CHICAGO — Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya won today the Chicago Marathon with the fastest time on American soil, finishing in 2 hours 5 minutes, 41 seconds.

Sammy Wanjiru set both American and course records but missed the world mark in the 2009 Chicago Marathon. On a chilly fall morning – 33 degrees at the start – the Olympic gold medalist in Beijing pushed the pace impatiently and won the race.

With temperatures hovering just below the freezing mark, Wanjiru turned in the best time in the U.S. and beat by one second the mark of 2:05:42 set by Khalid Khannouchi in Chicago in 1999.

He got US$75,000 for winning and $100,000 for the course record.

In the final agonizing feet before he hit the tape, Wanjiru nearly missed that record and a lucrative payday by waiving his arms in premature celebration. He nearly made a mistake in waiving both arms too quickly, but recovered just in time.

The world record of 2:03:59 is set by Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie in Berlin on Sept. 28, 2008.

Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco made a late push to finish second in 2:06:04, with Kenya’s Vincent Kipruto in third (2:06:08).

On the women’s side, Russian Liliya Shobukhova won a much-slower paced race in 2:25:56.

American Amanda McGrory set the course record by more than 4 minutes in winning the women’s wheelchair race in 1:39:46.
Australian Kurt Fearnley made it a three-peat on the men’s wheelchair race in 1:29:09.

List of Chicago Marathon winners

1977: Dorothy Doolittle, United States
1978: Lynae Larson, United States
1979: Laura Michalek, United States
1980: Sue Peterson, United States
1981: Tina Gandy, United States
1982: Nancy Conz, United States
1983: Rosa Mota, Portugal
1984: Rosa Mota, Portugal
1985: Joan Benoit Samuelson, United States
1986: Ingrid Kristiansen, Norway
1988: Lisa Weidenbach, United States
1989: Lisa Weidenbach, United States
1990: Aurora Cunha, Portugal
1991: Midde Hamrin, Sweden
1992: Linda Somers, United States
1993: Ritva Lemettinen, Finland
1994: Kristy Johnston, United States
1995: Ritva Lemettinen, Finland
1996: Marian Sutton, United Kingdom
1997: Marian Sutton, United Kingdom
1998: Joyce Chepchumba, Kenya
1999: Joyce Chepchumba, Kenya
2000: Catherine Ndereba, Kenya
2001: Catherine Ndereba, Kenya
2002: Paula Radcliffe, United Kingdom
2003: Svetlana Zakharova, Russia
2004: Constantina Diţă-Tomescu, Romania
2005: Deena Kastor, United States
2006: Berhane Adere, Ethiopia
2007: Berhane Adere, Ethiopia
2008: Lidiya Grigoryeva, Russia

• 7:22 a.m. – National Anthem performed by Jersey Boys’ Michael Dais (Frankie Valli)
• 7:25 a.m. – Wheelchair Start
• 7:30 a.m. – Marathon Start
• 7:40 a.m. – Northside/Southside Challenge Boys’ Start (31st Street and Michigan Avenue)
• 7:45 a.m. – Northside/Southside Challenge Girls’ Start (31st Street and Michigan Avenue)
• 8:50 a.m. – Approximate Men’s Wheelchair Champion Finish
• 9:10 a.m. – Approximate Women’s Wheelchair Champion Finish
• 9:35 a.m. – Approximate Men’s Champion Finish
• 9:47 a.m. – Approximate Women’s Champion Finish
• 10:30 a.m. – Approximate Media Availability with Men’s and Women’s Champions

Location: Grant Park, Chicago

• 12:30 p.m. – Champions’ Awards Ceremony

Location: Butler Field, Grant Park (Columbus Drive and Jackson Boulevard)

Chicago Marathon route map

Chicago Marathon route map

His ex-colleague and friend, the band’s lead singer Ronan Keating, is said to be flying to Majorca from Chicago, where he was due to compete in the 2009 Chicago Marathon.

Ronan Keating and Stephen Gately (c) Samir Hussein/PA

Marathoners sometimes seem to speak an entirely different language. Use this cheat sheet to decode their pre- and post-race utterings.

gel [jel] n. Runners carry and consume gels throughout the marathon to prevent hitting The Wall (see below). Usually about 100 calories, the gels provide easy-to-digest energy during the run and contain varying amounts of sugar, sodium, potassium and caffeine. They come in a variety of flavors, from fruity to chocolate, and are the consistency of melted jelly.
“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually craving a gel right now.”

hyponatremia [hi-po-ne-tre-me-e] n. It’s crucial to stay hydrated while running, but drinking too much water—more than a runner sweats out—decreases sodium concentration in the blood, which can cause vomiting, seizures, coma and even death. The International Marathon Medical Directors Association issued a warning in 2001 urging runners to drink only when they’re thirsty.
“I kept chugging water like I was back at a kegger. Do you think I’ll get hyponatremia?”

negative split [neg-uh-tiv split] n., v. The strategy of running the second half of a race faster than the first half. On a flat course like Chicago, this is thought to be the best strategy for PRing (see below).
“I let everyone sprint in front of me at the start line so I had enough energy to negative split the marathon.”

PR [P-R] abbr. n., v. Abbreviation for “personal record,” the fastest a runner has completed that distance. After months of training, a PR is a very big deal.
“The weather was perfect for a PR today!”

taper [tey-per] n., v. Reduction of mileage during the two to three weeks before the marathon by as much as 50–75 percent of peak training volume. This allows muscles to recover from three or more months of hard training effort.
“Dude, I was excited to taper, but now I’m bouncing off the walls.”

The Wall [thuh wahl] n. Runners can store only a limited amount of glycogen in their bodies—when it runs low, the body turns to stored fat for energy, which does not burn as readily. It pretty much sucks when this happens, and the runner will experience extreme fatigue, muscle soreness and mental fuzziness—kind of like hitting a wall (not to be confused with the Pink Floyd album).
“My legs cramped up and I felt dizzy when I hit The Wall—but at least I didn’t throw up.”

Chicago Marathon