shamrock shuffle 2016 recap

Source: @ChiShuffle

The Shamrock Shuffle was held on Sunday, April 3, 2016. The Health and Fitness Expo was on Friday, April 1 from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. and on Saturday, April 2 from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. You can read my more succinct review over on BibRave.

I was able to get to the Expo on Friday morning when it opened. Packet pickup was quite easy - just head on over to your bib number line and show them your confirmation email.They give you an envelope with your bib and safety pins, and then you head to the back to grab your shirt. They give you your plastic bag with some coupons, samples, sunglasses, and shirt. I felt like the size I got was a little snug, so I went to the exchange booth area. They just scan your envelope barcode and you exchange your size for the new one. They had sample shirts for you to try on as well. (You were allowed to have someone else pick up your packet, they just needed your confirmation email.)

The Expo was closer to the Parking Garage this year (West Buidling, Hall F), which was nice. No longer needed to walk the mile to get to Expo Hall A. It was filled with vendors and races - most offering expo discounts. I snagged some new Sparkly Soul headbands and chatted with some of the race folks. Nuun was also there with their new formula, so I tested a few of the flavors hoping to find one I liked as much as the old formula. Negative. So disappointed that I have to find a new hydration mix, but I digress.

Fleet Feet Chicago is always there with the Nike Shamrock Shuffle gear - way too many awesome items here! Sweatshirts (they had the cowel neck one similar to the Chicago Marathon, so obviously needed that), t-shirts, tech shirts, tech 1/4 zip jackets, and those new Nike Flyknit shoes. I grabbed a few items as I'm a sucker for Chicago Irish items haha. I also got a pint glass from the Official Merchandise area (they had water bottles, coffee mugs, stickers, magnets, etc).

We also made sure to get our parking ticket validated so it was $10 instead of $20 (there was a kiosk before exiting the expo hall with someone who did this for you).

This race is always very well organized. They have two separate waves to help keep the congestion to a minimum. Along with these waves, you are designated a color - red or blue. This designates which area of gear check you use. I don't do gear check ever, so I can't speak to how this went, but I have a feeling it was smooth. It opened at 6:30 am and closes at 11:30 am.

Flat Heather ready to go, though I made some adjustments in the morning.

Food trucks.

Start corrals opened at 6:30 am, with Wave 1 starting at 8:30 am (Corrals A–D), and Wave 2 (Corrals E–H) beginning at 9 am. Now, take note that since there are multiple corrals in each wave, unless you are A or E, you won't be starting at the start time of the wave itself. They leave a few minutes (maybe 5?) between each corral start so as to get the course cleared a bit before releasing the next group of runners. I was in Corral H, and I think I crossed the start around 9:30. There were plenty of porta-potties at the start, also.

Forgot I had a Shamrock Sparkle Athletic skirt and leggings!

My mom and I parked at Soldier Field and walked over. There was someone else in the parking lot heading over who didn't know where to go, so she walked with us. It's always nice to make new friends :)

With so much of the area blocked off for safety reasons, it took us a bit to find our way into the start area, but we eventually made it and went our separate ways. There was a Thomas' food truck there giving out free bagels and muffins to participants, which was cool. The line wasn't too long, but I can't eat before races, so we passed. When we finished, the line was super long.

At the Start Line.

Like I said earlier, this race knows what they are doing. The aid stations are all well staffed and it's always Gatorade at the first few tables and then water after that. Each aid station also had plenty of porta-potties. The two aid stations were at Mile 1.6 (State and Randolph) and Mile 3.6 (Harrison and Wells).

Running down State Street.

The course time requirement is a 15-minute per mile pace and must complete the full 8k (4.97 miles) in 1 hour and 15 minutes. There were clocks and mile marketed at every mile. Timing mats were at the start, 5k, and finish line. Don't expect your GPS watch to be completely accurate - along with adding distance by not running the tangents, it's often difficult for the watches to get accurate satellite readings in the city. My watch at the finish said 5.53 miles.

Going up Mt. Roosevelt.

Being in the last corral, we tried to stay towards the back since we are slower. However, once we started moving up, a ton of runners were suddenly behind us. Whether they were running late and missed their corrals, I'm not sure what happened, but suddenly Corral H was monstrous in size. It could have used a separation between the two halves before starting, even. I think this might have been part of the problem with the course never really thinning out and being crowded the whole way. I've never had that problem before this year, and I think it's because so many people were starting in the last corral.

Headed into the Finish.

The course begins on Columbus and Monroe. You head north on Columbus, west on Grand, south on State, west on Jackson, north on Lasalle, west on Randolph, south on Franklin, east on Harrison, south on Michigan, east on Mount Roosevelt, and north to the finish line on Columbus. At the finish line you received your medal and grab photos and goodies until you are out of the finishers chute. Goodies this year included bananas, bottled water, cups of Gatorade, snack bars, pretzels, Sun Chips  The post-race party is around Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. Each participant received a free beer (Michelob Ultra).

My mom and I took a quick look around and as I was wondering how our new friend did at the race, we actually ran in to her! We took a photo and then mom and I began our journey back to the car.

The day started out a bit windy and cold, but it was fine while running (minus a few big gusts of winds that made me glad I didn't wear a hat because I know I would have lost it). The weather was in the mid-30s at start (7 am was a feels like temp of 25) and at races end was in the low-40s. Approximately 10mph winds. I was comfortable during the race – it was cold waiting in the corrals, but that's the norm it seems.

I love doing this race, and for most it marks the beginning of race season in Chicago. I race all year long, so doesn't so much for me, though it does mark the beginning of when there are more races to choose from every weekend. As long as I'm able, I'll definitely be back again for 2017. I was coming off of a late night from a wedding, so wasn't expecting anything crazy with my pace. Having a large crowd that never really thinned out around us made it difficult to pass or  weave around, so we just kept an easy pace and had fun. It's a nice change to actually run through the streets of Chicago versus the Lake Front Path, and not a ton of races in the city are afforded that luxury. My advice is to just enjoy yourself the best you can :)

friday five: spring races

Hey guys! I've been a bit quiet here on the blog lately... I hope you haven't missed me too much. Life has gotten extremely hectic with some career transitioning and some personal things, but I'm here today to get back into Friday Five posts!

On Fridays, Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia at You Signed Up For What?!, and Mar at Mar on the Run, host a fun linkup with new themes each week. This week's theme is SPRING. I've decided to talk about five spring races that I'm looking forward to.

1. Shamrock Shuffle 8k on March 29. This is always a fun race. Being Irish, I of course like the theme. This year they are doing something new – finisher medals! That's exciting. I can't say I'm always a fan of the shirt, but they are tech material, so I wear them for training if nothing else. I'm hoping for some 50 degree weather! It's really fun running through the streets of Chicago, especially down State Street past the Chicago Theatre. The crowds are always energetic, plenty of on course support, and fun after party in Grant Park (though the beer isn't quite what I would prefer...). If memory serves correctly, there was a band playing and food/beer for sale. Participants received their first beer free if they were 21+.

2. Boston Marathon on April 20. No, I'm not running, however I love watching the live feeds. It's so inspiring and motivating. I can't wait to see how my pals do, not to mention Shalane!

3. Southwest Half Marathon on May 3. This is my goal half marathon. I'm training to get a PR. I like this race because it's a small runner field, so I don't have to worry about congestion or weaving around people.

4. Tinker Bell Races May 8–10. I am registered for the Neverland 5k as well as the Pixie Dust Challenge. This will be my second time out to Disneyland, as well as my second time running the Tinker Bell half marathon - - first time with the 5k and 10k :)

5. Soldier Field 10 Mile on May 23. Last year was the first time I ran this race, which I signed up for the week of, and was so glad I did. It was such a great race, and we had beautiful weather. It was really neat to get to run through Soldier Field and actually finish on the 50 yard line. The course was nice (and the beginning was fairly wide, so gave the large number of runners a chance to spread out), plus a great medal, tech shirt, and a cool bag with all of your post-race goodies (water, pretzels, etc.). I'm racing again this year, as a BibRave Pro, and I'm super excited. Shameless plug - register before March 31 to save $10 on your registration. On April 1 the price increases. I was planning on doing this rave again this year, I just got lucky enough to be chosen as a BRP for it :) Join me and #FinishOnThe50 at the 2015 #SF10. Head on over to SoldierField10.com and register!

What races are you looking forward to in Spring?

bank of america shamrock shuffle 8k

The Shamrock Shuffle 8k was held on Sunday, March 30 in downtown Chicago, with a start and finish in Grant Park. This would be my second time running the race (would have been third, but I was sick last year). My mom and I were in Wave 3, with a start time of 9:15 am. I knew that we would actually start a little later, as there were multiple corrals in each wave, which they let go a few minutes apart from each other. Wave 1, which consisted of Corrals Elite, A, B, C, and D, had an official race time of 8:30 am. Wave 2, which consisted of Corrals E and F, had an official race time of 8:55 am. Wave 3, which consisted of Corrals G, H, J, K and L (me), had an official race time of 9:15 am. Last year there were only 2 waves, so they must have added another one to help with congestion – there were more than 30,000 runners that crossed the finish line this year, and in 2013, it was the world's largest 8K with more than 33,000 runners crossing the finish line (info from emails I received post race). Each wave had a separate Gear Check, which I can't speak from experience, but I imagine helps with keeping shorts lines. The bibs had the timing device, so no need to try and attach anything to our shoes (which I hate having to do haha).

We got to Grant Park around 8:30 am – plenty of time to spare. I'm not one that likes to get to races too early, because I hate waiting around (it builds my anxiety to a level it doesn't need to be at). I've never checked any bags at Gear Check, so I don't need extra time for that. Toilet facilities (read: portable) were located throughout Grant Park near the start and finish areas, so when we jumped in line around 8:45, there wasn't much of a wait. I'm sure part of that is thanks to Wave 1 already having started.

Since I was coming off of being sick (and still had a darn cough), my mom and I decided to do run/walk intervals of 1:2. So we wouldn't get trampled from the start, we lined up at the back of the corral. It ended up being great, as we rarely had to deal with crowds on the roads (when I ran in 2012, there was so much congestion that you could barely pass anyone, and I recall being run into multiple times, even though I started in the correct corral for my speed – D and I were next to each other, elbows touching, that's how close, and people would go between us without an 'excuse me' – it was very frustrating and annoying). Another plus at starting in the back was that we avoided those groups of runners that like to start at the very back and push their way (and I mean PUSH) through the crowds... why don't they start at the front of their assigned corrals? I digress.

It ended up being a beautiful day – it started in the lower 40s with lots of sun, and I think it was upper 40s when we finished. Ya never know what kind of weather you'll get on race day in Chicago – just days earlier the highs were in the 30s and I feel like there was fresh snow on the ground. Anyway, it was a great day for a race in the city.

We crossed the starting line at about 9:39 and took it fairly easy. It was nice to chat with my mom during the race, it made the miles fly by. I really wish I could have run faster, as I had been in training, but it just wasn't in the cards for me. Instead, I enjoyed the weather, the easy run/walk intervals, and the scenery. I made sure to raise my hands when we were about to stop our running and go into walking, as well as making sure no one was behind us, to avoid any run ins. All was well the whole race, which was lovely. 

Marina Towers on State Street

Iconic Chicago Theatre on State Street

The race started going north on Columbus Drive, west on Grand, and then south on State Street. Running down the famed State Street is probably one of the best parts of the race. You get to run by The House of Blues, across the Chicago River, and then by the Chicago Theatre. There were two on-course aid stations that offered Gatorade® Endurance Formula (lemon-lime), water, medical support and toilet facilities (which didn't appear to have any lines, from what I remember). Aid station 1 was at mile 1.8  and then aid station 2 was at mile 3.5. They had plenty of volunteers (over 3,000 for the day - thanks everyone!), which meant there were a lot to hand out the cups. There was no waiting for cups to be filled or to find a volunteer to grab from. As always, I made sure to thank everyone for their time/efforts. I also tried that trick of folding my cup to drink (which I heard The Diet Diva Tara Gidus talk about at the Tinker Bell expo) - - it worked wonders! No spilling on myself while I walked and drank. It's amazing how those small things really make for a better race experience!

From State Street, we headed west on Jackson, north on LaSalle, west on Randolph, south on Franklin (where we ran past the Sears Tower... or I guess I should say Willis, but I never will), then east on Harrison where we passed the mile 4 marker (almost done!), then south on Michigan, east on Roosevelt, and finally, north on Columbus. I never felt too tired or coughy, so when we turned the corner at Columbs towards the Finish Line, my mom and I kicked it into high gear for the last .3 or .4 miles to cross the line with an average pace of under 15 minutes/mile. Obviously nothing to write home about, but for being sick for the previous two weeks, not as horrendous as I would expect. I still managed to beat over 1,000 people, so that's good enough for me this time around ;) Hopefully next year I won't be coming off of illness and able to run it more than walk.

Once we crossed the Finish Line, we headed towards the 'Mariano's Runner Refreshment Area' (sponsored by Mariano's, obviously) and grabbed a bottle of water, a cup of Gatorade, got our picture taken a bunch of times by the photographers stopping us (I won't say no, I feel bad haha), and grabbed our snack bag and bananas. In the plastic grocery bags (so thankful there were bags, as I hate trying to carry it all!) there were pretzels, Sun Chips, and a Belvita cinnamon soft baked breakfast biscuit. There also seemed to be a tent where they were giving away small pieces of pizza, but there were very long lines (it looked like they were waiting for the pizza to come out of the ovens), so I passed.

I wanted to check out the After Party, so headed on over to the hub (Buckingham Fountain). The party was from 9 am – 1:30 pm and featured live music and beverages for purchase. Runners 21 and up had a drink ticket attached to their bib numbers that were redeemable for one Michelob Ultra, and any other drinks were at additional cost. I've never had a Michelob Ultra, so I thought I'd grab one (even though I knew I wouldn't like it, why not try and then know for future reference). It was pretty crowded in the After Party, and took a bit of weaving to get to the drinks, but there were no actual lines, so it was easy to grab. I had done an ID check when we walked in, so I had a wristband in order to make it easy. I really did not like the beer. I had a about a quarter of the cup and then handed it to my mom for a few sips. The rest I used to fertilize the grass. I prefer my beer to have more flavor. There were also some sponsor tents and a food tent (had burgers, wine, and I'm not sure what else). We also found a tent that had some samples of wine - "The Naked Grape" – and if you sampled, you got a grocery bag (the reusable kind) with some goodies, such as a wine glass charm, a button, and some literature. I wasn't paying too much attention to the band, but they seemed pretty good, and were playing some Indie Rock, which makes me happy.

After about a half hour, we decided to head on home. I give this race an A+ - great course with enough waves/corrals to prevent too much congestion (at least from what I could tell. Perhaps others in the earlier corrals had different experiences.),short-sleeve tech-shirt, plenty of bathrooms, not too early of a start time (even for the fast runners), enough refreshments for 30,000+ runners, wonderful expo, and a fun, relaxing After Party. The only thing that would be better is a medal at the Finish Line ;)

Whew. That's finally done. Sorry it took me so long to complete. I think that's my longest blog post yet! I hope it's helpful for anyone interested in the race next year. 

Have you ever run the Shamrock Shuffle 8k in Chicago? Or any race in Chicago, for that matter? What race? What were your thoughts?

Editors note: I wrote a review on BibRave for this race, if you're interested in checking it out. 

bank of america shamrock shuffle 8k expo

Last Friday, March 28, I had to pick up race packets for myself and my mom for the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k taking place on Sunday, March 30, in Grant Park. The Expo was being held at Navy Pier in Hall A.

Notice the construction crane on the right

Navy Pier is a 15 minute walk from my office, so I used my lunch break to head over there. I left around 11:30 in the cold wind, and when I got there, noticed there was a lot of construction going on. It appeared that the whole outside was closed off (the images of the renovations they had on the walls make the new outside look really nice, but I'm not sure when construction will be completed – hopefully by summertime), so everyone had to walk inside. This was a bummer, since it's much easier to bypass people outside on the Pier than it is inside. It was really crowded (spring break for some, perhaps?) with young kids/families meandering about. The other problem was that I was wearing my big winter coat, since it was cold outside, but walking inside I was sweating my booty off! I guess I could have taken it off and carried it, but that would have made squeezing past people and kiosks more difficult. Oh well, not much could be done about either (minor) issue. They did a good job of posting signage to point you in the right direction. I'm sure it was confusing for a lot of people trying to make their way through the construction/inside.

Entering the Exhibit Hall

Anyway, after making my way into the hall where the expo was held, I headed straight to get the bibs (there was no mistaking where that was with the giant banner they had, as you can see in the photo below). Our numbers weren't next to each other, but they were in the same section, so I only had to wait in one line, which was nice. It didn't take long before being helped by the nice gentleman volunteering, as there was only one person ahead of me in line. After a quick minute, I got both the bibs in their envelope (with pins included), thanked the man, and headed to the opposite side of the hall to grab our shirts. 

I had to go to two separate lines for shirts, as my mom and I wear different sizes, but again, it was really quick and I only had to wait behind one person in the first line and none in the second. They had sections, consisting of two volunteers for each: Women's XS, S, M, L, and XL? and Men's XS?, S, M, L, XL. I have to be honest – I didn't pay that much attention to all of the sizes offered. I had my blinders on to get what I needed and get out of the way. The shirts came in a clear plastic bag with the Shamrock Shuffle logo on it, filled with coupons and pamphlets. All of the volunteers were very friendly, which is always nice to bonus. I know sometimes they have to deal with people yelling at them (for things that might not even be their fault), so I try and be extra polite/friendly, hoping to keep them happy (they are volunteering their time, after all). I checked to make sure the shirts were the correct size, held my own up to make sure I didn't need to exchange (they had a little section off to the side of where you picked up the shirts for exchanges), and then I wandered around for a bit. 

This is one of my favorite local expos other than the Chicago Half Marathon (which is in the same location. I haven't done a marathon, so can't speak of that one held at McCormick Place, but I find Navy Pier easier to get to.). They have so many different booths/exhibitors to look at. Mariano's was giving out small samples of wine, pretzel chips, and Naked Juice (I tried Green Machine... pretty good!), Sweaty Bands, Bondi Bands, Nuun (they had samples to taste), Charity Teams, Hippie Runner, FlipBelt, Clif Bar (also with samples), Fitletic, other races, and much, much more! So much to look at, so little time (and energy). After perusing, I went over to the Fleet Feet booth to check out the Shamrock Shuffle gear they were selling (Nike products). I bought my mom a black, long sleeve tech shirt and myself a neon orange, short sleeve tech shirt and a black half-zip tech pullover (the softest material ever! I bought one last year as well, and it's my favorite). I then went to the Official Merchandise section, which were pint glasses, and picked one up for D/myself (to add to our pint glass collection). 

After that, I headed back to work, looking forward to race day. Sunday was scheduled to be fairly nice weather (much better than that day), but in Chicago you just never know until you wake up and head outside.

Race recap coming up next!