the chicago marathon

"We are probably the only team that can't complain about fitness drills; our coaches all run marathons," said Trinity Trojan Women's Soccer player Heidi Ebersole. Coaches Patrick, Jeanne and Kelvin all trained for the marathon this Fall.

A handful of us woke up early enough to watch the sunrise on the Metra traveling from Lake Forest to Chicago Sunday. No, we weren't checking up on the church plant in Pilsen - Yes, we were consciously missing the 11am service at CCLF, or any service for that matter, to attend the 2006 Chicago Marathon.

We weren't like every other spectator; the night before we were scheming a plan to aid our coaches, specifically Assistant Coach Kelvin Tohme, in completing the marathon by tag-teaming from mile 11 to the finish. Despite poor planning, with editions made on the train ride to the city, we all embarked on a journey to our respective mile markers.

A few of us hit up the Start of the race before we reported to our posts. When the start of the race sounded, hundreds of runners tore off their jackets and threw them into the air. There were abandoned clothes on the edges of all of the miles of the racetrack. The homeless and volunteers alike were sifting through the garments to find desired coats, sweatshirts and fleece pull-overs. The marathon could double as a clothes-drive.

Tami and I were responsible for miles 11 through 14. I programmed my phone to be notified by text message when Kelvin, in his orange top and white hat, reached the 15k marker (9.5ish miles). We were freezing our tails off on mile 11 waiting for him to run by with the 3.55 hour paced group. I saw a guy already pass that was wearing an orange top and white hat, but we thought it couldn't be Kelvin because I hadn't received a text or word from a contact posted a mile behind.

After waiting in the cold 20 minutes I called Abby and Nicole at mile 14 to be on the lookout. Tami and I were determined to catch up so we took off with the runners, taking short cuts when available and just trying to get to mile 17 by foot before Kelvin could. After racing against the race for 3 miles, Tami and I were lost, so we made our way back to Michigan Avenue and the finish line.

Abby and Nicole successfully found Kelvin at mile 14 and the tag-team continued to work, even after several revisions near the end. Serena was holding Kelvin up by her shoulder by mile 20 and continued to run in the marathon after being escorted off twice by police officers. Michelle and Sal made it through the finish line and somehow managed to get medals - funny stuff.

Coach Patrick, Jeanne, and Kelvin - and Kelvin's fiance Anne - all successfully finished the 26.2 miles on Sunday.