BUCKTOWN — A Kenyan athlete who ran this year's Boston Marathon and last year's Chicago Marathon will be coming to a Nike store in Bucktown/Wicker Park Monday to participate in a short Q&A with runners before hitting the streets with them.
Rita Jeptoo's appearances at Nike Running Bucktown, 1640 N. Damen Ave. are scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday and 11 a.m. to noon Tuesday.
Described as running with "electrifying speed," Jeptoo won last year's Chicago Marathon with a personal best of 2:19:57 (a pace of 5:30 minutes per mile), which was the fastest women's marathon time of 2013.
After opening her 2014 marathon campaign in Boston with a race time of 2:18:57, the 33-year-old runner broke the previous course record by almost two minutes and set a new personal best.
Jeptoo will be returning to Chicago in October "with the potential to rewrite the record books by becoming the third woman in history to run three sub-2:20 marathons," organizers of the marathon said in a news release.
A spokeswoman for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon said Jeptoo will be the focus of a Q&A session at 6 p.m. Monday moderated by Nike before joining runners on the store's weekly three- or five-mile training run.
The spokeswoman said "guests will be able to ask whatever they want" of Jeptoo during the Q&A on Monday and on Tuesday Jeptoo will return to the Nike Running Bucktown store from 11 a.m.-noon to meet with runners for photos.
Jeptoo ran her first race, barefoot, at age 15 and is considered to be "one of the fastest and most exciting athletes competing in the world today,” Bank of America Chicago Marathon Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski said.
The eighth of its kind in the nation, the Nike Running Bucktown store opened in October and specializes in running shoes and services.
About one block north of Wicker Park's busy Milwaukee, Damen and North avenues intersection, the store is on a stretch of street that is technically Wicker Park but to which Bucktown has laid claim.
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is scheduled for Oct. 12 and annually attracts 45,000 participants and an estimated 1.7 million spectators. For more information, visit chicagomarathon.com.
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