Hello CARA Runners,

The forecast has worsend for tomorrow. According to Weather.com, we face thunderstorms and flood warnings across Chicagoland until 10:30am. Below are the effected sites.

CANCELLED SESSIONS 8/14

Montrose 6:00am, Montrose 6:30am, Lincoln Park, Downtown, Hyde Park, Niles, Wheaton, Darien, Oak Forest

ACTIVE SESSIONS 8/14

Libertyville, Rockford

ON SITE CALL 8/14

Schaumburg

RECOMMENDATION

The forecast has improved for Sunday. Currently, I’d recommend most runners move their long run to Sunday. We will have hydration on the lakefront Sunday morning. You are invited to join the Sunday Montrose group at 6:30am. Even for our suburan folks, you’d be surpised how quick the drive is into the city at 6:00am on a Sunday!

All the best!

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 70’s with mid-80’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 22nd) 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 upload them to the Montrose Google Drive. 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

Have I used this same Bon Jovi meme for Week 9 for the last 4 years? Yep. Will I use it again next year? Probably. Has it gotten old? Most definitely. Is hypophora overused already? It is.

Montrose Group Leader Appreciation Outing: save the date for September 5th. Jacob and I are hosting a thank-you party for all our group leader in the evening. More details to come, and it’s being planned by Jacob this year so you know it’ll be good.

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 90%s; rain (if any) 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 upload them to the CARA shared Google Drive folder. 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 be on-site this week.

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

David
812-760-1258

It’s been hot and it’s been humid. Now we get to have our first rainy long run.

I’ll keep the announcements short and get everyone moving quickly.

Group Pictures - several of the groups take pictures on their runs. If you take any that are particularly good, please upload them to the CARA shared Google Drive folder. We’re sexy and we know it, so let’s show it!

Notable Path Events

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.

Montrose Runner Appreciation

Montrose Site Post-Run Party - August 29th, 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.

Montrose Group Leader Appreciation Outing - the evening of September 5th is when we’ll have our little group leader appreciation food & beverages. Jacob is doing all the work this year, so you know it’ll be better than what I put together last year 😜

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌧️cloudy and raining, 69°-70°F

🚰 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

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

Well, it was supposed be just another cutback week boring email. Then Canada had to go blowing smoke down here and we're all become experts on the airstream.

Official CARA Policy: 150+ AQI means cancelled runs. Reinforcing that the safety of ours runners is a foremost part of our mission, when the AQI is 150 or above (or projected to be during the run), we will cancel.

Current forecast predicts that this smoke will blow our over the lake by Friday afternoon, so we should still be able to run tomorrow.

Ready to Run Registration - participants receive free entry to CARA’s Ready to Run 20 Miler, September 20th. I’ll be starting the morning announcement reminders that everyone needs to register, even though it’s free. Group Leaders also need to register: APPLY

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 to come down to yellow.

🚰 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

Chi-Town Miles, is Saturday night, July 18th at Jackson Park 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 they are 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

Remember how last week was a beautiful morning with temperatures in the low 70s but then you moved at all and realized the humidity was oppressively high? Let’s do it again!

Notable Path Events

Chicago Sprints Regatta - they’re back for the 46th 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.

Group Picture Drop Folder

The CARA social media team really wants to be able to highlight all of you beautiful runners and your groups. They created an open Google Drive folder where you can upload your pictures. It’s great to see some Montrose 6am representation at the annual Volunteer Appreciation party’s slideshow.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uvjsLkf_yo0SQkXWl8RhPpaLQbqxkh3g?usp=drive_link

The 9s and 9:30s have uploaded some pictures already. I would love to see at least one of every group over the next few weeks.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌤️partly cloudy, 70°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

Chi-Town Miles will be held Saturday evening July 18th at Jackson Park. 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 someone 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. Since tomorrow is a holiday with potential rain, I expect we’re going to have a lot of absences for our run.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

There is a 39% chance right now on ⛈️Scattered Thunderstorms until around 6:30am. We will be keeping an eye on the radar tonight and early tomorrow morning. Email and the Strava club are the two places to check for official announcements. In the unlikely event it gets cancelled, I will also send out an email blast.

• Scenario A: there is rain but no lightning in the area - we be running!

• Scenario B: there is lightning in the area, but it looks to pass by 7:00 - we will shelter in vehicles until the lightning passes, then we be running!

• Scenario C: lightning looks likely to continue past 7:00 - we will cancel and advise everyone to run later in the day or come back on Sunday to run with the CARA groups.

Temps in the mid 70’s and rising quickly, humidity at 95% or greater. Keep an eye on your runners on the way back; extend water breaks 30s or so if needed.

🚰 Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, Monroe, 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🌉)

Notable Path Events

Nothing of note is happening this year. “4 on the Fourth” races are all in the suburbs. Booooorrriiiing.

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. For most runners, this will be the lowest-mileage week of the entire 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 log 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. No street closures have been announced, so parking and our route should be unaffected. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the course map on their website. The race starts at 8:00am.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

🌥️mostly cloudy, 61-63°F, high humidity, minimal breeze, AQI: 🟢Good

🚰 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 they are available for questions and injury assessments as part of CARA’s partnership with them.

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

David
812-760-1258

Quick Reminders

• 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.

Notable Path Events

No races or other events of note are on the calendar that affect us.

Weather, Water Stops, & Turnarounds

☀️ Sunny, 63°F, minimal breeze, AQI of good

 🚰Waveland, Diversey, North Ave, and Montrose

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

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 11th year in this role and my 13th 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 super stylish training singlet and orange shoe-tag from Fleet Feet before Saturday's run! The Lincoln Square and Old Town locations are closest to our training site.

Pencil Dates for the Summer 📅

• June 13th: first Saturday long run. Unfortunately, I will be in New Jersey for a wedding and will not be attending the run. My cohort Jacob, the site coordinator for the 6:30am crew, will handle greeting, announcements, and send-offs.

• August 29th: post-run Watermelon & Beer.

• September 20th: Ready2Run 20 miler.

• October 11th: Chicago Marathon

Let's Make This Season Amazing! 🌟

We currently have 132 registered participants and 24 group leaders. We have at least two group leaders in most paces from 7:30 to 11:30. I have been trying to find any group leader for the 11:00s and we only have one for the 9:30s. 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.

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 next Saturday morning! ☀️🏃‍♂️

David
CARA Montrose 6:00am Site Coordinator

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