Skip to main content

Memorial Day Weekend Running - Ridge Run Challenge

Runners lined up at the starting line for the Ridge Run 10K
As I said in my last post, this past weekend included Memorial Day and the celebration was all about freedom. After running the Soldier Field 10 Mile on Saturday and resting on Sunday I got up early again on Monday to head down to south Chicago for the Ridge Run Challenge.

The Ridge Run is a race in Beverly that has been around for nearly four decades but that I just found out about last year. And after loving it last year (despite dealing with an injury) I couldn't pass it up this year (now that I'm not dealing with an injury). Basically, it's a normal race day with two separate distances: a 10K and a 5K. The unique thing here is that the races are spaced out enough so that you can do both of them. And they actually have a name for doing both of them: the Ridge Run Challenge.

On Saturday morning, Fuzzy and Erica picked me up at 6:00 and we headed to Beverly. Turns out there's no traffic at that time so we actually got there pretty early and had some time to walk around after packet pick-up but before the race started. This also gave us time to debate whether we should wear both race bibs for both races or just the appropriate bib for each race (as a Ridge Run Challenger you get a bib for each race - with a fancy gold sticker on it too!). We settled on just wearing one bib per race to make sure our times didn't somehow get screwed up. Not sure if this mattered or not.


The 10K kicked off on time at 8am down the fancy streets of Beverly. It was a pretty warm morning and there were a lot of residents out with their sprinklers or hoses spraying the street (thank you!). Also, this guy figured it was too hot for shoes:
Minimalist shoes are too much for this guy running the Ridge Run
The course weaves its way through some pretty nice neighborhoods (and up a few hills). A lot of the houses in Beverly are pretty incredible so it's a scenic course to run through - and especially nice to get to enjoy some warm weather on a relatively well-shaded course.
Finishers of the Ridge Run 10K
After finishing the 10K I was a lot more tired than I expected to be. I met up with Erica at the finish line, got a sandwich from the post-race food area and went to find some shade to stretch in. And then at 9:30 it was time to start again with the 5K. This race is about twice as big as the 10K (666 finishers vs. 1302) and could definitely benefit from some pace groups or at least signs helping people place themselves in the starting chute.
The starting line for the Ridge Run 5K
It was about 80 degrees by 9:30 and my Texan ancestors would be embarrassed that I found this hot, but I did and it definitely slowed my pace down a lot. Still, the neighborhood sprinklers were still going and there was enough shade to keep it from being too bad. Also, did I mention it's a beautiful neighborhood?

I had more fun at this Ridge Run Challenge than I did last year - based partly on the lack of rain (it rained a lot during last year's), partly on the company of Fuzzy and Erica and partly on not having an IT-band injury to deal with. So, overall it was a super fun day of running and if you haven't made it down for the Ridge Run Challenge yet, I definitely recommend it.

I even remembered to get my Challenge medal this year (last year I didn't know where to claim it but they kindly mailed it to me after reading my blog post about it).

So here is a photo of two champions (one is an Iron Man and one is not - hint: the one wearing the hat IS).
Zach and Fuzzy, Challenge Medal Winners
Ridge Run Challengers (Photo from Fuzzyco)

And here's my (super cute) parting shot:
Erica waves to Fuzzy as he crosses the 10K finish line
Labels:

Comments

  1. Erica AMay 29, 2014 at 12:14 PM

    I did the challenge, too! We signed up last minute (so no gold badge) but they said you needed to wear only one bib. I felt awful in the 10K (blaming heat after this winter) but surprisingly good in 5K. You never know what you are going to get. I loved the local vibe of this race!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top 7 Chicago Race Shirts (and a Hat) of 2012

Remember when race shirts were pretty much guaranteed to be over-sized white cotton, seemingly designed so that you could wear them once (if you really wanted to show that you ran the race) and then probably never again? One side had the race logo and the other had about 20 sponsors. And the long-sleeve ones had little cuffs at the wrists to make sure you got that nice puffed sleeve look that no one has ever asked for. These days it seems like almost every race is giving out running shirts rather than old-school cotton, and mostly I'm thankful for this change because it seems like they spend more time picking an appropriate color and working on a legitimate design rather than just slapping their logo onto some cotton for you (although I did get a few race shirts this year that went with that style... surprisingly enough, those shirts aren't in my closet anymore). Anyway, pretty much every race includes a shirt. Some are awesome, some are terrible and some are just... shirt...
12 comments
Read more

Winning a 5K and Being "That Guy" - P.A.A.W.R. to Empower 5K in pictures

Some organizations are not quite ready to organize 5Ks. And Pan-African Association (a group that provides "services and programs that benefit refugee and immigrant individuals and families") is one of those organizations. They have a great group of volunteers, an ideal location for a race and plenty of other well-organized family activities around the race (including dance lessons, kid's races, etc.). And though this was the second annual P.A.A.W.R. to Empower 5K (Pan-African Association Walk & Run to Empower Refugees and Immigrants), there was very little in the sense of "organization" around the 5K, which was scheduled to start at 10:30 (see schedule below) but didn't get going until 11:10. (seriously? 40 minute delay? yes, seriously). The "official" race schedule But before I start describing the bad parts of this event and sound like the Type-A runner that I am, I'd like to talk about all the good stuff. And there's plenty...
7 comments
Read more

Your Guide to Chicago City Chase...

Before 6 hours of city chasing ...based on the challenges we did (and didn't) complete. If you did City Chase this year then maybe this list will remind you of the challenges you chose to take on (assuming there was some overlap). If not, maybe this will inspire you to take it on next year. If you're into the element of surprise (which is part of what makes City Chase so fun) then don't read any further (spoiler alert and all that). I won't be listing all the specifics about any of the challenges so there should still be some mystery around the challenges but this list should definitely give you a leg up if you're just looking to know more before you take this thing on yourself. For a review of the event as a whole (not a detailed recounting of this year's challenges) check out my Newcity review . Anyway, here we go. Since we picked up our packets and whatnot at one of the locations earlier in the week we didn't have to arrive at the starting lin...
5 comments
Read more