Health & Injuries Chicago Marathon last year, Oregon Project teammates Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay announced in May that they will return to the 2018 race on October 7.
Health - Injuries.
Hasay, who finished third at the race last year in 2:20:57, making her the second-fastest American ever over the 26.2-mile distance, will have competition from two other top U.S. runners: Amy Cragg Best Stability Shoes.
In February, Cragg, who trains in Portland, Oregon, with the Bowerman Track Club, ran 2:21:42 at the Tokyo Marathon, which places Like Rupp, Hasay. She also won a bronze medal in the event at the world championships in 2017 and is a two-time Olympian.
Sarah Lorge Butler London Marathon in April 2017, only her second marathon. She missed the rest of 2017 because of injury, but she has recently made a strong return to competition, setting a PR of 1:10:17 in the half marathon.
Last month, Chicago organizers announced that Mo Farah, a former Oregon Project teammate of Rupp and competitive rival on the track, will be in the men’s field.
For Farah, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time world champion, Chicago will be his third crack at the marathon, and first on U.S. soil. In April, he Health - Injuries Advertisement - Continue Reading Below.
Rupp, 32, is the defending champion. He broke the tape in 2:09:20, 28 seconds ahead of runner-up Abel Kirui of Kenya.
At the time, it was Rupp’s second marathon victory in four starts—he had also won the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials, taken the bronze medal at the Games in Rio, and finished second at the 2017 Boston Marathon.
Since Chicago, Rupp has added another marathon milestone. Although he dropped out of Boston last month near mile 19, suffering asthma symptoms in the cold and torrential rain, he entered the Prague Marathon three weeks later and won in 2:06:07.
The time, a personal record by more than three minutes, makes him the second-fastest American ever, behind Khalid Khannouchi (whose American record of 2:05:38 dates to 2002). Rupp is now within 29 seconds of the record.
Farah, 35, is a little less seasoned in the marathon than Rupp, but he has out-dueled him on the track, winning back-to-back gold medals at the Olympics in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters in 2012 and 2016. The two took gold and silver in the 10,000 at the 2012 London Olympics.
Rupp has never beaten Farah on the track or roads, but he has a stronger marathon record and could well emerge on top in Chicago. Adding to the race’s intrigue: Chicago will again use pacemakers, after the past three years of going without them. The return of pacemakers should mean the men’s race will be won in its usual 2:04 to 2:06 range, not the 2:09 to 2:11 range of recent years. In that faster scenario, Rupp could have a solid shot at breaking Khannouchi’s American record.
In only her second attempt at the marathon distance, Hasay, 26, finished third at last year’s Chicago, hanging with the leaders through a blistering first half. Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia pulled away to win in 2:18:31, Brigid Kosgei of Kenya was second in 2:20:22, and Hasay finished in 2:20:57.
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Hasay was set to run Boston in April, but a stress reaction in her heel kept her out of the race at the last minute.
Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World Shoes & Gear, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
