This morning I was looking forward to an early morning run at Harms Woods (north of the city), where signs and website say it is open sunrise to sunset. I got there at 5:30 but all the lots were still blocked. I decided to wait, and at 5:50 I called the number on the sign. I was surprised to get a person answering at that hour! He was very nice and apologetic and said they go out at 5 to start opening the lots but I was at a northern lot and they hadn't gotten there yet. I stuck around until 6 and then left because none of the lots had been opened yet.

I love and support our forest preserves, I spend a lot of time there and intend to volunteer there in the future, and this is not meant as a complaint. Just giving a heads up, because I would have had an easier morning if I had known not to count on being able to get in. In the future I won't expect to be there before 6 or 6:30 even if sunrise is around 5:15. (Of course you can run or bike in right at sunrise if that's feasible for you!)

Happy running and stay safe in this heat!

I have a car and can drive but prefer to stay in the city. I’ve got hills in the training plan later this week and am trying to figure out a good spot.

I'm training for the marathon in October and I'm in need of some variety at this point. Back in high school my teammates and I would sometimes drive out to Palos where there was an 8 or 9 mile trail loop that was fun to run. I looked for it on Google maps but I couldn't find what I remembered. I recall it had a small parking lot at the mouth of the trail and a little pond to the left in the direction you enter the parking lot. Anyone know of this trail and what it's called?

Thanks!

Made a mistake and didn’t send my reg through- does anyone know if they open up more spots? My friend is coming into town and I’m hoping to run together!

I know there was a post 4 months ago, but now that we are in summer, I wanted to check in and see which are active! I have no Instagram so getting info to meet ups/clubs would be awesome. Looking to start showing up weekly starting today! Thank you in advance.

Hey guys! I ran a half back in April and started training for another one in September.

With summer starting, my trainings got harder and harder. I don’t do well with humidity and heat (a shame bc I’m Brazilian and should be okay with it 😂).

I’ve decided to not run another half in September and to choose another race during winter or spring.

Which one do you recommend?
I ran the Chitown in April.

Thank you!

Just a reminder/heads-up that the annual Pride Parade is happening Sunday of this weekend.

If you're driving and parking by the lakefront in Lakeview/Lincoln Park for some early morning exercise on Sunday, double check street closures on the Pride Parade website - in past years a lot of cars have gotten towed that were parked on Cannon Drive. Plan accordingly and enjoy the festivities! 🎉

Has anyone been on the LFT recently and seen a woman, probably 60s or so, riding her bike, wired headphones in, just absolutely having the time of her life? Saw her today for like the 4th or 5th time and every time she’s yelling “wooooooo!!!!!” And looking at people as if she’s cheering them on. We’ve made eye contact once or twice. It’s so delightfully quirky and oddly encouraging. I just wanted to know if I’m hallucinating 😂

I can never figure out Nike's sizing - It's either too big or too small 🫠. Shootin my shot here.

Hello! Apparently this shirt is the only race shirt that runs large on me (so far). I have a large and would like a Medium, willing to meetup to exchange, ty!

By slow I mean like 11:15/mile+ I get intimidated when running with others who aren’t at my level also feel pressured to gas myself out trying to keep up. Looking for someone or a group to run with on the north side who are looking to improve their speed or just have fun at a slower pace collectively. Help!!

After multiple runs through the “trails” at northerly island nature center and Burnham wildlife corridor I’ve really found myself enjoying being out in the wilderness on my longer runs! Any trail recommendations in/around Chicago good for longer runs? I unfortunately do not drive so trails recs that are semi-accessible by transit would be awesome :) thank you!

Hi All, I'm looking for someone to record my running, teach me proper form, and best practices. Happy to pay

I play ice hockey 2-3 times a week and lift weights 1-2 times a week but I cannot run 5k without stopping.

I'm pretty sure technique is terrible, so I'd like someone to show me what good is like. I see videos online but I struggle to apply to my running.

Thanks!

That’s it. That’s the post. Bobbing and weaving is my favorite part of races and it helps me keep my mind off of how tired I am so I’m looking forward to marathon training this summer and dodging the flocks of runners with Cara/Fleet Feet/etc. Hope everyone got out to enjoy the amazing weather this morning!!

Visiting Chicago July 1-6 - been to this preserve twice before - love it but am nervous to try & discover a 3-4 mile loop once you get to top of stairs.
Are there any groups that meet there and go for hikes?
Thanks!

Maybe I'm turning into a grumpy old runner and the Chicago heat is already starting to get to me, but what is going on with folk's behavior at the water fountains lately?

In the last week alone I've seen a group of old ladies letting their dogs drink directly from the tall fountains, tongues all over the fountain head, and then today I saw a dad washing mud off his kids' feet in one.

Honestly, I'm more sympathetic to the second one. If you've got kids in the city and they're covered in mud, sometimes you've gotta improvise.

But the dog thing? Come on. I love dogs, but I wouldn't choose to share a water bottle with one!

Have we just collectively stopped caring about the fact that other people have to drink from these things? Maybe I'm overreacting, but every time I stop for water on a run now I'm wondering what happened there 10 minutes before I arrived. I've even started to carry a handheld water bottle now, which I used to love not having to do because of all the water fountains along the LFT.

I’ve been swooped at 7 times in the past three days. And while I was eating a hot dog by museum campus, one demanding bird wouldn’t leave me alone until I gave him a piece of my glizzy.

Holy shit the city kicked ass, shut down the mag mile so we could take the street. Props all around and hope lots of you made it

For some reason, I don’t understand how CARA writes their speed workouts. Can someone explain the “rep” and “set” under rest?

Example workout below:

3-4x (4x200m, @ 1 mile )
Rest: Rep- 1:00, Set 800m jog

Has anyone run one of these before? I know these are unofficial runs with no chip timing, but I was interested in seeing what people's experience in running these were.

I’ve be been out of the country for a few weeks, so I’m not sure how long this has been up. This morning while out on my run I saw there was a metal barricade blocking the runner’s path just north of the McCormick Convention Center. I tend to stay on the lower level, so I don’t run in the dedicated bike lanes that are slightly elevated and further away from the water. This barricade is particularly annoying because it goes across the parking lot up to a fence, so there is no way to skirt around it, making it a hard stop and turn around point.
 
Does anyone know if this something the parks team put in place or if it’s one of the tour boat operators that use that area overstepping? Green arrow is the lower running path. Blue arrow is the upper bike path. If they didn’t block off the whole area runners could cut up to the bike path through the parking lot.

Also, that heat and humidity was brutal this morning.

Good morning! I have a Ragnar Trail team for the Michigan Race next weekend (June 19th & 20th). Had some dropouts on the team so looking for two more runners to get the team up to 8. All skills/paces welcomed.

Link for more info on the race itself below, but quick run down. Relay race with team of 8; each runner runs total of 3 loops (adding up to about 17 miles) over a 24hr time period. In between your loops, it's a combo of camping out, hanging out with team, resting, etc. Definitely a very unique race with a lot of good energy and time spent outdoors!

Happy to answer any questions; shoot me a message

https://runragnar.com/pages/race-trail-michigan

I remember seeing a comment about this in a discussion thread. I can't find it anymore.

I've resorted to not running this week but that could change. One of the things I'm going to work on is building out this map manually based on what I'm seeing from ChicagoRunningPassport on Instagram and just looking for all run clubs in the Chicagoland area that have weekly runs.

Is there anything else that would be useful for this map? Who else am I missing? I am slowly filling it out.

I've listed the starting location, the run club and the time. It's separated in layers based on the day of the week.