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. ...

After the Friends of the Poor 5K turnaround/running beside the MMRF 5K walkers As I mentioned in my Newcity review of the Friends of the Poor 5K Run/Walk , there are a ton of races in Chicago (and a truly incredible amount of them if you count all the races in the entire Chicagoland area). Yesterday morning I ran only one of them, but because of the way this race and another (the MMRF Race for Research 5K Walk/Run ) had mapped out their courses I basically ran both. That breakdown is in my Newcity review , but I thought I'd give a bit more information here. I overheard some of the race organizers talking about the situation and thought it was pretty interesting. They said that everyone basically goes into the Chicago permit office around the same time at the start of the year and applies for their Special Event Permit . When they get their permit they're not informed about whether or not anyone else applied for (and received) a permit for a similar event nearby.

The bike transition for the North Shore Triathlon So, as I said in my Newcity review of the North Shore Triathlon , the triathlon is its own special animal - one part swimming, one part biking and one part running. And being good at any of those does not mean you'll even be competent at the triathlon as a whole. I definitely found that out yesterday morning when I competed in my first triathlon. Well, maybe "competed" is a strong word. Let's just say I participated in it. Obviously, being so involved in the running world I have heard a good deal about triathlons. A number of my friends do them and tell me how fun they are. But there's just never been a pull in that direction for me. I like to run and I don't really want to have to swim and bike before I can do it. Still, the triathlon concept is something that has been on the periphery for a while now and when a friend suggested I sign up a few weeks ago, I figured "Why not?" It's a fir...

Last year my friend John ran (and recommended to me) the 5K Run Against Traffick . So Saturday morning I snagged a ride with him to Diversey Harbor and we ran this third annual race along with around 700 other participants (a record for them) - with about half registering through Groupon. Basecamp was just northeast of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, where many other races have set up shop and things were well-organized, with a personality from Moody Radio providing the pre-race (and finish line) announcements. It was an open course without any water stations ("There are lots of water fountains along the Lakefront Trail," Laura Ng reminded runners before the race) but with plenty of volunteers along the course directing traffic. This extra support along the course was extremely welcome, due to the amount of runners (both participating and just out for a morning run), especially at the turnaround and near the finish line (this is one of those courses where you think yo...

After over two months of physical therapy (with the very friendly members of NovaCare !) I was finally cleared to run last week by my physical therapist. Not that I wasn't running leading up to that (as my race reviews will attest) but the therapist was only begrudgingly giving me clearance to run (mainly because they knew I would probably do it anyway) whereas now I've been given the all clear. Am I an ideal patient? No. But did I follow all of my prescribed exercises and whatnot? Yes. This morning I ran a solid three miles without any pain which was really exciting, though I have now been incorporating about ten minutes of pre-run warm-ups and fifteen minutes of post-run stretches to every run. It adds a lot more time to my running (oh, for the days when I could just go out and foolishly run with no pre- or post-race stretching) but it's worth it to prevent more IT band issues. So, to celebrate my newly cleared status (and to make up for the past month when I haven...