Sunday, 1 June 2014

Race - Lincoln Park Zoo 10 km

Hot! Did not expect Chicago to be this hot and humid in the spring - definitely not complaining! It is however not that easy to run in. My time was a shakey 01:11:something. Still not hitting that 1 hour mark... Annoyingly stopped a couple of times to catch my breath.

Whenever I travel I keep an eye out for races in the area, a great way to see places that would not necessarily be on the itinerary. Am not the biggest fan of zoos, but was very impressed, this one is free to the public and immaculately looked after, and the animals very healthy. I was super excited when I came across the run.   

The online registration process was very easy. It is a lot more pricey than races in SA, $45 (approx. R450), which I suppose is comparable as it includes a t-shirt, and hey, how often do I travel here? 

As easy as the online registration was, the on the day number and t-shirt collection was a balls up. Loooong queues; the race was starting at 08:25, and at 08:10 there was still no end to the queue in sight. Thank fully somehow the lines miraculously opened up and number and t-shirt successfully collected. No time to try and find tog bag area, so had to run with pack, luckily not too big, but clunky nonetheless. 

A really pleasant run with three water stops. There were a couple of volunteers running in animal suits, felt really sorry for them in the heat! 

The end was an interesting experience, instead of getting a medal you get food! And a lot of it!

Bagels (didn't take one), but did take- the banana, apple, Firecracker Jr. popsicle, bottle of water, bottle of Gaterade (first one ever), Clif Bar - white chocolate macadamia nut energy bar PLUS (!) a voucher for beer and pizza! Loooong queues (again) for beer & pizza, but didn't mind. You get to meet lovely people. Not a keen beer drinker, and have not had beer in goodness knows how long, but I reconned, why not, going to have full experience!


All in all a great race!


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