Zach Runs Chicago

This cougar was eying me... innuendo joke fail? The several inches of snow that we got Thursday night (or early Friday morning, I guess) provided a perfect set-up for a trail race through the woods yesterday. You can read more about the Fox Valley Winter Challenge Trail Series Trail Race #2 (I swear that's what it's called) in my Newcity review . Last year, I ran the inaugural version of this race (I say "version" only because it was a 5K last year and this year not only is it an 8K but the name is different and it's part of a three-race series ) and had a surprisingly good time, given that I had no idea what to expect from a snowy trail race and that I still wasn't that familiar with outdoor running in the cold. Up until this point I had spent most of my winters in Chicago either running on a treadmill or just giving up running completely and waiting for spring to come around. This 5K was also one of the first races that I reviewed for Newcity ( last y...

In case you weren't aware, registration for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon opens right now. So, if you're planning on running in October, and you weren't at the pre-registration unveiling last night at House of Blues, you better go sign up now. Seriously. Last year the race sold out in only six days. In 2011 it was 31 days... so if that same increase in registration is maintained, then according to my (very scientific) calculations, that means the 2013 marathon will sell out in only 28 hours. So if you're planning to run 26.2 miles through the streets of Chicago on October 13th, you have (according to my flawless math) between now and tomorrow at 4pm to register. Quick decision!

If you were outside running yesterday, or even if you were just sitting inside looking out the window, you are probably aware that yesterday was a terrible weather day. All day. The temperature stayed between 34 and 40 with freezing rain falling on and off throughout the day. But that didn't stop a trio of foolish runners from Chicago from completing the inaugural running of Chicago's newest half marathon: 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...

This morning was a cold one: about 12 degrees at race time (9am) and with a pretty heavy snow falling. Walking from the Roosevelt Red Line towards Soldier Field I was really happy that I registered for the 5K and not the 10K for once. Usually, I can't help myself and just register for the longest distance available. But even though I'm sure the 10K runners appreciated the snowy views all the way down the Lakeshore Trail to 41st street, I was more than happy to not be among their ranks and to be able to turn left just north of 31st street and start heading back towards the United Club inside Soldier Field. You can check out more about the race itself in my Newcity review . With the wind blowing against me in both directions (or seeming to) I felt like I was running a lot harder than I really was the entire time.   My phone was still partially frozen... I ended up with a 22:55, which was good enough for 16th overall and 3rd in my age group (another reason to run the shor...