The Abbott’s Chicago 5K is a short shakeout run that takes place the Saturday before the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

For both marathoners and supporters 

It is targeted at both marathoners who want to test out their legs, as well as supporters who want to do a short run and experience a little bit of the Chicago Marathon atmosphere.

I signed up for the 5K and took part in it. I admit that the reason I had signed up was because I wanted the limited edition Chicago 5K beanie hat. It was extremely cute and I thought it to be a great souvenir of Chicago, since I am unlikely to ever return to Chicago due to the long travel distance from Singapore. 

Flagging off at 7:30am

This race flagged off at 7:30am in the morning around the vicinity of Grant Park, Chicago, IL, and the event attracted thousands of runners. I have to say that I was quite surprised by the number of people who had turned up.

I was seeded in Pen A for this race. From the nearest Jackson train station, I recall that it was quite a bit of a walk to get to the start line. But we made it and entered the start pen. 

A total blast

The entire 5K was a blast. I ran the whole route together with my travel buddy Jac. The temperature was cold at about 6 to 7 degrees C and I never took off my jacket throughout the whole run. I think that my body was never able to warm up fully.

From the very beginning, there were spectators who were standing around smiling and cheering on the runners. It was a blast and it gave a good indication of what I could expect during the marathon.

This continued through the whole run, making it extremely fun. The miles passed by very fast and there was plenty of motivation to keep on going. I was running at a faster pace than I had originally expected, possibly due to the cold weather and the momentum pushing me along. It was extremely fun.

Finishing the run

Before I knew it, we were at the finish area. The finish was pretty amazing and the finish chute was lined with country flags of the participants who had signed up.

Among the flags, I spotted the iconic red and white Singapore flag with its crescent moon and stars and it brought a smile to my face to see my country being represented so far away on the other side of the world! Yay! Majulah Singapura! Proud Singaporean here.

The race village

The finish area was a blast. A finisher medal was placed around my neck when I crossed the line. 

Besides the race medal, there were also a glut of goodies that we could help ourselves to, ranging from drinks to gummies, fruits and more. I really wished that I could had brought a bag to carry everything that I was picking up. It was really generous of the event organiser.

No baggage drop 

This brings me to the biggest issue I had with the Chicago 5K: that there was no baggage drop or anywhere safe that we could place our baggage.

I would actually have liked to deposit a thick jacket at a baggage area, due to the cold temperatures but this wasn’t possible. I had to make do with a thin running jacket which was barely enough to keep me warm after the run. I am unable to run in a thick jacket as my body tends to heat up too fast.

As a result, I ended up leaving early and quickly taking the train back to the hotel rather than hanging around waiting for friends to finish. The temperature was too cold to stay at the race village.

It was super fun  

But that said, the Chicago 5K was an experience that I really enjoyed and I do not regret signing up for it. If you are running the Chicago Marathon, I definitely recommend taking part in the 5K race the day before. It was super and I had so much fun. 

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