Run for Boston

April 22, 2013 A week after the horrendous events that happened at the Boston Marathon, a run was established at many locations around the Chicagoland area coined as a solidarity run in honor of those who were effected by the events on April 15, 2013.

I got e-mails and notifications of running stores and groups that were organizing a run for on that evening. I chose to go to the Old Town Fleet Feet, where I buy my running shoes. I arrived at the store by 5:30 and there was already a good amount of people there waiting for the run. They ran out of shirts that they’ve been posting about, so I wasn’t able to get one. It was good to hear that they sold out, because 100% of the proceeds will be going towards One Fund Boston, which raises money for families most affected by the bombing.

By 6:00 they started getting full so we had to start going to the starting point which was a few blocks away from the store and in a park. We congregated by the Ben Franklin statue and it was a good thing that they moved us there because there was a lot of people.

I liked the statement that the owner of Fleet Feet “Tonight is not only a reflection on what happened last week, it’s also a celebration of moving forward” There were a few people there that was in Boston that day that attended that evening and they all got a big round of applause from the group. Hearing the conversations going around the common thought was we will be going back next year and will be running stronger.

Since this was not a “organized” run there wasn’t a clear mark path of where we were supposed to run. We had the option of running 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 miles and there was an announcement in the beginning of where you should turn around according to the amount of miles you wanted to cover. I chose to run the full 6.

We weren’t the only ones that ran that evening there was a group from RAM that also ran, so we saw them out running too. There was a big sea of runners along the lakefront and it was really great to see. You can tell that a lot of people chose to run the shorter distances because by the time I got to the turnaround there was hardly anybody from the group.

Since it wasn’t a marked path, I missed the underpass where we went through, so I made up my own course, which made me run an extra ½ mile. I finished the my 6.5mi run in 1hr. 12min. 15sec. according to Nike+. It was a perfect night for running cool enough to not get overheated.

It was great to see the support in the running community, and the enthusiasm of everyone that we will keep running! As we have yelled in front of the camera “We Love You Boston!”

Shamrock Shuffle

This race marks a year since I started racing! I wanted to run this to commemorate the start of all this, but I also wanted to run the half down in Springfield. So my solution was to run both!

This race was an 8k and I finished it at 55 min. 34 sec.

The race started off good, but after the first mile I started getting cramps in my abdomen. Once I got to the refreshment station I got some Gatorade and that helped ease the cramps and was able to go further.

I do like running the city streets, you usually drive the streets, but running it you get to see much more. Also it is accessible for cheerers so there were a lot of people cheering the runners along the course.

This was my first 2 run weekend, it felt good but I am tired! Time to have a lazy afternoon!

Just read in the news that a guy was threatening to jump off one of the bridges that was along the course. The guy is safe and hopefully getting some help. But I thought that the course was different this year, now I know why.

Running where Lincoln walked

The Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon took place in Springfield Illinois on April 6, 2013.

We took a road trip down to Springfield on Friday, and got there to pick up my packet and walk around downtown and see some of the historical sites.

The race started at 7:30 and our hotel was really close so we were able to get there early. The race started with a welcome from “Abe” and a musket volley by the 114th Volunteer Regiment to start the race.

The race took us through the town square where we saw the old Capitol building and the law offices of Lincoln. Next we went through the historical village where Lincoln’s house is located, in the village a Yankee soldier played his bugle the morning taps. We ran past the new Capitol building and then ran through the streets of Springfield. Another highlight was running through the cemetery where we ran past the Lincoln tomb. At the finish we were awarded our penny replica medal and had the opportunity to take a finishers photo with Abe and Mary Lincoln.

My thoughts about this race. It was an enjoyable race, a few quirks like no bathrooms until the 6th mile and a lot of hills to run up were quite a challenge. I enjoyed it because it was pretty neat to be running where historical events happened. I improved my time with this race, I finished at 2 hrs. 27 min. 15 sec. I thought my time would of hurt with the uphill roads, but at the 10th mile I saw the 2:30 pacers next to me, so I picked up my pace and kept it steady and finished before them. Ian very satisfied with my results.