First off let me start by staying that I am honored to be able to write a blog for Team Polar’s website. I have been a teammate with Team Aquaphor for the past two years; this year’s LaSalle’s Chicago Marathon was my 5th marathon. And for the record there has never been and there will be no other like it! For the second consecutive year, Team Polar and Team Aquaphor met in Chicago for an annual team pre-marathon dinner at Italian Village. What a wonderful time! About ten teammates from Team Polar, Team Aquaphor and Team Stay Put attended. Stories, as well as training tips and past events were shared throughout the evening as we enjoyed delicious pasta. Wonderful atmosphere, elite athletes and fine food… it was once again a success. Marathon day, wow… I, as well as 45,000+ runners, will never forget it. The morning started out like ever other one. Get up at the crack of dawn, eat as much of as little food as your body can handle at
3am and try to drink as much fluids as you possible can and head to the start line. Yes, weather was unseasonably warm; however we have trained in worse temperatures over the summer, so for me I took the necessary precautions and took in some extra salt tablets. The race begins and thousands of us, unexpecting prey, make our way to the start mat. Around mile 6, I started feeling unusually warm, so I began popping extra salt tablets. I was taking 900mg every 2 miles, yes, you heard me, every 2 miles. That seemed to help tremendously! Around mile 19, Ron (Team Polar, my brother) and I noticed that our chip wasn’t beeping when we crossed over the timing mat. He asked, “Do you still have your chip?” I replied, “I think so, do you?” What was going on? We had no idea at this point that the race was cancelled. Yes, the water stations were low on water, people were passing out everywhere. The aid tents were full of runners in need of help. The more we started to look around the more we realized something was indeed wrong. At about mile 22, we hear over a megaphone that the City of Chicago Police had ordered runners to stop running and to walk. WALK! Are you kidding, this is a race I thought. Ron and I were not about to walk; we were almost there. At mile 25.5, a police barricade lined the street
ordering people to walk or you would not get a metal or be permitted to race next year. No way were we walking! We had a left turn, up the famous final hill and down the final stretch. So we darted around the police barricade and charged up the hill. Waiting around the corner, down the final stretch, volunteers lined the stretch, telling us to walk, slow down. SLOW DOWN… this is the finish, I’m not slowing down. Ron and I crossed the finish line with hundreds of other runners who congested the finish. But we did it… we completed it. We received our medals. What a marathon or war zone. This was like nothing I have ever experienced before and I hope I never will again. Many thanks to all the wonderful volunteers for all there support! Thanks to Team Polar, Team Aquaphor, Team Stay Put and the entire marketing department for helping put together another successful dinner. And Ron, I can’t begin to thank you enough… another marathon… this one I could not have made it though without you! You rock, until the next adventures… keep running… or walking! js
First off let me start by staying that I am honored to be able to write a blog for Team Polar’s website. I have been a teammate with Team Aquaphor for the past two years; this year’s LaSalle’s Chicago Marathon was my 5th marathon. And for the record there has never been and there will be no other like it! For the second consecutive year, Team Polar and Team Aquaphor met in Chicago for an annual team pre-marathon dinner at Italian Village. What a wonderful time! About ten teammates from Team Polar, Team Aquaphor and Team Stay Put attended. Stories, as well as training tips and past events were shared throughout the evening as we enjoyed delicious pasta. Wonderful atmosphere, elite athletes and fine food… it was once again a success. Marathon day, wow… I, as well as 45,000+ runners, will never forget it. The morning started out like ever other one. Get up at the crack of dawn, eat as much of as little food as your body can handle at 
3am and try to drink as much fluids as you possible can and head to the start line. Yes, weather was unseasonably warm; however we have trained in worse temperatures over the summer, so for me I took the necessary precautions and took in some extra salt tablets. The race begins and thousands of us, unexpecting prey, make our way to the start mat. Around mile 6, I started feeling unusually warm, so I began popping extra salt tablets. I was taking 900mg every 2 miles, yes, you heard me, every 2 miles. That seemed to help tremendously! Around mile 19, Ron (Team Polar, my brother) and I noticed that our chip wasn’t beeping when we crossed over the timing mat. He asked, “Do you still have your chip?” I replied, “I think so, do you?” What was going on? We had no idea at this point that the race was cancelled. Yes, the water stations were low on water, people were passing out everywhere. The aid tents were full of runners in need of help. The more we started to look around the more we realized something was indeed wrong. At about mile 22, we hear over a megaphone that the City of Chicago Police had ordered runners to stop running and to walk. WALK! Are you kidding, this is a race I thought. Ron and I were not about to walk; we were almost there. At mile 25.5, a police barricade lined the street 
ordering people to walk or you would not get a metal or be permitted to race next year. No way were we walking! We had a left turn, up the famous final hill and down the final stretch. So we darted around the police barricade and charged up the hill. Waiting around the corner, down the final stretch, volunteers lined the stretch, telling us to walk, slow down. SLOW DOWN… this is the finish, I’m not slowing down. Ron and I crossed the finish line with hundreds of other runners who congested the finish. But we did it… we completed it. We received our medals. What a marathon or war zone. This was like nothing I have ever experienced before and I hope I never will again. Many thanks to all the wonderful volunteers for all there support! Thanks to Team Polar, Team Aquaphor, Team Stay Put and the entire marketing department for helping put together another successful dinner. And Ron, I can’t begin to thank you enough… another marathon… this one I could not have made it though without you! You rock, until the next adventures… keep running… or walking! js
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