Halfway Home: Mokena Man Finishes Chicago Marathon, Boston Next

MOKENA, IL — Most people will go their entire lives without running a single marathon. Mokena resident Mike Mendoza plans to run two of the world's most famous marathons — on back-to-back days.

Mendoza lined up Sunday for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, then was scheduled to hop on a plane and head out to Boston for its marathon Monday. That's 52.4 miles on the ground and 1,967.6 miles in the air.

He finished the Chicago Marathon with a time of 3:58:09, according to unofficial race results listed on the Bank of America Chicago Marathon website. He placed 6,474th overall; 4,637th in the men's group; and 791st in the ages 40-44 group. Approximately 33,000 people participated in this year's race.

But Mendoza, a Marine Corps staff sergeant who served three tours of duty in Iraq, is no stranger to grueling tests of endurance, both in combat and on the racecourse.

"In August, 2006, I was deployed to Iraq as a sniper," Mendoza said. "While on duty, I was on a balcony of a building when I was hit with a grenade. This blast exploded 2 feet from me which caused a great deal of injuries to my insides. Shrapnel tore through my chest and side, hit my lungs, ruptured my diaphragm, intestines, stomach, and caused me to lose my spleen."

Mendoza was awarded the Purple Heart. From there, he wanted to give back to other service members, and he found the avenue to do that through the Semper Fi & America's Fund and running, he said.

"The main way Semper Fi & America’s Fund has helped me has been to connect with other service members," Mendoza said. "Through these connections, I have been encouraged to live a more healthy and productive lifestyle. I was motivated to run my first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon, in 2015 with Team Semper Fi, and from there I was invited to run the Boston Marathon."

In 2017, Mendoza broke a Guinness Book of World Records by running the most 70.3 IronMan races in one year.

There seems to be little doubt that, barring any injury during the races, Mendoza will be able to finish both marathons, placing him in a special class of elite runners.

Start times for the Chicago Marathon are staggered, with wheelchair and handcycle participants coming off the line between 7:20-7:23 a.m., and runners getting their shot between 7:30-8:45 a.m., according to information on the Bank of America Chicago Marathon website. The Chicago Marathon starts and finishes in Grant Park and takes participants through 29 of Chicago's neighborhoods.

The Boston Marathon start times are also staggered, with wheelchair and handcycle starts between 8:02-8:30 a.m., and runners between 8:37-9 a.m., according to information on the Boston Athletic Association website.

Patch will keep tabs on Mendoza's progress over the marathon of marathons, so be sure to check back for updates.

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