I can say that I am now a different person from the time I started the Chicago Marathon at the starting line to finishing it when I crossed the finish line. This 26.2 mile course challenged me, and it was such a wonderful opportunity to compete in. As an avid runner, I have ran in numerous half marathons and ten mile races, but this race was different. This I consider the monster of races. With thousands of fans and runners supporting you along the race it is an experience someone should have. I have spent months training for this race, and I will share some of my experiences while on the course on Sun Oct. 13 2019.

For those who are fans of vlogs and videos, I made sure to make one describing my experience. Please check out my video for more insight.

I Ran My First Marathon: 2019 Chicago Marathon Race Weekend Vlogwww.youtube.com

As soon as I arrived at the marathon, I made sure to hydrate and get my last snack before the race. I had a banana and I went to my assigned coral after I put my items in gear check. As soon as it was time to run I was excited. The runners were all excited and the crowds were cheering. The first half of the race went to the north side of Chicago. After leaving the loop at mile 2, the crowds started to become more calmer and this is where I decided to focus on my pace. I did not want to go out to fast. There were still crowds cheering, but not as loud in the loop. From miles 2-10 I made sure to focus on why I ran this race, and I kept my pace at 9 minutes per mile approximately.

Along the course on the north side, I was able to see some of my close friends and some students who knew me at DePaul University. Seeing some of my close friends and acquaintances made my day. As soon as I approached the halfway mark, 13.1 miles I knew that the second half would be more difficult then the first half. The next part of the course from miles 13-20 is where the runners competed on the west side of the city. At mile 15, I was still running strong, but I knew that I was starting to slow down. As a result, I put in my headphones and let the music guide me forward along the way. I made a marathon playlist that made me focus on running and the music pumped me up along the way.

As soon as I got to mile 20 I started to feel pain and I knew the music would not be able to pick me up through the race. Along the way I stopped at various water stations to hydrate, and at mile 21 I was lucky enough to stop at a bio freeze station. The bio freeze is meant to cool down any pains and serves as a temporary pain killer. I put it on and by mile 22 I was feeling much better. The next few miles were the hardest, and I knew I was almost done, but still had a few miles left go to. The south side of the race is considered the hardest in the course. As soon as I got to mile 23, we started heading north which is where the finish line is at and I could not be happier.

By mile 24 I took off my headphones and let the crowd take me to the finish line. I slowly started speeding up and by mile 25 I had one more mile to go and I used them to get to the finish line. Once I got to mile 26, I sprinted the last 0.2 miles and I headed to the finish line. I was in pain after the race but I was so excited how I finished the marathon. My final time was 4:27:58 minutes. I wanted anything under 4:30:00 and I was happy that I finished faster than my goal. I want people to know that running a marathon may seem like grueling work, but it will all pay off in the end.