Chicago 1985 - "Jonesy, You OK?"

On Sunday Evans Cheruiyot won the Chicago Marathon in 2:06:25, a spectacular time in warm weather. Letsrun.com reports that the leaders passed the halfway mark in what they called a "ridiculous" split of 1:02:27.

I couldn't help think about a race I watched on TV 23 years ago, Chicago 1985, in which Steve Jones forever raised the bar on what it means to go out fast... and finish strong... in a marathon.

The field for the 1985 mens race included Jones, a former RAF mechanic from Wales (who had won in 1984 in a world record 2:08:05), Australia's Rob DeCastella, Djibouti's Ahmed Saleh, and many other top runners.

Carlos Lopes had broken Jones world record a few months earlier running 2:07:12 at Rotterdam, using two pacemakers for 30K. Following this trend, Chicago had arranged for a pacemaker for the 1985 race. The pacemaker's job was to run 4:50 pace, and the leaders acquiesced for a mile before Jones bolted. He simply ran away from a field of world-class runners, leaving them to wonder at his suicidal pace. Jones lengthened his lead with every mile, passing the half marathon in an unthinkable time of 1:01:40 -- 4:42 pace. And remember, this was 23 years ago, with no pacemakers.

So, would he blow up? His own manager was so worried that at 18 miles, instead of urging him on with cheers, asked him "Jonesy, are you ok?" Jones, who ran without a watch, just kept pushing.

In the final miles of the race, Jones slowed to 5:00 miles, and agonizingly missed Lopes record by a second, finishing in 2:07:13. It was tantalizing to think what he could have done with more even pacing and with a little help.

Meanwhile, Joan Benoit-Samuelson was in the process of setting an American record 2:21:21 against one of the best fields ever assembled for a women's marathon. Benoit-Samuelson beat favored Ingrid Kristiansen (the world record holder) and Rosa Mota, who would go on to win the 1988 Olympic marathon. It was quite a day.

But I still remember Jones' run as the most astonishing thing I had ever witnessed to that point in running. He went out SO fast, and ran solo for SO long. While Jones might not have been able to beat Geb or Sammy Wanjiru, I can't help feel that he wouldn't feel out of place standing alongside them on the starting line.