On cold autumn days, with the winds rustling the leaves on the ground, McCormick sophomore Kyle Holmberg ran alone, preparing for the biggest race of his lifetime.

That was a typical scene for Holmberg in the weeks preceding the 2006 Chicago Marathon. For years, he displayed great passion for running. In high school, he was a member of the varsity track and cross-country teams. At Northwestern, Holmberg is co-president of the running club.

Last spring, Holmberg decided to face a new challenge. Having never run more than a 5k race, he decided to sign up for the Chicago Marathon.

For many, running a marathon can be an accomplishment of a lifetime, but merely completing the race was not going to be enough for Holmberg. He not only wanted to finish, he also wanted to qualify for the Hal Higdon’s program to help with building up my endurance.”

In May 2006, Holmberg was running ten to thirteen miles every other week. While at home over the summer, he reached seventy miles in one week.

Throughout his training, Holmberg kept a fairly normal diet, limiting fat intake and upping carbohydrate consumption. When he returned to NU in September, Holmberg began taking protein supplements to ensure that his body would fully recover from his runs.

As the race approached, Holmberg followed a strict running routine that required him to run 20 miles once every other week. Prior to the event, these were Holmberg’s longest runs, 6.2 miles fewer than a full marathon.

After more than 18 weeks of rigorous training and dedication, the day Holmberg had been waiting for finally arrived.

On that cold October Sunday, it was forecasted to rain and possibly even snow. Winds gusted from the north. The temperature was near freezing. Yet Holmberg, alongside thousands of other marathoners, awaited the signal… and then it came.

Because he had no prior marathon experience, Holmberg wasn’t given any preference at the starting point. He estimates that he began behind 10,000 people.

“At first, I was weaving in and out of people, passing as many as I could. I kept a pretty conservative pace of 7 minutes 30 seconds the first mile,” Holmberg said. “I then checked my time and decided to pick up my pace.”

For the next six miles, Holmberg held a steady speed of 7 minutes per mile. After reaching the sixth mile marker, Holmberg found a running partner. For the next twelve miles he and the partner continued a keep the pace of 7 minutes.

“I was nervous that I was going to run too fast at first. I didn’t want to tire out so my partner and I worked to maintain a reasonable speed. For a burst of energy, I ate ‘energy goo’ every 45 minutes and stopped at each mile marker to get water and Gatorade,” Holmberg said.

By the 18-mile mark, Holmberg said he hadn’t felt the effects of the race. It was then that the reality started to settle in. If he increased his speed by 30 seconds over the next 6 miles, he could reach his goal of 3:10:00 and qualify for the Boston Marathon.

But Holmberg said he was not satisfied with simply meeting his goal. He had to exceed it.

“As I reached the sign that indicated there was one mile to go, I figured out that I needed to run a 6 minutes 45 seconds mile to come in under three hours. I pushed myself and came in at 6 minutes 17 seconds,” Holmberg said. “Crossing the finish line was one of the best feelings in the world.”

Holmberg posted an impressive time of 2:59:30 — an average of 6 minutes and 50 seconds per mile. He finished 944th overall, ahead of thousands of other participants.

Holmberg’s success meant that his mother missed her son at the finish line, because she expected him to cross ten minutes later with the 3:10:00 group.

The Holmbergs also had another reason to celebrate. Kyle’s 51-year-old father also ran the marathon and came in shortly after his son with a time of 3:31:14.

Both Holmberg and his father qualified for the Boston Marathon. As of now, Holmberg is unsure whether or not he will run, but says he will decide by the end of November. Either way, his feat will last a lifetime.