by Larry EderFace it, the Bank of America Chicago marathon is like no other marathon in the world. Not only is it fast up front, the but the 40,000 plus citizen runners love the race, as Carey Pinkowski and his team put together a great course, strong aid stations, a great expo and a city where pasta is worshiped. Chicago has built itself into the archetype of a major city marathon. B of A Chicago celebrates the Windy city and runners love it! (One of the major reasons why the Marathon Major marathons are so successful is that each has found its niche, and its local currency).
Bank of America Chicago Marathon celebrates, well, the city of Chicago. The promise of the Midwest, the focal point of most Chicago area runners entire year of training and racing. And you can run fast here, whether you are looking for a 2:05 marathon or a Boston qualifier.
One final note: If you can not find great pasta in Chicago, then, dear reader, you just were not looking.
Moses Mosop, 2011 Nike Pre Classic 25k/30k WR, photo by PhotoRun.net
The release speaks about how the East Africans will keep the pace fast and competitive. I look at two guys right now, Moses Mosop, second fastest man EVER, at 2011 Boston Marathon, and Ryan Hall, fastest American man EVER, under any conditions, in 2011 Boston Marathon, will be duking it out across 26.2 miles of Chicago’s finest streets.
Last June, Moses broke the World records, on the track for 25k and 30k, by running 75 laps of a 400 meter track, with the last 20 laps by himself! The guy is just an animal. Ryan Hall has more talent in his big toe on his right foot than some nations.
Making a 2:04 look easy, Ryan Hall, 2011 Boston Marathon, photo by PhotoRun.net
If you do not think Mosop and Hall want to run fast, then you just do not get it. Hall, who is training well and answers to a higher authority (he listed God as his coach in recent USADA form), and Mosop, who has the 25k and 30k world records from last summer, wants a big win under his belt. These two are on a collision course. Let’s see what they do on October 9!
East African Contingent Plans to Push the Pace at
2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
2008 Champion Evans Cheruiyot Returns to Chicago After Two-Year Injury Layoff; 2011 Race Could Be One for the Record Books
CHICAGO — The Bank of America Chicago Marathon today
announced several additions to its elite field that figure to spearhead
the elite pack and push a potential world-record pace on October 9.
On the men’s side, 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion
Evans Cheruiyot is back to regain his title and will face off against
fellow Kenyan Bernard Kipyego, the silver medalist at the 2009 IAAF
World Half-Marathon Championships. They will be joined by sub 2:06
athletes Bazu Worku (2:05:25) and Getu Feleke (2:05:44) of Ethiopia.
The women’s elite field welcomes Ethiopian aces Atsede Habtamu
Besuye, the 2009 Berlin Marathon winner, and Askale Tafa, champion of
the 2007 Dubai and Paris Marathons.
“These athletes round out an elite field that is not only
dynamic, but has the potential to attack the record books. If the
weather is good, there could be some reshuffling of not just the Bank
of America Chicago Marathon records, but also the list of all-time
fastest certified marathons,” said Executive Race Director Carey
Pinkowski. “You’re looking at a field that is not going to be afraid to
push the pace with a mix of young, fearless athletes, and seasoned
performers who have tasted victory and success at the marathon
distance.”
After capturing the 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon title
in a personal best 2:06:25, Cheruiyot was sidelined by injuries in 2009
and 2010, but he resurged at the 2011 Dubai Marathon with a runner-up
finish. Kipyego is a half-marathon specialist with a 59:10 personal
best and a silver medal from the 2009 IAAF World Half-Marathon
Championships. He ran 2:07:01 in his debut at the 2010 Rotterdam
Marathon and turned in a 1:00:09 tune-up race in warm conditions at the
Lille Half-Marathon in France on September 3. They will be joined by
fellow Kenyan Dickson Kiptolo Chumba, the 2011 Rome Marathon champion.
Worku brings the third fastest personal best to the men’s field
behind Kenya’s Moses Mosop (2:03:06) and America’s Ryan Hall (2:04:58).
As an 18-year-old, Worku became the fastest teenager to cover 26.2
miles after his 2:06:16 debut at the 2009 Paris Marathon. He improved
his time to 2:05:25 the following year in Berlin. Feleke won the 2010
Amsterdam Marathon in a course record 2:05:44. Ethiopians Bekana Daba,
the 2011 Houston Marathon winner and course record holder (2:07:04), and
Terefe Maregu will also be on the start line.
After serving as a pacer-maker at the 2010 Bank of America
Chicago Marathon, Ireland’s Martin Fagan returns to contest the full
distance. The Irish national record holder in the half-marathon
(1:00:57) will aim for John Treacy’s Irish record of 2:09:15.
Australia’s Shawn Forest will make his marathon debut after running a
half-marathon personal best of 1:01:25 (No. 6 all-time for Australia) in
the spring.
Besuye ran a personal best 2:24:47 to score a World Marathon
Major victory at the 2009 Berlin Marathon, which she followed up with
another win at the 2010 Eindhoven Marathon. Besuye ran 1:08:29 at the
2007 World Half-Marathon Championships at age 19–the fastest ever by a
teenager. Tafa’s personal best of 2:21:31 ranks second in the women’s
elite field behind two-time defending champion Liliya Shobukhova of
Russia, and she has a wealth of WMM experience with top five finishes
at the Boston, London and Berlin Marathons.
Ethiopia’s Belainesh Zemedkun Gebre, an up-and-comer who won the
2010 Honolulu Marathon in her debut and ran 1:09:17 at the Prague
Half-Marathon in March, and Cruz Nonata da Silva, one of the top
Brazilian distance runners, were also added to the women’s field.
Elite Men Moses Mosop Ryan HalL Bazu Worku Getu Feleke Evans Cheruiyot Marilson Dos Santos Bernard Kipyego Bekana Daba Atsushi Sato Joshua Chelenga Wesley Korir Dickson Kiptolo Chumba Terefe Maregu Takayuki Matsumiya Takashi Horiguchi Kouji Gokaya Joseph Chirlee Hironori Arai Masaki Shimoju Jason Gutierrez Yuuki Moriwaki Martin Fagan Shawn Forrest | KEN | 2:03:06 |
Elite Women Liliya Shobukhova Askale Tafa Inga Abitova Benita Willis Wei Yanan Maria Konovalova Christelle Daunay Atsede Besuye Yue Cao Belainesh Gebre Kayoko Fukushi Cruz Nonata da Silva | RUS | 2:20:15 |
About the Bank of America Chicago Marathon
In its 34th year and a member of the World Marathon Majors, the
Bank of America Chicago Marathon annually attracts 45,000
participants, including a world-class elite runner and wheelchair field,
and an estimated 1.7 million spectators. As a result of its national
and international draw, each year, the iconic race assists in raising
millions for a variety of charitable causes while generating $170
million in economic impact to its host city according to a report by
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Regional Economics
Applications Laboratory (R.E.A.L.). The 2011 Bank of America Chicago
Marathon will start and finish in Chicago’s Grant Park beginning
at 7:30 a.m. on October 9. In advance of the race, a two-day Health
& Fitness Expo will be held at McCormick Place Convention Center on
October 7-8.
