Perhaps the only thing Stephanie Reinhart and Mark Jockel love more than running is each other.
What an amazing day!!! #marathonwedding @ChiMarathon
They met in 2013 while she was training for that year's Chicago Marathon and he was getting ready for the Marine Corps Marathon.
Naturally, they got married while running the Chicago Marathon on Sunday.
Congrats to Stephanie Reinhart and Mark Jockel, married at mile 8 of the #ChicagoMarathon. Photo from @NancyLStone
"I wanted a little wedding, and Mark wanted a big wedding. My colleague suggested that we get married during the marathon, and it was perfect: I get a short and sweet ceremony, and Mark gets several thousand guests," Reinhart told NBC Chicago.
They picked the corner of Roscoe and Broadway, a block short of mile 8, as their ceremony site for two reasons.
They wore appropriate attire — Jockel wore a tuxedo-printed t-shirt and Reinhart donned a white running top and skirt.
Congrats to the newlyweds! This couple just got married at Mile 8!
Reinhart's high school friend, who was her track teammate, got ordained for the event.
The ceremony lasted less than four minutes because, you know, they still had more than 18 miles left to run.
Mark Jockel and Stephanie Reinhart getting married #mile8 http://t.co/axfe6UFlmP
The Chicago Tribune notes that they toasted with Gatorade after exchanging vows.
Leading up to the wedding, the couple made sure to theme everything around running.
My favorite sign from yesterday!
According to NBC Chicago, they included race bibs and wristbands with the invitations and gave guests race bags filled with "running-related items" as favors. Friends and family carboloaded on pasta at the rehearsal dinner, too.
Marathon officials didn't know they were planning the whole thing, but they contacted them after to give them "bride" and "groom" bibs as congratulations.
"The marathon reached out to us to say we should swing by the media center afterward," Reinhart said. "And I figured it was either something really cool or it was an arrest warrant."
To sum up:
