Best of Competitor 2009: Chicago Region
Every year we ask you to make some serious choices. In your opinion, what are the best local bike shops and running stores? Which short- and long-distance running, triathlon and cycling events give you the best bang for your buck?
Below is Competitor Magazine’s Best of 2009 for Chicago. Thank you for taking the time and for your feedback!
Click here to see other regions.
Best Running Store
Fleet Feet
Best Bike Shop
Get a Grip
Best Outdoor Store
REI
Best Brew Pub
Goose Island
Best Energy Drink
Fluid Recovery
Best Sports Injury Clinic
Chicago Spine and Sports
Best Event Swag
Hot Chocolate 15K
Best Half Marathon
Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago
Best Marathon
Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Best Cycling Event
Bike the Drive
Best Triathlon Club
Chicago Tri Club
Best Triathlon Shop
Element MultiSport
Best Triathlon
Chicago Triathlon
Best Health Club
Fitness Formula Club
Sixteen And Scary Fast
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 again older talents such as recently crowned Nike Nationals winner Craig Lutz of Texas. Watch the action live at 10:00 AM Saturday
Footlocker Midwest Regional Recap
Goethals and Verzbicas capture first place titles in Kenosha, Wis.
Source: Kenny Fried/Footlocker Cross Country Championships
Megan Goethals of Rochester, Mich., and Lukas Verzbicas of Orland Hills, Ill., won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships (FLCCC) Midwest Regional today. The girls’ race began with a pack of ten runners, led by Goethals, Emily Sisson from Chesterfield, Mo., and Sara Kroll from Westland, Mich. After the two-mile mark, Goethals and Sisson separated from the pack, with Goethals securing the title in 17:24. Five of the top ten finishers are repeat qualifiers for the National Finals. Goethals is a two-time Midwest Regional Champion (2008 and 2009) and Sisson is a four-time qualifier.
In the boys’ race, Verzbicas took an early lead, followed by a small pack of runners, including Walter Schafer from Centennial, Colo., and Tyler Byrne from Georgetown, Ind. Verzbicas crossed the finish line in first place in 15:34, followed by Schafer in 15:41 and Byrne in 15:46.
The top ten boys and the top ten girls in today’s seeded races qualified to compete against runners from the Northest, South and West Regional meets in the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals, on Saturday, Dec.12 at Morley Field, Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif.
Boys Qualifiers
Place Name Hometown High School Time
1) Lukas Verzbicas Orland Hills, Ill. Carl Sandburg High School (10) 15:34
2) Walter Schafer Centennial, Colo. Cherry Creek High School (12) 15:41
3) Tyler Byrne Georgetown, Ind. North Harrison High School (12) 15:46
4) Nathan Karr Ann Arbor, Mich. Ann Arbor Pioneer High School (12) 15:46
5) Scott Fauble Golden, Colo. Wheat Ridge High School (12) 15:47
6) Martin Grady Burr Ridge, Ill. Fenwick High School (12) 15:47
7) Colby Alexander Strongsville, Ohio Strongsville High School (12) 15:49
8) Ryan Poland Westminster, Colo. Denver Christian High School (12) 15:50
9) Danny Nicolls Parker, Colo. Regis Jesuit High School (12) 15:55
10) Chris Walden Carmel, Ind. Carmel High School (11) 15:55
Girls Qualifiers
Place Name Hometown High School Time
1) Megan Goethals Rochester, Mich. Rochester High School (12) 17:24
2) Emily Sisson Chesterfield, Mo. Parkway Central High School (12) 17:42
3) Katie Flood Des Moines, Iowa Dowling Catholic High School (12) 17:48
4) Ashlie Decker Des Moines, Iowa Dowling Catholic High School (12) 17:51
5) Kelsey Lakowske Boulder, Colo. Boulder High School (11) 17:52
6) Diane Robison Chesterfield, Mo. Parkway Central High School (12) 18:09
7) Sara Kroll Westland, Mich. Livonia Churchill High School (12) 18:15
8) Avery Clifton Topeka, Kan. Washburn Rural High School (12) 18:16
9) Marya Haegler Cascade, Wis. Winnebago Lutheran Academy (12) 18:17
10) Shannon Osika Waterford, Mich. Waterford Mott High School (11) 18:37
Click Here For Photos!
Sammy Wanjiru Takes Chicago Title And Course Record
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.
Returning to Run Chicago
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.”
Mackinac Island Road Trip For Runners
People may think of Mackinac Island as a summer destination, but it closes out the fall season with a memorable half marathon
Great Turtle Half Marathon Photo: Courtesy of Gault Race Management
Runners are used to their races being closed to traffic. But on Mackinac Island, that isn’t necessary.
The car-free island located just to the east of the Mackinac Strait, which separates Michigan’s two peninsulas, is a throwback to the Victorian age. Horses and carriages or bicycles provide all of the transportation on the island, which is reached by a 15-minute ferry ride from the mainland.
The island became a tourist destination in the late 1800s, as wealthy vacationers from Chicago, Erie, Montreal and Detroit would come to Mackinac Island (pronounced MACK-in-awe) for the cooler weather and spectacular scenery. The island’s signature landmark, the Grand Hotel, was built in 1887 to accommodate the growing number of visitors. Featuring the “longest front porch in the world,” the hotel serves as a good symbol for the island’s draw—beautifully manicured gardens, Victorian architecture and an embrace of a slower-paced time when people dressed for dinner and lounged in rocking chairs.
While the island celebrates its historic roots, that’s not to say you’re limited to Victorian age entertainment (after all, you can even follow the Grand Hotel on Twitter). For athletes, the island offers more than just carriage rides and fudge shops—and the fall is the perfect time to take advantage of fewer tourists and better prices.
The 14th running of the Great Turtle Half Marathon is expected to draw 1,300 participants on Oct. 24. It’s the last weekend of the tourist season, and race organizers take full advantage of the late fall weather and special events on the island to make for a memorable running experience.
The course starts at the Mission Point Resort (missionpoint.com) and follows the shoreline to provide great views of Lake Huron and the Arch Rock Formation. It then moves to the interior of the island where most of the course is run on bike paths and paved roads. Mackinac Island is only about 4 square miles in area—and half marathon runners explore much of it. If you’re not up for the half, the event also includes a 5.7-mile distance (and a chance to set that 5.7 mile PR).
Save some energy to also visit the Mackinac Island State Park, which occupies 80 percent of the island and features 61 miles of roads and trails (mackinacparks.com). You can hike, bike or ride horses through the park to see the fall colors and impressive views of the lake from the limestone bluffs.
Or you can save that for another day and take it easy in a rocking chair, reading a book, and enjoying the sounds of four-legged traffic.
And don’t forget the fudge—you’ll have earned it.
For more information, visit www.runmackinac.com.
Potts, Warriner Victorious In Michigan
American Andy Potts and New Zealander Samantha Warriner claimed wins at the Ironman 70.3 Steelhead in Benton Harbor, Mich.
Unlike last year, Benton Harbor provided ideal conditions for athletes to race the Ironman 70.3 Steelhead. While the 2008 race was turned into a duathlon due to rough water conditions, this year’s event featured sunshine and highs in the low 80s, providing for a standard half-ironman 70.3-mile race. Potts is a University of Michigan Alum and took advantage of the opportunity to race in the state of Michigan, walking away with a win against a tough men’s field. Warriner stepped away from the ITU series for the weekend and showed she can still bode well at the half-Ironman distance by beating out race-favorite, Great Britain’s Leanda Cave.
American John Kenny did something most triathletes aren’t capable of, and beat Potts out of the water by a margin of nearly 30 seconds at 21:48. Potts emerged second, with New Zealand’s Kieran Doe hot on his heels. Doe and Potts quickly overtook Kenny and battled for the lead spot on the bike. American Andrew Starykowicz quietly worked his way up the pack, and joined Doe and Potts up front. Starykowicz quickly left the pair behind, working to manage his growing lead. The American headed into T2 with a significant lead after posting by-far the fastest bike split of the day at 2:05:45. Potts then Doe followed Starykowicz onto the run and hoped the biker wouldn’t be able to carry that speed onto the half-marathon. Potts hammered the run, passing Starykowicz around the 8.5-mile mark and earning the victory with an overall time of 3:54:38. Starykowicz earned second at 3:56:44, with Doe rounding out the top-three at 3:59:31.
In the women’s race, Cave turned in her usual stellar performance on the swim and emerged at 24:22. Nearly a minute later, Warriner entered T1, with Germany’s Nina Kraft not far behind. Warriner quickly took the lead from Cave and hammered the 56 miles in a time of 2:22:57. Cave came into T2 comfortably in second place and ready to see if she could run down Warriner. Unlike Starykowicz, Warriner was able to carry her speed from the bike to the run and posted a half-marathon time of 1:27:00 to give her the overall victory at 4:17:57. Cave’s strong performances on the swim and bike were enough to allow her to hold on to second at 4:25:12. Kraft ran her way from fifth position to third with a time of 4:26:22. While she missed the top-three by less than a minute, American Kelly Williamson turned in the fastest half-marathon of the field at 1:22:43 to move her way from ninth off of the bike to fourth at the finish.
Ironman 70.3 Steelhead
Benton Harbor, Mich. - August 1, 2009
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run
Men
1. Andy Potts (USA) 3:54:38
2. Andrew Starykowicz (USA) 3:56:44
3. Kieran Doe (NZL) 3:59:31
4. Greg Remaly (USA) 4:00:04
5. Sean Bechtel (CAN) 4:03:46
Women
1. Samantha Warriner (NZL) 4:17:57
2. Leanda Cave (GBR) 4:25:12
3. Nina Kraft (GER) 4:26:22
4. Kelly Williamson (USA) 4:27:10
5. Amanda Lovato (USA) 4:27:57
2009 Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon Press Conference Quotes
Kara Goucher and Frank Shorter at the press conference. Photo: Sean McKeon
Competitor Running’s Sean McKeon was at the 2009 Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon press conference and caught some of the best quotes from American star Kara Goucher and legend Frank Shorter. Kara is running the race on Sunday and Frank won the race in 1977.
Click here for photos from the press conference.
Kara Goucher
On running the race: “This is a great time to get out and do something a little hard to break up the training block. I have 3 weeks to go on Sunday so it’s just a chance to execute a race plan and go through a dress rehearsal for Berlin.”
On the race: “It is one big start and there will be lots of men in there…It’s really about pushing myself and there will be lots of men out there for me to chase down. I’m not going to go out at a (1:06-07) hard pace but I would love to chase some people trying to run that down.”
On her Boston Marathon experience: “It was my favorite experience as a runner so far. I felt a little heartbroken in the end b/c I didn’t deliver for a lot of people. There’s just so much support and cheering…it was an incredible experience.”
On what happened to change her level of running as she hit her late twenties: “I am definitely a late bloomer, I have been in everything in my life actually. Things did change in my late twenties. I changed coaches, I moved and I started doing more overall bodywork. I was finally able to stay healthy and then I was able to take my training to a whole new level…Having the perspective in life and knowing that running isn’t the only thing that I can do well…so when I do race it really is just running.”
On running her own race versus running against competition: “I really don’t run for PRs, I think my PRs are pretty weak on the world standard and I think it is because my coach has me focused on being a good competitor and championship racer. So when I go to a big race I don’t’ think about my race I think about how to cover other people’s moves…It helps alleviate the pressure on me because I don’t really think until the end of the race, I just cover everybody else.”
On going back to the track: “I love going back to the track. I plan on going back to the track in 2011. I really want to go back and go to the world championships in the five (thousand meters) and ten (thousand meters). My heart is in the marathon and if I want to reach my true potential I need to do it in the marathon. 2012 is going to be all about the marathon.”
On throwing out the first pitch at the Chicago White Sox game: “My coach Alberto Salazar is so concerned about how I’m going to throw this pitch that we’ve been ending every workout throwing a pitch. It’s like more important than cooling down! (Alberto says) let’s get out and throw!”
Frank Shorter
On the race: “The great thing about running in Chicago is it is flat! So if you really want to set a PR and you have a good day like the weather we are having here you can run well.”
On the Kara’s use of the race as prep for Berlin: “The timing for the world championships is perfect because it allows you to go hard and then you also realize that because you have gone hard that you should rest because you are getting near that point in time when you need to back off.”
On his experiences when running this race: “I always loved to come to Chicago (to race this race) because of the heat. I am one of those weird people who loves to run in the heat.”
On the US beginning to understand that first is the only place to be proud of in a distance race: “If you think about it in this past Olympic games the telecasters finally began talking about medals other than gold. It has been a great shift. It is so great you (Kara) can have that performance in Boston and feel the way you do about it, rather than say you disappointed everyone because it is an all or nothing situation.”
On how running has changed over the past 30 years: “That was what I liked to call the first wave of the running boom and many of us were running and more focused on getting personal records…that was your measure of success. In the second wave of the running boom, today, in large part fueled by people who run for other people and other reasons, such as charities… A big part of what is fueling this second running boom are these runner’s for whom running fast doesn’t matter… I think it is a good difference and something that had to happen.”
Branson To Host Newest Ironman 70.3 Event
Ironman 70.3 Branson will be the latest addition to the Ironman 70.3 Event Series.
On September 19, 2010, the inaugural race will take place in the vacation destination of Branson, Missouri. Ironman 70.3 Branson will serve as one of 34 worldwide qualifying events for the 2010 Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, Fla. Professional athletes will be competing for a $25,000 prize purse.
The 1.2-mile swim will be held in the crystal clear waters of Table Rock Lake in the shadow of the host hotel, Chateau on the Lake Resort, Spa & Convention Center. Athletes will enjoy the ease of walking from the host hotel to the swim start on race morning. Read more
Watch Kara Goucher Race The Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon
Kara Goucher wins the women's 5000m at 2009 USA T&F Championships. Photo: Victah Sailer
Every step of the darling of American running’s August 2 race will be shown live on our exclusive “Kara Cam”.
The hottest name in American running today is Kara Goucher. The 31-year-old Nike Oregon Project athlete has been on a tear in recent years, winning a bronze medal at 10,000 meters in the 2007 World Championships, setting an American best of 1:06:57 in winning the 2007 Great North Run half marathon in England, winning the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials 5000m, and most recently winning the 2009 USA Outdoor Championships 5000m. Fans of American running can’t wait to see what Goucher will do next, and what she will do next is run the Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon on August 2 as a tune-up for the World Championships Marathon, to be held in Berlin in late August.
“I’m excited to be part of the first Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon,” Goucher said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to race as part of my preparations for the World Championships here on home soil, in one of the true great sporting cities. I’m very happy about the way my preparations have gone. I ran the trials in June and now it’s time to get back on the roads. I’m hoping to run well in Chicago and take that confidence into Berlin and give a good account of myself on the world stage.”
Goucher has never been beaten at the half-marathon distance. In addition to defeating marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe at the Great North Run in 2007, Goucher also won this year’s Lisbon Half Marathon in 1:08:30. She is unlikely to be challenged in Chicago, where the course record is 1:11:56, which is equivalent to marathon pace for Goucher, who finished third in the New York City Marathon last year and in the Boston Marathon this year.
Victory may be inevitable for Goucher, however, it remains to be seen just how fast she will go. And thanks to the Competitor.com “Kara Cam”, you can see how fast she goes in living color. The Kara Cam will provide a real-time video feed of Goucher’s race from start to finish, plus an immediate post-race interview. In addition to the video, Competitor.com will be offering a live blog of her race to enhance the coverage. The action starts at 6:30 AM central time. If you prefer not to get up that early on a Sunday, you can watch the archived video and blog on demand anytime thereafter.
Start getting psyched up for race day right now by watching our exclusive Competitor Q&A with Kara Goucher at the USA Championships in Eugene:
