Carey Pinkowski, Executive Director and "Soul" of the Chicago Marathon, speaks to marathoners at The Runner's Soul

Mr. Pinkowski spoke to marathoners at The Runner's Soul in Elmhurst on Wednesday night, September 18th at 7:00 pm. Carey told runners he has lived a "Charmed Life" as he was a runner as a kid in Indiana and on into college, and now for the past 23 years he has been working in the sport that he loves. In his role as Executive Race Director, he is responsible for recruiting athletes, designing the route, safety and all logistics of the race.

Carey talked to the runners on taking the journey of the marathon. He spoke of the first steps to becoming a marathoner which involves the sign up, the training, the commitment and the sacrifice. Carey told the runners that the marathon is like life. The marathon has setbacks, distractions, lots of information, camaraderie, training and competition, and is well worth the end result. He shared with the marathoners that marathon day is like no other day and they need to take it all in.

Pinkowski assured runners that the Chicago Marathon has security this year as they have in past years. There are police and fire on the course, there is a command center and there are surveillance cameras on the course. He assured runners that the City of Chicago from the top down is committed to the security of the runners. He assured the runners that they will have a safe and memorable race day and the Chicago Marathon is one of the greatest tours of the city for the runners.

The marathon is also eco friendly. Carey shared with the runners that after last years Chicago Marathon, 38,000 garments that were left behind by runners were donated to charity.

Pinkowski's talk at The Runner's Soul was intimate and from the heart and soul of a man that has been committed to the Chicago Marathon for more than two decades.

If you missed this great talk by Pinkowski, no worries, as he will be at The Runner's Soul in La Grange on Thursday, September 26 at 7:00 PM. For more information on events at The Runner's Soul, visit their website at http://therunnerssoul.com/ or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TRSGotSoul