Rockin' Chicago with the Nike+ Human Race 10K

Adapted from a Nike blog

Chicago's race knocked it out of the park with a 10K to end all 10Ks in the Windy City. Our Emcee, Gene Honda said it best, 'Second City my butt.' Chicago's Human Race was the largest such event in the United States.

Runners arrived, amped up and ready to roll, at 2 PM., more than 4 hours before the race start, so we got the party started early with a rocking sound check by Fall Out Boy attended by more than a 1,000 people in the stands. It was a beautiful late summer day in Chicago, with a nice afternoon heat and a complimentary lakefront breeze. So runners got to enjoy the Human Race sponsor village with Starbucks, Saturn, Ice Mountain and Tents of Hope giving consumers a chance to interact with the Human Race partners.

14,000 runners strong lined the East Colonnades of Soldier Field and everyone in attendance was treated to an amazing pre-race program. The iconic Wayne Messmer showed Chicago along with the rest of the world why he was THE right person to sing the National Anthem in Chicago. The hometown crowd gave an extended ovation to Messmer and the sea of red soaked in the moment. Then Runners were OFF!

Venturing through the course, runners came across the 2016 Olympic Committee cheer station and our live music stations throughout. Major course highlights were the cheer stations au naturale which manifested themselves in the form of Chicagoans BBQ-ing along the lakefront beaches. All these Labor Day revelers caught the Human Race fever and joined in the event, cheering on runners to even greater heights. 

At the finish, there was a mad dash for first place and the top male finished at 31:30 edging out his nearest opponent by a hair, while the top female crushed the field at a 35:17 pace. Both top runners showed that the state of Chicago running can go up against the world on any day. 

To kick off the party post-race style, we turned to the Main stage inside Soldier Field. Opening at the main stage was DJ Dan Suh, the Mr. Miyagi of DJs and to be perfectly authentic to Chi-Town DJ began with his remix of the Super Bowl Shuffle! Every runner at the Chicago race was treated like they were the 'Funky QB!' 

At the crescendo of the evening, Fall Out Boy took the Main Stage and they shredded through a 12-song set, rocking their hometown crowd and sending a message to the rest of the world that Chicago is the center and the rest revolve around. 

The crowd rocked out until nearly 10PM, a full VIP tent of 400+ eager and dedicated runners cheering on the night from inside the stadium.

Way to rock it, Chicago! 31:30 (male) and 35:17 (female), are the times to beat!!! 

My final time: 60 minutes, 7 seconds.