Zach Runs Chicago

It's that time of year again - the Newcity Best of Chicago issue is out! So go grab a physical paper somewhere! (All the items are also available on Newcity's Best of Chicago site .) This year I wrote a lot more of them but now that I'm the Assistant Theater Editor most of them were theater-based (like Best place to see comedy , Best theatrical illness , Best portrayal of hipsters and Best apology for interrupting an opening-night performance , among others). Still, I managed to slip in one running-related item: Best basecamp for a running event Nice job Chi-Town Big Game 5/10K - don't let me down and get a different basecamp next year! Anyway, looking forward to the Carrera de los Muertos this weekend after almost a month of no races. Hope it's as good as last year !

Day-of packet pick-up moved pretty quickly Sunday morning I ran the incredibly long-titled University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital RBC Race for the Kids 5K Run. Other races take note: that's a race title. Although really I think they just call it the Comer Race for the Kids 5K (which is still not necessarily a short title - it used to be the Comer Kids Classic). Anyway, the main thing that interested me about this race is that it was in Hyde Park and, more specifically, started and finished on the University of Chicago campus. I have a special place in my heart for that campus since I worked there for three years and earned my Masters degree there (in fact the starting line was right in front of the Ryerson building where almost all of my nerdy Computer Science classes were held). So, even though it took the better part of 90 minutes to get there (Hyde Park is not exactly easy to access via public transportation) I enjoyed the race and the morning of tra

Nike Running Bucktown at night Until only a few years ago - and maybe even until last year - I didn't consider Nike a "running" brand. I knew that they had running stuff and that I could get all the running gear I needed at a Nike store, but it seemed like a weird decision to go shopping at a "sports" store when there are so many great "running" stores tailored specifically for runners. But over the last few years Nike has been working towards repositioning themselves within the running market, and it seems to be paying off. Tomorrow morning (October 5th, 2013) Nike will open its 1st Nike Running store in Chicago (and 8th in the US) at 1640 North Damen in Bucktown . Keep in mind that a Nike Running store is different from a Nike store because, as the title suggests, it's just about running . Last night I had a chance to preview the store and check it out before their official opening this weekend. And I have to say I'm pretty impressed.