This being our last week, attendance may be low. For those runners that have been consistent in their presence, positive attitude, and seem like good candidates to be a future group leader - please let me know!

PUMA'S Marathon VIP Experience

This is the last chance to remind runner to register for the VIP experience. Doors open at the Palmer House at 5:30am. It’s free an included with training!

Notable Path Events

Nothing of note.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌞sunny, 69°-70°F; beautiful weather for our short run.

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 8 miles (North Ave.🚢)
🏃Intermediate: 8 miles (North Ave.🚢)
🏃Advanced: 8 miles (North Ave.🚢)

Other Items

Winter Half Marathon, Winter Full Marathon, Boston Training - registration is open for all winter training. Head over to the CARA website to sign up while you still think it’s a good idea.

RushPT continues to be on-site; please remind runners that a PT is available for questions and evals as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

What a beautiful day it turned out to be for Ready2Run. I hope you all had an amazing experience - I saw so many happy and enthusiastic faces at the after party. Check in with your runners this week and help them get the celebration and encouragement they need to get to the start line. Two more long runs, then it’s marathon day!

Group Leader Appreciation Night

A reminder that tomorrow night is the group leader appreciation night at Begyle Brewing. I'll be there starting at 6:30. Have a round or two and some pizza as a Thank You from CARA.

PUMA'S Marathon VIP Experience

Speaking of marathon day, please remind your runners to register for the VIP experience. Doors open at the Palmer House at 5:30am.

Notable Path Events

Nothing of note.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌞sunny, 65°-67°F with a high chance of awesome.

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 12 miles (Chicago Ave.)
🏃Intermediate: 12 miles (Chicago Ave.)
🏃Advanced: 12 miles (Chicago Ave.)

Other Items

Winter Half Marathon, Winter Full Marathon, Boston Training - registration is open for all winter training. Head over to the CARA website to sign up while you still think it’s a good idea.

RushPT continues to be on-site; please remind runners that a PT is available for questions and evals as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

Reminder: CARA also runs out of Montrose on Sundays at 6:30am, so you’ll still have another opportunity to run with a group.

I look forward to seeing everyone next Sunday at Ready2Run!

Stay safe,

David

812-760-1258

Last year, I asked ChatGPT to “create a humorous image for marathon cutback week” for Week 14. I did the same this year and I’m not sure if it’s better or worse.

Ready2Run Course - the path for this year’s R2R has been released. We’re doing the normal Wilson Track start, heading north to Bryn Mawr, then heading all the way south along the path. The route is a little different than previous years at the end. Check it out - https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2725409

Ready2Run Packet Pickup - that’s right, you have a bib to pick up this Saturday or next Saturday (other locations throughout the suburbs are available, check your email).

Saturday, September 13 - Fleet Feet Lincoln Square: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 20 - Fleet Feet Old Town: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Notable Path Events

PAWs Chicago 5k - Montrose Park, starting at 7:30am. They’ll be doing set-up as we start our run and the event will be in progress when we return. Give clearance to the runners and their human owners.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌦️ Possibly a little drizzly, 66°-70°F. I won’t be surprised if attendance numbers are low this weekend

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, Monroe, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 14 miles (Monroe water stop)
🏃Intermediate: 14 miles (Monroe water stop)
🏃Advanced: 14 miles (Monroe water stop)

Other Items

RushPT continues to be on-site; please remind runners that a PT is available for questions and evals as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

This is weekend is quite often the hardest run of the summer. For the advanced runners, it will be their longest at 22 miles. For intermediate, it’ll the first 20 miler; and for novice, it’s the longest run many of them have ever done. It’s also the longest run without the celebratory spirit that comes with Ready2Run. Let’s start the morning with a positive spirit, carry that energy through the run, and congratulate our runners at the end for having come this deep into the training season.

Notable Path Events

Doesn’t matter; focus on the miles.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌤️ Mostly sunny, 50°-65°F. Could we have any better weather for this run‼️

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, Monroe, Waldron, 31st Street Harbor, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 18 miles (Waldron water stop)
🏃Intermediate 20 miles (McCormick Bird Sanctuary)
🏃‍♂️Advanced: 22 miles (35th St.)

Other Items

Don’t worry about other items; focus on the miles.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

With last week’s big miles uploaded to Strava, it is time for a well deserved cutback week! Mileage is low but keeping the same pace is important. Some runners may think about sneaking up to a faster pace for this week. Encourage them to stick with their regular groups.

To celebrate making it this far, Jacob and I will have watermelon, beer, and other special treats to close out the run. Encourage your runners to hang out for a little bit and socialize, maybe even with other groups.

Notable Path Events

AVP League Championships (Oak Street Beach)

The crews have been out all week setting up for this weekend’s event. The path between North Ave and Oak Street beaches is going to be narrower than usual and there will be more people on the path. Thankfully, with the cutback week, we should be out and back before there’s too large of a crowd.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

☁️Cloudy, low 60’s - beautiful running weather

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, Monroe, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 12 miles (Chicago Ave.)
🏃Intermediate: 14 (Monroe water stop)
🏃Advanced: 14 (Monroe water stop) - last 3 miles at race pace, if you’re feeling saucy

Other Items

Ready2Run Registration is open. There’s no charge for group leaders or training program participants, but you do need to register. Check your email for information. There are separate forms for GLs and for participants, so please make sure you use the correct one. BUT FOR REAL, REGISTER AND REMINDER YOUR RUNNERS TO REGISTER.

PUMA’s Marathon VIP Registration is open. There’s no charge for group leaders or training program participants, but you do need to register. Follow this link: https://haku.ly/6dc4ce29de (it’s also in an email from CARA).

RushPT continues to be on-site; please remind runners that a PT is available for questions and evals as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

Tomorrow morning, we will have our annual special visit by Carey Pinkowski, Chicago Marathon Executive Director. I’ll introduce Carey and give him the floor for a few minutes. I think his inspirational words will be great to have before our big miles.

As I have mentioned before, this mileage can be one of the hardest runs, mentally. We’re at the end of the last two week build cycle. That trek past the Belmont Harbor and the final leg after the water stop is a great time to break out the bad jokes you’ve been saving up all season (you have a whole set of bad runner jokes, right?).

Notable Path Events

Chicago Triathlon - Kids & Super Sprint

It’s that fateful weekend that I warned about last Saturday - there’s no parking on Simmonds Dr. Hopefully, you reiterated to your runners that it’s going to suck and they should arrive early.

Watermelon, Beer, and Other Fizzy Drinks will be available next weekend to everyone after the run, compliments of CARA. Jacob (6:30am Site Coordinator) is doing the grocery shopping and watermelon slicing this year, so please give him a quick thanks if you see him.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌤️ Partly cloudy, 70°-80°F with humidity in the upper 80%s, low 90%s. Looks to be yet another warm, humid, soggy morning for a run.

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, Monroe, Waldron, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 16 miles (Shedd Aquarium)
🏃Intermediate: 18 (a little after the Waldron water stop)
🏃Advanced: 20 (McCormick Place Bird Sanctuary; Waldron is the last water stop)

Other Items

Ready2Run Registration is open. There’s no charge for group leaders or training program participants, but you do need to register. Check your email for information. There are separate forms for GLs and for participants, so please make sure you use the correct one.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

Now that we are in the back half of the season, the mileage is getting serious. Runners who have been overtraining will typically start discovering the error in their ways, and those that have been slacking will start feeling the lack of training. Keep the enthusiasm and good spirits up.

Unpredictable Weather

Maybe the temps are going to reach the upper 80’s with mid-90’s heat index🥵.

Maybe we will have a lightning and thunder storm roll through⛈️.

Maybe they’ll cancel each other out and the weather will be pleasant🏃‍➡️.

As always, the safety of our runners is our highest priority. Slow the pace down and take longer at water stops if the heat is miserable; stay under shelter if there is lightning; lookout for bikes, tourists, and shopkeepers if the weather is beautiful.

Notable Path Events

Air & Water Show Detour

As with previous years, vendors take over the lakefront path and make a mess of things. The North Ave. water stop will be before the pedestrian bridge this week. Taking the normal route, you won’t miss it. Please avoid the North Ave. pedestrian overpass and instead take the underpass behind the Chess Pavilion. Make sure your runners are aware that the distance between that water stop and Monroe Harbor will be a little longer. Consider stopping at the Oak Street Beach water fountain (being aware of cyclists and other people) - there are usually additional water stations set-up for this weekend in the area, too.

Triathlon Weekend

Next Saturday (August 23th) is when Simmonds Drive is closed for the kids triathlon. Please remind your runners that we will need to park in the parking lots and leave plenty of extra time. There will be a lot of additional cars, SUVs, and minivans carting in bleary eyed kids. With the construction, parking is going to be extra awful.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

☀️or ⛅ or ⛈️ or 🌪️ or 🌀- just be safe.

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave (modified location) , Monroe, Waldron, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 15 miles (±Monroe water stop)
🏃Intermediate: 17 (Waldron water stop)
🏃Advanced: 18 (a little after the Waldron water stop)

Other Items

Group Pictures - several of the groups take pictures on their runs. If you take any that are particularly good, please feel free to reply to these weekly emails and attach them. I’ll forward them onto the CARA social media team to include in their promotions. We’re sexy and we know it, so let’s show it!

Ready2Run Registration is open. There’s no charge for group leaders or training program participants, but you do need to register. Check your email for information. There are separate forms for GLs and for participants, so please make sure you use the correct one.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

Cycle 3, Cutback Week

Did I use this same Bon Jovi meme for Week 9 last year? Yep. Will I use it again next year? Probably. Will it get old? Most definitely.

Substitute Site Coordinator - I won’t be able to make tomorrow’s run (my wife is traveling, so I’m on solo kid duty). Jacob will be there to unlock the bathrooms, provide announcements, and send you off.

Group Leader Appreciation - September 27th, 6:30pm (location TBD). Jacob (6:30 site coordinator) and I are planning a Thank You outing for your dedication this summer and, for many of you, your years/decades long service to CARA. We are looking at a couple of places on the north side, but in order to know how fancy we can go, we need to know whether you’ll probably be able to attend - please RSVP by September 15th.
Invite link: https://evite.me/513n9rf49B

Notable Path Events

Nothing is happening - yep. It’s a boring week on the lakefront path.

NEXT WEEK: Air and Water Show - it’s our annual chaos and mayhem weekend, and it is a big build week. So prep yourselves. More info in next week’s email

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌥️ Mostly cloudy, 70°-75°F with humidity in the 80%s; rain should hold off until after we’re finished.

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, Monroe, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 10 miles (a little past the North Ave. water stop🛳️)
🏃Intermediate: 13 (fountain just after the Chicago River bridge🌉)
🏃Advanced: 14 (±Monroe water stop🚻)

Other Items

Group Pictures - several of the groups take pictures on their runs. If you take any that are particularly good, please feel free to reply to these weekly emails and attach them. I’ll forward them onto the CARA social media team to include in their promotions. We’re sexy and we know it, so let’s show it!

Chicago Marathon Guaranteed Entry for group leaders is a perk that you all are eligible for. If you haven’t receive an email with a link to register, contact James Diamond (james@cararuns.org) to receive your entry. Entries need to be submitted by August 15th, so don’t delay.

Ready2Run Registration is open. There’s no charge for group leaders or training program participants, but you do need to register. Check your email for information. There are separate forms for GLs and for participants, so please make sure you use the correct one.

RushPT will not be on-site this week.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you all next weekend!

David
812-760-1258

The last two weeks started warm and turn to hot, with an extra helping of gross humidity. Even last year, it was hot and humid this week. Do any of us remember how to run in (dare I say) nice weather?!

Look out for Bandits🕵️

One of our sites has reports of bandits joining training without registering as a participant, CARA is currently working with the site coordinators to resolve the issue. If they find bandits running in your group, please tell them to register and report them to me. I’ll keep an eye out and if that individual continues to show up without registering CARA and I will handle removing them from training.

CARA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit - we're not getting rich on registration dollars - but they are necessary for the continued existence of CARA Training. Additionally, unregistered runners threaten our insurance through RRCA; no insurance means no CARA. We can't allow a handful of unregistered runners to threaten all of CARA which reaches 10,000 unique participants each year.

Montrose Group Leader & Runner Appreciation

Group Leader Appreciation - September 27th, 6:30pm (location TBD). Jacob (6:30 site coordinator) and I are planning a Thank You outing for your dedication this summer and, for many of you, your years/decades long service to CARA. We are looking at a couple of places on the north side, but in order to know how fancy we can go, we need to know whether you’ll probably be able to attend - please RSVP by September 15th.
Invite link: https://evite.me/513n9rf49B

Montrose Site Post-Run Party - August 30th, we’ll be doing our annual Watermelon, Beer, Spritzers, and non-alcoholic drinks. Pop it on your calendars, so you can get a hall pass to stay a little later than usual.

Notable Path Events

Get Your Rear In Gear Chicago 5K - event starts at 9:00am from the Montrose Grove 16; the course goes north, so we’ll have to watch out for set-up before the run and runners/walkers at the end of our run.

Dim Sum & Then Some 5k & 10k - they start at 8:00am from Foster; we’ll also have to look out for them on our way back.

Lollapalooza - this weekend, Grant Park is going to be a little crazy. Keep a look out for the various people stumbling about recovering from the night before.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

⛅Partly cloudy, 64°-71°F, reasonable humidity, slight breeze
🔥Canadian wildfires are again causing poor air quality. While CARA doesn’t (yet) have an official air quality policy, we have put in place an advisory when it goes above 100 (which is about where we are at). If it goes above 200, then we will debate cancellation as that reaches levels that are declared unhealthy for everyone.

🚰 Water stops: Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, Monroe, Waldron, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 13 miles (water fountain after Chicago River bridge🌉)
🏃Intermediate: 15 (just after Monroe water stop🚰)
🏃Advanced: 17 (Waldron water stop🚰, which will make the run ~1/4 mile longer)

Other Items

Group Pictures - several of the groups take pictures on their runs. If you take any that are particularly good, please feel free to reply to these weekly emails and attach them. I’ll forward them onto the CARA social media team to include in their promotions. We’re sexy and we know it, so let’s show it!

Chicago Marathon Guaranteed Entry for group leaders is a perk that you all are eligible for. If you haven’t receive an email with a link to register, contact James Diamond (james@cararuns.org) to receive your entry. Entries need to be submitted by August 15th, so don’t delay.

Ready2Run Registration is open. There’s no charge for group leaders or training program participants, but you do need to register. Check your email for information. There are separate forms for GLs and for participants, so please make sure you use the correct one.

RushPT continues to be on-site; please remind runners that Katie is available for questions and evals as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

Build Cycle 3, Week 1

I think my favorite part about using Substack is that I can easily reuse memes from last year. We’re back to increased mileage and high chance of rain or high humidity, so be prepared for being completely ugly-soaked by the time we hit the second or third water stop.

CARA Weather Policy - as a reminder, the official cancellation policy is if there are lightning strikes within 6 miles. I’ll be keeping an eye on the radar when I wake up and I’ll send an email by 5:00am if there is a strong chance of cancelling. Additionally, you can join the Strava group “2025 CARA Summer Marathon Training”, where CARA posts weather announcements.

Chicago Marathon Corrals - for those runner Chicago this year, the corral assignments have been sent out. Log into your hakuapp account to see where you have been placed. Let your runners know what their options are if they want to change - namely, use the Start Corral Change Request Form. Deadline for submitting requests is August 12th.

Montrose Group Leader & Runner Appreciation

Group Leader Appreciation - MARK YOUR CALENDARS! September 27th, 6:30pm (location TBD). Jacob (6:30 site coordinator) and I are planning a Thank You outing for your dedication this summer and, for many of you, your years/decades long service to CARA. We are looking at a couple of places on the north side, but in order to know how fancy we can go, we will need to know if you can come. I’ll send out an evite in a week or two requesting RSVP’s.

Montrose Site Post-Run Party - August 30th, we’ll be doing our annual Watermelon, Beer, Spritzers, and non-alcoholic drinks. Pop it on your calendars, so you can get a hall pass to stay a little later than usual.

Notable Path Events

Stan’s Donut Run 5k/10k - starting at 7:00am from Soldier Field and running north will be about 1,000 runners. Their turnaround is Jackson Dr, which means only the Advanced mileage runners may have some interference. Be careful on the turn-around and all should be well.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌧️raining (hopefully not thunder-storming), 72°-75°F with humidity in the 🤮s

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, Monroe, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 12 miles (water fountain just south of Chicago River bridge)
🏃Intermediate: 14 miles (Monroe water stop🚰)
🏃Advanced: 15 miles (just after Monroe water stop🚰)

Other Items

Chicago Marathon Guaranteed Entry for group leaders is a perk that you all are eligible for. If you haven’t receive an email with a link to register, contact James Diamond (james@cararuns.org) to receive your entry. Entries need to be submitted by August 15th, so don’t delay.

Ready2Run Registration is open. There’s no charge for group leaders or training program participants, but you do need to register. Check your email for information. There are separate forms for GLs and for participants, so please make sure you use the correct one.

RushPT continues to be on-site; please remind runners that Michelle is available for questions and evals as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

Reasonable weather, no notable parking restrictions, nor any significant events on the path. It’s going to be a pretty short announcements and we’ll be on with our weekend pretty early!

Notable Path Events

Volleywood - set-up and gathering for the big annual volleyball tournament on North Ave. beach. The path is sometimes crowded and can feel a little narrower during this event. Thankfully, this is a cutback week, so impact should be minimal for us.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌥️Partly sunny, mostly cloudy, 70-75°F, minimal breeze, AQI in the green

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 7 miles (Fullerton Ave.)
🏃Intermediate: 10 (1/2 mile south of North Ave. 🚢)
🏃Advanced: 12 (Chicago Ave.)

Other Items

PUMA’s Chi-Town Miles, is tomorrow night, July 29th at Wilson Track. This is a 1 mile track race hosted by CARA that features a DJ, live announcements, and beer garden. Your participants can learn more about the race here: https://www.cararuns.org/chitownmiles. 

RushPT continues to be on-site; please remind runners that George is available for questions and evals as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

It’s Chicago - so maybe we’ll get just a drizzle in the morning, maybe it’ll be a complete downpour, maybe it’ll be done before our run and be a beautiful morning for a run. Who knows?! The forecast doesn’t call for lightning, so we are going to be out running regardless of the precipitation.

Notable Path Events

Chicago Sprints Regatta - it’s that time of year, when the path along the Lincoln Park Lagoon gets really crowded with bleary eyed rowers stumbling around the path. Feel free to give them a shout (kindly and politely, of course) to move aside.

Cycling on Chicago’s Lakefront - there is an organized bicycle ride starting on the south end of the LFT, which may reach all the way up to Monroe; they might go further north. I haven’t been able to see what their route is.

Chicago Marathon Entries for CARA Group Leaders

We have received the post-close entry application for the Chicago Marathon. The deadline to claim your entry is August 15th at 11:59pm. Click the link, fill out the form, cry a little when the credit card bill comes due.

REMINDER: The Chicago Marathon perk is available to group leaders in good standing with their training site. CARA maintains the right of final application approval for Chicago Marathon when it comes to group leader entries.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌥️mostly cloudy, 75°F, minimal breeze, disgustingly humid

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, Monroe, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 10 miles (1/2 mile south of North Ave. 🚢)
🏃Intermediate: 12 miles (Chicago Ave.)
🏃Advanced: 14 miles (Monroe water stop🚰)

Other Items

Mercy Home representative Mary Connolly will be stopping by to give a short intro to the group during pre-run announcements about the work they do. Several of our runners are raising money for this organization.

PUMA Discount Code, valid through the end of the weekend, use the code CARA40 to get 40% off most items on the PUMA store. This is available to all CARA members.

PUMA’s Chi-Town Miles, will be held Saturday evening July 19th at Wilson Track. This is a 1 mile track race hosted by CARA that features a DJ, live announcements, and beer garden. Your participants can learn more about the race here: https://www.cararuns.org/chitownmiles. 

RushPT continues to be on-site; please remind runners that George is available for questions and evals as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

We’re starting our second cycle, which means this is a build week. It’s time to start thinking about self-imposed No Fun Fridays. Being that it is a holiday, today, I expect we’re going to have more than a few bleary eyed runners tomorrow morning.

Notable Path Events

NASCAR closures - none of our groups go far enough south to be affected by the potential mayhem downtown. Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable Lake Shore Drive will be closed around Grant Park, so add extra time if you need are coming from the south.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌤️partly cloudy, mid 70’s and rising quickly. Keep an eye on your runners on the way back; extend water breaks 30s or so if needed.

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, and Montrose - there’s also the water fountain at the south end of the Chicago River bridge, for those running advanced mileage.

🏃Novice: 9 miles (North Ave. 🚢)
🏃Intermediate: 11 (Chicago Ave.)
🏃Advanced: 13 (Chicago River bridge🌉)

Other Items

RushPT continues to be on-site; please remind runners that Katie Wax is available for questions and evals as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

Just as we’re getting into the groove of things, we’ll take a small step back this week. It is the least number of miles most runners will have all season. Please remind them to respect the cutback - they’ll appreciate doing so later in the season.

Packet Pickup is closed. If your runner doesn’t have their shoe tag and shirt yet, they’ll need to go into their runner portal and pay to have it shipped to them, or they need to go to the CARA office.

Notable Path Events

ProudToRun is back this year. They are using the greenspace by Montrose Harbor. There are no street closures announced, so we should be good to go. The 10k starts at 7:30am; 5k at 8:00am.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

Holy, moly, bologna, it’s humid out today, it’ll be humid out tomorrow. So humid.

🌤️mostly sunny, 68-75°F, high humidity, minimal breeze, AQI of normal

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 5 miles (Barry underpass)
🏃Intermediate: 7 (Fullerton)
🏃Advanced: 9 (North Ave.🚢)

Other Items

RushPT continues to be on-site; please remind runners that Katie Wax
is available for questions and evals as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

Cycle 1, Week 2

The National Weather Service has dropped an EXTREME HEAT WARNING (because everything the NWS does is in all caps). Fortunately for us early risers, the dangerous temperatures aren’t supposed to arrive until after 9:00am. It will be sunny, hot, and humid during our run, but not to a point where we need to take preventative actions.

With that in mind, please make sure you leave ample time for hydration at the water stops.

Second Week Considerations

• I'll be kicking things off promptly at 6:00am, please try to get your groups corralled into place a little beforehand so everyone isn't all spread out during announcements.

• Please check with your fellow pacers to make sure they got this email. If someone is missing, have them talk/text/email me. You can also forward this email and they can subscribe to the list.

• After this run, we begin our first cutback week. It’s a good time to talk with the beginning runners about the intention of the 3-week cycles and the importance of taking the cutback weeks - even this first one.

Notable Path Events

• No events on the path (that we know of).

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌤️ Partly cloudy, 75°-78°F with humidity in the 70%s; the heat index is going to climb very quickly after 9am.

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, and North Ave

🏃Novice: 7 miles (Fullerton)
🏃Intermediate: 9 miles (North Ave🚢)
🏃Advanced: 11 miles (Oak St 🏖️)

Other Items

RushPT returns as our sponsor for physical therapy services. This includes a free assessment and injury prevention services available on-site most weeks after the run. If your runners have any questions or make any comments about pains, strains, or other issues - direct them to talk with the PT on site.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

Cycle 1, Week 1

Welcome back, group leaders! I am excited to kick off another season of Summer Marathon Training with CARA. We have a strong turnout across all CARA sites and our Montrose location continues to grow with enthusiastic runners ready to tackle their goals.

Approximately 17% of our runners have indicated that this will be their first marathon. Let's make sure they feel welcomed and supported as they embark on this incredible journey.

First Week Considerations

1. Arrive early! It would be nice for group leaders to all be present by 5:45am. Many runners arrive early these first few weeks (especially first-timers) to make sure they understand the lay of the land. Let’s be there to properly greet them and claim all the good parking spots.

2. Expect a delayed start. In order to give runners time to sort themselves out this first week, I’m going to start announcements 5-10 minutes after hour. We’ll be back to our prompt 6am start next week.

3. Please wear your white Puma singlet. I know everyone has their favorite brand/style of shirt to run in, which is why I’m asking just this week that everyone wear the official training shirt.

4. Purple shoe tags are important for their emergency contact information and to add a little flair to your running outfit. Please remind runners who show up without one that we need them visible - just in case!

Construction Is Everywhere; Parking Sucks

• Montrose Bridge is under reconstruction, so there is no passage underneath. When you are coming back north, following the detour signs, you’ll cross Montrose at a temporary stop sign, then curl back to go to the usual path over the hill.

• Simonds Dr. Pedway is completely closed and there is no parking on either side of that bridge. This is going to cause some confusion for runners arriving the first time this year, and I’m so glad I’m not in the 6:30am group trying to find parking.

• With the pedway/underpass closed, there is no good place to cross Simonds Dr. to get back to the start. Warn runners before crossing that cars likely won’t be very observant.

Planned & Unplanned Absences

If you know you won’t be able to group lead for any weeks this summer, please let me know. This includes any planned trips or if you have any unplanned circumstances during the summer. You can email me (david@rovani.net) or text me (812-760-1258).

Notable Path Events

Imerman Angels Brunch Run 5K & Walk is at the Montrose Harbor. They don’t start until 8:30, so we will be long gone before their events kicks off. Beware of the set-up crew and trucks when we start.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌧️ Cloudy, small chance of rain, 60°-62°F.

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, and North Ave

🏃Novice: 6 miles (turnaround at Diversey water stop)
🏃Intermediate: 8 miles (Lincoln Park Zoo entrance)
🏃Advanced: 10 miles (just before Oak St. beach)

Other Items

RushPT returns as our sponsor for physical therapy services. This includes a free assessment and injury prevention services available on-site most weeks after the run. If your runners have any questions or make any comments about pains, strains, or other issues - direct them to talk with the PT on site.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

For those new to the group or needing a refresher – I'm David Rovani, and I'll be your site coordinator again this year. This marks my 10th year in this role and my 12th year overall with CARA. When I'm not coordinating, you'll find me leading the 7:30/mile pace group, and yes, I'm gearing up for another Chicago Marathon this October! 🏃‍♂️💨

What to Expect From Me 📧

Every Friday afternoon, I'll be sending you a weekly email with everything you need to know for Saturday's run:

• Distances for each group (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced) and turnaround points

• Weather conditions and any special considerations (heat, rain, air quality, etc.)

• Route alerts for races or events that might affect our path

• CARA announcements and other important updates

These emails are your go-to source for staying informed and prepared! 📋

Important Reminder 🏷️

Please pick up your white training singlet and purple shoe-tag from Fleet Feet before Saturday's run! The Lincoln Square and Old Town locations are closest to our training site.

Let's Make This Season Amazing! 🌟

We currently have 127 registered participants and 20 group leaders - including coverage from all paces from 7:30 to 11:30. Some groups only have one leader, so if you know a runner from past seasons that you’d like me to personally reach out to, I’ll do what I can to boost our numbers. Current paces with just one GL include: 8:00, 9:00, 11:00.

Whether you're returning or brand new, I'm thrilled to have you as part of our Montrose 6:00am community. There's something special about starting the weekend with miles, friends, and Lake Michigan views that never gets old.

As always, don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions, concerns, or just want to chat about running!

Contact Info:
📧 david@rovani.net
📱 812-760-1258

Here's to an incredible season ahead! See you bright and early Saturday morning! ☀️🏃‍♂️

David
CARA Montrose 6:00am Site Coordinator

It was a little rainy last week and we all got through it. Tomorrow might be a little damp, too and we’ll get through that. Two more long runs, then it’s marathon day!

PUMA'S Marathon VIP Experience

Speaking of marathon day, please remind your runners to register for the VIP experience. Doors open at the Palmer House at 5:30am.

Notable Path Events

Nothing of note.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌧️☁️ Cloudy, 65°-67°F with a high chance of drizzles.

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 12 miles (Chicago Ave.)
🏃Intermediate: 12 miles (Chicago Ave.)
🏃Advanced: 12 miles (Chicago Ave.)

Other Items

Winter Half Marathon, Winter Full Marathon, Boston Training - registration is open for all winter training. Head over to the CARA website to sign up while you still think it’s a good idea.

RushPT continues to be on-site; please remind runners that a PT is available for questions and evals as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258

I asked ChatGPT to “create a humorous image for marathon cutback week”.

Ready2Run Course - the path for this year’s R2R has been released. We’re doing the normal Wilson Track start, heading north to Foster, then heading all the way south along the path. The route is a little different than previous years at the end. Check it out - https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2725409

Ready2Run Packet Pickup - that’s right, you have a bib to pick up this Saturday or next Saturday (other locations throughout the suburbs are available, check your email).

Saturday, September 14 - Fleet Feet Lincoln Square: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 21 - Fleet Feet Old Town: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Notable Path Events

Nothing of note.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌦️ Possibly a little drizzly, 69°-70°F. I won’t be surprised if numbers are low this weekend

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, Monroe, and Montrose

🏃Novice: 14 miles (Monroe water stop)
🏃Intermediate: 14 miles (Monroe water stop)
🏃Advanced: 14 miles (Monroe water stop)

Other Items

RushPT continues to be on-site; please remind runners that a PT is available for questions and evals as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

And that’s all I have for this week. See you, tomorrow!

David
812-760-1258