Get to Know Your Running Clubs - Chicago Road Runners

In this edition of Get to Know Your Running Clubs we chatted with Ricardo Santos Hernández about the Chicago Road Runners.

Want to learn more about them? Read on!

Hi Ricardo! Who are you? Give us your best one line bio

I am a professional visual artist from Chicago and life time runner.

Tell us a bit about your club history, how long has the club been around?

The Chicago Road Runners has been in existence since January of 2014. The idea for an alternative/hispanic running club was originated by Manuelito Bautista. Manuelito felt that there was not a running group in Chicago that met the needs of the hispanic community. I was contacted to become their contact person and secretary and Manuelito focuses on the lead aspects of the club.

Nice! What area(s) of the city does your group usually run in/around?

Our club runs at multiple sites around the city of Chicago. The long runs are on Sunday mornings, rain or snow, along the lake front. The group meets at Lawrence on the trail along Michigan Lake. The track workouts are held at two facilities sponsored by the City of Chicago. The Tuesday workouts are at the Montrose track and Lake Shore Drive. The Thursday workouts at the Arglye track on the west side near Swedish Covenant Hospital.

Tell us a bit about your members. What level of runners do you cater to?

The majority of our runners are of hispanic descent and represent Mexican Americans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Venezuelans and runners from Ecuador, and Columbia. Our club has both male and female elite runners that are very competitive in the Chicago running community. We have mid range runners, beginners, and runners who joined our club because they wanted to create a new beginning in their lives with the purpose of good health. Our members come out to enjoy the camaraderie and festive environment of the running club.

Where/when does your club usually meet/run?

The club meets for the long runs Sunday morning at 6:45 am at Lawrence and the trail at Lake Michigan. The track work outs are on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Montrose track on the Lake Shore trail and on Fridays at the track at Albany and Argyle at 10:30 am.

Any cost to be a member/join?

There are no membership fees to join our club.

Any cool routes/ favourite areas to run in your city that you would like to recommend to other runners? Why do you like those?

Once in a while the group will drive to Palos Hills off I-55 and LaGrange Road to run in the trails of the forest preserve. There are several loops of five, ten, and twenty miles. The runners do this mostly in the warm weather to add variety to their distance workouts. This is a popular location for other running clubs. It is customary that runners from different clubs will run together and share the forest preserve and its beautiful setting.

Do you have any favourite local races? 

The Chicago Half Marathon by the Museum of Science and Industry is always a favorite and great preparation for the Chicago Marathon. The Shamrock Shuffle is always a fast pace thrill. The runners will spread throughout the mid west and run races in Wisconsin, Iowa, South Bend, Indiana, and the holiday races in the fall and winter in Chicago.

Anything else that we should know?

Our club sponsors a group of young runners in primary school. Manuelito, our group leader feels that kids within the Chicago Public Schools don't receive enough physical activity and as a result have issues with poor diets and obesity. His goal is to introduce the younger generation of kids to running to promote good health and create a generation of life time runners.

Want to learn more?

Want to connect with Chicago Road Runners, or just learn a bit more about them? Check out their information below:

Facebook  

Find more runs around Chicago

Looking for runs in and around Chicago? The RunGuides Chicago race calendar can help you find upcoming runs and running races in the area - www.runguides.com/chicago/runs

Published on Jun 20, 2017