Big Ten, big race… big fun on the lakefront this July

There are, as most of us are aware, a number of fun running races in the city of Chicago. 

The Chicago Marathon, of course, is theGrand Pooh-Bah of the racing calendar, but The Chicago Half Marathon,The Stan’s Donut 5K, The Dim Sum And Then Some 5K/10K,The Gospel Run, The PAWS Chicago 5k, The Ready To Run 20 Miler, and The Hot Chocolate 5k/10k are among the big ones, and then there are dozens of other slightly smaller races, all with their own unique locations and runners.

One of the best of the bunch, and one of the most “colorful,” is coming up Saturday, July 12, and that is The Big Ten 5K/10K.

This is always one of the best races of the year, not only for the competitiveness and large numbers, but also the camaraderie, and yes, a little friendly rivalry between all the competing schools.

Each runner at packet pick-up gets theirchosen school’s T-shirt to wear. So right off the bat, the race is unique, as normally, all runners in these big races wear the same color shirts with the same design.

Not The Big Ten 5K/10K. This one is totally different.  

Instead, you will see a literal rainbow of colors, all racing at the same time—a Kaleidoscope (you remember those) of sorts with a rapidly moving collective coloration.

Plenty of red shirts will be flying by with Nebraska, Maryland, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Ohio State, USC (new Big Ten team) and Indiana runners, all decked in school colors with varying shades of red, while a bit of navy blue shines through as well for the Michigan and Penn State faithful.  

Don’t like that shade of blue? Go with the bright light blue of UCLA (a new Big Ten team), or their close color neighbor of purple sported by the Northwestern and Washington (a new Big Ten team) runners.

Orange shirts run rampant in this race as the Illini sprinters always turn out in full force for this race, and if you are a fan of green, you can choose between Oregon (another new one to the Big Ten!) and of course Sparty and Michigan State.

A touch of gold? Try Iowa and its beloved Hawkeyes, or you could “Boiler Up” and sport the Purdue black T-shirtswith a splash of school color gold to trim.

Finally, standing all by their lonesome and proudly sporting their maroon shirts, are the runners from The University of Minnesota.  The few and the proud, I guess, just like the Marines.

All told?  A heart-touching display of bright-colored runners that never ceases to disappoint.

The race takes off south of Soldier Field at 7 a.m. for the 10K runners and 8:15 a.m. for 5K.  

Runners head south along the beautiful Chicago lakefront, before circling back and ending out near where they started.

Awaiting them at the end of the race is a huge Big Ten outdoor party, complete with giveaways, music, school alumni gatherings, plenty of food and appearances from favorite school mascots including Bucky Badger, Sparty, Brutus the Buckeye, Willie the Wildcat, Herky the Hawkeye and my personal favorite, the always affable Boiler Pete.

For more information, click here.