Shamrock Shuffle Postscript: Running With the Pack

Perfect weather, a brand new pair of shoes on my feet and sharing close quarters with about 34,000 of my closest friends – what better way to start a Sunday morning than crowding into Chicago’s Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle? The annual 8K run (about 5 miles) that stretches from the Lakefront, through the Loop and back is billed as the unofficial start of local running season events – and there are plenty to pick from.

I was one of many who joined the massive party of runners from all walks of life, and dress, maneuvering my way into the sea of humanity behind the start line – a rather overwhelming feeling if you’re not used to the pre-race routine of getting ready to run in a large-scale, organized event. However, most area 5K and 10K races aren't anywhere near the size of the Shuffle and I've taken part in plenty of those over the years before feeling comfortable about hitting the road with thousands of other runners.

Yes, the big running events may be the ones that get 20 seconds of airtime on local TV news and generate plenty of water cooler talk and social media buzz the day after. But the much smaller races in the NW suburbs and all over the Chicago area are great opportunities for those thinking of taking up running, but may feel a bit intimidated at the thought of holding their own in a massive herd of road warriors.

I was hardly a runner while growing up. In fact, I couldn’t complete a hundred yard dash without taking a lunch. It wasn’t until later in my 30s that I took a local running class with the goal of completing a 5K (3.2 miles). That end-of-session 5K happened on another sunny Sunday morning in Hoffman Estates where my classmates and I joined about 200 others in a race through the Prairie Stone Business Park area. In my purple Northwestern T-shirt I finished the race (without crawling), felt great afterwards and knew this was something I wanted to continue doing.

This and other community runs happen throughout the year and now even stretch into the cold-weather months for hearty souls who wear plenty of layers. A great resource for finding a nearby race is the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) home page (www.cararuns.org). Click on the “Racing” tab at the top and then the “Find a Race” tab on the left for a full list of area races with complete information. Full disclosure, I am a CARA member and consider it my main connection to Chicago’s great running community. 

Calling an organized run a “race” can also be a little intimidating for beginning runners – making it seem like everyone in the field is against you. Unless you’re a world-class runner expecting to break the tape at the finish line, the only real race involved is the one between you and the clock. It doesn’t matter how many finish ahead of you or how many runners sprint by you while pushing jogging strollers (no stranger to having that happen to me). Just running for improved health and wellness is what really counts. The more you work at it, the more you’ll improve.

So I finished wave #2 of the Shamrock Shuffle behind thousands of others and got passed by runners sporting green tutus and lots of other colorful attire. It was a great experience, great for my health and sure, I’ll probably join the huge crowd again to start next year's season – after lacing up at plenty of smaller-scale start lines this season.

Run well.