My First Grown-up Race

I may have jog-walked the vast majority of the time, but dog gone it, it was still a race!

Amanda signed up first for the Nike Plus Human Race, and then begged and pleaded and cajoled until Melissa, Traci, and I signed up as well. Amanda and Traci are both experienced marathoners, the kind of people who run 4 to 6 miles daily, and so they teamed up as the running half of the party. Melissa and I formed the “Let’s-be-logical-about-this-There’s-no real-need-to-run-like-madwomen” walking half.


The week before, we went to NikeTown and picked up our nifty race packet, complete with shirt, tracking chip, PowerBars, and granola. For those of you who have never visited a NikeTown before, the experience can be a little daunting – floors and floors devoted solely to workout gear. I mean, is it necessary to offer over 100 colors and sizes and styles of workout tank tops? It all seemed a bit much, but then again, I’m not an athlete.

The race day itself was much more fun than I expected. As soon as we arrived at Soldier Field, we joined a mass of more than 14,000 runners sporting little red t-shirts, wrap-around sunglasses, and iPods, all of them stretching, warming up, and standing in long (and I mean long) lines for the porto-potties. Jumbotrons everywhere flashed ads and race records from the twenty-some cities who had already hosted races, and the announcers shouted directions over the din of the crowd. Melissa and I, who had placed ourselves in the 12-minute mile starting bracket, had to wait 15 minutes to start running as all of the race participants were funneled through fenced-in chutes at the starting line (very similar to the chutes used during calf-roping competitions, except slightly wider).

The race route flanked Lakeshore Drive, so that we were able to run right next to Lake Michigan during the second half, and it was dark enough that we were treated to a beautiful view of Navy Pier and the big lighted Ferris wheel as we worked our way north. I love Chicago in all if its forms, but I especially love it at night. It is truly a beautiful city.

Melissa and I ran during the first half-mile, and for a stretch in the middle, and for the quarter-mile home stretch at the very end. At that point, it didn’t matter whether I walked or ran – my body was fairly numb from my bellybutton down. We eventually found Amanda and Traci, consumed a good amount of complimentary bottled water and granola with yogurt, and made our way to the interior of Soldier Field, stopping every two minutes or so to stretch our unforgiving muscles. In fact, my hips refused to forgive me until two days had passed, and then only grudgingly.

The Fallout Boy concert was great, if very short. We didn’t get to Soldier Field until the concert was already underway, so I have no idea how much we missed. We got to hear three or four songs, including Dance Dance (my favorite), and stood close enough to the stage to have our DNA recombined by the thumping bass. Rock concerts may not be my cup of tea, but even I could not deny that Fallout Boy does a great live concert.

Fun times, great music, free food, and a complimentary t-shirt. Maybe I’ll participate in another race, but only if the race participants wear the same shirts. It’s easier to not feel self-conscious about jog-walking like a senior citizen if you can blend in with the crowd.