Running in Chicago

Is there a heavily populated trail that isn't filled with hobby joggers? Cause I've been all over, man, and they're EVERYWHERE.

So you were in Chicago for the weekend doing a vanity run on the lakeshore and now you're complaining about how many other people were doing the same?

To answer your question, between North Ave Beach and Adler Planetarium in the summer is really bad. The majority of people are probably just from out of town. I don't think there's really that many runners out there though, mostly walkers enjoying the lake and skyline. Outside of those boundaries, its not too bad. Why anyone would run on Michigan Ave on the other hand, I have no idea.

Bob Schul Country wrote:

Ok I spent the weekend in Chitown and the running scene there is great. But come on. Lakeshore north and south of downtown is just a bunch of Nike wearing hobby joggers.

My guess is that 90% of those people arent even from the town. THey go on vacation and go for a vanity jog. Now while the lakeshore is a nice experience for a run you dont have to treat it like this.

I especially love the downtown Michigan Ave. runners. Why would you run somewhere and get in the way of thousands of shoppers and have to stop at every block for a light.

Can a Chitown resident runner chime in on my accuracy?

Vacationers on a "vanity jog" aren't nearly as irritating/embarrassing as someone who refers to Chicago as "Chitown."

seriously, man? wrote:

Bob Schul Country wrote:

Ok I spent the weekend in Chitown and the running scene there is great. But come on. Lakeshore north and south of downtown is just a bunch of Nike wearing hobby joggers.

My guess is that 90% of those people arent even from the town. THey go on vacation and go for a vanity jog. Now while the lakeshore is a nice experience for a run you dont have to treat it like this.

I especially love the downtown Michigan Ave. runners. Why would you run somewhere and get in the way of thousands of shoppers and have to stop at every block for a light.

Can a Chitown resident runner chime in on my accuracy?

Vacationers on a "vanity jog" aren't nearly as irritating/embarrassing as someone who refers to Chicago as "Chitown."

you do know that "Chitown" is a very common thing there. You can buy tshirts with that on it

Dill Dickleson wrote:

So you were in Chicago for the weekend doing a vanity run on the lakeshore and now you're complaining about how many other people were doing the same?

To answer your question, between North Ave Beach and Adler Planetarium in the summer is really bad. The majority of people are probably just from out of town. I don't think there's really that many runners out there though, mostly walkers enjoying the lake and skyline. Outside of those boundaries, its not too bad. Why anyone would run on Michigan Ave on the other hand, I have no idea.

no I dont run on vacations.........My wife and kids were walking the lakeshore to the zoo. Hell my wife even commented about all the people wearing Nike shoes. Real runners dont wear Nike.

Bob Schul Country wrote:

Ok I spent the weekend in Chitown and the running scene there is great. But come on. Lakeshore north and south of downtown is just a bunch of Nike wearing hobby joggers.

My guess is that 90% of those people arent even from the town. THey go on vacation and go for a vanity jog. Now while the lakeshore is a nice experience for a run you dont have to treat it like this.

I especially love the downtown Michigan Ave. runners. Why would you run somewhere and get in the way of thousands of shoppers and have to stop at every block for a light.

Can a Chitown resident runner chime in on my accuracy?

What is "lakeshore north"? Are you referring the lakefront trail? I live about 2 blocks from the trail and it's amazing.

I was born and raised in Chicago, and the North and South loop are very affluent areas. I would say the majority of the people you saw running down the Lakeshore trail - in that area- were residential runners, and some of those runners were probably from the Lincoln Park area running further South. There maybe some out of towners or visiting runners mixed in, but the running scene downtown is definitely dominated by the people who live in that area.

Also, I wouldn't necessarily call them hobby joggers, more like middle of the pack runners who like to keep in shape. Those individuals run just about every day, and they compete in a lot of endurance sports. They have the money to do so, and they probably get a lot of their gear from Fleet Feet Sports ( Roosevelt or Old Town) or Nike Town( North Michigan Ave).

There may be some competitive runners in that area, but I'm willing to guess that most of chicago's elite, competitive runners come from further north and further south.

Actually, it's quite stimulating to run on the lakefront trail , because the path is full of so many runners, and it is great for doing long runs and tempo runs. You don't have to worry about people staring at your, or yelling out to you, because everyone is focused on their run.

I will say this, and i don't know when it started, because it irritates the hell out of me, but a lot of runners in Chicago run on the sidewalk when they are not running on a trail or on the track. I grew up running on the roads(street), and running on the sidewalk makes absolutely no sense to me. The sidewalk is made of concrete, which is a terrible surface to run on, and it is filled with pedestrians. I think it started with running shoe stores and running groups doing fun runs and pub runs in the neighborhood, and it just escalated from there.

Next time you are in town, you should go running over in University Village, which is basically the campus for the University of Chicago. It's considered the West Loop area, and it is just a few blocks west of Michigan Ave. You will see more competitive runners in that area ( some runners from the high school and university track team) , and more of them run in the streets.

Bob Schul Country wrote:

Dill Dickleson wrote:

So you were in Chicago for the weekend doing a vanity run on the lakeshore and now you're complaining about how many other people were doing the same?

To answer your question, between North Ave Beach and Adler Planetarium in the summer is really bad. The majority of people are probably just from out of town. I don't think there's really that many runners out there though, mostly walkers enjoying the lake and skyline. Outside of those boundaries, its not too bad. Why anyone would run on Michigan Ave on the other hand, I have no idea.

no I dont run on vacations.........My wife and kids were walking the lakeshore to the zoo. Hell my wife even commented about all the people wearing Nike shoes. Real runners dont wear Nike.

Okay, now you are trolling, because that absolute BS. Real runners wear what works. I guess Kipchoge, rupp, farah and the runners who run for nike are not real runnes? And at most races, the elites are wearing Nike Zoom Streaks 6, Nike Zoom Streak LTs, and the Nike Speed Rivals - very impressive racing flats.

Real runners don't worry about shoes , bro. Real runners are too busy running.

I was out in the western suburbs last week visiting my wife's family and got to do my long run out at Waterfall Glen since it was only 2.25 miles from the front door. A great place to run, and plenty of "real runners" to make BSC happy, even though it was a Friday morning. When I have been out there on weekends in the past, it is absolutely packed with runners.

Smoove wrote:

I was out in the western suburbs last week visiting my wife's family and got to do my long run out at Waterfall Glen since it was only 2.25 miles from the front door. A great place to run, and plenty of "real runners" to make BSC happy, even though it was a Friday morning. When I have been out there on weekends in the past, it is absolutely packed with runners.

Yes, there are definitely a lot of real/ quality runners out there, and in the suburbs in general. There are lot of trails in the Forest Preserves so runners go out there to do their long/tempo runs.

Next time you out here, go running in Palos Heights. You will love it.

Scorpion_runner wrote:

Bob Schul Country wrote:

no I dont run on vacations.........My wife and kids were walking the lakeshore to the zoo. Hell my wife even commented about all the people wearing Nike shoes. Real runners dont wear Nike.

Okay, now you are trolling, because that absolute BS. Real runners wear what works. I guess Kipchoge, rupp, farah and the runners who run for nike are not real runnes? And at most races, the elites are wearing Nike Zoom Streaks 6, Nike Zoom Streak LTs, and the Nike Speed Rivals - very impressive racing flats.

Real runners don't worry about shoes , bro. Real runners are too busy running.

not trolling......Nike make BS running shoes. They last about 200 miles and arent cushiony to begin with.

Ditka's Steakhouse between N Rush St. and Michigan Ave. is a good area to try to get in a couple miles.

There are many single track trails not showing up on the maps, too.

If you are in the city, then the Metra Heritage commuter rail line will take you to Willow Springs, the north part of the Palos Trails section.

Just moved to Chicago and it's an amazing city with a ton of people but it's just not great for running. Every run is going to be on a bike path/road/sidewalk unless you drive outside the city (30 minutes or more) to get on a trail. With that said you really don't have to stop much for cars when running which has been a pleasant surprise. Chicago is well organized and you know the main streets that are more heavily trafficked.

The Lakefront path is a great resource. You can do a 20 mile long run and tempos no problem. That's pretty nice to have but I can see it getting old quick. I did find a bark 1/4 loop in my neighborhood and a park that has a .3-ish dirt trail. Those will both be good for workouts. You just have to search and you'll find some decent options. Some good groups to hop in with in town as well.

These are probably local seasonal joggers, which are found everywhere (not just Chicago). Most joggers in the world don't frequent letsrun. In fact, most probably do a 20 week training cycle to run a marathon for their bucket list and run very little after that. Nothing wrong with that, and your arrogance is showing... Just be happy that each person running is growing the sport and maybe 5% of them will start running more seriously.

Bob Schul Country wrote:

not trolling......Nike make BS running shoes. They last about 200 miles and arent cushiony to begin with.

You are very fat.

Scorpion_runner wrote:

The sidewalk is made of concrete, which is a terrible surface to run on, and it is filled with pedestrians.

You're joking, right? Your body can tell no difference between the concrete and tarmac. Do you really think tarmac "gives" more than concrete to your 145lb body? This is the stupidest thing that runners talk about. Running on the sidewalks is, in my opinion, actually safer for your body as they are traditionally level, while roads have crowning in them.

This is a great thread.

Just got back from visiting the city. The lake front paths were amazing. The breeze blowing off the lake felt great. I mostly ran around the Soldier Field area and there is a section near there called Northerly Island with the path being closed because the sidewalk is gone in a section. I climbed over the barriers any way and had it to myself. With the huge amount of parks in that area it never felt crowded even during peak tourist season. I think the runners around Michigan Ave live near there and are running toward the River Trail.