Sayenko ready to roll in Chicago...

CHICAGO--On the day before the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, paulmerca.blogspot.com caught up with former University of Washington and Sammamish HS runner Mike Sayenko (left/photo courtesy runsayenko.blogspot.com), who is one of the top American runners entered in Sunday's race.

As he says in his blog, "I can truly say I have prepared for this marathon better then any other one I have done."

The former Husky has averaged 100 miles per week over the last 32 weeks leading up to Sunday.

Sayenko set his personal best at last year's ING New York City Marathon, where he finished 14th in a time of 2:16:38.

In this video, Sayenko talks about the past eight months of training, which included a change of coaches to Eugene-based Brad Hudson, and his training venues, which included stints in Mammoth Lakes, California, and Eugene.

Sunday's weather, which may get up into the mid to high 70s, may play a factor in Sayenko's time goal of around 2:12.

Live streaming video of Sunday's Bank of America Chicago Marathon will be available worldwide via universalsports.com. The race starts at 7:30 am, local time in Chicago.

NOTE: Special thanks to Nike Media Relations for their assistance in covering the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.