Feature: Kerl LaJeune Talks Running 19 Chicago Marathons Since 2000, How the Race Has Changed, Pacing, and How to Increase Diversity in the Marathon

Kerl LaJeune has run every Chicago Marathon since he started running marathons in 2000 with the exception of 2018 (injured, but still involved as a volunteer for the anti-doping agency) and now, 2020 (COVID-19).

While Kerl aims to make 2021 his 20th Chicago Marathon, we took him to his alma mater to talk to him about how the race and his relationship with it have changed over 20 years the responsibility of being a pacer for the marathon for 12 years, being an architect for the public sector, and how to increase Black participation in the sport of the marathon as a coach for Chicago Endurance Sports and president of Chicago Area Runners Association.

Scroll through check out his extensive collection of Chicago Marathon merchandise he’s accrued over the years and read the full interview. Kerl wears the HOKA ONE ONE Bondi 7, a high cushioned neutral running shoe.

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When did you start running?

Running proper started for me in the Caribbean as a soccer player before distance running actually came around. The earliest running came through doing duathlons as a transfer from playing soccer and going into multisport which then graduated to the marathon.

When did you run your first marathon?

In 2000. It was on my birthday in Chicago. That’s why I did the marathon. October 22nd, 2000 was my first.

Talk to me about your upbringing. Where were you born?

I was born in Haiti. Port-au-Prince, Haiti which is the capital of the country. I was there until about 11 years old when I moved to the States as an immigrant to start a new life here and have been in the city since.

What did your parents do when they arrived in America?

So, as a part of the way immigration worked back then, my parents came for a period of 10 years to establish residency before bringing the kids. They were effectively a guest of an uncle that was here. 

What was it like in 2000 compared to the last one you ran in 2019?

In 2000, not that the race was smaller, but it definitely was not 40,000+. Running was largely male-oriented, women now are above almost 50% of the race, so that’s a huge change. Certainly, in 2000, I was one of the few African Americans you could see around running because most people were not from that classification. The race was obviously a different sponsor with New Balance as the title along with LaSalle Bank. LaSalle Bank was the biggest bank around, but very much community based so I think their interest was more general sponsorship not actively involved like Bank of America over time has become. 

The race itself, the route hasn’t changed dramatically over the years. It’s been very consistent but I think the support for the race and the marathon has bloomed. In 2000, marathons as they were considered by an individual, were basically impossible. The thought was impossible. If you do it you’re going to die. It’s going to be detrimental But now in 2019, everyone can and wants to run a marathon. I think the negative stigma about the race, in general, has completely changed. It’s gotten lax. Maybe because of medical advances or it’s because we’ve done so many things that are to an extreme that we’re not surprised by things like the marathon or climbing Mount Everest and any of those things. So it’s become a bit more mainstream to do it and I think Chicago has been fantastic as well as the supporters. The supporters of the race have been immensely intense over the years and how they’ve appreciated the sport and appreciated the spectating being able to have those connections where they want to be a part of it and if that’s the way they can, that’s great and Chicago has a great community that supports it.

You mentioned there weren’t many African Americans running that distance or the Chicago Marathon in 2000. The sport has become more diverse since then but it’s still not where it needs to be or deserves to be. With running being one of the most accessible sports, how do you think we get more diversity and Black people in the marathons, specifically.

It’s funny because I’m the president of CARA, by the way, if you didn’t know. I’m working on diversity, equity, and inclusivity with a funder that is helping us push that forward and one of the things we’re doing is looking at how to create access. Access is the first piece. Once you create access and provide the opportunity you then can work on the next step which focuses on perception and image and the things that we take for granted that everyone knows but we know is very biased towards a certain segment of our population. So, providing those now extended opportunities so that really the focus is really about health and the unfortunate challenges of the African American community when it comes to health in general. And trying to bring exercise specifically to this because there are no issues with basketball or some of the other sports but however, running is very particular and I think the way we advertise running, the way we talk about running, the way we have preconceptions about running are all geared towards the affluent. The imagery. The fact that, if I was running, even in gear, in 2000, people would foresee me as a threat. Now, in 2020 if I’m running in that same gear there’s at least a beginning of understanding that it is running. Even though they’re still uncomfortable, but it’s still running. So the image has changed just slightly enough by what is going on but it’s just not at this point to be recognized.

I think we’re really in an exciting time for running. It’s exciting to see Mo Farah win races and Eliud Kipchoge be the poster boy for the sport as a Black man. It’s exciting to see these run crews out in New York like Black Roses and Koreatown Run Club because they’re “cool” and they’re changing the image of what being healthy looks like and what a runner looks like. There’s this “health is wealth” vibe going on. They’re showing that it’s cool to be healthy not just mentally but physically. And also running shoes invading sneaker and streetwear culture that is so prevalent in Black culture. Running shoes are blurring the lines between fashion, lifestyle, and function. I think the sport is making strides but there’s still a lot of work to do and I think you’re right, it starts with accessibility.

[At CARA] We’re working with expanding access by looking at some local groups and creating an opportunity to develop running clubs within those communities in order to provide their level of communication, their level of access, their level of need because a running group on the north side will never tailor towards the south side or the west side but if you have a localized running group, which has a culture, which has an experience, which has an association, those things are now creating the aspect that then gets them onto the mainstream. It’s not that they’re incapable, you just have to get them into the mainstream. So by creating those opportunities, and there’s a lot of groups such as Black Chicago Runners, Men Run These Streets, and a number of organizations, so, we’re working with them and we have a diversity director that is working through this that we just hired through this funding in order to get this specific focus because it isn’t just about running, it’s about the experience of the sport that everyone from the north talks about but no one brings that message to the south or west side.

It’s also about equity in the sport. People confuse the term equality versus equity. They’re not the same things. You and I are equal because we are males but we’re not in the same equitable range because you’re white and I’m Black, and those associations are what has always been talked about. The issue of equality not necessarily equity. So that’s what we’re trying to change. In order to be equitable then provide access throughout the entire city, not just the north side. 

It’s interesting you used the word “bring”, specifically. At Fleet Feet, we’re trying to connect with the communities on the south and west sides too. We know that we can’t get people to come to our events when our furthest south store is Fleet Feet South Loop on Roosevelt. We need to bring these experiences to them, bring education around the sport, and host events there. We have a great store manager in Angela who we plan to work with to make this happen in the near future.

Sure. You’re going to get the sales regardless once you connect with the community. That’s the disconnect, right? Sometimes you have to do things for the better good and not for advancement. 

Has your relationship with the Chicago Marathon changed over the 20 years?

My first marathon was in 2000, five years later I started to pace the marathon. I paced it from 2005 to 2016. Over those years it’s fair enough to say that it was never about my marathon anymore, it was the marathon of others as a pacer. So, I have, very early, changed from being focused on speed to being a person of service to the race as a pacer and the marathon office.

I think in many ways it’s always been about the camaraderie of the sport, understanding its impact both health and mental. 

Do you feel a certain responsibility being a pacer? How do you live up to that responsibility and ensure you don’t fall off of pace?

During the actual race, there’s a lot of communication. Normally it’s about two to four of us within a pace group but we’re being followed by 200 to 250 people behind us, and that’s just the ones we can see because you pick up and drop people along the way. I think the responsibility is a lot of communicating, getting that consistency, showing them that sense of leadership to understand how you are moving through the course, how to manage hydration, how to manage the crowd. Because you are herding cattle, but you’re herding cattle across 26.2 miles and that’s the challenge of constantly wanting to make sure you’re communicating to get that across so that they understand. But outside of the pacing, is all of the preparation to get to that point. Of course, the coaching for Chicago Endurance Sports during the process is very helpful because I’m running with groups and talking a lot about pacing and hydrating.

2018 was the first time since 2000 you didn’t run it. How did that make you feel? Did you try everything to overcome the injury?

Absolutely. I went to Aligned Modern Health. I had some fluid in my meniscus. It wasn’t torn. I could have run it but I didn’t want to be in that discomfort knowing this race really well, what it takes, and what it provides. It’s an admirable pullback to admit that it’s not about the streak it's about safety. It’s about making sure I’m healthy and can do more and not prolong pain and injury. So, I took it off but then I volunteered for the race.

Tell me about that experience volunteering in 2018.

I volunteered with the anti-doping agency who is in charge of making sure the top tier athletes who come through the finish line are not doping. So the only way to do that is as soon as they cross the finish line, and they are all aware of this, that there is someone who is assigned to them to get them from the finish line to the doctors for immediate testing. I was shepherding the second-place winner, I think his name is Mosinet. Right after Mo Farah. 

Now 2020. Two in three years you’ve missed. Do you think this could throw off your streak?

Yes, absolutely. I have many years left on my legs to do marathons. Certainly, I don’t pace marathons anymore because it’s too much of a strain. I want to just do it for myself. There will be more Chicago’s.

Will you run the Chicago Marathon virtually this year?

I didn’t plan on it because I actually pushed mine to defer to 2021. I had already done that before they announced the virtual opportunity so there was nothing I could do. 

Talk to me about your career as an architect. What is your role now?

I am an architect graduate from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Architecture, where we stand. I had been practicing right before I graduated and continued in the profession with a firm that I worked with for a very long time for the majority of my career. I was able to do a number of different projects in different sectors from public to private to residential and commercial work, highrises. A lot of educational work for universities. Loyola University, Roosevelt, so I had a lot of educational work experience, which is how I ended up transferring to the public sector delivering projects on behalf of the mayor. And the mayor originally started the agency which is an interdepartmental agency called the public building commission of Chicago which was set up by Mayor Daley with the sole purpose that the funds of the public can be used and be trusted through development rather than private developers be a part of it. So, I work for that agency and deliver projects for the Chicago Park District, library, CPS, fire, police, Cook County, and city colleges.

What is the favorite thing you’ve worked on?

I’ll stick to the one I designed because I know it well enough. The entry pavilion to the Garfield Park Conservatory. Originally done by Jens Jensen both the building and the grounds. It’s a pavilion I did for the Chicago Park District I did as a new entry pavilion to the conservatory that handled accessibility, that handled some program rooms, and I did that early in my career and still love it as a simple building, that is very sympathetic to the existing greenhouse but also has its own character and how it deals with both material and form. It’s a very simple concave roof and that is really the most wonderful building I’ve been a part of.

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