in cities including St. Louis and Chicago. People in communities along the route have embraced the runners, who run in six mile relays over the course of the race. In Assumption, Ill., residents welcome the runners by stocking a barn full of snacks and water.

A special area of the run is Freddie’s Hill, a section of Interstate 150 in Goodfield, Ill. named after St. Jude patient Bridgette “Freddie” Klein who passed away from rhabdomyosarcoma, the most common soft tissue tumor found in children, in 1987. Each year, her parents meet runners along this highway to cheer them on. On Saturday, August 6, all runners will end the race in Peoria. A crowd of 5,000 runners, supporters, St. Jude patients and their families, and spectators will gather for this event, including Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis and dozens who have made this run for decades.

“The Memphis to Peoria Run is a great example of how one person’s determination and vision can make an indelible mark on the lives of our children at St. Jude,” said Richard Shadyac Jr., CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising organization of St. Jude. “We are grateful for the immense support from all runners and volunteers and, especially, the city of Peoria which has embraced this event and our lifesaving mission of finding cures and saving children.”

Lukas Verzbicas on his way to a Foot Locker Mid-West title. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Sophomore Lucas Verzbicas has a chance to become a rare underclass boy’s cross country national champion.

Written by: Matt Fitzgerald

It is quite common for freshman, sophomore and junior girls to win the Foot Locker Cross Country Championship. In fact, in the 30-year history of the event, fewer than half of the girls’ champions have been seniors. On the boys’ side, things are very different. Only two juniors have ever won the event, and no sophomore or freshman has broken the tape at Foot Locker. It seems that adolescent male and female runners develop on different schedules.

This year, however, we may well see the first sophomore winner of the boys’ high school national cross country championship. Sixteen-year-old Lukas Verzbicas of Sandburg High School in Illinois is among a handful of the 32 qualifiers for Saturday’s championship race is San Diego who is considered a strong contender for the title.

The youngster’s credentials are very impressive. He won the Foot Locker Midwest Regional Championship by seven seconds. He won the Illinois State Championship by 21 seconds. In fact, he has never lost a high school cross country race. Injury kept Verzbicas from trying to qualify for Foot Locker last year, and some aches and pains also prevented him from racing against some of the other top boys in the country this year. But he is reportedly healthy now, and a healthy Lukas Verzbicas is undoubtedly faster than any other high school runner in the nation—possibly faster than any other high school runner ever. After all, he set an all-time national high school record of 14:18.22 for 5000 meters indoors as a freshman last year.

In a recent interview for the Southtown Star newspaper, Verzbicas’ coach, John O’Malley, predicted, “Lukas is going to rewrite all of the records in American distance running… Lukas might be the best distance runner in American high school history… I think he could be an Olympic medalist in the marathon some day.”

But that can only happen if Verzbicas chooses to become a professional runner after college. That is no guarantee, however, because running is not his primary sport. Triathlon is. That’s right: Verzbicas is possibly an even better triathlete than he is a runner. He is the reigning U.S. junior national champion and junior world champion in triathlon, and is the world junior duathlon champion to boot.

It is going to be exciting to see this young phenom go about against older talents such as recently crowned Nike Nationals winner Craig Lutz of Texas. Watch the action live at 10:00 AM Saturday here.

Sam Chelanga wins the NCAA Championship in course record time. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Huge surprises occurred in the men’s women’s team races and in the women’s individual race.

Written by: Sean McKeon

It was a picture-perfect day Monday in Terre Haute, Ind. for the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships. What was not so perfect was the picture painted by race previews, my own included, as to how the races would play out. Each race saw its fair share of unanticipated drama, along with fantastic competition, proving the wisdom of the old adage, “That’s why they run the races”.

The men’s race was all about the dominance of Liberty’s Sam Chelanga. Chelanga was expecting a long battle with Stanford’s Chris Derrick, but instead had only the course record to challenge him. Although he held back over the first 1k, Chelanga quickly established a lead that grew by the second. The young Kenyan held a sizeable advantage over Derrick, Northern Arizona’s David McNeil and Barnabas Kirui of Mississippi through 5k, passing the mark in 14:09, and leading by nearly 30 seconds. Chelanga continued to pull away from the field and cruised to the victory in a new course record time of 28:41. It was sweet for Chelanga, as he shattered by 22 seconds the mark set last year by Galen Rupp, when Chelanga settled for second. McNeil was able to hold off Derrick and nab an impressive second place with Derrick taking the final podium spot in third.

In the team battle, the story line was supposed to be Stanford versus Oklahoma State, but that was not what the day delivered. Oklahoma State ran a dominating race, placing three in the top 15 and running away with the championship. Stanford seemed to simply fold under the pressure, leaving the podium spots open for some slight surprises. The Oregon men ran an impressive race to take the runner-up trophy, having been led by Sophomore Luke Puskedra’s 21st-place finish. Rounding out the podium was Alabama, led by Tyson David in 22nd place. Stanford, after coming into the meet the strong favorites, finished an astounding 227 points behind Oklahoma State, in 10th place.

Angela Bizzarri kicking to her NCAA title. Photo: PhotoRun.net

The women’s race was set to be the defining collegiate moment for 2008 Olympian Jenny Barringer of Colorado, but a complete collapse, both literally and figuratively, would leave her without a collegiate cross country title on her resume. Barringer set the strong early pace, passing 1k in just over 3:00, but trailed closely by Florida State’s Susan Kuijken. Just after 2k Barringer visibly dropped her shoulders, looking as though she had been punched in the gut, and immediately fell back from Kuijken. Later, cameras caught Barringer falling to the ground, looking as though she may not finish. But just as suddenly she sprang back and finished the race with the surrounding women, finishing in a devastating XX place.

Kuijken held a strong lead through 4k but began to fade due to the early pace set by Barringer. She found herself with Angela Bizzarri of Illinois and Kendra Schaff of Washinton to fight for the national title in the closing kilometer. Kuijken hoped to avenge her runner-up placing from 2008, but a fantastic final 400m by Bizzarri helped the Illinois senior earn her first NCAA cross country title. Kuijken had little remaining in the final stretch and found herself crossing the line in third, as the sophomore Schaff took the runner-up title.

As for what happened to Barringer, it is hard to say. It was a very bizarre sight to say the least. In a post-race interview Barringer said, “I didn’t feel so good about halfway in to it and every time I tried to push it I had to stop.” She still seemed disoriented after the race and it only leaves us to wonder what could have been.

On the team side it was the Villanova Wildcats that took home the national championship, upending the defending champion, and #1 ranked, Washington Huskies. The Wildcats were led by 6th-place finisher Amanda Marino and 13th-place finisher Sheila Reid. Florida Sate snuck in for the runner-up position, led by Kuijken’s third-place effort. The Huskies settled for a disappointing third-place finish, after coming into the meet the overwhelming favorites. Although Schaff ran well to finish second the always consistent Huskies had an off day, much like the Cardinal men, leaving them with plenty of questions to be answered.

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Liliya Shobukhova won the Chicago Marathon. Photo: PhotoRun.net

What Liliya Shobukhova lacked in marathon experience she made up for with track speed. And on a day when the women were content to play a cat-and-mouse game relying on slow pace and strategy, Shobukhova was able take advantage of her strengths. In only her second race at the distance, Shobukhova won the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2:25:56. The time was a minute and a half slower than her previous PR in London earlier this year, but it was apparent from the start that the women’s race wasn’t going to set any records this year.

With pre-race favorites American Deena Kastor and German Irina Mikitenko both returning from injuries, it appeared that no one wanted to set the early pace. American Tera Moody, who’s PR was a good 15 minutes slower than the expected leaders, even found the pace too slow for her liking.

“I wasn’t really frustrated, but I was shocked,” she said. “I wondered, ‘Where is everybody?’”

Moody, who grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago and went to St. Charles High School, took the lead early in the race for several miles before the rest of the women’s pack caught her.

“I just wanted to run my own race and not worry about anything else,” she said. “But I’ll tell you, it was really great leading the race. I love this event and the crowd support was unbelievable.”

Moody would run just about event splits between the first and second half of the race to finish in 2:32:59, becoming the second American woman to finish and setting a PR in the process.

A group of nine women eventually overtook Moody and stayed together for the most part through the halfway point, which they crossed in 1:15:04. This lead group included Shobukhova, Kastor, Mikitenko, Teyba Erkesso of Ethiopia (PR of 2:24:18 in Houston this year), last year’s Chicago Marathon winner Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia (2:25:10 PR) and Berhane Adere of Ethiopia, who has a PR of 2:20:42 and won the Chicago Marathon in back-to-back years in 2006 and 2007.

The large group stuck together much longer than anyone expected. Kastor was dropped just past 21 miles when she had trouble grabbing her water bottle and had to slow down to get it.

At mile 23, Adere was dropped from the final group of five, leaving Erkesso, Mikitenko, Grigoryeva and Shobukhova. Of the remaining women, Shobukhova had the speed, with a sliver medal at the 2006 European Championships in the 5,000 meters. At one time she held the 3,000-meter indoor world record.

So as expected, Shobukhova made a move and the rest of the women couldn’t keep up. She went on to win the race by 35 seconds. Mikitenko of Germany, who had previously won London and Boston, finished second in her first U.S. marathon in 2:26:31. Grigoryeva of Russia joined her countrywoman on the podium by finishing third in 2:26:47.

Kastor ended up in sixth in 2:28:50. But she was all smiles after the race, despite the disappointing finish and a series of unfortunate events throughout the race. This was her first marathon since she broke her foot during the Olympic Marathon in Beijing in 2008.

“I’m really grateful to be out there today,” she said. “I’m actually really happy with the way my training is going.”

Kastor had trouble finding her bottle at two different water stations, and then had to stop for a bathroom break with two miles to go.

“To see the finishing time and knowing what I could have done if I’d been up there is a little disappointing,” she admitted. “But I’m still ecstatic about the way I’ve been able to get back into (marathon shape).”

Shobukhova was obviously happy with her performance as well.

“It’s only my second marathon. And it’s a crazy surprise to win only my second marathon,” she said through a translator. “I’m very happy.”

As for the slow time, Shobukhova thinks she’ll be able to go faster in the future.

“It was very cold, and I was disappointed in the personal time,” she said. “If it were warmer, I was hoping to get the Russian national record. But not today.”

Sammy Wanjiru wins the Chicago Marathon. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Sammy Wanjiru accomplished most of what he set out to do on his first trip to America. The 23-year-old reigning Olympic marathon champion, after flirting with world record pace, won the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2:05:41, beating the course record by one second. It was also the fastest time ever run in the U.S.

It was clear from the start that the men were interested in taking advantage of the cool weather and fast course to make a run at Haile Gebrselassie’s world record of 2:03:59. A group of nine men—all from Kenya or Ethiopia—passed the 5K mark on pace for a 2:02:50, and their 10K split of 29:10 was the same time Gebrselassie hit on his world-record run.

That group included Wanjiru, who set a PR of 2:05:10 in his victory in London earlier this year; Vincent Kipruto, who won the Paris Marathon this year in 2:05:47; and Charles Munyeki, who was making his marathon debut but had broken an hour in the half marathon.

The group slowed the blistering pace a bit, but still passed the half marathon mark at 62 minutes on the nose, well within shouting distance of the record. Just past 15 miles, the pacer dropped back, and Wanjiru, Kipruto and Munyeki continued in the lead pack.

The three of them stayed together until just past mile 21, in Chinatown, when Wanjiru made a move and the other two couldn’t respond.

“Sometimes, you know, you try to go out front to test other people,” Wanjiru said after the race.

For the last four miles, it was just a question of whether Wanjiru would be able to break the course record. He did—despite the fact he slowed down the last few strides to wave to the crowd. That wave could have cost him $100,000—the prize bonus to for breaking the course record.

“I wouldn’t have been happy,” said Wanjiru, who didn’t realize he was that close.

Coming from behind to take second place was Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco, who finished in 2:06:04. He decided to let he leaders go early on when they ran sub-world record pace, expecting to catch them at the end. The tactic paid off, but he couldn’t reel in Wanjiru.

“I think this is the right pace for me,” he said of his decision not to go with the leaders. “It was a little bit cold and a little bit windy, and it was a little fast for me. I ran the best second half with a 63:10. So I showed I can run good races in the future with this tactic.”

It did mean, however, that Goumri had to settle for second place in a World Major Marathon for the fourth time in his career.

He joked, however, that he would still marry his fiancé, after saying earlier that he was waiting until he actually won a marathon.

“I think I have to get married,” he said with a laugh. “Now, no excuse.”

Vincent Kipruto, 22, of Kenya held on for third place in 2:06:08, while Charles Munyeki finished fourth in his marathon debut in 2:07:07. Three of the top four finishers were under 24 years old, perhaps belying the conventional wisdom that the marathon is an older person’s race.

The temperature at the start of the race was 33 degrees with an 8 mph wind—and it didn’t get much warmer.

“The temperature was very cold,” Kipruto said. “It affected me in the second half.”

Even Wanjiru said the temperature made a difference in his quest for the world record.

“I think I can definitely go faster,” Wanjiru said.

Race Director Carey Pinkowski wants to give Wanjiru that chance again in Chicago next year.

“Hopefully we’ll have a conversation and he’ll come back next year,” he said. “When you have athletes of the caliber of Sammy, it adds to the excitement.”

The top male U.S. finisher was Sergio Reyes of Palmdale, Calif., who finished eighth overall in 2:15:30. Patrick Rizzo, who grew up in Schaumburg, Ill., and now lives in Michigan while part of the Brooks-Hansons Distance Project, became was the second U.S. finisher by setting a PR of 2:15:48.

“Anytime you get a PR you’ve got to be happy,” Rizzo said. While the cold weather never allowed Rizzo to get into a good rhythm, he felt he couldn’t complain.

“The crowd was the biggest thing keeping me going,” he said. “I had to see 200 local friends cheering me on. You just can’t feel bad when you’ve got 200 people there supporting you.”

According to marathon officials, 34,792 runners started the race, while more than 1 milllion spectators lined the course.

Elite athletes at the press conference. Photo: Jeff Banowetz

Elites predict fast times despite cold weather.

At the Bank of America Chicago Marathon elite press conference, the three favorites in both the men’s and women’s fields all talked about being fit and ready for fast times. But they also said that they’d have to see what the weather was like.

The latest forecasts today predict temperatures in the mid-30s at the start of the race, with winds of 5 to 15 mph. The precipitation predicted earlier in the week now appears to be coming later in the day, if at all.

“Obviously with Mother Nature, the pendulum has swung in a different direction than last year,” said executive race director Carey Pinkowski, who has dealt with temperatures in the 80s the last two years. “I saw the latest weather report. We’ve met will all the city officials this morning, and we’ve made all the adjustments to skew toward colder weather…We’ll be prepared for Sunday.”

Pinkowski didn’t think the cold weather would slow down the elite runners.

“Athletes perform well in cold weather,” he says. “Our guys have run really fast in cold weather and hopefully we’ll stay in that tradition.”

One runner eager to prove Pinkowski correct was Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya, the favorite in the men’s field. This will be the first American race for the 22-year-old phenom who has trained mostly in Japan the last half dozen year. In fact, this was his first trip to the United States.

“Thank you for the invitation to come here. It’s my first time in America, my first time in Chicago, and my first chance to see where my guy, Obama, comes from,” he said with a smile. He later joked that Obama’s home was only “a 10K away.”

Wanjiru has reason to be relaxed. He’s raced four marathons and won three of them, including the Olympic Marathon in Beijing. The only race he didn’t win, the London Marathon in 2008, he finished second in 2:05:24. He set his PR of 2:05:10 with a victory at London this spring.

He thought he could go even faster in Chicago.

“I think I can go 2:04, depending on the weather,” he said.

Wanjiru will most likely get his stiffest competition from Vincent Kipruto of Kenya, who won the Paris Marathon this spring in 2:05:47, and Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco, who has finished second in both New York and London. Both runners thought they were in good shape and could give Wanjiru a battle.

“It will depend on the weather, but I think we can all go fast on Sunday,” Kipruto said.On the women’s side, the biggest story is American Deena Kastor, who will be running her first marathon since the Beijing Olympics, where she broke her foot three miles into the race.

She said that while she hasn’t had a world-class race since then, she still feels like she’s prepared to run fast this year.

“I definitely feel like I’ve put together some workouts that suggest that I’m able to run fast,” she says. “The past five weeks of my training have proved that I’m getting ready at the right time.”

Kastor, the bronze medalist in Athens in 2004, won the Chicago Marathon in 2005. She set her PR of 2:19:36 in London a year later.

Her biggest competition is likely Irina Mikitenko of Germany, who won the London Marathon the last two years and has run a PR of 2:19:19 at the Berlin Marathon in 2008. A death in her family kept her from running in the world championships this year, but she believes she’s back to being in sub-2:20 shape.

“Training is getting better and better, but we’ll have to see on Sunday if I can run a good race,” she said through a translator. The injury appears to be healed, and it’s just a matter of whether or not she’s been able to get back to her pre-injury condition.

Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia, won the Bank of America Chicago Marathon last year and is back to defend her title. While her PR is “only 2:25,” she believes that she can run with anyone in the field.

“I believe that I can run a fast marathon,” she said through a translator. “There have often been things like the weather or competition that’s kept me from running a faster time, but I think I can run (with the leaders).”

Niketown Pep Rally discussion pannel of experts. Photo: Jeff Banowetz

A new Chicago Marathon tradition keeps the city buzzing.

Take a drum line, a couple Olympic medalists, a marathon legend, the city’s newest football hero and enough cowbells to satisfy Christopher Walken—and you get a sense of the scene at Niketown Thursday as the marathon sponsor kicked off marathon weekend with a pep rally and fun run. It also announced a Northside/Southside challenge for high-school cross-country runners who will be competing the morning of the marathon.

Niketown’s weekly Thursday night run started by handing out the cowbells for spectators this weekend—and the crowd put them to good use as a group of elite runners sat down for some motivational words and a quick Q&A.

Among those on stage were marathon legend Joan Benoit Samuelson,  5,000 and 10,000 meter specialist Bernard Lagat, 10,000 meter bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan to offer their tips for runners preparing for the marathon. But getting the most attention might have been rookie Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox, who last week returned a kick return 102 yards for a touchdown.

“I’d rather deal with people hitting me,” he said, when asked which was harder, playing football or a marathon. “I don’t think I could do a marathon.”

Most of the athletes on stage echoed Joan Benoit Samuelson’s prerace tip: “Believe in the training that you’ve done to get here,” she said.

She also offered some advice for those looking to run with a partner.

“How may of you are planning to run the race with somebody?” she asked the crowd. “Get rid of that idea.”

“Tell your friend or training partner that you’ll meet them at the finish line,” she continued, with a smile. “Because what you have to do is go out there and run your own race. You don’t know what you can do until you can give it your best shot.  And you can’t run anybody else’s race, nor can anybody run your race.”

After a short Q&A with the athletes, members of the Nike Run Club left the store for their last organized run before the marathon, led by an eight-person drum line to kick off the run.

• Nike also announced a Northside/Southside cross-country challenge that will be taking place the same day as the marathon over the final 2.6 miles of the course. Ten local high school teams—both boys and girls—will compete as part of the challenge. This marks the first time that a World Marathon Major will feature high school athletes competing an invitational meet on the race day course.

The boy’s competition will start at 7:40 a.m., followed by the girls at 7:45 a.m. The race begins at 31st Street and Michigan Avenue and ends at the finish line of the marathon.

The competing teams will be designated either “Northside” or “Southside” based on their geographic location. Individual and team winners will be named for both boys and girls. Following the Challenge, the participants and their families will be invited to stay at the finish line area to watch the remainder of the Marathon.

American Deena Kastor is one of the favorites on the Women's side. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Kastor will look for her second title in Chicago.

Unlike the youth found in the men’s race, the women’s race is headlined by two of the top women’s marathoners of the past decade, both beginning to near the end of their career. Reigning world marathon majors champion Irina Mikitenko of Germany and American record holder Deena Kastor both look to extend their storied careers with a win in Chicago. Both women are are poised to take the title in Chicago, but it may be a young woman from Ethiopia that could spoil their party.

Mikitenko carries the top PR in to the race with her 2:19:19 effort from Berlin in 2008. She is the two-time-defending champion in London and has finished no worse than second at any marathon major since 2007, albeit at her debut at the distance. Although she is the reigning world marathon majors champion, she has faced disappointment as she was sidelined from the 2008 Olympics with an injury and 2009 world championships after the death of her father. Mikitenko would like nothing but to stretch her marathon majors in streak to four in Chicago.

The hopes of Chicago and the Nation rest on the shoulders of American record holder Deena Kastor. The 36-year-old icon is ready to rebound from her DNF in Beijing and reclaim her spot as one of the top marathoners in the world. Although considered a favorite based on past performances, when looking at recent history it is easy to see why Mikitenko should be considered the top runner in the field. Kastor ran a poor race at the NYC Half Marathon in August, finishing in a disspapointing 1:13:48, leaving question marks on her fitness this summer. Kastor has not finished a marathon since her win at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Boston, but she certainly looked in 2:25 shape for that race 18 months ago. Kastor has said she thinks she can run under 2:18 in Chicago, but that looks like a hefty goal and anything under 2:22 would should be considered a accomplishment.

Kenyan Teyba Erkesso winning at the 2009 Freihofer's 5K. Photo: Photo Run

Waiting in the wings to see if the elder-stateswomen of the race falter is the 26-year-old Ethiopian Teyba Erkesso. Erkesso ran a personal best 2:24:18 in Houston this January and 1:08:39 half marathon from Lille in September. Not only has she lowered her personal bests in both longer disciplines but he has taken some of the to prizes in American road racing this year. Erkesso has wins at the Bay to Breakers 12K and Freihofer’s 5K, not to mention strong runner-up performances at Bloomsday 12K and Bolder Boulder 10K. What Erkesso brings to the table is a nice mix of solid personal bests set in 2009 along with the clear ability to race. She could be deadly if in contact over the final 10K.

There is still a great stable of other athletes toeing the line on Sunday that could find themselves in contention for a podium place. Leading the pack will be Romnians Liliya Shobukhova and Adriana Pirtea and Russian Lidiya Grigoryeva. Shobukhova set a personal best 2:24:24 while placing third at London earlier this year, her debut at the distance. With one race under her belt it may be time for the Romanian to leap in to that upper-echelon of elite marathoning. Countrywoman Pirtea famously waved to the crowd as she was passed in the final 200 meters at the 2007 Chicago Marathon, losing to a fanatically sprinting Berhane Adere. Pirtea would like nothing more than to make up for her 2007 embarassment, although she hasn’t shown the same promise since her PR 2:28:52 at the 2008 London Marathon. Girgoryeva is the defending champion and has four top-five finishes at marathon majors since 2006. The Russian has a solid 2:25:10 personal best from the 2006 L.A. Marathon, but may need to find that form again if she wants to take her second consecutive Chicago victory.

Irena Mikitenko is primed to take her first Chicago win. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Other than Kastor there is a solid contingent of American women set for the race on Sunday. Tera Moody finished in the top-10 at the 2007 Chicago Marathon and set a personal best 2:33:54 while placing 5th at the 2008 Olympic trials marathon in Boston. Hansons/Brooks athletes Melissa White (2:37:53 PR) and Carol Jefferson (debut) will both look to challenge for a top-5 American placing. White placed in the top-15 at Boston in 2007 and 14th at the 2008 Olympic Trials.

Here’s how I see the race playing out:

1. Irena Mikitenko—Germany

2. Liliya Shobukhova—Romania

3. Teyba Erkesso—Ethipia

4. Lidiya Grigoryeva—Russia

5. Deena Kastor—USA

Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru is the favorite on the men's side. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Will we see a world record on Sunday?

New York may have the depth this fall, but the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon boasts the fastest men’s field of the final to marathon majors. Topping the list is the young 22-year-old Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru, the 2008 Olympic champion and world record holder at the half marathon. Wanjiru leads a group of men ready to take on the streets of Chicago on what may become another historic day in the Windy City.

Wanjiru has to be the overwhelming favorite going in to the race this Sunday. With personal bests of 58:33 for the half marathon and 2:05:10 for the full marathon, Wanjiru tops all of his competitors. The young Kenyan also obliterated the field last year in Beijing with a truly scorching 2:06:32 Olympic record in which proved he could run, and run fast, in any weather thrown at him. The only question mark to his season is a somewhat mediocre showing at the Rotterdam half marathon in which he mustered a 61:08. This is still fast, but not the showing we had all expected out of the world record holder. If that proved that there is a chink in the armor of the young phenom, who could come up and prove their prowess against a vulnerable Wanjiru?

It seems as though Wanjiru’s main competition will come from Moroccan Abderrahim Goumri and compatriot Vincent Kipruto. Goumri has a personal best of 2:05:30 and three marathon majors runner-up finishes. Goumri faded in London this Spring, but was still able to hang on for a 6th place finish in 2:08:25. Kipruto has the third fastest PR coming in to the race, a 2:05:47 clocking from Paris this March. Kipruto doesn’t race much and there is no way of knowing if he is ready to PR again in 2009, which he will likely have to do if he wants to take down Wanjiru.

Ethiopian Tadese Tola won the NYC Half in August. Photo: PhotoRun.net

Outside of the three sub-2:06 men, there are probably no less than 5 other men that could step up and finish on the podium in Chicago. There are two men who will be making their marathon debuts that could turn some heads and quickly find themselves in the marathoning limelight. Kenyan Chales Munyeki has an impressive 59:44 half marathon best from 2008 and an additional two more under 60:20, one coming just a few weeks ago in Rotterdam. Munyeki’s time in Rotterdam was 60:18, a full :50 seconds ahead of favorite Wanjiru, something to take note of for sure. Ethiopian Tadese Tola would love to earn a victory for his country, his personal best of 60:45 in the half marathon proves he has the speed to run with the contenders, but marathon debuts can be dicey.

Kenyan Wesley Korir, a graduate of University of Louisville, broke out at the 2009 L.A. Marathon to win in 2:08:24, a five-minute personal best. If he wants to see himself on the podium in Chicago Korir will likely need to bring that PR down another 90-seconds. Two marathoning stalwarts, Richard Limo and Ben Maiyo have both run in the 2:07′s, but have not shown much recently. All three of these men could pop a good race, but they will all have to exceed expectations to do so.

With most of the American talent going to New York in November for the US men’s marathon championship, the field of homegrown talent is sparse. Three athletes are been pined as potential spoilers including Chicago native Pat Rizzo who was 15h in Boston in 2009, Seth Pilkington of Utah who ran an impressive 60:07 at the 2009 New Haven 20K and Brett Schoolmeester, a Colorado grad, who has a 1:05:34 personal best for the half marathon. Pilkington and Schoolmeester will be making their debuts at the distance in Chicago.

The race should be fast from the gun, with four scheduled pace setters ready to go out, reportedly, between 1:01:40 and 1:02:10 for the half. If they are able to keep that torent pace up through 30K we could see some magic. Here are my predictions:

1. Sammy Wanjiru—Kenya

2. Charles Munyeki—Kenya

3. Tadese Tola—Ethipia

4. Abderrahim Goumri—Morocco

5. Vincent Kipruto—Kenya

If the weather holds I think we will see personal bests thoroughout the top-10. A world record? I don’t see it happening but stranger things have happened and Wanjiru is a special talent, so expect anything!

Patrick Rizzo finished an impressive 15th at the 2009 Boston Marathon. Photo: Victah Sailer

Pat Rizzo looks to improve on his top-3 American finish in Boston.

Written By: Nicole Adamson

Patrick Rizzo is freaking out about a bee sting. It’s early August and the 26-year-old runner has just gotten a steroid shot for an allergic reaction that caused his entire arm to balloon up. He’s not concerned about the swelling; it’s the shot that’s making him anxious.

As of May, the Schaumburg native is ranked in the top five of American marathoners, which means the USATF can drug test him at any time. Luckily for him, they chose the day after he was stung to show up at his door.

Rizzo knows the USATF would not penalize him for a bee allergy, but he is still getting used to his pro status. At this year’s Boston Marathon, he finished 15th with a time of 2:17:05 and was the third American, behind Olympians Ryan Hall and Brian Sell, Rizzo’s teammate on the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project.

This month Rizzo is competing in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, where he’s shooting for 2:14. With three world-class Kenyans in the field, the competition will be fierce, but there’s a great chance this kid from the Chicago ’burbs will snag the top American spot.

5K Days

For our interview, Rizzo has suggested coffee at the Country Donuts in Schaumburg, a 1950s-style doughnut joint with counter seating. It’s not classiest place in town, but Rizzo insists that this is more than a donut shop. “We used to come here all the time in high school at night after cross-country meets,” he says.

Rizzo can’t talk about running without mentioning his high-school roots. As a freshman at Schaumburg High, he joined cross-country to get in shape for wrestling. But the cross-country coach, Jim Macnider, convinced him to change his focus.

“He pinned me against the wall and said if I continued to wrestle, it would be the biggest mistake of my life,” Rizzo says.

“I’d say Pat’s embellishing the story, but yes, I did tell him he’d be making a mistake,” says Macnider, who had coached Patrick’s brother, Tony, three years earlier. “I was looking forward to coaching Pat, thinking, wow, if he’s as good as his brother… Well, he’s a different type than his brother—not as high strung, a lot more coachable, and very passionate.”

Rizzo proved a valuable asset to the Saxons, sealing his high-school career with an eighth place finish at the state championships. But Macnider suspected he would really hit his stride in longer events. It was a hunch he shared with Al Carius, Rizzo’s coach at North Central College in Naperville.

Carius has built a cross-country dynasty at North Central, leading the Cardinals to 33 conference championships and 12 Division III national championships. Still, he has no problem separating Rizzo from the crowd.

“When you get someone like Rizzo, it’s a coach’s dream,” Carius says. “They have the personality and the characteristics that as a coach, all you need to do is reinforce.”

He adds, “He’s not someone to look at and say, ‘Wow, he’s got blazing speed.’ In a race, he knew he had to grind people down to be competitive at higher levels.”

And he did. At North Central, Rizzo grinded his way to seven All-American titles in cross-country and track, multiple conference titles and a 10K PR of 29:38. You could say his best work was yet to come.

In for the Long Run

Less than one percent of Division III athletes go on to compete professionally, but Rizzo wasn’t ready to give up his running career after graduation. “I told Al [Carius] that I wanted to keep running, and he told me, “Whatever you want to become, surround yourself with it,” Rizzo says.

Carius’ words led Rizzo to the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project in Rochester Hills, Mich., a program that recruits talented distance runners and seeks to develop them into Olympians. Along with training and competing together, the 12 runners on the men’s team live together and work part-time in the Hansons running stores.

The program was exactly what Rizzo was looking for. The only problem was he didn’t make the team’s standard, a 2:20 marathon. Rizzo had run his first and only marathon, Chicago 2006, in 2:20:12. Despite this, Coaches Keith and Kevin Hanson decided to give Rizzo a shot—and are glad they did.

“Patrick was one of those athletes who when he came in, was at that fringe,” Keith Hanson says. “He has proven that not only does he belong, but he’s one of the leaders in our program.”

That’s not to say it’s been an easy ride for Rizzo. In February 2008, he and a teammate were on a training run when a Jeep took a turn on black ice and fishtailed. Rizzo couldn’t jump out of the way fast enough, was knocked unconscious and landed on his hip. His injury gave him only four weeks of training before Boston 2008, where he ran a sub-par 2:24:27.

Some athletes might have taken that as a sign to take a step back. For Rizzo, it was incentive to prove himself the next time around.

“What motivates me is seeing how well I can do and knowing how much other people have helped me to get where I am,” Rizzo says. “I know what my high school and college coaches could have run, but both of them gave that up to coach athletes like me.”

Sweet Home, Chicago

Rizzo is the only member of his team running the 2009 Chicago Marathon. He is passing up the opportunity to compete in the USA Men’s Marathon Championship, the New York Marathon on Nov. 2. The decision is highly personal.

“There’s something that’s always beneficial about the home crowd,” Rizzo says. “My friends from high school and college—they’re all here. And I know Mac’s gonna be out there with a megaphone …”

Indeed, Macnider will be manning an aid station at mile 16, along with 300 band and cross-country kids. North Central’s cross-country and track team will be on the course as well.

Rizzo’s whole family plans to run alongside him, catching him at as many points possible. Older brother Tony, who broke both legs serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, can’t run anymore, so he plans to track his brother on a computer, calling the family on their cell phones to alert them of his location.

“We’re so proud of him. We never thought he’d get this far,” says mom Phyllis.

How much further can go? “If he can stay healthy for the next three to four years, there’s no reason he can’t get down to the 2:10-2:11 range,” Keith Hanson says.

“Ideally, I would like to make an Olympic Team, but it’s something I have no control over,” says Rizzo. “All I can do is run as well as I can, and if there are three people better than me, it’s damn good for the country.”