Zach Runs Chicago

I loved last year's Carrera de los Muertos so I had to sign up again this year. I got a ride down to Pilsen with Fuzzy and Erica (because they're super-cool and because Pilsen is not the easiest place to get to from Lincoln Square without a car). We got there with plenty of time to spare, which was lucky because we actually needed all that time to park the car and get a parking slip and all that. We ended up getting to the starting line just about five minutes before the race started. Luckily, the gear check for this race is impeccable and once I had my bag checked I think there was still about three minutes before start time. So I stood around looking at all the scenery: with the sweet costumes and bright purple race shirts, along with the (artistic) graffiti on a lot of the walls along the course, I think Carrera de los Muertos has to be the most colorful race in Chicago .

If you're like me and you have a Nike+ FuelBand (and after the release of the Nike+ FuelBand SE on Tuesday I guess we could say the OLD Nike+ FuelBand) and you sync it with an iPhone, you might be experiencing a few problems with getting your FuelBand to sync with your phone after the latest update to the app. Because I spent an annoying amount of time trying to get this to work again, I thought I'd list out all the steps in case there are others out there experiencing the same problem (you go to sync your FuelBand witht he app and nothing happens...). First, go into your Settings app and go to Bluetooth.  From there, find where your Nike+FuelBand is listed under DEVICES Tap the little information "i" and tap "Forget this Device" Now, hold down the button on your FuelBand until the little Bluetooth emblem starts flashing. Nike+FuelBand should show up again under DEVICES but it will say "Not Paired" - tap the information "i" ag...

Disclaimer: This is not about running. It IS about hit-and- running , but that's a different sport. Anyway. I've never made a petition or a fundraising page or anything, but for some reason  this video made me want to help this guy (the cabbie that is). In the video the cab driver tries to keep a guy that hit his cab from driving off by standing in front of his SUV. The thing about the story that got to me was how since the driver of the SUV turned out to be driving a stolen car (which means he's going to jail and not going to be paying for any damages even though he was caught) the cabbie now has to pay his $500 deductible to get his cab fixed and he was also disciplined by his company and is missing a week of work.

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.