Pace the real Chicago Marathon course

Your GPS is going to be your biggest enemy in Chicago, and it can cost you a PR. The course is flat, and that is exactly the problem: nothing on the road slows you down, so everything that goes wrong is self-inflicted. Fresh legs, a loud crowd and a watch that reads fast will have you banking time by mile 5. Banked time does not exist in a marathon. You pay it back, with interest, at mile 20.

Mi 0 to 5

The skyscrapers. The buildings scramble your watch signal (a Chicago watch file reading 26.6 miles is normal). Run by the mile markers and elapsed time, not by what your watch says.

Mi 5 to 13

The party. Lincoln Park is the loudest part of the course and everything feels easy. Hold back. Hit the halfway mark on plan, not ahead of it.

Mi 13 to 18

The boring miles. Adams out, Jackson back, dead straight west and dead straight east, not a lot of shade. Drink at every one of the six stations. Gel at 18.

Mi 19 to 22

Pilsen and Chinatown. The energy comes back up. Let it pick you up, but do not speed up.

Mi 22 to 25

Michigan Avenue. Two miles straight north and it can get very windy. Don't count miles, count the streets down: 31st to Roosevelt.

Mi 26

Mount Roosevelt. The only real hill on the course, about 20 feet, right after the mile 26 marker. Short quick steps, eyes up, left at the top, then sprint.

1. 01

   Cross halfway on plan, not ahead of it

   This course is built to make you speed up in the first half. You're fresh, the crowd is energizing, and with the GPS being wonky you may feel like you can go. For the first four miles ignore the pace on your watch and go by elapsed time at the markers (a pace band makes this a glance). If halfway feels too easy, you are doing it right.

2. 02

   Give your brain a job on the boring miles

   Right after halfway it's a lot of concrete, a lot of buildings and not much to look at. This is when your mind starts kicking in and your pace drifts with it. Check your effort at every mile marker. Pick a runner ahead and stay on them. Six water stations between 13 and 18: use all of them, and take a gel at 18 so you arrive at Pilsen with something left.

3. 03

   Three things decide the last four miles

   The wind: Michigan Avenue runs straight north, so if it's blowing, tuck in behind a pack and let them take it. The skyline: around mile 25 you see the buildings and want to take off. Don't. There's still a hill waiting. The hill: turn right onto Roosevelt and there it is. Short quick steps, stride open, vision straight to the top. Turn at the top, see the finish line, and you have permission to sprint.