RUPP LOOKS TO REAP BENEFITS
Defending men’s champ happy to see return of pacesetters
‘‘Snow is not that bad, as long as it doesn’t make you slip,’’ Henry Kozlowski said Thursday.
Kozlowski is one of five men who ran the first 40 Chicago marathons and will line up again for the 41st Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
The last race day with snow was Oct. 31, 1993. Snow is not something we will see Sunday, but there are other things to watch.
♦ On the men’s side, the biggest change is the return of rabbits (pacesetters).
‘‘Talking to some of the athletes, they said they want to get going, this is a fast course,’’ executive race director Carey Pinkowski said. ‘‘We will have two strong gentlemen up front.’’
♦ Galen Rupp, back to defend his title, said: ‘‘I am so happy there are pacesetters.’’
Rupp is coming off a personal record of 2:06:07 in Prague.
“I always believed I was capable of running a time like that,’’ he said.
♦ Don’t expect any world records from the elite field of men and women. Pinkowski, however, did say at the kickoff news conference on Thursday: ‘‘I would love to see the world record back in Chicago.’’
Afterward he clarified that he meant at some point, but did not expect it this year.
Of the elite men, Ethiopian Mosinet Geremew has the best PR (2:04), short of the Chicago record (2:03:45, Dennis Kimetto, Kenya, Oct. 13, 2013) and world record (2:01:39, Eliud Kipchoge, Kenya, Sept. 16, 2018, Berlin Marathon).
♦Don’t expect any women’s records either, but interesting sidebars are in place.
Ethiopian Roza Dereje has the top PR of 2:19:17, well short of the Chicago best (2:17:18, Paula Radcliffe, Great Britain, Oct. 13, 2002) and world record (2:15:25, Radcliffe, April 13, 2003, London Marathon).
But a late entry to watch is Kenyan Florence Kiplagat (PR of 2:19:44), who won in Chicago in ’15 and ’16.
Maybe the most intriguing story on the women’s side is Gwen Jorgensen, who is running her second marathon after taking gold in the triathlon in Rio.
♦ If there is a record, look to the wheelchair races, which are usually very competitive.
Australian Kurt Fearnley has won five of the nine wheelchair marathons in Chicago and lost the other four by a total of five seconds.
‘‘I love this course,’’ he said.‘‘The final 400 has been good to me.’’
The corners and slight uphill in the closing yards separate wheelers and runners alike.
♦ Another new mark could come from Joan Benoit Samuelson. She is aiming to break the age-group record for 60-64-yearolds of 3:01:30.
♦ Weather forecasts fluctuated all week, but there is at least a possibility of rain. ‘‘Rain is bad, your shoes get wet, then you get blisters,’’ said Kozlowski, who hopes to finish in about six hours.
The last rain on race day was Oct. 22, 2006.
♦ For the first time in years, there’s no overlap with the Cubs in the playoffs. If they had won the wild-card game, they would have been hosting the Brewers on Sunday night in a possible deciding game.
‘‘I will tell you why I am sad the Cubs are not playing, Galen Rupp, our defending champion, is a huge Cubs fan and his father grew up in Maywood just west of here and is a huge Cubs fan,’’ Pinkowski said. ‘‘It would have been great for Galen to come here and defend his title, then go up and watch the Cubs.’’
Last year, Rupp celebrated his title bytaking in a Cubs game, then the Bears on Monday night.
The Bears are in a bye week. Pinkowski said the Bears are very cooperative with scheduling away games or byes the Sunday of the marathon.