| ChiCity |
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Need some help. I'm staying near Navy Pier in Chicago and am hoping to do a track workout this afternoon. Anyone know where the closest track is? I saw one near Northwestern's downtown campus but it has really tight turns. Any other suggestions? |
| ChiCity |
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Bump
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| Leave! |
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You'll get shot. Get the hell out of that city; you're safer in Gary, IN |
| AltoCinco |
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There's a track at Chestnut St (?) and Lake Shore Drive, not far from Navy Pier. It's a very rectangular-shaped track, so it's a little strange to run on, but it is 400m. Also, don't expect any of the dog-walkers to yield the track to you or to display any reasonable track etiquitte. There's nothing else nearby. |
| ChiCity |
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Thanks for looking! I didn't know about that one, but have been told that any area south of the Stevenson highway gets dicey.
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| jer |
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That track on Chicago is a cool place to workout and is close to accurate but is narrow and many people walk on it. The other option is about 7 miles north west at the north park track. many mexicans play soccer there and you will be more likely get shot there but it is the best track in the city. many white people workout there. google it.
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| ChiCity |
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What about any other colleges/high schools like UIC, DePaul, UChicago? [/quote] |
| ? |
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There is a track open to public in Jackson park (down by Uchicago) and there is the Uchicago track (sometimes open to public). I'm sure there are other ones too. I would just do a workout on lakeshore path. There are markers every half mile. If you go south a couple miles, it will be much less crowded than it is near Navy Pier. |
| jer |
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What kind of workout are planning on? If it is something simple or pace based, go south on the lake front, you'll go past Soldier field and should be clear and on the way north you will get a cool view of the skyline. North of Navy Pier will be a shit show of tourists getting in your way. UIC, Depaul, and HS's go to the North Park. Uchicago is another option but I have never been to it. Ill be up at NPT tonight. |
| mrb |
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Unfortunately, as most of the previous posters have mentioned, your options are pretty limited. The track on Chicago Ave is probably your best bet if you are set on working out on a track. The setting is very cool, as it is nestled in among some big buildings and is right across the street from Lake Michigan, but the track itself leaves much to be desired. The surface is ok, but definitely not great. The turns are tight and almost square. However, it does seem to be pretty accurate in terms of distance. As some other posters have mentioned, there are likely to be some pedestrians out there, but I have never had an issue with people getting in my way when I'm doing a workout there. I highly doubt that you want to go all the way up to North Park to use that track, as that is quite a jaunt from downtown. There are a couple of decent high school tracks in the city (Lane Tech?), but I can't comment on their accessibility. Personally, I usually opt to do my workouts on the Lakefront Path. As another poster said, it is well-marked, and if you get a little bit south of Navy Pier, you'll have a clear path on which to run. Obviously this won't work if you're trying to do 200s or 400s or something shorter. As you might have noticed, Chicago does not have the greatest track and field facilities in the world, but we make do with what we have. |
| ChiCity |
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Thanks everyone for your input. Off to North Park. Will spend plenty of time on the lake front for other runs, but not a bad suggestion otherwise. Plus I'm going to be coming back somewhat frequently now so kind of want to learn the area. Thanks again for the pointers. |
| uchicago postdoc |
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I have this sweet 1 mile loop that turns every quarter mile down by 87th street. Come down and the first one to get shot by a gang member dies. uchicago or jackson park tracks aren't bad in the daylight. |
| jer |
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In. Joe?
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| Fastnbulbous |
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The tight square turns on the track by MCA on Chicago have injured me more than once. Plus you might have softball-playing d-bags wandering into your lane too, along with the elderly, toddlers and dogs. Definitely worth going to North Park, the best option on the North Side. It's plenty safe, and a half mile from the brown line stop at Lawrence. I've done some workouts at St. Ignacius and Lane Tech schools, but those are closed to public. It absolutely astounds me that DePaul doesn't have a track (I think they use Lane Tech's) and Loyola's is a whacky 320-350 meter size. I did one workout on it years ago, spent the whole time doing math in my head and still wasn't sure how I did in the end. |
| random a hole |
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The south side as a whole is rougher than the north, but whoever told you that was a PVSSY. Bridgeport, Hyde Park, Beverly... all as safe as any neighborhood on the north. If you go early to that park by the downtown Northwestern campus you should be fine. You might also try UIC or UofC (Hyde Park--south of 55---scarrrrry) |
| T BONE |
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I grew up a few blocks from the North Park track, it's definitely safe. Always a litle crowded, but safe. I work out at East Bank Club downtown (Kingsbury/Hubbard). They have a quarter-mile track inside. Not an ideal oval, but it's 400 meters and air-conditioned. Tough to find anything like that anywhere else around the city. I do track workouts on it probably once a week during the lunch hour. Never more than 5 people on the track. |