Most people probably spent their morning on Sunday, October 12, sleeping in late, sipping their morning coffee, and reading the Sunday paper while enjoying the beautiful fall day. However, for some 45,000 marathoners from all around the world this was not the case.

Bright and early at 7:00 am, those 45,000 runners tackled the 37th annual Chicago Marathon, a 26.2 mile course that progresses throughout the city of Chicago. The beautiful, sunny fall morning prompted ideal conditions with the temperatures ranging from 45℉ to 64℉ during race time, perfect running weather.

According to race results from NBC Chicago, the winner for the men was Eliud Kipchoge, with a time of 2:04:11, and the winner for the women was Rita Jeptoo, with a time of 2:24:36. This was Jeptoo’s second consecutive win at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, making her the first man or woman to win four straight world marathon majors.

Both the boy’s and girl’s cross country teams have volunteered at stations all across the marathon course for years. Recently, they have been helping out at the Elite Runners’ Stations which set up drinks for all of the top runners participating in the marathon.

“Getting up early for the marathon was sort of a hassle, but seeing some of the best runners in the world run by you was a very cool experience,” said George Baughman, a senior on cross country.

If you were watching the race on Sunday, you might have recognized some familiar faces too. Physical Education teacher Mrs. Martinelli ran the marathon again this year, and Social Studies teacher Mr. Gearing ran for his first time. In addition to successfully completing the marathon, Mr. Gearing raised $2,597.27 as part of the DetermiNation Marathon Team for the American Cancer Society. To hear more on his marathon story, visit thisisyork.org.

Congratulations to everybody who participated in the Chicago Marathon; your dedication and hard work is admirable.