2014 Chicago Marathon

Winner runs through the South Loop
Eliud Kipchope won the 2014 Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:04:11. For winning the race, Kipchope gets $155,000, which includes a time bonus. Rita Jeptoo won the women’s championship with a time of 2:24:35, successfully defending her Chicago title from the year before. American Amy Hastings came in fifth among the women, with a personal best time of 2:27:03.

45,000 runners made their way through the streets of Chicago today as part of the 37th Annual Chicago Marathon. Beginning and ending at Grant Park, the marathon travels around Chicago for 26.2 miles.

Around the South Loop

Getting Ready for 10-10-10
What a beautiful day Wednesday turned out to be! It felt like mid-June rather than early-October. The city is getting ready for this Sunday's Chicago Marathon. Barriers and risers have started to go up on Columbus Dr. Temporary tents and trailers are also in place east of Columbus Dr.

Gearing up for the 2010 Chicago Marathon on Columbus Dr. facing north

Light, Cameras, Action!
The TV crew for the new Fox TV show Ride-Along were filming in the South Loop by the Adler Planetarium. The notice below was displayed at the head of the caravan of movie trailers. For more information on the new series, Ride-Along starring Jennifer Beals, check out the Ride-Along Facebook page. To see how big the crew was, check yesterdays blog post.

Smile, you may be on TV.

The bike path along the lake by the Planetarium saw plenty of use. Boaters also took advantage of the beautiful, clear day.

The bike path was in use on Wednesday.

Twelfth Ave. Beach was empty, but the water lapping the shore was a pleasant and relaxing scene. Check out the video below to see just how beautiful it was.

2009 Chicago Marathon

Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru, the eventual marathon winner runs past 16th and S. Michigan Ave. to cheering crowds. Wanjiru set a new Chicago Marathon course record. His unofficial time stands at 2 hours 5 minutes and 40 seconds.

On a very cold morning that felt more like January than October, hundreds of spectators lined the streets around 16th and S. Michigan Ave. Always an exciting and dramatic place to watch the marathon, we were fortunate to time things just right and get Wanjiru’s photo as he ran toward victory.

While watching the elite runners go by, we’re reminded how grueling a marathon can be. One of the elite runners, stopped shortly and then started running in front of the Dunkin’ Donuts on the corner of 16th and S. Michigan. After a few moments, he started running again, to hopefully cross the finish line. Not too long after that runner took a break, a van with “Marathon Dropouts” emblazoned across its hood drove by with several runners sitting inside it. How disappointing to train for something for so long and then be branded a dropout!