Area Runners Attend Chicago Marathon

A man with muscular dystrophy was the last runner to cross the finish line at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. The marathon of more than 40,000 athletes had a few from our area running the race.

Nearly 17 hours after he began the race, 38-year-old Maickel Melamed of Venezuela crossed the finish line. His message to others is "If you dream it, make it happen.''

That message isn't too far from what local participants said about completing the 26.2 mile trek around the downtown streets of the windy city.

Marshall County native Anna Thomas-Brian was overflowing with excitement the night before her first marathon. She said after countless miles of practice back home, she was ready to mark it off her bucket list.

"I've worked pretty hard to get to this point," Brian said, "I'm ready to prove to myself that I can do it."

In a post race interview with Brian, she said the rush, sense of pride and accomplishment at the finish line was unexplainable.

"It was an adrenaline rush from a combination of a lot of hard work," Brian said, "I'm pretty proud of myself."

The feeling was slightly different for Paducah's Brad Shoulta. He called the marathon a beast compared to track competitions, "back in the day" when he attended St. Mary High School.

Shoulta began preparing in June for the race. He said it took about 40 to 50 hours a week, or 600 hours total, to insure he was ready.

Tilghman graduate Jimi Gwinn of Paducah traveled alongside Shoulta to Chicago. Gwinn was in the wheelchair division of the competition. Although they didn't plan it, both Shoulta and Gwinn finished just two minutes shy of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

Shoulta said it wasn't about winning the race, but winning a battle with yourself.

"You're not competing against anybody other than your own will power," Shoulta said. "It's about fighting the urge to quit and push to the end."
 
With a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 45 seconds, Kenyan runner Dennis Kimetto won the marathon.