The Penguin Chronicles: The Chicago Distance Classic

WOW. What a day.

August in Chicago is HOT, HOT, HOT. Historically, the Sunday of the Chicago Distance Classic has been one of the hottest days of the summer. But this year we, the organizers and the participants, got lucky and we had one of the most beautiful days of the summer. The temperature was 64 degrees at race start.

With registrations topping 11,000 we decided to use an "honor system" wave start. All-in-all in went well. We did have a bit a confusion because the waves weren't exactly defined, but everyone was patient and cooperated. The result was a safer, faster, race course for everyone.

One of the best parts of the day was seeing so many charities represented. We really focused on increasing charity participation and in paid off. We had over 35 charities out there with well over 2,000 participants.

But, the real congratulations goes to the City of Chicago and the various agencies that make the city work. We had wonderful partners in the Chicago Police, Chicago Fire Department, Office of Emergency Management and Communications, Park District, and more. Our thanks to everyone who helped make it a special day for everyone.

John

1,120 Views Tags: running, chicago, walking, runners, penguin, bingham, distance, classic

Aug 11, 2008 8:07 AM

Jennifer says:

Glad it went so well! I thought of you all as I walked in the Komen Race for the Cure yesterday.

Aug 11, 2008 10:47 AM

Eric P. Martin says:

Congratulations to you. I was introduced to the race by a friend who was running in it. I must say that it has inspired me to be in the next one.

I have some great pics of the race on my blog.

http://theblognovice.com/2008/08/10/chicago-distance-classic-half-marathon-2008

The Blog Novice

Aug 11, 2008 5:05 PM

Lynn says:

John,

What a great day! Never have a run a race, let alone in August, with such perfect weather.

Hate to be the hearald of bad news, but it seems the course was a little longer than 13.1 miles. It seems that it that several runners with Garmins and other such GPS devices, recorded the course as 13.44 miles. This may seem not such a big deal, however, runners trying to qualify for a Chicago Marathon seeded bib maybe a little upset. I myself had qualified earlier in the year and if I had needed the CDC, I would have been off by 30 seconds.

Please see the discussion on the Runners World forum page:

http://forums.runnersworld.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/493106038/m/2971009325

Aug 11, 2008 6:23 PM

rennur241 says:

I second Lynn's comment. Without question, the course was long. Please do the right thing and make an official announcement acknowledging this mistake. Maybe an official announcement will help some people who missed the corrals for Chicago by a mere few seconds get into them.

Aug 11, 2008 6:34 PM

John Bingham says in response to rennur241:

Thanks for writing –

The course was USATF measured and certified (certification # IL – 08064 – JW). In addition, we had the certifier lead the pack on his bicycle to ensure that all the athletes went on the correct course. We have heard comments that the course may be long and we have asked the certifier to re-measure the course and will have a final comment on this later this week.

John

John “the Penguin” Bingham

Runner’s World columnist

www.johnbingham.com

Aug 12, 2008 6:40 AM

A Runner says:

John - Great job with the CDC!! I wonder if it was short if anyone would be saying anything??

Aug 13, 2008 5:38 AM

John Bingham says in response to A Runner:

Greetings everyone.

If you've been following other blogs and discussion groups you already know that the course certifier admitted that he made a mistake. On his certification documentation he wrote "4th pole south of Science Drive" when he meant "4th pole NORTH". He re-measured and calculated that the course was .1668 of a mile long.

The Chicago Marathon has adjusted the qualifying times to reflect this error.

I am TRULY bummed about this because we went to such lengths to make sure it was right, including having the certifier be the lead vehicle.

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH.

John

Aug 13, 2008 8:45 AM

Steve says in response to John Bingham:

John,

You truly deserve kudos for stepping up, taking responsibility, and resolving the issue. I ran the CDC hoping to get a "D" Corral start for Chicago Marathon. I had ran a 1/2 marathon last spring and I was 30 seconds short of getting into the "D" Corral. I had trained hard for the CDC hoping to break 51 minutes and when I came in at 52 minutes I was disappointed to say the least, even though I had run my best and the conditions were perfect. To say that I was in a "dark" mood on Sunday was putting in lightly. My wife even made a comment to me about my mood.

Then Tuesday arrives and after reading all the blogs and message boards and to find that you took responsiblity and had the Chicago Marathon people adjust there requirement times from the CDC, man, it was like Chistmas as a child! I'm now in the "D" Corral.

BTW, I was the tall man that was talking to you about the course on Friday at the expo. I have run this race for over 20 years and this course was one of the better ones. I did enjoy it! Thanks again John for your hard work and I will be a returnning customer.

Aug 13, 2008 1:29 PM

Run a Tun says in response to John Bingham:

John - Great job! You did an awesome job with the CDC!!!! I'm very pleased and I will be back next year!

Aug 28, 2008 9:28 PM

Anji says:

Saw this and thought of you...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/16/2337646.htm