#chicago run

[engarde-bitch]

madeline i have an important question can you mwuah mwuah mwuah in my general direction next pretty please with sugar on top

[pokemonblog]

Niantic launches official website and agrees to pay $1,575,000 to settle all Pokémon GO Fest claims

Niantic launches official website and agrees to pay $1,575,000 to settle all Pokémon GO Fest claims

Pokémon GO developer Niantic has agreed to pay $1,575,000 to settle all Pokémon GO Fest claims. Niantic has also launched its official website for the Pokémon GO Fest settlement:

Welcome to the Official Website for the Pokémon GO Fest Settlement

  IF YOU ATTENDED THE POKÉMON GO FEST IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS ON JULY 22, 2017, THE NOTICE CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT PERTAINS TO YOU. PLEASE READ…

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[pokemonblog]

Niantic is settling first-ever Pokémon GO Fest lawsuit for over $1.5 million

Niantic is settling first-ever Pokémon GO Fest lawsuit for over $1.5 million

Pokémon GO developer Niantic is settling a class action suit surrounding the first-ever Pokémon GO Festin July 2017. The developer is paying out $1,575,000 dollars to reimburse various costs attendees might have picked up along the way. Things like airfare, hotel costs, up to two days of parking fees, car rental, mileage and tolls. According to documents filed in a Chicago court, an official…

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[so-how-was-your-day-blog]

So, How Was Your Day?

Breakfast:

Coffee. Raisins.

Lunch:

Quinoa Salad. Whole wheat roll.

Dinner:

Whole Foods salad bar. Trail mix.

Morning ➛

My alarm on my phone goes off at 5:00 am and I hit snooze twice until 5:20 am I speedily dart to my coffee maker. I am always accompanied (and often tripped) by my two felines, Oscar and Ali, who could care less about the coffee and more about their morning treats. I check the weather by stepping outside my backdoor which will help me determine my running gear for my morning run. Then it’s straight to the arsenal of running clothes and shoes to select my outfit (short runs require a certain shoe versus longer runs or speed work). I check the Chicago Tribune and New York Times headlines, my work emails and schedule for the day. By 6:15 am I am out the door and running my regular route that takes me through Logan Square, Humboldt Park, and East Garfield Park. At that hour, the serenity is palpable. Since I don't run with music when I run outside, my runs are a time when I can ingest my surroundings to the fullest capacity and think about how I am going to resolve a certain work or personal issue. I always say, “there isn’t a problem you can’t take with you on a run.” It’s now 7:30 am and I am frantically getting ready for the day ahead and trying to cool down from the run. By 8:15 am I am in my car for the seven minute drive to my office.

Noon ➛

It’s 11:45 am and I am running from a meeting at a school with a principal to my lunch meeting with a prospective funder. Heading a start-up non-profit requires me to wear many hats and lunch meetings are typically with donors and external partners. The waiter knows my usual fare and my prospective funder and I are now playing the “name game” to break the ice before we delve deep into why her foundation should sponsor our youth running programs. Chicago is a small town in a big city and the “6 degrees game” is typically my way to begin building bridges and trust with a new funder or partner. By 1:00 pm I am back in my car trying to catch up on the hundreds of emails I have missed throughout the day. Next on the agenda is to jump on the phone with my trustworthy Director of Development to reassure her that I will be back in the office to edit a grant that is due by 5:00 pm. No pressure!

Night ➛

It’s 5:15 pm, the grant is in and I am re-applying my make-up before I head out the door for a fundraiser at a downtown hotel. Uncannily, I see the same funder I had lunch with a few hours before at the door speaking to a few colleagues (see, it is a small world!) We discuss the recent funding cuts and how that will affect all of our non-profits and then move on to lighter talks about online dating and the difficulty with work/life balance. The hotel does not have the vegetarian option available at the dinner, so I am forced to pick at the bread basket. By 8:00 pm when the program is over, I sneak out the door, so that I can make the 8:30 pm yoga class at my neighborhood yoga studio. By 9:30 pm, I still have half hour to make a dash to Whole Foods and get the yummy salad bar I have been craving all day. I madly rush inside my home with my yoga mat, laptop, purse, and Whole Foods grocery bag, trip over the cats (again), and finally sit down to eat and Skype with my Mom in Mexico. Ahhh! Can’t wait to do that all over again tomorrow.

Three Last Things…

1. What's up with your skin being all glowy? Seriously. Is this from all the running?

Wow! Thanks for the kind words. It probably is from running, but it’s also the exhilaration I feel about the mission of our organization and the work that we do. Studies do prove that daily exercise can improve your skin because the sweat allows us to purge our bodies of the toxins that can often clog our pores. Studies also prove that exercise, especially sports like running are great ways to decompress and de-stress. Running allows me to dream big. So, I guess the afterglow of a run shows in this picture, or maybe it’s just good blush?

2. Everyone always talks about wanting to volunteer or help people more...you're actually doing it. The non-profit world is hard work. What led you to this career and what's keeping you there?

I grew up in a Mexican-American community that is considered low-income. My father was an artist and community organizer. Money was always very tight, but no matter how little we had my father always gave up his time, energy, and the majority of his paycheck (or lack thereof) to others. Being surrounded by parents who emphasized the importance of giving back drove me to start volunteering at a young age. My first real stint at non-profit work was starting an AIDS Action Committee in high school. I was driven to start this group because a family friend passed away in the early 1980’s from AIDS and his death never escaped me. I knew I had to do something. I have been working in non-profit ever since because it’s my calling. I think that we all have to give back to some degree and we each can do this in very small ways. Whether it be volunteering at a school or local non-profit, running a race to raise funds for a cause, or getting involved in a political campaign. Just REACH OUT and familiarize yourself with your community and the issues, that are often times right outside your door. Cesar Chavez said, “the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness is to sacrifice ourselves for others”. This quote hung on my wall as a child and now hangs on my wall at work.

3. Um, so what if you are really bad at running. Like, really bad. Is this something you can learn or you either have it or you don't?

3. There is no such thing as being bad at running. We all have different gaits, paces, body sizes. I remind all of our students in our programs that it does not matter if you are the fastest. Each of us creates our own journey when we set out on our run or walk. Just keep moving forward. And sometimes that is not even one foot in front of the other as we have some of our kids that “roll their miles”, because they are in wheelchairs. I think if you are just getting started the best advice is to have small goals and keep track of your progress. For example, tell yourself that you are going to run or jog for three minutes and then walk one minute for a total of twenty minutes. Breaking it up into smaller intervals lessens the daunting nature of going out on a run. Or don’t even bring a watch and just set a destination that you know is only a mile or two away and just keep moving toward that goal and then head back. I am more of a solo runner, but I do know that having a partner or a group is also a great way to get motivated and to hold you accountable. Make small goals, don’t overthink, soak in your surroundings, and don’t forget to breathe.

Alicia lives in Chicago. She is a public health advocate, runner, and the Executive Director of Chicago Run, a non-profit that provides free running programs to Chicago Public School students. chicagorun.org

[shapinup]

Weekend Review: Chicago

This weekend I was in Chicago to help out with The Real Housewives Live Tour. Woohoo. In between working I got to catch up with friends, stroll the city, and go for a run along the water.

Housewives on the red carpet

Had dinner at Girl and the Goat (by Top Chef Stephanie Izard), a must-try if you're in Chicago

Along my run

The course mapped out

[the6amboys]

We need your help!

As we announced a few months ago we are running the Chicago Marathon for the charity Chicago Run. We have set a goal of $2000. Please visit our fundraising page and help us reach this goal. This money will fund 2 classrooms for an entire year to inspire kids to run. Please help us in support Chicago Run in the fight against childhood obesity.

Our fundraising page is located here: http://www.active.com/donate/chirun/the6amboys

[regularjoerunning]

I’m Back: An Update, Some Goals, and a Memorial

 If you’ve stopped by RegularJoeRunning.com recently, you have probably noticed an absence of recent posts. Perhaps that absence has sent you astray. If that’s the case, I’m thrilled to have you back for a cup-o-Joe. And that’s sort of what this post is going to be about; what I’ve been up to, what’s kept me from posting these days, and what I have in store for 2011, as the Spring running season is quickly approaching.

I’ll get the deep stuff out of the way first. The heart of my recent blogging lull is undoubtedly rooted in the late afternoon of January 21st, 2011.  I received a call from my mother indicating that it was the day I had come to fear more and more with each passing year. My grandfather, Joseph Walter Siatkowski – my “Popski,” as I endearingly dubbed him at a very young age – had taken his final breaths. His health status was not what you would call ideal, but his passing was still of more of the “sudden” nature, versus the “expected.” There’s no way for me to possibly represent the gravity of this loss. To simply say I was devastated wouldn’t even come close. Popski and I got along famously, sharing a friendship that stretched beyond the borders of familial love. This had become especially true in recent years through our annual hunting trips, where the seeds of hope planted in our first excursion (some 10 years ago) had sprouted into yearlings of possibility, and eventually matured through the steady solace of hard-oak tradition. As anyone who enjoys the heritage of outdoor sportsmanship can testify, the hunt was merely a backdrop to a rich tapestry of camaraderie, wisdom, and a social brethren unlike any other.

I had debated whether this blog was the appropriate space for me to memorialize Popski. I knew I needed to do it somewhere. I spoke at his funeral, but did not feel I could adequately represent my thoughts and feelings about our connection within that particular platform. In fact, I said as much and ended up telling one of his many signature jokes and a story connected to that joke from a road trip he and I took together in 1996, which I think was actually more fitting than an emotion-laden verse of sentiment (email me if you’re curious about the joke and/or story). The need to satisfy that sentiment, however, has been a significant impediment on my compositional creativity of late, and thus has certainly kept me from exploring the many running-related topics that end up on these pages. If for nothing else, I knew I needed to do this for me.

Eventually I came to think, “What better place than here?” After all, my grandfather was incredibly proud of my running. He said as much more than once, and I am so grateful to have shared part of that experience with him. He was there when I crossed the finish line of my first solo marathon. He bragged to his friends about my achievements, especially the marathons and the 25 races I ran in 2009. He was always curious about when and where I was going to dart off during our trips. Of the many things he valued, hard work as a means to success was certainly near the top of the list, and he could tell I was dedicated to this sport and this lifestyle that had done so much in the way of teaching me how to be a better human being. And for me, there was no better example of human being than Popski.  

I had an 8-mile marathon-pace run scheduled to depart within an hour of the unfortunate call from my mother. I considered cacelling, but I knew that’s not what he would have wanted me to do. So I met up with my friend Justin, filled him in on what was going on, and proceeded to pound out the miles as Popski undoubtedly looked on in approval. I continue to think about him on a daily basis, take him with me on each of my runs, and will be traversing 26.2 miles in his memory as I trek from Cape May to Sea Isle City on March 27th – a perfect memorial for a man who spent many a summer day on the shorelines of New Jersey, fishing, crabbing, boating, and generally enjoying the relaxation nurtured by such a serene setting.

                Joseph Walter "Popski" Siatkowski - December 2010

Speaking of which, training for my second Ocean Drive Marathon is about to enter taper-phase, following this weekend’s E. Murray Todd Half Marathon, which should allow for more robust blogging here at RegularJoeRunning. Running nearly 200 miles over the course of a 28-day month has been a blast, but it also easily answers the question, “How have I been spending all of my free time lately?” I know there are folks out there who manage to keep up that kind of mileage and still write volumes about it. They have my deepest respect and admiration, and give me something to aspire to.

As if training for a marathon through a period of mourning is not enough, I’ve found a nice handful of exciting ways - mostly running related - to occupy the hours of my day: 

After 6+ years of dreaming about the moment, I finally submitted my Peace Corps application in late January; no doubt a significant move that I will leave simply at that for now.

Race planning has started, once again, for the Strides for Stroke 5k. I am entering my 4th year as a volunteer member of the planning committee, providing the “runner’s perspective” and helping stir-up local interest.

City Running Tours has been abuzz lately. As the days get a bit warmer, the Sunday group runs have gradually grown in size. I’ve also been helping give feedback to the new Philly director about adding some new and longer routes, which should help bring some nice variety to the whole deal.

Things are picking up on the San Francisco Marathon Ambassador front – keep an eye out for a related contest-or-two right here on this very site some time this month (a RegularJoeRunning first! Stay tuned for details!)

I’ve been contacted by Chicago Run about helping to spread the word about their fantastic Chicago Marathon charity team. I suspect there will be more interest in linking up with them once the race officially sells out (which will likely happen this week). Look for a post or two in the coming months that will let you know what an awesome job they do and how you can link up with them for some FUNdracing.

Since I’m on the subject of “things to come,” I plan to embark on a couple semi-regular “features” here on the blog. From time to time I will feature a person I consider to be a “Regular Joe Runner,” which has no dictionary or Wikipedia definition at the moment. In fact, I think that definition will show itself as the feature progresses. More to come on this in the near future, but feel free to email me any nominations for this “to be defined” designation (although I have a feeling I know who the first one is going to be...). In conjunction with that, I also plan to start featuring a “blog of the month.” This will likely consist of a post detailing why I like the blog and a link over there on the right for the month-or-so that the blog is featured. Again, feel free to submit nominations.

I’m gearing up for another year of serving as a volunteer Running Leader with Students Run Philly Style. While it still feels as though the 2010 season just ended, the 2011 season is right around the corner. The program-wide kickoff is slated for March 12th, but there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes in preparation. I participated on a “strike force” panel to help with planning for the upcoming season, have met with the program director a time or two to share my thoughts, and presented on the “Basics of Running” at this past weekend’s mandatory Leaders’ Training. My presentation correlated with the tools and resources recently produced by the New York Road Runners for A Running Start. I’ll be providing more details about that presentation, tying in some of the NYRR stuff, and laying out my plans for using RegularJoeRunning as a resource for Students Run throughout the 2011 season in my next post.

That should do it for now. Three cheers for fun-busy times and ambitious horizons!

P.S. - If you're hoping to run the sold out Broad Street Run on May 1, you can get guaranteed registration by fundraising for Students Run Philly Style. Only a $500 minimum!