Chicago Marathon 2012: Elite Runners Impress in Record-Setting Race

The 2012 Chicago Marathon, celebrating its 35th anniversary, featured 45,000 athletes who all deserve recognition for attempting such a daunting undertaking, regardless of whether they finished the race or not.

Such a large field of runners, one filled with runners from different backgrounds and varying levels of experience, put on a show for those who lined the 26-mile course and for fans watching from the comfort of their living rooms.

That varied field of athletes featured a small group of elite runners, whether they be former Olympians or marathon veterans, who stood out from the pack, and they were led by this year's winner on the men's side, the man who set a new course record.

Tsegaye Kebede

Kebede set two records amid his victory under cooler-than-expected temperatures on Sunday.

With an official time of 2:04:38, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist not only broke the course record of 2:05:39, set by Kenya's Moses Mosop last year, according to the Huffington Post, but he also became the first Ethiopian to win the Chicago Marathon.

The only way victory could have been sweeter for Kebede would have been if his arch-rival, the late Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya, had been there to race alongside him. The two engaged in a memorable race back in 2010, one in which Wanjiru emerged victorious.

Feyisa Lilesa and Tilahun Regassa

Lilesa, a bronze medalist at the 2011 World Championships, and Regassa, who also won the 2012 Utica Boilermaker 15K, did not fail to impress fans and the rest of the field by turning in outstanding performances themselves.

The second- and third-place finishers, respectively, with times of 2:04:52 and 2:05:27—like Kebede, also ahead of the course record set in 2011—ensured that Ethiopia had a 1-2-3 finish for the first time in the history of the Chicago Marathon.

Atsede Baysa and Rita Jeptoo

The runner-up to three-time Chicago Marathon champion Liliya Shobukhova of Russia, Baysa held off a late charge from Kenya's Jeptoo, winning the race by mere steps ahead of her most fierce competitor.

Baysa finished in 2:22:03, giving Ethiopia a double victory on the day, while Jeptoo clocked in at 2:22:04, a time and effort that should be celebrated.

Liliya Shobukhova

The prohibitive favorite to take home her fourth victory in what has become her marathon, Shobukhova couldn't overtake Baysa, Jeptoo or Kenya's Lucy Kaboo, who placed third with a time of 2:22:41.

Shobukhova, who placed sixth in the 5,000-meter race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, finished 19 seconds behind Kaboo with a time of 2:22:59.

While not the victory many expected her to achieve, it was a strong showing for the 34-year-old who figures to be even more determined than ever to be the first to cross the finish line in 2013.