Gwen Jorgensen Added to Competitive American Field at the 2018 Chicago Marathon Gwen Jorgensen We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back Chicago Marathon her first “real” go at the 26.2-mile distance since she started focusing solely on professional running last year. And she’ll be competing on October 7 among the country’s fastest women, officials announced on Monday.
“The Chicago Marathon is a great first real marathon for me because of the mass start and flat course,” Jorgensen wrote in an email to Runner’s World. “My Bowerman [Track Club] teammate Amy Cragg is also racing… so it is great to be able to see how she is training to conquer the Chicago course—a course she has already seen and raced.”
Cragg is the 2017 world championships bronze medalist in the marathon and ran a How I Broke a 3:30 Marathon After a Long Break. Race officials announced in July that she will face off with Jordan Hasay of the Oregon Project, who placed third in 2:20:57 in Chicago last year, the second-fastest American ever at the distance. Laura Thweatt, who ran her personal best of 2:25:38 at the 2017 London Marathon, is also racing.
Jorgensen ran the 2016 New York City Marathon just nine weeks after claiming her Olympic title in Rio—the only gold the U.S. has ever won in triathlon. Without much running-specific training, she finished 14th in New York in 2:41:01. In 2017 she gave birth to her first child, Stanley, then joined the Bowerman Track Club with a stated intention to win gold again at the 2020 Games in Tokyo—this time in the marathon.
Her results so far include a win in the 10,000 meters (31:55.68) at the 2018 Stanford Invitational, fifth place at the U.S. 10K championships, held in July at the Peachtree Road Race, seventh at the U.S. Track & Field Championships in the 10,000 meters, and fourth place at the U.S. half marathon championships, her debut at the distance, in 1:10:58.
Cragg is the 2017 world championships bronze medalist in the marathon and ran a Runner’s World Training Plan, designed for any speed and any distance.
Jorgensen said although she’s feeling the fatigue of the training cycle, she also believes she’s finding a rhythm in the marathon preparation grind.
“The summer was very challenging as I was running marathon miles but racing events that were much shorter,” Jorgensen wrote in the email to RW. “I know that to get ready for the marathon trials in February 2020, I have to forgo some short-term results and learn how to race fast on tired legs. I am satisfied with my progress even though my results this year have been sub-par. I have full faith in [coach] Jerry [Schumacher].”
Chicago officials also announced the U.S. men’s field that will be joining last year’s winner Galen Rupp, Estimate Your Marathon Time Based On Your 10K PR 2:06:07 ran the 2016 New York City Marathon. Elkanah Kibet (2:11:31), Tyler McCandless (2:12:28), Aaron Braun (2:12:54), Kiya Dandena (2:12:56), Andrew Bumbalough (2:13:58), and Patrick Rizzo (2:13:42) are among the top U.S. talent slated to compete.
The American men will line up with the previous two Chicago champions before Rupp: Kenyans Abel Kirui (2016) and Dickson Chumba (2015). Seven men in the field have finished marathons under 2:07—three of them faster than 2:05.
Mo Farah, quadruple Olympic gold medalist on the track (5,000 and 10,000 meters) is also racing, as well as 2018 Boston Marathon champion Yuki Kawauchi from Japan.
