Chicago is a sport town and no bigger sports spectacle that the marathon this weekend. With $650,000 in prize money plus the carrot of a $1 million payoff in the new World Marathon Majors series, the 29th Chicago Marathon will be the epicenter of global running this weekend. Top contenders from Kenya, Ethiopia, Japan, Tanzania, Romania, Russia, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and even the United States will give Chicago’s fall sports landscape a healthy shot of adrenaline on what could be a chilly, rainy day. The race is now part of the World Marathon Majors, a two-year competition in which runners earn points based on how they perform in Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York. The top man and woman in the standings earns $500,000.

The forecast says the conditions will be less than ideal, with temperatures around 40, gusting winds and the possibility of snow. We have a bunch of people from Park Community Church running this year and it should be a great spectacle as it runs right by the church’s location at Francis Parker School. Let’s go runners!

TECHNOLOGY MEETS THE RUNNERS AND FRIENDS

Have you wondered how people find their friend, family member, or colleague that is running in the Chicago Marathon? It’s like finding a needle in a haystack.

Luckily there are a few tools that will help folks track runners throughout the 26.2-mile course. Each runner will have a chip on his or her shoe that allows their time to be tracked as they run through any of the split time booths. Updates on runners can be sent to you via e-mail or phone (text message) thanks to the Runner Update Network by Active.com. Simply search for your favorite runner, and select your preferred method of contact.  Isn’t that crazy?  I will be able to sit in church and check my Treo and see how my friends are doing (oops, maybe the Pastor is reading this!).
Look at the following numbers from the Redeye:

By the numbers