CHICAGO SPRING HALF MARATHON – May 18, 2025 (#98)

 

Wait!!!... Who took the “spring” out of the spring half marathon?

Let’s keep it hunny—I would never complain about running in cold weather. This was my third race this season with temps under 55°, and I loved it. It was the rest of the weekend that had this South Florida boy bundled up.

We flew into Chicago on Friday afternoon. The temperature? A pleasant 84°. It took nearly an hour to get to the hotel—O’Hare is way out there (note to self: it’s Midway only from now on). Rachel was working but broke away for a quick lunch. Afterward, we walked over to the Chicago Athletic Association to pick up my race packet. The shirt was solid again this year, and the merch? Surprisingly good-looking.

Later, we met up with Rachel at her apartment and had an excellent supper at Yellowtail Sushi Bar & Asian Kitchen. The food was on point.

Saturday kicked off with an early brunch at Avli River North before catching the train to see the Cubs take on the White Sox. It was about 62°, but we were cold. Our seats were on the third base side, under the overhang. I know people love Wrigley Field for its tradition, but honestly? It's kind of a dump. (Though not as bad as Fenway.) You couldn’t track a fly ball to save your life, but I appreciated the unique perspective from our spot. We left after the sixth inning and headed back to the hotel for a much-needed “Shabbos nap.”

Dinner was early. Rachel took us to Bar Siena in Fulton Market, right on “Restaurant Row.” We sat outside—it was actually warmer out there than inside. Behind us were two guys dressed like cowboys. I figured they were either auditioning for the Village People or headed to the Beyoncé concert. (Spoiler: it was the latter.)

Race day kicked off with a crisp 54° morning. I was in Corral G this year (E last year), joining 5,366 runners at the 7:00 a.m. start—almost identical to last year’s turnout (5,306). I waited just 17 minutes before crossing the start line.  The majority of the course is hosted along Chicago’s Lakefront Trail – extremely flat, fast and incredibly scenic.

One of the best things about this race is the spacing: you're never stuck in a “bumper-to-bumper” crowd. The staggered corral starts work perfectly, and no one seems to be running more than two across.

I chatted with Lenny for the first few miles—it was an hour later in Miami—before warming up and ditching my compression sleeves around mile three. The sky stayed overcast for the whole race, which felt great. I ran strong the entire time, though (as usual) my final time didn’t quite reflect that. No major moments to report—except stopping to pee three times—and it was awesome to see Glenda and Rachel snapping photos as I approached the finish line.

 The medal? Outstanding. The after-party? Big and lively, with live music. We walked back to the hotel, and Rachel grabbed bagels for breakfast. We spent the afternoon shopping and braving our traditional (and freezing!) architectural boat tour on the river, then capped off the weekend with dinner at Ēma—a go-to spot the ladies absolutely love 

 

All in all, a successful and thoroughly enjoyable race weekend.

P.S. Monday morning? 45°.

So much for spring!

CHICAGO SPRING HALF MARATHON – May 19, 2024

 

 

Great food…great shopping…and oh yeah…a half marathon.

 

Since Rachel moved to Chicago a couple of years ago, it has become one of my favorite places to visit (not that I’m a world traveler by any stretch of the imagination).  The opportunity to run a half marathon in May (where the temperature is less than 90°) makes for the perfect family vacation.  Lindsey would be running the Brooklyn Half Marathon the same weekend, so only 75% of the Sandhouse Running Club (excluding members without the last name of Sandhouse) would be together.

 

We took a 7am flight on Friday morning and met Rachel for lunch.  She was working that day, so Glenda and I went to pick up my race packet at the Chicago Athletic Association.  I was excited that they moved this from the running store they had it in last year, plus it was walking distance from our hotel.  Sadly, it was not much of an expo, with only a couple of vendors.  On a positive note, the race shirt was one of the nicest I’ve ever received.  Quite a contrast from last year.  They were handing out cans of a new sparkling water…YUCK!!!  Once Rachel finished her workday, we had supper at Summer House Santa Monica.  The food was great, and it was our first time going to Lincoln Park.  It was also the first time Glenda and I had taken the train in Chicago, which was way more fun than taking the train in New York.

 

 

Saturday consisted of brunch at Crosby’s Kitchen, located in Lake View.  This was also the first time we had been in this “neck of the woods,” and the day was filled with shopping.  I even got a pair of joggers from the Vouri store, but most of the day consisted of me sitting and watching Glenda and Rachel shop around the clock.  Once back at the hotel, we rested for a bit and topped the night off with supper at RPM Italian.  This is a super-fancy restaurant, and the food lived up to the hype.

 

Now that the food review portion of the blog is over, it was time to focus on the race Sunday morning.

 

The starting line was a little less than a mile from the hotel, so I left around 5:45am.  Since Chicago is on Central time, the sun was up around 5am.  I met a guy along the way who was participating in his first half marathon, so I tried to give him as much advice as I could (he asked).  I was in a better corral this year than last year (“E” vs. “H”), mainly because of my delusional expectations for finishing the race.  As my new bud and I got ready to enter the corral, he had to go to the bathroom for a second time.  WOW…someone who has to pee more than me!  As 5,306 waited for the gun to sound at 7am, I asked a guy next to me to take a photo.  The girl he was with asked me “Are you Rachel’s father?”  It was Rachel’s friend Lauren, and she identified me by the Sandhouse Running Club headband.  We met last year, but I’m sure neither of us remembered the encounter.  We took a picture together and sent it to Rachel, who I’m sure was still sleeping.

 

 

It only took about 12 minutes from the start of the race for my corral to officially begin.  The weather was around 72° and did not go up at all during the race.  Two notable things about this race this year verses last year:  First, more people to pass me, since I started earlier.  Second, way more people behind me during the turnaround.  This made me feel as if I were running faster, but we all know the real deal.  I have to say it was way more enjoyable than last year, with more people around me at all times.  The only thing missing was Elaine 😢.  There were virtually no bicycle riders on the course this year, which was annoying last year.  I ran a very strong race, and only had to stop and pee two times (I would say both were gratuitous).  There also seemed as if there were less pedestrians on the course this year, but that was also because there were more runners around me.  As I was crossing the finish line, I had a big smile on my face when I saw Glenda and Rachel cheering me on.  The medal was amazing, and I was happy to not be one of the last stragglers (even though I am still the ultimate slowpoke).  No race photos this year to show, as they decided to charge a shocking amount of money to purchase (last year they were free).  Even us narcissists have a price limit.

 

We walked back to the hotel, but Glenda and Rachel made a detour along the way to do more shopping.  Later that day, we took the train once again to Lincoln Park and met Rachel’s friend Anoushka for brunch at Gemini.  This place wasn’t bad, but nowhere as good as the rest of the venues we dined in.  We were all pretty beat down at this point but decided to walk back to Rachel’s apartment.  I probably did an additional five miles of walking on top of the half marathon.  We were too tired to go out for supper, so we ordered in from Happy Camper, which truly made me a "happy camper".

 

Very enjoyable and scenic race.  I hope both Lindsey and Elaine will be there next year.

 

 

 

CHICAGO SPRING HALF MARATHON – May 21, 2023

 

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