I ran the Chicago Spring Half Marathon for the 5th time on Sunday (5/23) and surprisingly, it happened to be my fastest one. It was also the 1st time in three years that Lifetime was able to host the Chicago Spring Half Marathon in-person.
Almost 7,000 runners showed up that morning, to run either the half or 10K. The half started promptly at 7am, followed by the 10K runners starting at 7:45am. And we couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was a cloudy 50 F degrees, with low humidity, and a slight breeze.
The race itself was fun and fast. The course went up and down the Lakeshore path and the views of the Chicago skyline didn’t disappoint. Thankfully, the path flat and it wasn’t too congested, since the path wasn’t completely closed off to bikers, pedestrians, and other non-race runners. The only time there was congestion was at Mile 10, when both the 10K and half marathon runners merged for the final stretch.
Towards the end, we can feel the heat of the sun pounding down on the us, but thankfully, there was a tunnel in the home stretch that gave us brief shade before finishing right outside Maggie Daley Park at around 8:45am.
This race is always special for me, because it’s the only race that I know that serves a hot breakfast (eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, etc.), alongside the usual “adult beverages,” after everyone finishes the race.
As I reflect on the past few years, nowadays, it seems like every race (in-person or virtual) I run has its own set of milestones. On Sunday:
- It was my first race of 2022
- It was my 20th half marathon in my running career
- I’m also two weeks away from running the inaugural Chicago 13.1, which also coincides with my first official week of my marathon training, in preparation for two majors this Fall: Chicago Marathon and New York City Marathon, both of which I also ran last year
Props to Life Time, the sponsors (+the awesome runner swag), the volunteers, the fans, and the other runners for making this race such an amazing experience. I’m excited to run the other half of this series in September.
