Name: Cailin Jerger
Hometown: Decatur, Illinois
Graduation Year: 2018
Chicago Marathon Time: 3:47:09
A couple weeks ago Cailin Jerger went out to Chicago, but instead of taking an insta picture with the Bean, she ran 26.2 miles. Sounds like loads of fun! The Chicago Marathon wasn’t her first time running that far either. In 2016, she ran a marathon at Disney World, which was a dream come true for the Disney addict. This time she joined 40,000 other runners as they made their way through the Windy City. Kudos to her, because holy hell that’s far.
When did you start running?
Freshman year of high school. I had run some before that, but once I started cross-country that’s when I consistently started running.
What inspired you to run a second marathon?
I always wanted to do the Chicago Marathon because I heard it was pretty flat and easy and fun. I figured since it was senior year here at Notre Dame this would be the time since I’m still pretty close to Chicago. Also, I really wanted to improve my time from my first marathon.
Did you like the Disney Marathon or Chicago marathon better?
I loved the location and stuff of the Disney one, obviously, but I was so much better prepared and ready for the Chicago one, so because of that it was some much easier and felt a lot better.
How long did you train?
18 weeks. I started the first week of June and the race was the first week of October. I ran five days a week, one day was strength, and one day was rest.
What was the hardest part about training for a marathon?
Running in Washington D.C. this summer, because that was when I was starting to build up endurance and build up my mileage and it was so hot and humid there. And long runs, you know, they like take a long time, so you’d have to wake up before the sun was up, because otherwise you’d die. The motivation to get up early on Sunday, your day off, in the humidity and the heat, was just really difficult, but that helped me a lot when I came back here and there was cooler weather. My pace improved and longer runs felt better.
Where did you go for your long runs (we’re talking 15 miles-20 miles) around the rather small Notre Dame campus?
I would loop the entirety of campus, go to St.Mary’s, then Holy Cross, and do the lakes a few times. I prefered staying around Notre Dame rather than South Bend since I knew my way around and liked seeing campus while I ran.
What was the hardest part of the Chicago Marathon?
Miles 15 through 18. (Wow, very specific) The first half is so easy. That’s when the most people were there and there was so much energy. Then at mile 15 you’ve crossed the halfway point but you still had like 11 miles to go. I felt it mentally and my hips really started hurting, so it was basically pure will power from 15 to 18. Then around 19 or 20 I got a second wind and knew there were only 6 miles left, which was like a normal run for me.
What’s on your running playlist?
Hamilton. I would listen to the entire soundtrack when I did my long runs and I could get through about 17 miles listening to it all the way through. A month before the marathon I actually didn’t listen to it at all so I had something to look forward to during the race. I also really like the song “Rain” by The Script and “Learn to Let Go” by Kesha. My playlist has a lot of Disney songs too.
What did it feel like to finish?
It was really cool. My goal was under four hours and once I hit mile 20 and saw that I finished it under three hours I knew I could definitely finish the rest in under an hour. After mile 25 I knew I could walk to the end and still meet my time goal, which felt good. Plus, I saw my friends one last time. It was great knowing I was going to break my goal of finishing under four hours going into the finish.
Any more races in your future?
In February I’m going to Disney to do the Princess Half Marathon Challenge. It’s a 10k on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday.
What about another marathon?
Yes, but not for a while. It’s still a little too soon to think about that again, haha.
Images provided by interviewee
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