Chicago rallies behind solo marathon runner from the United Kingdom

Woodhead made the trip across the pond to run Sunday s Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Being from the United Kingdom, he never imagined he would have dozens of Chicagoans cheering for him. Strangers even made signs with his name on them. Come to find out, his uncle, Phil Woodhead, helped make this happen with a simple idea. Me with my innocent, naïve mind, I wrote on the Facebook group for the marathon runners and spectators that if you have no one to cheer for, cheer for my nephew on my behalf, he said. His post received thousands of likes along with hundreds of comments and shares. People who saw it made sure to spread the word, like Megan Arseneau-Schutzbach, who posted about supporting Ethan on her Instagram page. I decided, what if I can get one more person to cheer on Ethan, wouldn’t that be amazing? she said. Woodhead said the support was on nearly every street. He was blown away. It pulled me along the whole way, he said. I’m sure the people around me thought I was a local celebrity or something. He reached out to his uncle following the race. He called me right after the marathon and said he had cheers on every street, on every mile, Phil Woodhead said. It didn’t cost anyone anything, it was just pure love, just pure wanting to do something nice for someone else. And that’s what I take from this. How wonderful is that. Ethan Woodhead flew to Chicago to run a race, but it s the kindness he found along the route that sticks with him beyond the finish line. You’ve made it so unforgettable, it’s been really an incredible weekend, and I can’t thank Chicago enough, he said.