I'm still dragging from my Boston marathon experience less than a month ago. The nagging injuries I've been dealing with seem to be nagging more annoyingly than ever. But that's the way it goes I guess. The weather is warming up, racing season is upon us, and I'm not gonna miss it!
Two very fun events are on tap this week. Both are very different, but very big.
Thursday evening is one of the bigger downtown races of the season, and it draws an incredibly diverse crowd of runners. The Chase Corporate Challenge is a tradition for many area companies. This year more than 540 companies will have teams represented, including ABC7 for the first time in many years. I recall running the race with my colleagues Andy Shaw, Karen Meyer, and Suzanne Rico many years ago. We had a blast. Andy is now retired. Karen no longer runs. And Suzanne runs a little where she now lives in L.A. So I'll be the only veteran when we run Thursday!
More than 16,000 runners will line up for the start of the 3.5 mile race. The winners will qualify for the championships later this year in New York. I know this is serious business for some companies, like the group I trained with at CNA insurance a few years ago. They have sent teams to New York before.
ABC7 will not be sending a team to New York. But we will be in Grant Park. For several years organizers have contacted me to see whether I might be able to get a team together. I've always declined, because there aren't that many runners here, and I haven't had time to organize. This year, however, another employee organized a team, and invited me to join. I can do that! They all plan on finishing, and running most, if not all the way. I'm proud of them for doing it!
The race attracts lots of people who make this their only running event of the year. There are plenty of people who walk most of the way. There are also some really strong runners in front who make this a very competitive race for the leaders.
They are also collecting food for the Greater Chicago Food Depository this year. They are encouraging companies to bring a box of food they collect at the office to a collection point on-site. It's a great initiative, and that might be the most important impact of the event. Here's a link. http://www.jpmorganchasecc.com/events.php?city_id=5&page=events042309
The other race happens just two days later. The Soldier Field 10 miler has become an annual event on my calendar. I have run it every year since it's inception about 5 years ago. In fact, my former high school teammates and current running partners all try to make it for this one, and get together for breakfast afterward. We've all been gearing up for this one for the last few months, and I've been trying to recover from the marathon quickly enough to run a good time. We'll see what happens.
But no matter your pace, it is exciting to run part of the race along Lake Shore Drive, back up the lakefront path, and finish at the 50 yard line in Soldier Field. The race also traditionally honors our Veterans at the start. And one of the really neat aspects of the race this year is that a group of running soldiers will run a ten mile race at their post in Afghanistan at about the same time as the runners in Chicago. The folks at Fleet Feet Sports, who put on the race, have sent finisher medals, and even some of the Soldier Field turf to the war zone.
I know there are many other great races in the area in the next few weeks. These are just the ones on my personal calendar. Whatever your plans, enjoy. It's time to go!
See you on the roads....
I didn't know Andy Shaw retired. I guess that's why I haven't seen him in a while.
Posted by: kevin_hacker | May 18, 2009 at 08:16 PM