CHICAGO | With the weather gauge quickly moving from the low 60s to the high 80s, participants in the 31st annual Chicago Marathon were not deterred in their quest to put their bodies through the ultimate test.
Slideshow: View photos from the Chicago Marathon.
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More than 33,000 runners, many hailing from Northwest Indiana, took to the streets of Chicago as veterans and newcomers battled the heat to enjoy the 26.2-mile race.
"This has been a natural progression for me," marathon rookie and Valparaiso resident Mike DeHaven said. "I did some 5K races, then some 10Ks and some half-marathons. Now was the time for the real thing."
DeHaven set a goal of three hours and 50 minutes and came up just short in 3:54:51, but the overage was of little consequence to the former Merrillville High School football player.
DeHaven has lost more than 60 pounds since he started running and was just happy to see the finish line in his first attempt.
"So many people go out with the idea that they want to get in shape and then they try to run three miles their first day," DeHaven said. "I got to this point by starting at a half-mile and even then I had to walk a little bit. Now I'm at the Chicago Marathon."
Valparaiso resident George Nietert has raced in countless marathons, and, in addition to sharing Sunday's race with his son Michael, the 55-year-old served as a pace setter for the rest of the field.
Nietert, who registered a personal-best 3:15 at both the 2001 and 2002 Chicago Marathons, set the pace at 3:50 until he pulled up with cramps at mile 21.
"Cramping is always a problem and in a race like today, a lot of things can go wrong," Nietert said. "I was going pretty smooth, but then you can start to feel those twinges and you know what's happening."
Nietert finished in 3:59:23, more than nine minutes off the pace that he was trying to set for the rest of the runners, many of whom were trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Nietert was one of roughly 100 pace setters that race officials employ and in exchange, he received free entry into the race as well as a pair of running shoes.
"You're doing a service to the other runners who are out there," Nietert said. "This is my seventh year doing it and I enjoy encouraging everyone else and helping them meet their goals."
