Chicago Marathon: Love for running brought Glen Ellyn couple together
After Ashley Graham ran her first marathon in college, she thought she'd never do it again.
But then she did.
"I would just find different races," the 40-year-old Glen Ellyn woman said.
She quickly set out to run a marathon in all 50 states - a goal she reached in 2022 when she completed a race in Nevada.
Running became a way to visit friends and see the country. She even met her husband, Orion, through the sport, thanks to a mutual friend who introduced the two avid runners.
On Sunday, Graham and her husband will run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon together. The couple, who have four children under the age of 10, are looking forward to spending four hours running through the streets of Chicago.
"It is a rarity that we get to run together," Graham said.
Before kids, they ran a few marathons to help Graham reach her goal of running a race in each state.
Running together, let alone finishing off the rest of the 50 states, got a little more challenging as their family grew. But they adjusted - taking turns going for daily runs, cheering from the sidelines as the other ran a marathon, or even packing up the stroller to complete a race together as a family. Of the marathons they've run, Chicago is one of their favorites.
"It's easy for me to get there," said Graham, a division client relations executive for Bank of America. "The crowds are amazing ... the crowds carry you until the end."
This year's race is expected to draw more than 47,000 runners, the most since the race started in 1977. Runners will wind through 29 Chicago neighborhoods as they complete the 26.2-mile course.
"The entire thing is so exciting," Orion Graham, 47, said. "You go through all the neighborhoods, and they all have their own flair. It's an extremely fun race."
That's not to say it's all roses.
Ashley Graham says miles 18 to 20 can be rough. That is when she pushes through and plays mental games - like going through multiplication tables or playing the alphabet game using street signs or posters fans hold up - to get her through.
"It distracts my brain and makes me think of something different," said Graham, who opts not to wear earbuds or listen to music when she runs the marathon.
"I do get a lot from the crowd," she said. "If I see someone smiling at me, they're my new best friend.
"If I can get to mile 20, I feel a lot better and know I can get there (to the finish line)," she added.
The couple say they enjoy the health benefits that come with running.
"I find that I'm just a happier, healthier person when I'm able to run," Ashley Graham said.
This year, Graham is coaching with Girls on the Run at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Glen Ellyn.
Graham said the national nonprofit group's mission uses running to encourage confidence and healthy lifestyles for young girls like her 9-year-old daughter, Gracen, who is part of the group she coaches.
"I'm inspired by their message," Graham said. "The empowerment is impressive to me, and it's something I want younger girls to be able to experience."