Robyn Luthi finished the Chicago marathon with a personal best time of 3:09:05. (Facebook/Robyn Luthi)

By Angie Rolheiser

Personal Best

Melfort woman competes at Chicago marathon

Oct 21, 2021 | 1:00 PM

A Melfort woman is coming off her first run at the Chicago marathon.

After two years since being on the start line, Robyn Luthi completed the marathon on Oct. 10 with a personal best of 3:09:05, shaving off 13 minutes.

“There was approximately 30,000 people in the race, so I was the first Canadian in my age class for women and the fourth Canadian overall for any women competing in Chicago,” Luthi said.

She placed 20th in the 40-44 age category and was the 164th woman overall in any age class.

The 2020 Chicago marathon was cancelled due to the global pandemic which Luthi had intended on competing in. This year, she wanted to attend both Boston and Chicago. The two were scheduled on back-to-back dates so she chose to go to Chicago because she had previously competed at Boston on two different occasions.

Radiothon update

Nearly $700K raised in Saskatchewan Day of Caring radiothon

21h ago

Car show

Inaugural Kars 4 K9's Car Show in Melfort held to kick off Father's Day weekend

22h ago

Extreme Weather

Conditions favourable for severe storms in Saskatchewan on Saturday

Jun 14, 2025

The atmosphere on the start line after a two-year hiatus was unlike any other.

“The energy was fantastic. I think for a lot of people it was their first race back after what has been going in the world,” Luthi said. “There was a lot of positive energy with a really great crowd and lots of support from fans.”

For her, this race was her most important because of what has happened and what everyone has gone through since the last time there was a major run.

“To get to that start line and for three hours I didn’t think about anything like that, and I was so in the zone for the race and that is all that mattered at that point,” Luthi said. “Overall, it was just a really great experience.”

Luthi’s last marathon was the Queen City marathon in 2019. Her goal is to complete all six of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, which include Chicago, Boston, New York, Berlin, London, and Tokyo.

In 2022, Luthi plans to compete at Boston for a third time and is hoping to get into New York based on a time qualification that she ran in Chicago.

“I also put in my name for London and Berlin because they are super hard to get into through the lottery so I’m just hoping maybe this is my year and I get drawn for one of them,” Luthi said.

Although the major races are on a much bigger scale, Luthi said there are many similarities with the Melfort Multi-K. As part of the Multi-K committee she tries to bring ideas back with her.

“I even took a piece of Melfort with me to Chicago. I wore the Multi-K hat in the marathon,” Luthi said.

The very first Melfort Multi-K in 2011 was the first road race for Luthi and she has never looked back.

She had some advice for avid runners and for those who might be looking at registering for their first road race such as the Melfort Mult-K.

“I always say, never give up, you have to put the work in to see the results but make sure you are doing it for you,” Luthi said.

Having a goal in mind and training for a run has benefits emotionally, physically, and mentally, she said.

Luthi plans to start a new training cycle in December through the winter for the Boston marathon. Another training cycle will begin in the middle of May to get prepared for the fall races.

–

angie.rolheiser@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser