Chicago Marathon (12 October) -- elite field

[Master Po]

http://www.chicagomarathon.com/

elite field announced -- here are some selections (sub 2:30 and sub-2:10):

Berhane Adere 2:20:42
Constantina Tomescu-Dita 2:21:30
Bezunesh Bekele 2:23:09
Lidiya Grigoryeva 2:25:10
Alevtina Biktimirova 2:25:12
Worknesh Tola 2:25:37
Kiyoko Shimahara 2:26:14
Coleen De Reuck 2:26:35
Adriana Pirtea 2:28:52

William Kipsang 2:05:49
Emmanuel Mutai 2:06:15
Daniel Njenga 2:06:16
Richard Limo 2:06:45
Moses Arusei 2:06:50
David Mandago 2:07:23
Salim Kipsang 2:07:29
Christopher Cheboiboch 2:08:17
Arata Fujiwara 2:08:40
Evans Cheruiyot 2:09:16
Timothy Cherigat 2:09:34

Some other listed USA runners:

Zoila Gomez 2:33:53
Kate O'Neill 2:36:15
Desiree Davila 2:37:50

Michael Reneau 2:17:46

[doug091463]

i pick bezunesh bekele to win becoming the first ethiopian girl to go sub 2:20

in the mens i pick evans cheruyiot who only has a personal best of 2:09, but being that he consistently runs under an hour for the half marathon he could knock off a huge amount off his best like james kwambai did in berlin and run 2:05

[26mi235]

It has been consistently cool the last week or more in the upper Midwest (very good for a marathon, actually, at least for fast runners). However, next week there is supposed to be a warming trend with temperatures rising 15+ degrees here and almost as much in Chicago. Still, the forecasts, which only go through Oct 9 have highs in the low-to-mid 70s.

[gh]

10/7 on weatherunderground.com

<<Saturday Night and Sunday
Partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers. Lows in the upper 50s. Highs in the mid 70s.>

[gh]

10/8, the rain component has disappeared from the forecast:


<<Sunday through Columbus Day Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 70s. Lows in the lower 60s.>>

[26mi235]

63 at 8am, 69 at 10am, Dew Point 57. Wind 9mph out of the S, SE. (This is the wind speed 10m above ground, not the ground-level speed).

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick...nit=0&marine=1

[gh]

All the 30-foot runners in the field will be thrilled to ahve that data! :-)

[26mi235]

A slight update, in tabular form

Wind is from the SSE and the precipitation potential is 10% with no expected 'accumulation'

7.. 8.. 9.. 10 11 Hour (CDT)

61 61 65 68 69 Temperature (°F)
55 55 54 54 54 Dewpoint (°F)
7.. 7.. 8.. 9.. 9.. Wind (mph)
40 39 38 37 36 Sky Cover (%)

[skyin' brian]

forcast has ratcheted up a degree or two:


7.. 8.. 9.. 10 11 Hour (CDT)

61 62 67 71 72 Temperature (°F)
54 55 55 55 55 Dewpoint (°F)
9.. 9.. 10. 10. 10. Wind (mph)
18 20 21 22 23 Sky Cover (%)


wind begins SSE then changes to S


Anyone else going to be there watching (or running)? I'll be there with my wife and our bicycles. It looks like it will be warm enough for me to break out the clipless sandals.

[LopenUupunut]

in the mens i pick evans cheruyiot who only has a personal best of 2:09, but being that he consistently runs under an hour for the half marathon he could knock off a huge amount off his best like james kwambai did in berlin

Well picked!

1 Cheruiyot, Evans 2:06:25
2 Mandago, David 2:07:37
3 Cherigat, Timothy 2:11:39

[nevetsllim]

Some of the guys who went off at sub-2:07 pace for the first half must be regretting that decision, considering fifth place was 2:15!

Grigoryeva wins the women's race 2:27:17, ahead of Biktimirova, Shimihara and Tomescu.

[gh]

Second marathon ever for Cheruiyot; 2:09:16 to win Milan last year

[doug091463]

just a sidenote e. cheruiyot time makes him the #20 all time performer, and now 50 different runners have broken 2:07

[nevetsllim]

De Reuck 2:32! It's a shame she was injured before the OT because she would have been a contender to make the team. It would be great if she tried for the WCh next year.

[joeltetreault]

just a sidenote e. cheruiyot time makes him the #20 all time performer, and now 50 different runners have broken 2:07

It's amazing how 2008 has rewritten the marathon all-time list. 10 out of the top 30 performances all-time now come from 2008 (sub 2:06:25), and 6 out of the top 10 performances all-time come from 2008. And Amsterdam is coming up next Sunday...

Source - Pela2's alltime lists:
http://www.alltime-athletics.com/mmaraok.htm

Amsterdam Marathon (CR=2:06:20 Gebrselassie):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam_Marathon