Tracy Thomas is having a busy year. She has already completed two 100 mile races this year and plans on participating in five more, including one 72 hour race. She trains nearly every day, sometimes sleeping just a few hours before waking up at one o'clock in the morning to run. She has run through sweltering heat. She has run up mountains and through forests. She has gone running in blizzard conditions so cold that when she blinked, the water in her eyes nearly froze them shut. She will run at any time, on a trail or on the road. She runs with friends and competitors. She runs with her partner of six years, Laura. She runs for good causes. She runs for herself. Now she's coming to run in Chicago.

On July 22, she'll be participating in the Gay Games marathon, an event in which she took the gold medal in at the 2002 games in Sydney, Australia. Eager as she is to compete again, the 44-year old personal trainer has other goals besides defending her gold medal win: spending time with Laura and making some new friends in the gay community. The marathon, held on the last day of the Games, gives her a chance to continue training, enjoy the event's cultural aspects, and support her fellow athletes--her favorite part of the experience. "You feel like part of a big family," she says of participating in the Games. "Even in competition, you find yourself cheering other people on."

After hearing about the Games from some friends who had medalled in tennis at the New York City Games, she flew to Amsterdam in 1998 to compete in the marathon. She flew home with a silver medal. "After that experience," Thomas says, "I was hooked." Four years later, she flew to Sydney and took the gold medal in the marathon. Thomas, a native of Long Beach, California who currently lives in Champaign, Ill., feels this year's race is going to be a lot more competitive--not that it often crosses her mind. "I go to the games because I love to run. Whether I come in first or last, it doesn't matter, as long as I do my best," Thomas says. "But don't get me wrong--I'll run my butt off."

The cross between competition and camaraderie is the elemental character of the Gay Games. The eight-day gathering is more than just a collection of world-class athletes. For the participants, pros or amateurs, young or old, gay or straight, the Games personify the spirit of encouragement, inclusiveness, and a desire to do your personal best. It's what makes the Games so appealing for people like Thomas and the thousands of others who travel around the world to be part of a community of athletes and friends. Some will come to win medals. Some will come to set world records. Some will come simply to watch, cheer and support. One thing ties them all together: They're all here for the love of the Games.

From July 15-22, the Gay Games will take place across Cook County, stretching from Hyde Park up to Evanston and out to Crystal Lake. Held every four years, this will be the seventh event since 1982, when Olympic decathlete Tom Waddell organized the first Gay Games in San Francisco. For more than two decades, cities across the world--from Vancouver to Amsterdam to Sydney--have hosted the games. This year, Chicago will be home to more than 12,000 athletes of every nationality, age and lifestyle. The Games will take full advantage of the city's natural beauty and cultural attractions. There will be music. There will be dancing. There will be an opening ceremony at Soldier Field featuring a 500-member Ceremonies Chorus and the Ignition of the Flame. There will be art and culture. And, of course, there will be sports. Lots of sports.

Thirty, to be exact, ranging from sailing to cycling to darts. The marathon, which will be held on the Lakefront Trail on the last day of the games, is expected to bring more than 400 participants. Some of the new events this year include flag football, union rugby and beach volleyball. The sailing competition, also new for this year, will take place in Lake Michigan, departing from Belmont Harbor and racing down the lake past the skyline. Many of the participants will be returning to defend medals won in Sydney in 2002; others will be competing for the first time. But in the spirit of the Games, many people are coming out to compete and do their personal best, no matter what color medal they're holding at the end.

Nancy Harris, this year's sports director, has done much of the planning for the Games. She's worked with the Mayor's office and Park Commission for two years, planning routes, registering volunteers and working on safety concerns. As for planning around Chicago's notoriously hot summers? "I've already put in my request for 72 degrees and sunny," she says, laughing.

The larger events tend to be the most popular, Harris says, such as tennis, softball and swimming, although she's been surprised and delighted by the number of participants planning to compete in the triathlon, which will be held along the city's lakeshore. "We figured we'd get 300 people, and we're well over 400 now," she says. "We're very excited about it."

The Chicago Razors, the city's gay triathlon team, is one of the newest organizations to be participating in the Games. More than 20 of the 50 members are expected to compete in the triathlon event, including its founder, 47-year-old Chicago physician Bill Toepper, who participated in the Vancouver, New York, and Amsterdam Games, taking the silver medal in the one mile competition in New York.

Toepper has competed in four Ironman races and trains daily, though his unusual schedule keeps his training schedule in flux. "I try to plan on doing a sport every day," he says. "I have a goal of doing one really great swim, bike or run a week." After participating in the International Long Course Championships for Team USA in Nice, France in 2000, Toepper took a break from competition, feeling he had reached his peak. That all changed when he learned the Gay Games would be coming to Chicago. "You get to live the Olympic dream," Toepper says. "Running through the streets of Chicago as an openly gay athlete will be phenomenal."

In 2004, Toepper took a sabbatical to Central America and Papua New Guinea, staffing a volunteer malaria clinic. For months he lived in some of the most dangerous areas of the world. He always kept his sneakers with him, in case he had to make a run for it, he jokes. But through the fear and depressing conditions, the trip had a profound experience on him and his attitude toward life. "When disappointments come my way, they pass quickly, because I go back to those darker moments in my life," he says. "A lot of the stress of training is going away."

Like Thomas and Harris, Toepper is focused on one main goal; going into the Games with a positive mental attitude and the dedication to give his all. If one thing can be said for the Games, it should be said that it is a sporting event of true inclusiveness, where the only requirements (besides the registration fee) are a positive attitude and a love of athletic competition, be it with other athletes or with your own expectations. "I hope people can sign up for their sport and come in first or last and know they've done their best," Toepper asserts. "I don't think that can be said enough."

FIVE TO WATCH
Here's a look a five athletes who are looking to win big at the Games.

* A U.S. National Champion Triathlete in 1999 and a World Champion Triathlete in 2000, 50-year-old actor Rand Smith will be going for the gold when he competes in the Triathlon at the Games. This will also a celebration of Smith's new status as an openly gay athlete, and his "triumphal return" to the triathlon competition after years of physical therapy due to hand injuries.

* Joseph John Smith, of Hopatcong, N.J., has spent his life competing in sports as varied as football, baseball and wrestling. Smith is currently training five days a week for the upcoming Games. He'll be defending a slew of gold medals won at the Sydney games, including the 4x1, 4x2 and 4x3 relays, as well as participating in the long jump, javelin and hammer throw.

* Martje Hoekmeijer will be traveling from Amsterdam to Chicago to compete in the 100m, 200m, 400m and long jump competitions. For the last three years she has placed in the top five spots in the Dutch National Championship series, coming in second on the 200m in 2003.

* While juggling careers as a real estate investor and personal trainer, Melody Roth finds time to train for the physique competition, where she will be participating as an individual and in mixed couples bodybuilding. Roth has overcome five knee surgeries and two shoulder surgeries, placing first or second place in events like the Tournament of Champions competition in California and the Venice Beach Muscle Classic.

* Illinois athlete Tracy Thomas has been running competitively for more than 30 years, and participated in the Gay Games in Amsterdam and Sydney, winning the marathon in Sydney in 2002. Thomas has twice completed the Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run and run more than 30 ultramarathons. Thomas also runs a personal training company in Champaign, Ill., and also works as a running coach. She looks forward to winning her second marathon gold medal. --Nathan Eddy