The 44th Shamrock Shuffle filled downtown with green Sunday morning, the annual reminder that spring is just around the corner and St. Patrick’s Day partying is over.
About 28,000 runners ran the 8K-course that weaves through downtown and finishes in Grant Park. Temperatures hovered around 40 degrees, and cloudy skies threatened rain that luckily held off.
The annual race caps the city’s St. Patrick Day festivities and kicks off outdoor running season.
“It’s a fun way to extend the St. Patrick’s Day holiday,” said Karen English, who ran her fourth Shuffle. “People dress up in all green, the spectators along the route are always doing something fun.”
The 62-year-old Darien resident has been running for 10 years. Her goal for Sunday’s race was to not walk once, and she was able to run the entire race – nearly 5 miles – in 54 minutes.
“Even up that hill on Columbus, I kept running,” English said. “The 8K is a nice distance, a doable distance.”
The energy of her fellow runners, the encouragement from the spectators and listening to The Pogues, an Irish punk band, kept her motivated and made the race fly by, English said.
“It’s just so inspiring,” she said.
Brent Schnipke, 32, ran the Shamrock Shuffle for the first time. He’s done several races over the years, including the Chicago Triathlon and the Hot Chocolate Run. He started running 20 years ago when he joined his high school cross-country team.
“It’s a crowded race, so you’re always running with people. You’re passing people, they’re passing you, which keeps you going,” he said. “And then just when you feel like it starts to lull, you turn the corner, and there’s a big group of people and music that pulls you along.”
Schnipke, originally from Ohio and now living in Oak Park with his wife and two sons, works as a psychiatrist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He ran the race Sunday with a group of co-workers, a mix of fellow psychiatrists and social workers.
“I have been wanting to run it, and then I mentioned it to a couple work friends and they decided to join, and our little group grew from there, which makes it more fun,” he said. “The 8K is kind of a unique distance. You know, you get a lot of 5Ks and 10ks and then longer stuff. But this feels like a little bit more accomplishment.”
