On Sunday, August 2, Kara Goucher won the inaugural Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon. I’ve been following the speedster since her 26.2 mile debut last November at the ING New York City Marathon and had the awesome privilege of meeting her in-person at the race expo on Friday before she thrilled the city with her outright win. Kara is down-to-earth, quick to smile, light-hearted and refreshingly honest—in other words, a complete sweetheart who happens to be totally, ridiculously, jaw-droppingly fast. Click on the slide show here to follow her one hour, eight minute and five second–long journey through the streets of Chicago. P.S. While you won’t see Kara at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 11 (she’s running the marathon World Championships on August 23), she shared some solid and surprising tips for marathoners-in-training with me—so check back in over the coming weeks.