Chicago Marathon charity runners raising money for Northern Illinois Food Bank

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (WLS) -- Tens of thousands of runners are expected to wind their way through downtown for Sunday's Chicago Marathon.

Many of the participants will be running for important causes, including a local food bank working to feed those in need.

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James Kennedy and Mike Keane are getting ready to run more than 26 miles to support the Northern Illinois Food Bank, which is not an easy task. They are motivated by the memory of Sharon Kennedy, Kennedy's mother and Keane's friend, who passed away in December from ovarian cancer.

"It's been hard," Kennedy said. "Losing somebody that was one of the loves of my life. It was hard on everybody."

Kennedy was a young boy when he and his sister cheered their mother on at the Chicago Marathon. She ran it several times and created lasting memories for her family. She was also a dedicated volunteer for the Northern Illinois Food Bank, and she brought her family along to many of her volunteer events.

When Kennedy and Keane decided to run this year's Bank of America Chicago Marathon for charity, it was an easy choice.

"She just loved life so much, and her family and friends," Keane said. "It just inspires me to this day."

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Charity is a big component of the marathon. Last year, some 14,000 charity runners raised more than $30 million for a variety of non-profit charitable organizations. Marathon officials expect to top those numbers this year.

The Northern Illinois Food Bank counts on the support to try to keep up with the rising demand for their services. The demand has gone up 10% compared to last year due to rising food costs.

"We're struggling to get the food we need to the neighbors. The agencies need more food," Keane said. "We need more food, so it's trying to keep up with that demand. It's really a challenge."

The two runners said they have put in the marathon training, and now they are ready for the big day. They are counting on energy from the huge crowd of fans lining the marathon course to help them. That and their memories of Sharon Kennedy.

"It was really good memories and definitely inspired me to do this and to do it in her honor is more sentimental to me," James said.

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The 30 members of the Northern Illinois Food Bank marathon team have raised over $42,000 so far. They are still a little shy of their goal of $70,000 as of Wednesday, but they say all that money is badly needed. It will go to the food bank's feeding programs.