Zach Runs Chicago

Every year Newcity releases its annual Top 5 of Everything issue . There are lists for film, theater, design, music, nonsense and pretty much anything else we feel like throwing in there. And every year I include a few running lists. This year I threw in three (listed below). The issue hit newsstands last week but it's still available if you want a physical copy. Otherwise, check out the full list at the link above and here are my running lists: Top 5 Chicago Running Stores Fleet Feet Sports - Lincoln Square Fleet Feet Sports - Old Town New Balance - Lincoln Park Nike Running - Bucktown Universal Sole - Lakeview Top 5 Chicago 5K Races of 2014 Chi-Town Big Game 5K (February 2) Ravenswood Run (April 27) Run to Remember (May 3) Energizer Night Race (June 7) Oktoberfest 5K (September 18) Top 5 Chicago Races Longer Than a 5K of 2014 Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle (March 30) Chi Town Half Marathon & 10K (April 6) Soldier Field 10 Mi...

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 t...

Runners shaking servicemembers' hands before the Soldier Field 10 Mile As you are well aware, this past weekend was Memorial Day, which is all about celebrating freedom and remembering the men and women who have died serving the country. Like every other holiday, there are plenty of races in Chicago to help those who are so inclined celebrate appropriately: by going running. Because of the long weekend I was able to make a double-header race weekend out of it (perhaps it can be classified as a triple-header, but more about that later) while still getting a rest day in between the races; I ran the Soldier Field 10 Mile on Saturday morning and the Ridge Run Challenge on Monday morning. Both races celebrate Memorial Day and both are races that I've done in the past (past Soldier Field and Ridge Run reviews) and knew I would enjoy. And I did: the weather was nearly ideal (it got a little warm on Monday morning), the races were well-organized, the themes were solid and in...

Every year Chicago adds a few more races to the running roster. In 2013 I ran 37 of them. And though I did repeat a few of the same races that I ran in 2012 I tried to find new ones as well, occasionally even making it outside of the city for those - I KNOW, what an explorer right? For 2012 I did a Top 7 Race Shirt post so I thought I'd do it again this year. It was actually harder this year to find seven shirts that I liked out of the 37. There were a lot more cotton shirts this year (both long and short sleeve), which could be because I ran eight less races than last year but could also just be a reflection of the races I chose to run (smaller, newer races). Probably it's a combination of the two. Either way, the trend towards athletic shirts that I noticed last year still seems to be holding true, but there is a bigger-than-you'd-expect contingent that is still holding out with the cotton (including one sweatshirt from the Muddy Monk Frozen Five). To me the key to ...

Yesterday Newcity released its annual Top 5 of Everything issue . And like last year I have a few running lists in there. There are also a number of other good lists in this issue (it is an issue of lists after all) so either check it out at a newstand or local shop near you (maybe this distribution map will help) over the next few weeks or view the complete list online via the link above.  Last year I made a semi-resolution to run 52 races this year (after running 45 in 2012) but I fell pretty far short of that goal after my IT band injury... so maybe I'll move that goal forward and try again in 2014.  Anyway, here are my running lists: Top 5 Chicago 5K Races of 2013 Chi-Town Big Game 5K (February 3) Ridge Run Challenge (May 27) Chinatown 5K (July 13) Terrapin 5K & Music Festival (August 8) Carrera de los Muertos (November 2) Top 5 Chicago Half Marathons of 2013 F^3 Lake Half (January 26) Chicago 13.1 Marathon (June 8) Chi...

I ran the Ridge Run Challenge this morning. In case you're like me from a few weeks ago and don't  know what that means, I'll give you a bit more info. The Ridge Run is both a 5K and a 10K racing event in Beverly (near Ridge Park). The Ridge Run Challenge is where you run both races (10K at 8 and 5K at 9:30). It's a pretty awesome idea - and a set-up like this probably would have saved us a lot of time back in February when we did the First Annual February Fool's Goal Half Marathon/Debacle . This may exist with other races, but I've never heard of a race with multiple distances coordinating it so that participants could run both of them (this did involve them shutting down the finish line for the 10K after 1:20 - so if you're 10K pace puts you behind that finishing time... this race is not for you). I don't need to go into too much back story about the race though, since I think my Newcity review covers most of it, most importantly that the 10K is th...