The Chicago Half Marathon was today. This is the half-marathon that I chose to skip because the pace requirement was more that I felt woggable for my current level of training. We canceled airline and hotel reservations, and made other plans for this weekend.
Chicago had around nine inches of rain today. According to the race website, the course was altered as a result of the weather. However, the thing I found most interesting was that according to the official results, many people posted a time well past the 2 hours, 50 minutes race officials were requiring. Some runners posted a time over 4 hours, way more time than I would have needed to finish.
I'm not sorry we canceled this race, especially considering the rough weather. Running in water and rain has never been a favorite. I'm just a little disgruntled that once again, I got caught up by a race rule that they said was going to be enforced, then wasn't.
I like fairness. I'm not much of a rule-breaker and like staying within the rules that are set. I usually don't mind if the rules are broken for other people, but I do mind if I don't get the same treatment for those that skirt past the rules.
I'm happy for the people who finished in the rain and received an official finish time and a medal. I sort of wish one of them had been me. But I made my choice based on what I was told. Sometimes following the rules sort of sucks, but it's honest, and the way I choose to participate.
Now - on to Baltimore, and its 5 1/2 time limit!!
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