Jo Dee Messina completes Chicago Marathon

This marked Messina's second marathon of the year because she ran the Boston Marathon in April.

Messina kicked-off race day festivities, singing the national anthem at the start line prior to the 30th Annual Chicago Marathon. Messina finished in 5 hours and 45 minutes.

Organizers closed the race course to runners who had not reached the midway point almost 4 hours after it began with temperatures as high as 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

"It was definitely one of my harder runs," said Messina. "The heat was intense in some parts of the race. I kept telling myself 'this is no harder than my training runs' over the summer. Thanks to a spectator with water, I was able to stay hydrated, rationing a bottle of water for the last eight miles of the run. Not my goal finishing time, but, I'm still very proud of myself for finishing."

Lack of water along the course combined with high temperatures had police and race officials urging people to stop running and walk the remainder of the race.