Skip to main content

Shamrock Shuffle Media Challenge - Team Bair Feet

As a writer for NewCity magazine, I'm excited to be running the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K this Sunday, but I'm really excited to be running as a member of the press, which means that I'll be part of a very cool new feature of the race this year: the "Media Challenge." As part of this challenge, all the media participants (~33 of us) have been divided into three teams who will compete on race day for the fastest team time (the times of all team members will be added together and the lowest time wins).

Here's a description from the site of what the winning team gets:

"The Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K, Chicago’s traditional kick-off to the spring running season, will donate $5,000 to the Chicago Park District on behalf of the winning media team. Nike, an Official Level Sponsor of the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K, will award a matching donation of $5,000, providing a total of $10,000 in support of local youth running programs organized by the Chicago Park District."

Pretty sweet.

So yesterday we had an old-school draft over the phone and the teams were picked. I'll leave it to members of the other teams to share their team roster, but here is mine (the winning team, right?):

TEAM BAIR FEET:
CAPTAIN DINA BAIR – WGN-TV
Amy Rutledge – WGN-TV
Chris Fusco – Chicago Sun Times
Gina Urso – Chicago Sun Times
Julie Deardorff – Chicago Tribune
Kate Sullivan – WBBM-TV
Luis Gomez – Chicago Tribune
Rudy Segovia – WCIU-TV
Sandra Torres – WMAQ-TV
Tom Barnas – WGN-TV
Zach Freeman – NewCity Magazine

Right now I don't know any of these people, but I'm looking forward to meeting (and high-fiving) them on race day, or possibly at the expo tomorrow when we get a chance to meet (and run with) this guy.

Look for more Media Challenge updates here over the next few days!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Daily Guide to Chicago Comedy Shows in April 2018

April 1: Character Assassination presents The Roast of Disney Princesses at Laugh Factory The latest entry in the Character Assassination roast show series pits a collection of Disney princesses -played by Chicago comics - against each other. Starring Allison Dunne, Alex Kumin, Sarah Shockey, Gena Gephart, Audrey Jonas, Eunji Kim, Samantha Berkman, Stephanie Weber and Mandee McKelvey. April 2: Comedy Overload Open Mic at Gallery Cabaret A weekly open mic open to all forms of comedy that takes place at a sweet venue in Bucktown. April 3: Shake 'Em Up Comedy Showcase at Shakers on Clark   This free two-hour comedy showcase is hosted by Darrick J and Nate Galloway. Comics get between four and 10 minutes each and the hosts let comedians know a bit needs work by hitting a bell and "shaking 'em up." April 4: Comedians You Should Know at Timothy O'Toole's Really you should be catching this weekly showcase at Timothy O'Toole's e

Life of Pi: The Pi Day Pi K Returns to Fleet Feet Stores Across Chicago

I have run a grand total of ONE time since crossing the finish line of the Chicago Marathon in October of last year. I know, I know, I'm disgusted with me too. So when I got Fleet Feet's notice about the Pi Day "Pi K" Fun Run this coming Monday evening (3.14 - PI DAY, get it?) it seemed like a pretty solid way to get back out on the running trail without getting myself up super early or registering for a timed race where I would embarrass myself. Also, my wife and I ran this race back in 2014 and had a great time. Plus, after an article I wrote for the Tribune about xkcd creator and all-around baller Randall Munroe speaking in Chicago at an Illinois Science Council (ISC) event , I know a little more about the organization behind the Pi Day Pi K and their mission. Quick excerpt from the Trib article: Founded in 2006 by nonscientist Monica Metzler (who also serves as executive director), the ISC was created to help engage adults in science and technology

Chicagoland's First Annual February Fool's Goal Half Marathon/Debacle

A few weeks ago I was looking through the race listings for the month of February and noticed that there are three different races this coming Sunday. All in different cities. As I was trying to decide which one to run I realized that they're all taking place at different times... and then I started thinking... Why not just run all three? I talked to my running homey Antonio and after some discussion about logistics, we realized that based on the timing and location of the races, this would be an insane dash from Chicago to Highland Park to Hoffman Estates to Channahon and back to Chicago, with just enough time to park, get our bibs, run the races and (after carefully stretching, of course) head off to the next one. That's also when we noticed that by a pretty sweet coincidence, the three races just happen to add up to a half marathon.  So, obviously we decided that it had to be done. We registered for all three and created a new race: Chicagoland's First A