On Sunday, May 29th, Run Madtown returned to downtown Madison and offered runners a 13.1 or 5K filled with hills, hills, and more hills. Did I mention that it was HILLY?!? Wow – what a course. Don’t get me wrong – it was beautiful and ever changing as runners wove through the downtown streets to begin. Downtown Madison is straight out of a Hallmark movie with coffee, wine, and art shops lining the streets. Not to mention charming restaurants and boutiques. Runners began at the capital building where the race company had streets closed and it felt like a true party at the start and end. It was ..read more

I can usually rebound from a pretty big race fairly quickly. I can articulate feelings, emotions, and opinions about the race almost instantly. But this time around at the Ironman World Championships in St. George, Utah, I’m still struggling to find the words. I’ve been asked about my race probably 50 times by different people. Coworkers, friends, neighbors, acquaintances. And honestly, I still find myself stumbling to bring that day to my lips. The day started well (well) before dawn around 2:30am, coffee brewing and food intake starting. Bottles were pre-mixed, bags were packed, and clothes ..read more

On Saturday, May 15, All Community Events held their annual Chicagoland half and marathon race. It was moved back to May this year, having been held later in the year due to the pandemic last year. I always feel as though this is my birthday party as it sometimes falls on my birthday and always falls around my birthday. This year, my friend Lynn Crim surprised me with a birthday cupcake before the race! Race day temperatures were in the 60’s and cloud cover was fairly strong. Humidity was pretty high which made the morning feel hotter than it actually was, and for Chicagoans, who are not comp ..read more

The Syttende Mai Run/Walk took place on Saturday, May 14th and is the oldest long-distance race in Southern Wisconsin. This Norwegian Marathon is a, point to point, 20 miles, with a 10 mile run or 17 mile walk. Hosted by Race Day Events, this is one of my favorite spring running events. It is an incredibly unique race with distances and race options that you do not see too often. Although you could park at either the start or finish line, I opted to arrive early, park at the finish, and hop on a school bus to the start line. The start line was located in Madison, Wisconsin, where runners were ..read more

This past weekend I participated on the F’3 cap Saiers trail 10 mile race at Teason’s Woods in Palos Heights, IL located 30 minutes southwest from Chicago. These trails are well know for the swallow Cliff stairs by fitness enthusiasts and various gravel paths for mountain and gravel bike aficionados. This is the second year for this race which included a full marathon. The event attracted a small field of runners, it had that good old grass roots running community feel. We had beautiful spring weather on Sunday morning, with highs in the 50’s. The marathoners started promptly at 730am. The mar ..read more

Downtown Barrington saw many women and girls kicking off Mother’s Day by running a 5k. Moms were definitely being celebrated from start to finish of this race! All participants received a rose and a cake pop at the finish line and all registrants also received their choice of a “Mom Strong” or “Mother’s Day 5k” dri-fit t-shirt during registration. In previous years, runners could run the Mother’s Day 5k either in downtown Barrington or Deer Park. I overheard two ladies talking about how the Barrington course was more challenging than Deer Park, and saw firsthand that this was the case. Shortly ..read more

On Sunday, May 8th, I attended the BeYOUtiful Half Marathon in the city I can’t say – Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. There was a half marathon and 5K distance option for runners to select from. Although this race had a rocky start in the planning stages, it was executed perfectly by Great Lakes Multisport Crew. A few months before race day, the race day was sold to GLM. Runners were sent an email notifying us of the change and introducing us to Andrew Braun, the owner. Andrew is not new to the race scene, as GLM has directed several races over the years, and I knew we would definitely be in good hands ..read more

On Saturday, May 7, I attended the Wisconsin Marathon. This annual event takes place at the lakefront in downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin and offers runners a marathon, half marathon, and 5K option. The race sold out this year with 1,600 runners participating, although with the rising Covid numbers, several did have to defer until next year. The race directors, Tracy and Jonathan, are friends of Chicago Athlete and put on an event truly tailored toward runners. There were several packet pick up options leading up to the event itself. I had the pleasure of assisting with the pick up scheduled the da ..read more

“The year racing returned” continued in Pittsburgh, PA this past weekend with the return of the Pittsburgh Marathon, a weekend long celebration of road racing in the City of Three Rivers. The race organizers, P3R, presented a wide variety of events to engage the local community and visitors alike. From registration to the Expo through the finish-line festival, P3R provided a solid and fun race experience for all participants and spectators. The relationships between P3R and their race sponsors was evident throughout. In the runup to race weekend, there were raffles for free running shoes from ..read more

On Saturday, April 30th I participated in the Kentucky Derby Marathon. This annual event brings 8,000 runners from over 40 states and 10 countries to run this interstate event. Offering a marathon, half marathon, and relay option, along with a six-hour cut off, this race provides options for all runners. The race began at 7 AM in downtown Louisville. Just outside of the Little Slugger stadium, runners gathered anxiously to wait for the starting gun. To kick things off, the bugler from Churchill Downs played “Call to Post”. After the National Anthem and a cheerful rendition of “My Old Kentucky ..read more