Zach Runs Chicago

Rita Jeptoo, eye-catchingly dressed in brightly-colored Nike running gear, with flashy pink fingernails that sparkle when she talks with her hands (which she does often), is surprisingly soft-spoken and reserved at first. Despite being the defending champion of both the Chicago and Boston marathons, she gazes around shyly as she offers a delicate handshake to each of us. She's instantly one of the most likeable people I've ever met. Rita Jeptoo discussing her training at Nike Running Bucktown Gathering around her with a small group of running bloggers (including Erica , Emily and Jen ) in Nike Running Bucktown to ask her questions I can't help feeling like we were boxing her in, each of us slowly inching closer and closer to hear her almost-whispered responses over the din of runners preparing for a Monday night run. But as the circle slowly closes around her she actually seems to grow more comfortable, unleashing several lengthy stream-of-consciousness responses to q...

Several years ago my wife participated in the Hustle Up the Hancock stair climb. At the time we lived in a highrise in River North and she trained by walking up and down the stairwell in our 33-story building. I trained with her a few times and quickly found out that stair climbing is wayyyy harder than it looks. Later, while participating in the Men's Health Urbanathlon I got another chance to tackle stair climbing. This time in Soldier Field. It was no easier. So, looking at the description for the upcoming Storm the Stadium (Chicago's longest and only open-air stair climb) at U.S. Cellular Field, I'm imagining that there are going to be plenty of people on event day showing up for an event that is a lot harder than they're expecting. I'd love to be one of those people. Unfortunately, I'm going to be out of Chicago that weekend so I'm not going to be able to. However, I do have a discount code for $10 off registration if you register before Au...

Runners delaying the inevitable Saturday morning before the Chinatown 5K If you were running on Saturday morning, you may have noticed that it rained a little bit. That's a bit of an understatement. It rained like Darren Aronofsky was in charge of the weather . Luckily, I didn't see Russell Crowe walking around with crazy eyes anywhere. But I did see a lot of runners who did not seem to give an eff about inclement weather - they signed up for a race and by god they were going to run it (hey, I was one of those people too). When I got to Chinatown around 7:30 on Saturday morning, I thought I might find a sparsely attended (and possibly cancelled 5K), but what I found instead was a hidden village of dedicated runners hidden under every bit of shelter throughout Chinatown Square like little runner Easter eggs. The race announcer made some pretty good jokes about the weather and about the race not being cancelled and, with around 10 minutes to go before start time,...

Just finished " Spartan Up! A Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Peak Performance in Life " and I have to say that I haven't felt so strongly divided about a book in as long as I can remember. On one hand, the authors have penned a well-written and powerfully motivating self-help book that in simple, straightforward language gives the average reader an insight into how to improve their current state in life (above and beyond the arena of health and fitness). But at the same time a good portion of the book is spent repeatedly endorsing Spartan races as a sort of cure-all for what ails you (obesity, depression, loneliness, etc.) and the authors often quote research or make claims without properly citing or even substantiating their assertions. But let's start with the good - and there is a lot of it. By all accounts, Joe De Sena is an impressive guy ( I did a brief interview with him a few months ago ). And the Spartan race series is no...

If you're a runner (and if you're not at least somewhat of a runner, this blog will probably be really boring to you) then you probably know that your biggest expense for this relatively simple and otherwise incredibly cheap sport is your shoes. Not because there aren't cheap running shoes out there, but because cheap running shoes are not really going to give you the support that you need (or at least not for very long) and because even good running shoes need to be replaced every 300-400 miles or so . I typically try to buy locally - both Fleet Feet and Universal Sole have great rewards programs and I shop at both - but I go through a lot of shoes and a few years ago I joined a mailing list that one of my friends turned me on to (he's on it mainly for hiking and camping gear): The Clymb . On the site they describe themselves like this: "The Clymb offers insider pricing on premium outdoor gear, trend-setting apparel, and human-powered adventure travel p...

In 2012, Burgers & Beer went from a monthly fun run put on by Universal Sole to an official 5K with an inaugural run in Montrose Harbor . The first race was so popular that last year they moved it to The Park at Lakeshore East. And it looks like it's grown again because this year it's moved to Soldier Field. Both the first and second year races were great (what's not to like about burgers AND beer?) so I think it's safe to assume that the third annual run on the evening of July 14th will be as well. If you're interested in signing up , the discount code bnb2014 is good for $5 off registration

Night races are really starting to be a thing. And though I was a bit of a naysayer at first, I'm coming around. There's something cool about running on a course in the dark with a bunch of other people, especially when there are sweet lights and music and all that good stuff. After driving back to Chicago on the night of Operation Pink Sky I headed downtown for the Energizer Night Race for a Brighter World. That's a really long title that somehow makes the race sound both better and worse than it actually was. As I said in my Newcity review , putting a brand name at the front of a race title gives it a corporate sound - but this race didn't have that feel at all (despite the giant Energizer bunnies sprinkled around and the Energizer bunny ears everyone was wearing). Maybe it was just the fact that it was a night race but it felt much more laid back than a corporate race would. Also, everyone had headlamps on which didn't help much at dusk but definitely loo...