Runners sometimes got more lake than shore, and enough wind to skew their performances almost the entire way, but the first Lakeshore Marathon came off as scheduled on a cold, wet Sunday morning, April 21, in Chicago.

More than 1,000 runners battled temperatures of 41 degrees, occasional rain, 93 percent humidity and easterly winds from 19 to 25 miles an hour. Driven by the high winds, rolling waves crashed into the sea wall next to the north leg of the course. At some points, plumes of spray shot 10 to 15 feet in the air and cascaded over runners.

Finishers spoke of conditions worse than they had ever experienced. Some likened the event to an adventure race. Others talked of deep mud, construction barriers, very few mile markers, running on the sea wall, puddles, more puddles, and, of course, those huge breakers from the big lake. But the race went on and a lot of smiles were seen through the raindrops at the finish line, just south of Balbo in Grant Park.

The winner was Francisco Tomas, 26, of Alto Pass, IL, a small community located in deep southern Illinois. Tomas, however, runs for the locally-based Chicago United Runners. Having targeted a time of 2:20 to 2:25, Tomas discarded that plan early because of the winds, and completed the course in 2:34:50.

"The course was good. It was just too windy," Tomas said, clad only in a singlet and shorts. "It was cold. I'm freezing! The wind was just too hard."

Tomas ran the first 30 kilometers with a teammate, Cornelio Velasco, who dropped out. They went through the half-marathon mark in 1:16:22, an indication that the pace was slower than they had wanted it to be. Just six days earlier, Tomas had run the Boston Marathon, finishing in 2:31:06, as he was the first official finisher from Illinois. He said he had been using Boston as a tune-up for Lakeshore.

Also the 2001 St. Louis Marathon (fall) champion, Tomas said he will spend a couple of weeks recovering, and then plans to hit the local 5K and 10K circuit in southern Illinois.

Christen Meyer of LaGrange, IL, clocked a half marathon time of 1:34 and took honors as first woman finisher in 3:08:43, six minutes ahead of her 3:15 target. She described what was "my seventh or eighth marathon" as "hard and windy."

"At the turns at Fullerton, there were huge waves and I just got soaked," Meyer said. She credited the small field with making it possible for her to win the women's division, as well as "my CARA running group in Glen Ellyn!"

On the men's side, Chris Lang, 37, of Wilmette, placed second in 2:41:44, running most of the race alone. "It was a good course, very scenic, but pretty windy today," Lang said. "The waves were getting pretty aggressive today. It was a challenging course."

Third-place finisher and masters champ was Stuart Calderwood, 44 of New York, NY, who bagged a 2:43:26, despite the weather "It was the toughest conditions I have run in - it was like an adventure race," he said. "After I decided I couldn't run the time I wanted to, I just took on the challenge!"

Henrik Perani of Stockholm, Sweden finished his sixth marathon and first in the U.S. as the fourth-place male finisher. "It was really windy," he said between swigs of water. "At seven miles, there were waves coming over the course. I was drowned three times. It was more like an adventure race. There were many cheering happy people. It was my best race so far."

Back in the women's division, 24-year-old Sharon Murphy of Chicago finished second in the in her second marathon ever. "It was like an adventure race," she said. "But the course was great. It's where I train every weekend."

Maureen Kormanik of Evanston, IL, took third place in the women's field, running in her eighth marathon. How does it compare to her other marathon experiences? "Oooooh, it's not my favorite," she said. Huddled inside her mylar blanket, she described the experience as "Pretty messy and windy. I'm glad to be done."

Race director Mark Cihlar said there were 1,557 total registered runners. Results show 1,053 finishers. A lot of runners did not show because of the weather. Those who showed up were treated to an experience they'll never forget.

Photos: David Sisson. Top: Women's winner Christen Meyer battles the wind and waves with a couple of male counterparts. Middle: Men's victor Francisco Tomas approaches the finish line. Bottom: Women's winner Meyer hits the finish tape. Women's runner-up Sharon Murphy, men's runner-up Christopher Lang (183) and men's third-place finisher Stuart Calderwood (52) are very happy to have the race behind them.