I spent the weekend “jogging around Chicago,” as a friend liked to tease. In reality, it was a 26.2 mile run known as the Chicago Marathon.

About a year ago, my niece Sam Parker asked me to come out of my marathon retirement for her first. I had not run one since 2001, but I could not pass up joining Sam.

I immediately started training harder than ever. I used Facebook to chart my progress and to hold me accountable to all of my friends. #MarathonComeback was underway. Having no shot to keep up with Sam, I just hoped to stay within 90 minutes of her finish. I knew we would celebrate together at the finish line.

The first eight or so miles went very well. Then my left calf started tightening up (a problem which plagued me only recently). Within 30 minutes, the pain limited my ability to push off on each step. I could run for periods, but the pain would eventually take away my breath. I went into strategy mode. I needed to gut it out to the point where quitting would have been silly. Then I had to gut it out even more to finish. Despite the pain, it was really fun.

Chicago does this right. Spectators lined virtually every step of the course. Bands played and cheerleaders performed at various spots. It was like a big city party, and you cannot beat the scenery.

Sam finished in 5 hours and 15 minutes and I took 6 hours and 31 minutes. Family and friends celebrated our finish with us. Suddenly, the pain didn’t really matter (at least until later).

This was a wonderful experience. Joining Sam meant the world to me. The outpouring of support from family and friends overwhelmed me. My tagline was “I am not alone in this,” and this was true to the very end. #MarathonComeback: COMPLETED!

— John Wroblewski, online contributor