Chill Surrounds Chicago Marathon : Few Warm Feelings Between Rivals Benoit, Kristiansen

The wind whips off Lake Michigan, roars down the streets lined with skyscrapers and uncollected rubbish, and knifes its way to the bone of chilly Chicagoans.

It is raining and unexpectedly cold on the eve of America’s Marathon. The weather, to a certain extent, mirrors the feelings between two of the favorites in the women’s race: Cold.

Friday, Joan Benoit, Olympic gold medalist and former marathon world record-holder, exchanged frosty words with Norway’s Ingrid Kristiansen, fourth in the Olympics and current world record-holder.

The race between Benoit and Kristiansen is the focal point of today’s $270,000 event--the upstart marathon that has put the Midwest on the running map and all but blotted out New York and Boston.

To the delight of the women competitors, their race is getting the most attention. Among others in the race with Benoit and Kristiansen are Portugal’s Rosa Mota, the Olympic bronze medalist; Charlotte Teske of West Germany; Carla Beurskens of the Netherlands, and Glenys Quick of New Zealand.

Kristiansen has talked of running a sub-2:20 race today. Her world record is 2:21:06. Normally, Kristiansen is a polite, happy and soft-spoken athlete, but her comments here have had an edge to them.

“I will not do the same as I did in the Olympics,” she said. In Los Angeles, Kristiansen and the rest of the front pack let Benoit get out fast, thinking she would slow in the later stages. Benoit never faltered.

“If she is running very fast, maybe I will let her go,” Kristiansen said. “But my last races at 10 and 12 kilometers say I am as fast as her. So, I don’t think she will run faster than me.”

For her part, Benoit has been tight-lipped but confident. This will be her first marathon since the Olympics.

“Ingrid has the faster time, but I think Joan has demonstrated she is a barracuda racer,” said Bob Bright, the race’s executive director.

Asked if she was eager to run, Benoit smiled and said: “You might say so. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t ready to run. I’m here because the competition’s here.”

As for the weather, Kristiansen said it would not bother her.

“I am used to rain and I am used to snow and I am used to wind,” she said.

Benoit was quick to respond.

“The weather in Maine is a lot like the weather in Norway,” she said. “We get rain and snow.”

There was never really much doubt that Mota, Kristiansen and Benoit would choose to run in Chicago rather than New York. As the two-time champion here, Mota could hardly turn her back on this race. For Kristiansen and Benoit, the reasons were somewhat different.

Kristiansen wanted a fall marathon to finish her 1985 season. Couched in financial terms, that means Chicago or New York. Her status as the world record-holder gave Kristiansen considerable leverage with race organizers--a position of strength that was new to the Norwegian. She reveled in it. After having been spurned by New York, which already had it’s Queen of the Roads, Grete Waitz, Kristiansen delighted in telling New York to take a leap.

“I like Chicago better than New York,” Kristiansen said. “I like the people who make (organize) this race better than New York. Maybe it’s a personality problem.

“I’ve always been the second woman from Norway. The first time someone asked me to run New York was after the London Marathon last year (where she set the world record). I was not a bad runner before that. I feel I am nothing in New York.”

Given the choice between the back of New York’s hand or Chicago’s well-greased palm, Kristiansen chose the latter.

Benoit, meanwhile, was motivated by several considerations. Foremost for the Olympic champion was the prospect of the competition.

Benoit is like an old race horse that plods through daily workouts with a dull but intensive regularity. On race day, however, she is transformed into a high-spirited racer pawing the ground to get to the start. Benoit is here because Kristiansen and Mota are here. Benoit wants to test herself against the best.

She is also here out of loyalty. Bright, the race’s executive director, helped Benoit arrange an exclusive endorsement deal with Dole (the pineapple people). Benoit has not forgotten.

While the women were predicting a close, fast race, the men were speculating that theirs would be a tactical race.

Welshman Steve Jones, a corporal in the Royal Air Force, set a then-world record of 2:08:05 here last year. It was his first complete marathon. He returns in excellent condition and with a year’s experience. Australian Rob de Castella finished third here last year and fifth in the Olympics. He has run 2:08:18. Also in the race is Robleh Djama, one of about six world-class marathoners from Djibouti.