A half marathon in the month of May? Get out of town!
Well…That’s exactly what I did.
You would be hard-pressed to find a marathon or half marathon in the state of Florida after the month of March. Since the heat is unbearable for us runners, you probably need to venture somewhere much cooler (aka out-of-state). For that reason, I don’t think I’ve ever run a half marathon in the month of May (excluding virtual runs). I made the ultimate “rookie mistake” last year when Glenda and I went up to Chicago with Rachel to help her find an apartment. I found out the hard way that the Chicago Spring Half Marathon was taking place while we were still in town. After kicking myself for close to a year, I signed up for the race this year and even convinced Elaine to join us.
If it seem as if the focus of this post is about food...you're probably correct. If you have ever been to Chicago, you know what I’m talking about. Glenda and I left Thursday morning and grabbed a quick lunch at Potbelly. We had never dined there before, but I’m definitely a fan. Rachel was working until 4:30, so we swung by her hotel after work for some power shopping and supper. Elaine flew in early Friday morning; After a delicious breakfast at Beatrix, we decided to pick up our race packets. No expo for this race; the packet pickup was at Road Runner Sports. We had to Uber to the store, which wasn’t as big as I had anticipated (they have a very large online presence). I was extremely disappointed in the race shirt, as white is my least favorite color for running. To be fair, I find most race shirts very underwhelming. After we left the store, Glenda and I took Elaine to Millennium Park so she could experience the “Bean.” We then went to Riverwalk to grab a snack and adult beverage at Chicago Brewhouse. Rachel met us back at the hotel after the work day ended and we went to dinner at Aba, which specializes in Mediterranean cuisine.
Saturday morning, I insisted that we had breakfast at Wildberry (which in this humble runner’s opinion is amazing). We dined outside, and the Blackberry Key Lime Pie pancakes were as scrumptious as they sound. We walked off the meal by taking a trip to Maggie Daley Park to make sure that Elaine and I could get to the race by ourselves on Sunday. The day was topped off with supper at Lil’ Ba-Ba Reeba! This place stays true to its Spanish roots serving a wide variety of iconic small plates. Needless to say, it was excellent.
I guess this is the point where I talk about the race. Elaine and I walked over the park and met up with Janice. She drove in from Michigan earlier in the morning and had the benefit of a one-hour time zone change. As we entered our coral for a 7am start, the weather was a picture-perfect 54° (about 30° cooler than South Florida). There were 4,804 runners ready to take on the course, and it took about 30 minutes until we hit the starting line. Once we officially began, I noticed that we were not packed in like sardines, which is usually the case with most races. Janice took off and Elaine hung back with me (her mitzvah for the day). Most of the course takes place along Chicago’s Lakefront Trail, which is extremely flat and incredibly scenic.
It was essentially an out-and-back, with nothing but water and the Chicago skyline to look out…breathtaking. My only real criticism was the number of annoying cyclists on the course, who obviously didn’t get the memo that there was a race taking place. During the last few miles, more and more cyclists, walkers and runners entered the trail, as the course was not closed to the general public. There were not very many volunteers towards the end, but the course was very intuitive. Glenda and Rachel were there at the finish line to take our photos, as well as Janice. The medals were unique in the best way possible, and the “after party” was excellent. We did an architectural boat tour that afternoon and capped of the evening by dining on the river at Pizzeria Portofino. Special shout-out to Rachel for being a great connoisseur of fine dining.
A great weekend and a great race. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for something during the dog days of spring/summer. I hope to do this again next year.
#sandhouserunningclub
#chicagospringhalfmarathon
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