Schaumburg native Patrick Rizzo will be one of the elite athletes in the hunt during Sundays Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

He knows he wont be pushing the lead pace with the Kenyans and others who have clocked in blazing marathon times. But thats OK with Rizzo as hes OK with his steady-as-it-goes approach. Sundays race will be his eighth marathon overall and fourth in Chicago. He looks to continue his progress and set a new personal record.

Anyone who has ever gotten to compete against me knows I am not a very fast runner, Rizzo said. Thankfully I dont need to run very fast in a marathon. I just need to outlast people.

And outlast people Rizzo has. His personal best of 2:13:42 is certainly impressive as far as marathon times go. He clocked that at his most recent marathon the U.S. Olympics Trials in Houston on Jan. 14, 2012 where he finished 13th overall.

In that race, he strategized with his coach Brad Hudson to run conservatively in the first half and left enough in the tank to pick off runners in the second part. At the halfway point, he was in about the top 50, then ran one of the fastest half marathons among the field to climb the charts. He ran nearly even splits 1:06:52 in the first half and 1:06:50 in the second.

Rizzo was thrilled with his performance.

To go (somewhere) from 40th to 50th place at halfway and to finish at 13 was what I thought I would do, Rizzo said. To actually accomplish everything and execute it to a T is such a feeling of triumph. You can prepare for it every time. Preparation can sometimes go flawlessly. The race day does not always collaborate.

The success Rizzo had in his last race will provide momentum for Sundays showdown against some of the fastest runners in the world. Chicago Marathon Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski calls the field the deepest ever weve had in Chicago and notes he has gone back to the marathon roots by bringing in athletes with impressive track credentials.

Ethiopias Tsegaye Kebede (2:05:18) will be a top contender along with Wesley Korir (2:06:15) of Kenya, who won the 2012 Boston Marathon. Kenyas Levy Matebo is the fastest entrant in the field, with a 2:05:16 performance at the 2011 Frankfurt Marathon. Three-time U.S. Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein (2:09:55) is someone to watch as well.

On the womens side, Russian Liliya Shobukhova looks to capture her unprecedented fourth consecutive Chicago Marathon. She ran the third-fastest time in history (2:18:20) to win last years race. Kenyas Lucy Kabuu (2:19:34) and Atsede Baysa (2:22:04) of Ethiopia will push her. The top female American runner is Dot McMahan (2:31:48).

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Schaumburg's Rizzo hoping to run personal best