The Chicago Marathon this past Sunday saw thousands of runners from all over the world gather in Grant Park to try and complete the 26.2-mile race. Among the many athletes that stood at the starting line early that morning were Doug Gibson and Alex Wilson, two Northwestern seniors who trained together for months in anticipation for that moment.
“Last January or February, we were kind of joking around about running a marathon together, and then we just decided to do it,” Gibson said the week before the event. Though both Gibson and Wilson, Bienen and McCormick students, respectively, have been running since high school, neither had ever run a marathon.
While the decision to register was spontaneous, the training process was more formal. When they made the commitment to run the marathon, they knew they would have to be serious about their preparation, so they created a contract with one another: Wilson and Gibson would have to run four times a week for at least thirty minutes duration, plus two days of cross-training. If the contract was broken at any point, they pledged to pay ten dollars toward Dance Marathon.
The duo began running on Sheridan Road, and then used various routes including a loop to Rogers Park from the Delta Chi house – both Gibson, 22, and Wilson, 20, are members of the fraternity. “We definitely encourage each other,” Gibson said. “It’s really helpful to train with somebody.”
The two kept tabs on one another throughout the summer, when Gibson and Wilson retreated to the Bay Area in California and upstate New York, respectively. The pair needed to make sure that they would each be ready for the Chicago Marathon when they returned to campus in September.
At the beginning of the summer, Gibson and Wilson were running eight miles. By the end, they were running 18. They finally returned to campus, and on the Monday before classes they embarked on their longest run: starting in Evanston, Gibson and Wilson ran down to Soldier Field then around to the Hancock building, an approximately 20-mile route. “Just seeing the city emerge as you run towards it, it was a really cool experience,” Wilson said of their early morning run.
Aside from the scenery, long-distance runs are a serious test of mental and physical strength, something the two were worried about heading into the event. “After 18 miles it’s pretty much all mental,” Gibson said before the marathon. “I’m worried that I’ll hit a wall, but I’ll force myself through.”
Both runners said that completing the marathon during their senior year would be a special moment as they close their time in Evanston, as the two have been friends for several years now. “It will be a good capstone to our time together at Northwestern and in Chicago,” Gibson said prior to the event.
This past Sunday, Gibson and Wilson completed the Chicago Marathon and both did so in less than four hours, which Gibson had said was an unofficial goal. They finished within ten minutes of each other, having stayed together until Mile 17.
“We went out really fast," Wilson said on Sunday at the 27th Mile Post-Race Party. "We were doing eight-minute miles. It was so exciting running with so many people.”
After ten months and over 25 miles of running that day alone, Gibson said the last mile was the easiest part. “With everyone cheering, you start sprinting,” he said.
Apparently that feeling was worth the work, as both men said they would run another marathon. “Definitely,” the friends said in unison.
But thinking about running another marathon – whether with one another or apart – would have to wait for another day.
“For now, though, I’m going to sit down and ice,” Wilson said.