Does anyone have any special Chicago Marathon memories? I sure do!
Back in 2001, I was running down Broadway with a woman from Houston from miles six to eight. Tessa told me she had discovered a lump in one of her breasts the week before the race and she said she was worried she might not be able to run any more marathons.
I told Tessa that while I was doing missionary work in Brazil, many of the native women whom I was ministering would rub pure pomegranate juice on their breasts every morning to ward off evil spirits. Scientists had noted virtually no instances of breast cancer within the tribe and they were looking in to the preventative aspects of rubbing pomegranate juice onto one’s breasts. I urged Tessa to try the juice.
Tessa got in touch with me afterward and said the pomegranate juice routine literally made her breasts like new again!
I dropped Tessa around mile eight and was running with a man named “Lil Wheezy”. He told me he was a high-ranking member of one of Chicago’s most notorious street gangs, the name of which I cannot remember. He also told me none of his “homies” knew of his running activities and that he was scared that he may face punitive consequences if caught.
Wheezy and I had a long conversation all the way to Chinatown. I tried to counsel him about making good decisions in life. “Maybe the street life isn’t for you,” I said. “You seem destined for so much more!”
Well, Wheezy told me he appreciated my supportive comments. I surged and began running with a very handsome professor from the University of Chicago.
Around Christmas that year, I received a Christmas card from Lil Wheezy. He said he was no longer involved with gangs, that he wasn’t hurting the children anymore. In fact, he said he had just opened up an independent chop shop operation on Chicago’s south side.
So you see, the Chicago Marathon does change people’s lives sometimes!