The 37th Annual Chicago Marathon became a Kenyan affair with Eliud Kipchoge and Rita Jeptoo besting thousands of elite participants, winning the men and women division, respectively.
Twenty-nine-year old Kipchoge's first major win was timed at 2 hours, 4 minutes and 11 seconds. Previously, he has competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning silver, and in 2004 Athens Olympics, winning bronze.
Meanwhile, 33-year-old Rita Jeptoo has been running for money, so to speak. This is her fourth consecutive marathon victory, clocked at 2 hours, 24 minutes and 25 seconds. She took the 2013-2014 World Marathon major points championship and the Boston Marathon last April.
Both winners received $100,000, plus bonuses. Kipchoge gets additional $55,000 as time bonus while Jeptoo is $500,000 richer after bagging the series championship. Others received a medal and a feeling of accomplishment in joining and finishing the race.
There was no new world record set in the race. The humble Kipchoge is not totally pleased with his recordperformance but is grateful still to all Kenyan supporters. In an interview with NBC News, he said, "Thank for your support, for pushing me. I appreciate everything. Hope to see you next year."
For her winning, all Jeptoo could say was, "I'm the queen of Chicago."
With no new time record recorded in the just-concluded marathon, Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski has this to say, "We talked a lot about fast times. ... It became tactical racing. The women obviously started watching each other a little bit. The men became much more of a competition and much more gamesmanship. So that was exciting. Toward the end there, Eliud ran a great race and finished really strong. You bring the best athletes together, they complement each other and (you have) great competition."
The Chicago Marathon is one of the most prestigious races in the world, attracting Class A athletes from 50 US states and 150 countries. It is expected to bring in 254 million dollars to the local economy.
