Police departments from around Grundy County were well represented in the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 12, with six members of the Minooka Police Department and one member of the Morris Police Department participating.

One such runner was Morris Officer Ryan Ties, a long-time runner participating in the marathon for a third time. Ties ran all 26 miles and broke his record by eight minutes, setting a pace of 3 hours, 47 minutes, and 58 seconds.

“I was never a huge runner until a couple years ago, and the first two years I ran was for charity,” Ties said. “This time, it wasn’t. I’d run multiple races and got a guaranteed entry. It’s amazing how many people from Chicago and really, all around the world, come and watch the entire 26 miles.”

Ties said the whole journey seems like it has fans standing on the sidelines cheering. They might not have any idea who he is, but they are cheering.

“It’s kind of motivating,” Ties said. “It really helps you get through it. It’d be a lot harder just running 26 miles around Morris or something, you know, random, where there’s not people cheering the whole time. Going to one of the biggest marathons definitely helps your motivation and keeps you going.”

Minooka Detective Shallyn Pera was one of six people from the Minooka Police Department to run in the Marathon, along with Deputy Chief James Sinovich, Sgt. Jamie Picha, Officer Mackenzie Melendez, Officer John Martinez, and Officer Guadalupe Lopez.

It was Pera’s first marathon, and it was her first time training for a marathon. She’d done a few 5Ks or more in the process of training for this one, but running a marathon wasn’t a goal she’d ever had before.

“I always thought marathons were kind of for crazy people,” Pera said. “The fact that I did it and finished feels like such an accomplishment that I never saw for myself.”

Pera said Sinovich and Martinez had run the Chicago Marathon in prior years, and it was their idea to get a group from the Minooka Police Department to run. Pera decided to put her name in the hat.

“Frankly, I don’t enjoy the actual running action, but the reward afterward is really kind of what’s for me,” Pera said. “I think it’s addicting, the feeling of accomplishment afterward.”

Pera said she plans on running again next year, because now she has a time to beat and she has a guaranteed entry. Her goal is to finish in under six hours; this year, she finished in six hours and 48 minutes.