FKT: John Clarke - Chicago Park Boulevard System Historic District (IL) - 2026-04-23

Athletes
Route variation
point-to-point
Multi-sport
No
Para athlete
No
Gender category
Male
Style
Self-supported
Start date
Finish date
Total time
6h 13m 7s
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I must admit, I did not enjoy this route. In concept, it's really cool to run along Chicago's historic boulevard and extensive park system. In practice, a lot of it was through sketchy areas of town and there were a ton of intersection crossings where I had to wait for the lights to change before proceeding. 

I ran and walked in preparation for an upcoming self-supported "journey race" called The Last Annual Heart of the South. As such, I ran self-supported and stopped at gas stations along the way for fluid and calories. There were plenty of such stops, however, the last one running north to south was at a supermarket called Mariano's at the intersection of South MLK Drive and East Pershing Road. This is still several miles from the finish, so stock up there. 

I think running on a Sunday morning might be best so that traffic is minimized.