Still in Chicago...

Read my blog below... then click on this link:

http://video.nbc5.com/player/?id=164426

As God is my witness... there was no water. The race officials say "we had adequate supplies of water." Well, explain that to me. I was at the 2nd water station and the tables were overturned. NOBODY got water. The 3rd water station around the 6-mile mark I received about a Dixie cup full of water. Ok, "Race Official," you tell me: How would you feel after running 6 miles in high temperatures and high humidity how YOU would feel when you get to these stations? That's about 1 hour of running and you have NO water. To quote most people who endured what I did for the race, "The people of Chicago were incredible... the race organizers were pathetic." How in the hell do you drop the ball like this? The Chicago Marathon is touted as one of the best "organized" marathons and you don't have water for people who run a 10-minute or slower pace? That's ridiculous! We have trained for at least 6 months... you say that you had "adequate" water at the stations? Well, run what I did. I didn't have water at the 4 mile station... I witnessed numerous people drinking CHOLORINARTED water in Lincoln Park... and when I got to the 6-mile station they gave us next to nothing. It wasn't until the 8-mile station that I received what I needed... and that was after going through it TWICE!

This as absolutely the worst planned marathon I have ever heard of. How in the hell can you put something like that on at the 3oth Anniversary and not have a better plan for water stations? You KNEW it was going to be hot! You KNEW the humidity was going to be high! Why didn't you add more water stations instead of the 15? You increased the participants this year from 40,000 to 45,000. Did you not prepare? Did you not think that the added amount of runners would deplete the aid stations? Especially in this heat?

A lot of people have said, "You prepared in Texas. You ran in the heat. You ran in the humidity? So, what was the problem?" The problem was I planned on having water every 2 miles... not having to beg for water from home owners, spectators, and anyone else that was along the way. To think I was looking at pond water and thinking, "I can drink that!" is deplorable...

So my goal this year was to run a marathon. Thanks Lasalle Chicago Marathon... you defeated my goal... and thousands of others!