Favorites lists include her name
A long flight from Latvia to Chicago went well. Now, Jelena Prokopchuka hopes her marathon on Sunday goes even better. Prokopchuka, 27, arrived in Chicago in great shape according to her coach and husband, Alex, and will go after a 2:22 on Chicago's fast, flat course. A time like that will have her in the title mix with the likes of Svetlana Zakrhaova of Russia, Lida Simon of Romania and a few other strong runners, mostly from Eastern Europe.

The Latvian 10,000-meter record-holder (31:06), Prokopchuka has had eight weeks of good solid training since that record run in Paris at August's World Championships. Before that, she broke into the marathon ranks with a very respectable 2:24:01 at London in April.

"I felt very good at London," she told Chicago Athlete on Saturday in the Chicago Marathon Media Center. "The conditions were very good. Now we want to do a little better. I have good speed, but the weather is a little warm for me."

Weather forecasts call for a chance of rain Saturday night and then cooler temperatures. The forecast for the start is for temps in the high 40s, rising to the mid 60s. A light winds out of the northwest is also likely.

Propokchuka, a sports trainer for the Latvian Army, is used to kilometer splits instead of miles. "She will do her splits in her head," Alex said. "She does the match while she's running."

When told a lot of members of the media had her included on their favorites lists, she acted surprised.

On Sunday, she could be the one who surprises not just herself, but the other runners as well.