2014 Chicago Marathon Preview
Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – The 37th running of the Chicago Marathon is set for Sunday with a field of over 10,000 expected to compete, including one former champion.
Last year, Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto won the race, setting a Chicago Marathon record of 2:03:45. Most expected a Kimetto to return but he opted to run instead in last month’s Berlin Marathon. The 30-year-old Kimetto continued his torrid streak and won in Berlin in world record time of 2:02:57 – becoming the first person to run a sub 2:03:00 race.
Despite missing the firepower that Kimetto brings, the race will have plenty of explosiveness. Five runners in the men’s elite field have all run under 2:06, including Ethiopian sensation Kenenisa Bekele, who is a three-time Olympic gold medalist in long distance running. Bekele made his marathon debut in Paris earlier this year and blitzed the field in 2:05:04.
Among the other participants are a pair of Kenyans – Sammy Kitawara, a three- time runner in Chicago, and Bernard Koech, one of five to post a sub 2:06 time.
On the American side, Dathan Ritzenhein was the top United States runner the past two races, finishing fifth last year and ninth in 2012. This year, Craig Leon of Eugene, Oregon and Matt Llano of Flagstaff, Arizona lead a deep USA squad. Leon finished 13th overall last year and third among Americans.
On the Women’s side, there will be a champion on the course to defend her title in Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo. The 33-year-old Jeptoo, who also won the Boston Marathon earlier in the year, put together a strong finish to post a winning time of 2:19.57.
Jeptoo has won three straight Marathon races and is a three-time victor in Boston. She carries a personal-best time of 2:18:57 and sits atop the leaderboard in the World Marathon Championship.
Right behind Jeptoo will be fellow countrywoman Jemima Jelagat Sumgong, who finished second last year. Her last race was in the Boston Marathon, where she finished fourth. She currently is fourth on the World Marathon Leaderboard. Jeptoo is the leader with 75 points.
Mare Dibaba also is expected to be chasing the leaders. Dibaba was a 2012 Olympian and finished third in April’s Boston Marathon.
Clara Santucci and Melissa White are the top Americans in the field. Santucci, a native of Dilliner, Pennsylvania, led the USA contingent with a ninth-place finish of 2:31:39. White, who is from Michigan, finished 10th in a personal- best time of 2:32.37.
THIS AND THAT
The field will consist of approximately 132 countries, including over 10,000 runners from the United States. The state with the largest field will be Illinois, followed by California and New York. Last year, 38,879 people finished the race, the highest total in race history.
The top foreign country by participation will be Mexico, followed by Canada.
Categorized in: General Sports