Kelly
The Shamrock Shuffle was a family affair!
I hadn’t run Chicago’s Shamrock Shuffle 8K before, but wanted to give it a shot. It’s the race that kicks off Chicago’s outdoor running season! Rather than running it with 39,999 strangers, I opened up the idea to several friends.
I know, for some of you, family and friends cannot be used interchangeably, however, I am one of those lucky people who can.
Runners and goals:
My goal was to finish. For my first time running any distance for a first time, I don’t have a PR to try and beat. My goal is always to soak in the atmosphere and finish the race. Deep down, I wanted to hit 47 minutes and 14 seconds for a 9:30 pace per mile. I like this calculator for setting my goals…
Nate joined in! I was super excited that we could do this together. He was up for the challenge, but seriously loathes running. His goal – to beat me!
Next to sign up were my sister, Sarah, and my soon-to-be BIL, Scott! Sarah had been running short distances and was training for a few weeks for the race to increase her mileage. Her goal was to finish! On the other hand, Scott ran in high school and set an INSANE goal for himself. He challenged his high school self to a brutal dual.
Last to commit was my brother, Russ! He’s the outdoorsy runner type. He runs for fun, not so much for distance or time, but for the opportunity to get outside and enjoy nature. His hope was to keep a faster pace than he held for his 10 Miler last fall.
WaHOO for 5 runners….. + 39,995 strangers!
We had the best spectators, by far! My parents came to help watch Miles. Kelly (Russ’s wife) also joined in for the family adventure. She had plans for their cute little 6mo old niece. Last, but not least, my youngest sister, Emily tagged along. She gave up the tail end of her spring break for this family weekend. I’m going to speak for everyone else (I know – nothing new) and say ‘thanks fans!” THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! We wouldn’t have had near as much fun without you!
Now onto race day!
Here’s the course map and the ‘players.
Aren’t we an adorable group?!
Here’s two of the spectators. They both love to people watch!
Out of respect for the other runners, I will only share my time. However, I will tell you that everyone met or surpassed their goals despite forgetting to start watch timers, failing GPS’s bouncing off the huge buildings, and the overwhelming crowd.
| Bib | FName | LName | City | State | Country | Age | Sex | ChipTime | ClockTime | Overall | SexPl | DivPl |
| 23237 | Kelly | Klinge | Chicago | IL | United States of America | 30 | F | 49:21 | 1:35:39 | 17705 | 7624 | 1644 |
My pace was 9:55 per mile. Yes, I met my “finish the race” goal, but an obligatory port-a-potty stop messed with my secondary goal. That urgent scare kind of makes me want to give up running/racing all together. Eh… there’s always next year!
Anyway… congrats runners!
I’m so proud of each of you and happy you made the trip to Chicago!!
Oh.. and want to know how we relaxed the night before??
Super fun family weekends are my favorite :)
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1 comments:
Congrats on meeting your race goal :) I always hear about this race, but have never run it. Looks like fun!
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