Running is the Point

Rhud Metzner won the first Chicago Marathon in 1905. By thirty seconds. He qualified for the Athens Olympics. He didn't go. Reasons unknown. He went back to driving his cab. He kept running for the rest of his life.

If you run in Chicago that may make sense. Running is the point.

Chicago is a running city. The lakefront is everyone’s homebase. The 606 lifts you above neighborhoods. The forest preserves an hour out aren't mountains, or a desert, or a coast. But they are a natural retreat for long runs. The weather is a constant. A chilly 40 in October. A soul-warming 40 in March. The rest of the winter is character building: either the solitude of the treadmill or deeply understanding the word windchill. The marathon brings the world here every October. The rest of the year, the city runs itself. Morning loops on the lakefront. Track nights at the high schools. Long runs out on the Des Plaines River Trail. Group runs from the coffee shops and the breweries. 

We are starting with Chicago, but you’ll find us covering cities and trails and beaches and places to eat and places to shop. You’ll see what running and living on the Great Lakes looks like.