Chicago Lakefront 50/50 - Information
Start and Finish Location
The race starts at the 63rd Street Beach House in Jackson Park,
located on the south side of Chicago, along the shoreline of Lake
Michigan. 63rd Street Beach is located just South of the Museum of
Science and Industry, off Lake Shore Drive. Directions and parking
options are presented below.
Lodging
The closest hotel is the
Ramada Inn, 4900 South Lake Shore Dr, Chicago IL, (773) 288-5800.
Mention "Lakefront 50k." (Hotel is not within walking distance
of the Start/Finish)
Directions to the Start/Finish
Take Lake Shore Drive to 63rd Street (Hayes Drive) traffic light and
turn into the parking lot East of the Lake Shore Drive (Lake-side).
Parking
There will be ample parking for the race but it is no longer
free.
Here is a link to
information about the pay stations.
You can pay with coins, bills or credit cards for
up to 24 hours at a time. A receipt will be printed and you put it
on the driver's side dashboard.
We suggest car pooling, bikes and cabs.
Packet Pickup and Race Day Registration
Race packets will be available on Friday, October 29, from noon
to 7:00 pm at Fleet Feet Sports, 1620 N. Wells St, Chicago. On the race
day, packet pickup will begin at 5:30 am at the 63rd Street Beach House
area. Auxiliary lots are across the street.
Chicago Parks / Safety Issues
The Chicago Lakefront 50K and 50M will weave through a long, narrow
strip of parkland known as Jackson Park and Burnham Park. The entire
shoreline of Chicago is a multi-use park, shared by runners, bikers,
bladers, boaters, golfers, fishermen, museum goers, dog walkers and
every other form of leisure, pedestrian traffic (although all these
activities are relatively subdued in late October/November).
The park is closed between 11:00 pm and sunrise, during which the parking lots are gated.
On the race day, as every day, the park will be open to the public. Please be aware of this and use common sense and caution when negotiating the various paths throughout the park. The general public will probably be unaware that a race is in progress since we are small in number compared to larger 5K and 10K running races in Chicagoland. Park patrons are generally friendly and cheerful and you can expect them to yield the path if they see you coming. Please run defensively and give a wide berth or verbal warning when passing from behind.
Course Markings and Maps
The course will have ground markings (chalked directional arrows) to
guide you through turns. Between the starting/finish area and the far
north turn-around area, course marshals on bikes will randomly monitor
the race and assist runners if necessary.
Download course maps here:
50m
50k
Aid Stations
- Start/Finish/Turnaround aid station - 63rd Street Beach House area.
- Promontory Point aid Station Not-Quite-in-the-Middle aid station - close to 42nd Street, at the South end of the 39th Street parking lot.
- Far North 50K Turnaround aid station - near the 31st Street Beach House.
- Far North 50M Turnaround aid station – On the street the Planetarium is located.
- Aid stations will have water, Gatorade, Coke, cookies, pretzels, potato chips, variety of candy, fruits, first aid supplies and other surprises.
- The Promontory Point aid station may not be fully stocked.
Drop Bags
- All runners may leave a drop bag at the Start/Finish line (this may not be necessary if you are fortunate enough to have parked in the very nearby lake-side parking lot).
- We are not responsible for lost items, so please do not keep anything of value in your drop bags. Unclaimed items will be donated to charity.
Early Start Option
For early start information contact
info@chicagoultra.org.
Awards and T-shirts
- Trophies to the overall female and male finishers. The overall winners will receive their trophies as they finish.
- A medal to all finishers.
- Hi-tech shirts to all paid participants.
Spectator Locations
The best spectator viewing areas are located near the aid
stations and the turnaround points on the course. Late arriving
spectators should be forewarned that there may be limited parking at the
Start/Finish area. However, there should be ample free parking at 31st
Street. Promontory Point, near 55th Street is another picturesque
location on the course. A pedestrian underpass beneath the Lake Shore
Drive provides access to the Promontory Point from the Hyde Park area.
Weather
Fall weather forecasting in Chicago is guesswork at best. We could have
temperatures in the 20's at the beginning of the race or temperatures in
60's by noon. More than likely, you should expect a bit of everything in
between. Anticipate a variety of temperature fluctuations along with the
chance of wind, rain, snow or sleet. Bring a couple of changes of
running gear and plenty of warm, dry clothing for the after race.
Hopefully, we will have a typical late Fall day of 30-50 degrees
Results
Unofficial times will be posted at the finish area during and after the
race. Official results will be available on our website. The names of
all official finishers along with their finishing times will be
submitted for publication in
UltraRunning Magazine.
Post-Race Activities
A huge pot of Beth Onines' delicious world-famous red beans and rice
awaits all runners. Enjoy!
Important
Transfer of bibs to unregistered runners is not allowed. There are
no refunds for any reason.