I had one of my worst races ever at the Chicago Marathon.
I was neck deep into final negotiations on an exit from a job in the UK and I had taken a long weekend to ChiTown to run and hopefully clear my head.
And then on top of stress and time zone shifts, I came down with food poisoning.
It was a real struggle to even finish especially when a lot of folks had told me it was a super fast course. This was the race where I was passed by a dude dressed as the Eiffel Tower. Not in an Eiffel Tower shirt — a literal boxy outfit like you’d see a busker wearing in Times Square or Hollywood asking people if they wanted a photo… tips appreciated.
But this isn’t about me. This is about Brigid Kosgei who set a new Women’s Marathon World Record at Chicago today. She bested the UK’s Paula Radcliffe time that held the record since 2003. With a super impressive 2:14:04.
And just as I did for Eliud Kipchoge’s sub 2 time, let’s figure out how much I need to shave off my PR to catch Brigid Kosgei: Forty-eight minutes and thirty-one seconds to tie her, forty-eight minutes and thirty-two seconds to “beat” her time.
Yowzers. The elites just seemingly float over the roads. Hard work and tenacity pays off… and yet there really isn’t enough hard work or tenacity left in this bag of bones so I’m just gonna let you have this one.
JK, jk. Kudos, Brigid Kosgei. You’re an inspirational rock star!