Today was the the 30th running of the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago, IL. The Shuffle has the honorable distinction as The World’s (capital “W” mind you) Largest 8K, nearly 30,000 registered. It also has the honor and distinction as being the ONLY 8K I run all year, I would also say being the world’s largest isn’t that big a deal. That’s like saying I’m the fastest guy who came in 492nd, I am of course the only guy who came in 492nd, that I know of. I would however venture to say I was The Worlds Fastest Person to Run 8K and Come in 492nd Today. For that I should receive a punch in the face and a broken balloon. But instead I got a t-shirt, with a Shamrock and the Sponsor Bank’s name printed on it. All for coming in 492nd. I can only imagine the embarrassment that number 493 must feel as I assume he received no Megalithic Banking Institution printed on his t-shirt. Well probably not, but I can at least hope that the Shamrock is off center.
I’m not complaining or anything, that can come later, I’m just saying “The Worlds Largest 8K” seems like hyperbole, as if when measuring the race the street was just 2K too short but also 3k too long, as most races tend to be of the 5 or 10K variety. 8K seems like a made up distance. You almost ran 5 miles. Almost.
As for the race, all I will say is it was cold, it was wet, and I had a good time as usual running with friends. The streets were awash with cheers and lovingly coated with three inches of icy cold slush, courtesy of the City of Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation. The salt worked as advertised and melted the snow… unfortunately it melted right into a inescapable slurry who’s temp was just north of 0˚ Kelvin; then hitched a ride in my shoes and was splashed up into my crotch.
I know that when you put salt on snow it melts. Great, no snow. Good for running. However the remaining sub-zero muck has to drain away, lest it become a brine solution colder than H2O’s 0˚freezing point. Bad for running. But that’s a story for another day. Fortunately years of running outside in Chicagoland have made me impervious to the cold and immune to pain, if by “impervious to the cold” you mean insane, and if “immune to pain” was a typo.
I would also like to thank my sponsors, by that I mean the people I sponsor. Like Bank of America, may my registration fee help stave off bankruptcy for another day. An honorary mention goes out to “PARK”, as $27 certainly seems reasonable for 3 hours and will cerainly have no bearing on further short jaunts into the city. Note the sarcasm, as it is the only thing that is free these days.
On second thought that’s not entirely true, I would like to thank Stewerts Coffee, for their free cup of mildly tepid post race brew. It was much appreciated.
