What a great time last night! The run hit remix (renamed from run hit wonder) was last night downtown. They also changed it from a 10k/5k choice to everyone running 5 miles. They had bands at every mile and 10,000 runners on a warm, humid night. It started at 9pm. Very unusual, but that was part of the fun. I saw a lot of familiar faces from the Chicago running community. It seems this race is always filled with everyone from serious runners to serious music fans. This is a picture of my wife finishing the race in a p.r.!
Speaking of the music, I'm curious what everyone else thought. I have to admit, I wasn't blown away. I know it's tough to find bands that appeal to the wide age range of runners out there. My favorite was the U2 cover band on mile 4. I saw there were alot of fans really into the headline concert afterward De La Soul. It was fun, but I probably preferred last year's headliner, Joan Jett.
As far as the running part, I was trying to incorporate the racer into my marathon training, by turning it into a steady tempo-type run. I wanted to run a little better than 7 minute pace, and make sure I still felt good enough to do a long run today. And it worked out pretty well. I ran about 34:20, and I'm planning on going 12-14 (a cut-back week) later this morning.
It's tough to do a lot of otehr things during the summer when you are marathon training, so I'm taking advantage of the easier week to take Saturday to play golf instead of the long run. I'm playing golf though with my usual running group. Just can't get away from it entirely!
In any case, thanks for reading my ramblings. I promise, I have some interesting stuff coming up soon. I talked to the executive director of CARA the other day, and I will share some of that conversation in the next couple days. And in the next couple weeks I plan on interviews with the director of the LaSalle Bank Chicago marathon, Carey Pinkowski, as well as coaches from Chicago Endurance Sports, and the owner of Fleet Feet Sports, Dave Zimmer.
If you have any suggestions for others, let me know. Til then, see you on the path!

Hi John! I just wanted to say that I love the blog and if I ever get back running more, which will happen eventually, I think I will find it very helpful.
As for the Run Hit Remix, I was aware of it, but wasn't as thrilled about it as past years, mainly because of the bands.
I've seen Elevation a few times and they are good, but I was hoping for someone I hadn't seen or wanted to see. Hopefully next year it will be back to the way it was and I will be running every day again.
I loved the Elvis run and I encourage anyone who loves a fun race to plan it for next year!
Posted by: Tony J. | August 23, 2006 at 12:33 PM