IT was only my second visit to Chicago. I flew there to watch my other son (the one who did not compete in Berlin) run in the annual Chicago marathon. We stayed at a nice hotel on the North Side -- the Sofitel -- which permits dogs to board with their owners.
I remembered Chicago as a city of interesting and varied architecture with government and office buildings of great inventiveness. The city seems carefully and deliberately erected, not sprawling like Los Angeles or allowed to haphazardly expand, as Houston appears to be. The architectural tour by boat on the river is memorable and well worth the time and effort.
As it is advised that the marathon runners eat pasta the day before a race, we had a late lunch Saturday at Carmine’s and then an early dinner at Quartino Ristorante, both apparently landmark Chicago eateries and both very good. We witnessed an altercation in front of Quartino’s where a large man was pursued by three other men, pushed in front of a car and beaten savagely. The three men then took flight, apparently back to an establishment they had come from called the Redhead Piano Bar. Unfortunately, the police arrived ten minutes later – after the fight was over.
On Sunday, before the race, we visited friends who live in Chicago on LaSalle Street and on the marathon route. We followed the race on television and tracked our son on the Chicago marathon app. As he passed our friends’ condominium, we stood at the side of the street to cheer him on. Our son finished and received a medal. But for some cramping at about mile 23, he would have finished in under 4 hours.
Two things struck me about the marathon in Chicago. The first was the sheer number of runners. There were three “waves” totaling over 55,000 contestants jamming the streets. The second thing that impressed me was how joyous and helpful to one another the runners appeared. It was less a sports competition (except for the professionals at the front) and more of a challenge to oneself of grit, endurance and tenacity.
After the race, our son craved protein so we visited Giordano’s for a Chicago deep dish sausage pizza, supposedly a classic. The pizza was delicious, but I found it a bit too much: too much cheese, too much tomato sauce, too many peppers and onions. Finally, we finished the weekend with dinner at a very good steakhouse – Sophia Steak on the North Side -- where our son concluded his protein binge.
It was great to see the marathon, and it was wonderful to be with friends and family, particularly our grandson who went everywhere with us and took everything in with the wonder of an 18-month-old child.
