He hates running, but Weston police officer tackles Chicago Marathon

 

If you ask him, Matthew Korzec will say he hates running.

That, however, didn’t stop the 23-year-old Weston police officer from participating in the 47th annual Chicago Marathon on Oct. 12, when he and more than 50,000 other runners took to the streets of the Windy City.

Korzec, a Wayland resident who joined the Weston Police Department about a year and a half ago, had previously run a marathon, and his sister, Katelyn Korzec, convinced him to sign up for the Chicago Marathon.

“I told myself I was done after [the first one], but my sister forced me to sign up for this one,” Matthew Korzec joked.

Several Weston residents also participated in the marathon, including Marian Johnson, Derek Oliver, Neil Wallack, Tyler Wang and Haiming Wu.

While the training itself is difficult, Korzec said the time commitment is one of the more difficult aspects of preparing for the race. Closer to the race date, he said training requires running up to 22 miles in a single session, which can take a long time.

“You really have to take a lot of time out of your week,” he said. “Normally, when I’m not training for a marathon, my long run is just four miles.”

Korzec finished the marathon in 4:45, a mark he said he was happy to reach.

“I could’ve done better, but it was around the 15-mile marker where both the thighs started to cramp up a little bit,” he said. “I finished. That’s all I really care about.”

While running a marathon is a personal challenge, Korzec said the fundraising aspect of the event is what drove him. The Chicago Marathon requires participants to raise at least $2,200 to run, and Korzec chose to support Home Base, a national nonprofit serving U.S. military veterans.

“I have family members, as well as coworkers who are veterans,” he said. “I think it’s just a good cause to raise money for. Every penny counts.”

His fundraising page will remain open for a few more weeks, and it can be found at bit.ly/4q7g8Qu.