Woodridge Couple Ready for Chicago Marathon

This Sunday 45,000 people – including one Woodridge couple -- are registered to participate in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Of the 36,088 finishers in last year’s race, 57 were from Woodridge. That included both Jeff and Nicole Gaspar who will return for the 2011 race.

It will be the second Chicago Marathon for Jeff and the sixth for Nicole. The pair, who live in Woodridge and have four children, train and run the race together. Last year they logged the same time of 4:57:19.

In running the race, Jeff and Nicole raise money for Special Olympics in honor of their 10-year-old son, Trevor, who has Down syndrome. Trevor started competed in swimming and track in the Special Olympics last year.

They raised $6,200 for the 2010 race and were the fifth-highest fundraisers for the organization, Jeff said.

“It’s amazing how quickly I meet my goal and how generous people are,” Nicole said. “People are even more giving since they know it’s something that is important to me.”

Neither Jeff nor Nicole are big fans of running. It’s a way to be fit, they both said, and the race ensure that they train. In addition to the Chicago marathon, they've both ran the Walt Disney World marathon, made more enjoyable by the Disney characters along the way.

Nicole competed in cross country at , following her older sister, Erick Chesney, who was a state champion for DGN in 1990. Nicole went into the Air Force following high school and didn’t get back into running until 2006, when her younger sister completed a marathon. 

“You said, ‘You should run a marathon,’” Nicole said. “I was like, ‘I have four kids. Are you crazy?’”

Though her sister lived in Florida, the two trained together. Nicole raised money for Buddy Walk, a one-mile walk which promotes inclusion and awareness of Down syndrome and raises money for local services and national advocacy initiatives.

During this time, Jeff ran 5K and 10K’s. “You can always bust out 3 or 6 miles,” he said. “That’s not a problem for pretty much anyone.”

He wasn’t so into the idea of a marathon.

 “I had been doing it for a couple of years, and he was like, ‘No way,’” Nicole said. “I was away at a work conference and he called saying he signed us up for his first marathon. I told him, ‘I don’t know if you’re joking or you’re serious.’”

“I watched her do it and her sister and my brother-in-law and cousin and decided if they can do it, I can do it, too,” Jeff said. “I’m kind of competitive.”

The two decided to now raise money for the Special Olympics.

To train for Jeff’s first marathon, the couple began following a running training program in April 2010, running three mornings before work during the week and a long run on the weekend.

“It’s crazy what the human body is capable of,” Jeff said. “My body can do a heck of a lot more than I thought it ever could.”

While running the Chicago and Disney marathons, Nicole said she keeps thinking each race will be her last. But Jeff wants more. He'll even compete this January in Goofy's Challenge: a half-marathon race on one day and a full marathon the next.

“I do it because he makes me,” she said. “It’s fun now that he got into it. It’s good to do and fun to be able to have that time together.”

Jeff said running the Chicago marathon is more fun than watching.

“Chicago is different from a lot of marathons,” he said. “It’s wall-to-wall people for 26 miles. There are people four-to-five deep on both sides of the road. It definitely keeps you motivated.

The pair set of goal to raise $5,000 for this year’s race. They’ve raised a little over $4,000 so far.

You can help them reach their goal by donating here.