Posted: September 11, 2007

Athletics: Counting Down To The 30th Anniversary Lasalle Bank Chicago Marathon

30 Inspiring Stories in 30 Days Former Chicagoan David Willey caught the marathon bug while watching the Chicago races in the 1990s. Now the editor of Runner’s World magazine, David will make his first appearance in the Chicago field as he runs for charity at The 30th Anniversary LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. WHO: David Willey AGE: 39 OCCUPATION: Editor-in-Chief, Runner’s World HOMETOWN: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania PREVIOUS MARATHONS: 3 - ING New York City Marathon (twice) and the 2007 AT&T Austin Marathon (PR 3:24:59) RUNNER STORY: While training for his first marathon, former Chicago resident, David Willey, attended the infamous 1990 Chicago Marathon where Martin Pitayo beat Antoni Niemezak by 0.3 seconds. The excitement of this memorable finish and the joy, agony, exhaustion and triumph expressed by the other runners crossing the finish line hooked David on marathons. He has returned to watch Chicago on several occasions and has crossed the finish line of three other marathons, but this year David will make his Chicago debut in the 30th anniversary race. In conjunction with the race, David will continue the “Run With David” fundraising program he launched in February, which supports cancer-related charities by inviting other runners to make pledges and to “race” David in Chicago. David will be joined in his fundraising efforts by two breast cancer survivors featured in the October issue: Lacey Sikora (Oak Park, Ill.), who was diagnosed when she was 10 weeks pregnant and Cathy Canavan (Chicago, Ill.) who ran her way through eight months of treatment will run her eighth LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon this October. Peter Sagal, host NPR’s “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me” and featured in Runner’s World’s May issue, also will be taking part in the “Run with David” program to raise money for the Healthy Schools Campaign. David, Lacey, Cathy and Peter will be carrying Runner’s World Run Tracker Phones during the Marathon, to track their progress on-line and in real time at www.runnersworld.com/runwithdavid. WEBSITE: RunWith David. RACE INFORMATION: The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Sunday, October 7, 2007 as 45,000 participants advance to the start line, embarking on the culmination of 45,000 personal journeys. Along with the massive field of recreational runners, the 26.2-mile course will welcome a full field of world renowned professional athletes drawn to the flat, fast, urban setting and the potential to break world and national records. The professionals will compete for prize money and points in the World Marathon Majors series which will crown its first male and female champions with $500,000 each at the close of 2007. Since the inception of its charity program in 2002, The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon has generated more than $27.5 million for a variety of charitable causes including $9.5 million in the 2006 event alone. Registration for the race opened on January 1, 2007 and closed when it reached capacity on April 18. David’s story and all previously released runner stories are available at ChicagoMarathon.com. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest