Speaking once with some fellow runners, I was asked what was my running obsession, that thing, that once achieved, would give me the full satisfaction, even if it was the last running thing I could do.
The answer to that question at the time was: a sub 3-hour marathon.
At the time I could not even imagine to run a marathon that fast, even the half distance in half the time was an unachievable goal…
…well at Chicago I proved to myself I was very wrong!
The Training
The training started more or less a few weeks after my London marathon (April 2023), just to give me and Alba the time to move into our new Low Fell house; so is more correct to say that the training never stopped since January 2023.
In those 17 months of training things have been pretty smooth, I have been lucky enough to avoid major injuries or stops during the training.
The 2024 season started with a good PB on the half-marathon distance in the Brass Monkey (1h23min) followed by another PB on the same distance (1h22min) in Sunderland. With various PBs on the 5km distance for the first time since 2021, those numbers gave me some confidence and confirmed that all the hard training was giving some result.
The support of Saltwell and in particular of Sam Harrison and James Young in training and in races has been essential to push me a bit over the limit.
But all fairy tales have an end!
Moving to Spain has significantly jeopardised my training and my positive spirit.
The heat of Tarragona immediately made my running much harder, in order to complete my last long runs I had to wake up at 4am to have breakfast and hit the road by 6am, and despite this, the last part of the run in the Spanish sun was extremely difficult; also my idea of long and flat coastal roads quickly crashed against the reality of small beaches surrounded by steep rocks that need to be climbed.
I would never imagine to miss the cold Tyne riviera weather and its flat profile!
The new job, the search for a flat, the new diet and the difficulties of moving to a new country added a lot of stress to my mind making the conclusion of the training extremely challenging.
The trip to Chicago
The trip to the States ended up to be more stressful than expected. On Tuesday, after an hour drive to Barcelona, I discovered my flight to Edinburgh was delayed, this meant no chance to catch the last train to the Toon. So, I ended up on a 1am Megabus that took me in my Gateshead house just after 4am.
On Wednesday after some last solo reps on the Team Valley, packing all my gear and after a last visit to Scott for a massage, I managed to have a good 5 hour sleep before waking up at 3am to reach Newcastle Airport. The flight to London and then to Chicago was smooth enough, except for the seat allocation on the plane.
Finally we reached the hotel and I could try to relax for the first time in many days trying to focus only on the race.
However the “maranoia” is always ready to show up, and maybe due to the stress or due to the American abuse of aircon, I started to have a very dry throat. To calm it down I was drinking gallons of water per day, stopping every second for a wee.
Friday morning we visited the expo, picked up the number for the marathon and enjoyed the international vibes of people all around the world talking only about the race and the pace strategy or the race route. After a small jog on Lake Shore Drive, some carb loading and a blues concert we had a really early night.
Saturday – one more sleep and 5km race
Another early morning again to race with Alba in the Chicago 5km.
A very lovely event in a sunny morning, and also the chance to verify that the GPS in downtown is not working at all due to the skyscrapers; good to know before the race, so that I was mentally prepared to run “naked” for the first 5km of the marathon.
Carb load at Quartinos restaurant didn’t impress me, as I was forced to eat some Alfredo pasta to avoid the abuse of garlic or spices in the other pasta sauce options.
After a river tour and a Chicago Bulls game I had a proper pasta dish in a very nice Italian restaurant and a peppermint tea before going to bed. Almost in good spirits!
To the start
Wake up at 4.30am (race start time was 7.30am) to have my usual breakfast but no coffee to drink as all the coffee shops around were still closed.
5.30 am we are on the road walking to the start line in a fresh and clear morning with no wind and surrounded by thousands of runners. I started to feel very excited and the coffee picked up on the way to the start gave me a good kick.
6am, goodbye to Alba, security check, toilet stop (thank God for the coffee), a wee, a banana, another wee, mental checks of all the things I needed (gels, water etc), bag drop, extra wee.
Sam, Claire, Alba and my coach texted me some last minute tips (thanks Sam for the 40% rule, it was absolutely a blessing mantra to have in mind on the day).
7am I am into the corral where I found the cousin of my cousin (is not a joke) and another wee in a plastic bottle (never been so happy to be a man).
American anthem, minute of silence in memory of Kelvin Kiptum and the elites started.
I tried to find some focus and motivation and at 7.30am I crossed the line very excited and ready to run.
The race
As mentioned, the watch is useless in the first 5km, so I tried my best not to go out too fast and to focus on breathing and heart rate.
At 3 miles mark I could check my exact time and pace against a temporary tattoo on my arm that was showing the time to pass each mile for a 3 hour marathons. I passed the 3rd mile in over 21minutes so around 40second too slow than expected (time expected 20:36). But the watch started to work properly and the big shout of Alba from the side give me a good boost.
Looking only at the blue line on the floor I managed to reach the 10km faster than expected, the route made a turn and I was heading back to downtown, trying to keep an eye always on the blue line and taking the positive vibes from the crowd I reached the half marathon point in 1h and 28 minutes, almost a 2 minute margin for my 3h goal.
Alba was supposed to be there but no chance to see her, the crowd was just roaring at the runners, the speakers were playing the Black Eyed Peas and I felt extremely energetic while moving to the west loop.
23km in and I started to feel some of the fatigue, my left calf was a bit tight and the crowd was slowly disappearing, I passed little Italy that was a bit of a ghost town (stupid Italian descendants) but, not sure how, my watch kept showing me a good 4’05” per km pace and the tattoo on my arm was still saying that I am 2 minutes ahead of the game! But we all know that after 30km is unknown territory.
The route turned and we were pointing east again. 29km and I started to be very tired, another gel, some Gatorade and the blessing of the Latino community appearing on the street: Reggaeton, flags, screams, dances, applauses. Gracias, os quiero!!!
33km, the pace still right but I was too scared to check my tattoo now, the fatigue was intense and the calf not getting better, the 40% mantra of Sam, the fake smile and the hope to see Alba in few km kept me going.
The route turn south for the last loop, 35km and Alba was not there, I was devastated, I really needed some support, I started to be very thirsty and despite drinking a sip of water every 3-5km from the start I felt dehydrated, I can’t think to take another gel, so I just keep going repeating my mantra, smiling at the crowd that finally start to intensify and focusing on the blue line on the floor.
The route turns north, the last stretch!
40km and Alba was there screaming my name (and hitting on the face another spectator in the excitement). The pace dropped to 4’15” per km in the last kilometres but I found the braveness to look at my tattoo at mile 24 and, I was still in the game! Just over 1 minute margin.
In my mind I could only focus on the fishing line, the excitement giving me shivers along the neck.
41km I could almost see the right bent that takes me to the small hill and the finish line.
The pathetic hill over-mentioned in any instagram video (definitely not existing if you have finished every run of the last 6 months by reaching the top of Beaconsfield Avenue — thanks Walter), sharp turn on the left and I could see the finish line.
400m to go, the watch still showing a solid 2h at the front, a last push and the magic happened: 2:58:45!
The after race
As after every marathon I felt super emotional crossing the line, so I almost cried a bit.
After a lot of water, two bananas, a non-alcoholic beer and after picking up my medal I sit down and wait for Alba looking at the skyline of Chicago.
On my side the stand of the Boston marathon, yes I managed to qualify for it, this is the cherry on the cake, maybe I will not get a place in Boston due to the numbers of applicants (meaning that I will need to run another marathon even faster, or when older) but I met the Boston standard, maybe Joanna and me will run it together in 2026!
What I learned in Chicago
- Drinking from a paper cup is easier if you squash the top of it and you drink from one of the corners.
- Fake smiling is a great way to fool your brain and take the fatigue away (yes you will look like a psychopath in all the pictures, but you know, you must be a bit crazy to run a marathon anyway).
- Keep always an empty bottle with you at the start line, can be a saver.
- Americans are great supporter, but British people do it better, crowd vote to Chicago is a 8/10, London had a 9/10.
- The North East is better place for running training than Spain.
- If you want to be sure to see your supporter in Chicago marathon send them to little Italy.
- Never stop running halfway through an hill! Always reach the top of it!
- If you train hard enough, you can achieve goals that seems not achievable.
Some statistics (for number freaks)
The training involved more or less:
- 3274km of running
- 290 training session (not including gym or cycling session)
- 243 hours of running
- 21946m of positive elevation
Riccardo Antico
