Kara Goucher came to Chicago on a swell of media hype---she’s our new U.S. distance running star after a thrilling race at the 2009 Boston Marathon which earned her a podium spot for her third place finish and just coming off a great track season winning her second U.S. 5,000m track title.
Well, Goucher added another star to her resume by winning – we’re talking beating all the guys—at the inaugural Rock n Roll Chicago Half Marathon today in a time of 1:08:05! I was appreciative to be able to watch the race online thanks to Competitor.com and followed her progress along the 13.1 mile race that highlighted parts of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon course with the beautiful city skyline in the background. Kudos to race commentary by two running icons, Olympians Todd Williams and Juli Henner and if you tuned in, you even were privy to a scene most don’t get to witness in events of this distance---a dedicated camera for the top woman and also what happens when there’s a bandit on the course e.g., the guy in the red singlet, and when a lead motorcycle is not going fast enough! Congratulations to all the 14,438 finishers and it's worth noting of that total there were 5,090 men and 9,348 women.
Next up for Goucher---she's proved to be a contender for a marathon title at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany on August 23.
Top Men Finishers
Chad Ware - 1:08:24
David Williams -1:08:49
Emisael Favela - 1:09:14
Daniel Jess- 1:10:33
Christopher Peverada - 1:11:36
Top Women Finishers
Kara Goucher-1:08:05
Connie Abbott- 1:21:50
Amanda Domich - 1:22:28
Suet-Fei Li- 1:22:36
Jackie Pirtle-Hall- 1:23:19
FOR MORE INFO: Complete Results / USATF bio on Kara Goucher / Chicago Running Examiner article on bandits
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