Once again, the fine folks at the 13.1 Marathon Series have generously donated an entry for the June 4th, 2011 Half Marathon, which takes place along the beautiful Chicago lakefront path. Details about the course and facilities etc. can be found here.
All runners receive a snazzy Craft tech shirt, a finish line party at the South Shore Cultural Center, a free beer from Michelob Ultra (bring your ID) and an awesome spinning medal for all finishers.
Packet pickup will once again be a Fleet Feet Pipers Alley at 1620 N. Wells Street. If you have not been to the Old Town area in a while, parking is hard to find, so you may want to go with a friend and have one of you run in for pickup while the other circles the block. They had parking validation at a garage around the corner last year, but if that garage is full you are out of luck. Just plan ahead, or better yet, plan on spending a few hours, get there early and walk around and enjoy the neighborhood for a while. Pickup is on Thursday June 2nd from 4 – 8 PM and Friday June 3rd from 10am – 8PM. There is NO Race Day Pickup so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
To enter our giveaway for a free race entry, just comment on this post and let us know how the cost of race entry fees has affected your choice of races to enter. I will pick the winner at random on Thursday April 28th at midnight, so you have just over two weeks to enter. We will send the winner an email with their free signup code. Please only enter if you will be able to use the code. You are welcome to comment even if you don’t want to enter, but let us know in the comment to exclude you from the drawing. Good luck and see you at the race.
UPDATE: 4/28/2001 – The drawing is tonight so get your entries in.
Update: 4/29/2011 – Congratulations go out to Kristan Huenink who is the winner in our random drawing for the entry in this years Chicago 13.1. Thanks to everyone for your insightful comments on the high cost of racing. We will have more giveaways this year so keep in touch.
My husband has started running races with me – which is great, since I love having company at the start line and during training, etc. But it’s not so great when it comes to race fees – now everything is twice as expensive as before. So even though I LOVE the big races with tons of people, it’s just too costly to do too many of them now. A free race entry would be GREAT! And a great way to kick off the summer!
The longer races and shorter races are almost the same price now. I only do 1 of each race distance per year and try to PR each one. Most of the time I run at race pace in my neighborhood so I can get the effort in and save some money.
II was kind of shocked how many races are over $25. I understand they raise money for charity, and I love that ideas, but it is hard to justify spending $25 + a race unless you are benefiting in another form.
However with gas at $4+ now, it might be the only way to get anywhere soon enough.
With gas prices and only working as a temp for half the price. I love to run. I just started back in Jan 2010 when I was in a Big Loser Contest at work ( Wghed In 222 ) been running for over a year now and at 175 pounds. I would drive from Broadway, North Carolina to do a race where I grew up for 32 years. I did 1 Half Marathon and ran in 1:57:13. Go to my FB page and see for yourself on the before and after photos of me. Please chose me. One thing I DO NOT DRINK so NO FREE BEER FOR ME THANKS!!!!
I pick my races on price– there are plenty of cheaper races– which is hard to do. I want to do lots more but have to be picky!!
As someone new to running, I am just learning about how expensive of a sport it can be. You need weather appropriate clothes, sunglasses, tracking devices, multiple pairs of shoes per year, and then race costs on top of it! Last year I could barely run a mile and now I am hoping to finish a 1/2 marathon at some point this year. However, being a law student, I already have a ton of debt and loans to pay off so entering races and training for these runs is not something I can really afford. Winning free entry at various races is almost the only way I can afford to run, especially anything that is so close to the school year as I am not working as much so I definitely don’t have the funds. Free entry for my 1st half-marathon would be such an encouraging way to continue adding miles to my running abilities!
Well, I certainly choose my races more carefully. I’ll pay a little more attention to the goodie bag to see what i’m getting for my money. I also will tend to go with small races since they are more reasonably priced.
I plan on traveling from Knoxville, TN for that race and a free entry would be an amazing gift. It would be my first “big city” half-marathon (I have previously run Knox half twice). Last one was just few weeks ago and I improved by 6 minutes… I’m wishing to run in Chicago and hopefully improve even more! I’d love to travel and run many different races in USA but the entree fees are often too high…
Greetings!
Alicja
I plan on traveling from Knoxville, TN for that race and a free entry would be an amazing gift. It would be my first “big city” half-marathon (I have previously run Knox half twice). Last one was just few weeks ago and I improved by 6 minutes… I’m wishing to run in Chicago and hopefully improve even more! I’d love to travel and run many different races in USA but the entree fees are often too high…
Greetings!
Alicja
I love running races, so the price doesn’t really matter. If I want to participate in a race, I’m going to do it regardless. I only participate in one (maybe two) marathon/half-marathon’s per year, so those are the only pricey ones. Here is how I look at it…what would I be doing otherwise? If I didn’t have a race to run the following day, I would probably be out partying the night before. Some people spend their money on a lot worse!
I am just about to run my first half. I am a stay at home mom and race costs adds up. I’d love to run Chicago bc all my friends and family live there. Getting the free enry fee means more $ can go towards airfare 🙂
I enjoy running love the thrill of racing. However the cost of races (esp something big like the marathon) are often too pricey to justify. I have to plan out my races appropriately! I would love to do a meaningful race in Chicago, but not at a price that makes me feel guilty for running it!
As an avid runner, the challenge of running continues when you have a good race to look forward to. With limited funds, I am only able to choose 1-2 races a year, making my runs drag…. I wish I could do more races, especially since Chicago offers so many fun ones. A free race entry would be WONDERFUL, it will motivate me to get out there again and be more competitive with myself, it will provide me with an opportunity to run a fabulous race, and reach a new PR time. =)
Race fees are getting so expensive!! I started running to get in shape for my wedding 2 years ago and haven’t stopped since! I’ll be running my first marathon in a few weeks but the cost is always an issue! The 13.1 Chicago series is one my husband and I have been wanting to complete together! We have just been holding off because of cost so one free entry would be SUPER helpful and greatly appreciated!!!
I want to make up for last year. in 2009 I ran the Chicago Marathon. A week later, I found out I was pregnant. This past year I have been in full blown new mom mode and am just starting to get back into running! I have sacrificed my job & 2nd income all to give my daughter a great start in life by staying home with her. Now mommy would like a little mommy time 🙂 I can only sign up for a few runs because fees are high so I would REALLY appreciate a free pass to this race! 13.1 miles sounds like heaven!
I’m a single mom with 3 kids. I love to run! It’s free, I don’t need gym membership and I can do it at 3:30 in the morning before I have to be at work! I am limited to running the marathon because of costs! I would LOVE to run the Chicago Half! It would be perfect training for 10/9/11!
I often dont enter races since the price has increased over time- especially including service/admin fees. Hard to compete as much as I’d like- Im even FROM chicago and am wondering if I can spend the money.
I participated in my first 1/2 marathon, 13.1 New York, a little over a week ago, and I had so much fun that I immediately wanted to sign up for the one in Chicago but has been hesitant because I can’t afford to pay the entry fees and travel expenses. A free race entry will help create an afforded budget for me to participate in this race.
13.1 Chicago 2010 was my very first half marathon and I would LOVE to be able to come back this year and make 13.1 Chicago 2011 my 7th half marathon. A free race entry may be the deciding factor as I’ve already committed WAY too much money to my 2011 race line-up. I try to stay local, (in Chicago), so that the lack of travel costs will off-set the ridiculously high costs of race fees.
well being that i have fun very few races i do not have as strong of an opinion on the matter but since I am only 17 almost 18 it makes it very challenging to be able to pay for and travel to many races. So the few that I have run in I have run along side my dad. The author of this blog :D. I would prefer the free entry be given to someone who would make better use of it but good luck to all!!!
I spent a lot more on races last year than I had planned, so I am trying to restrain myself this year. Generally, as long as the cost of a half is under $70, I’ll sign up without a question. If the price is more, I think about it a little more. Often, the costs are more significant to me as race day draws nearer. If I haven’t signed up, and race day cost is super high (over $85), I most likely won’t sign up.
Thanks for the giveaway! I’m in Kansas. I’m already running Chicago half in Sept and Chicago full in October… so paying for another Chicago race this year would be out of budget. I would love to run this half in Chicago too! Thanks for considering me for the giveaway!
I would love to run this race! Race fees have affected me because I am a student in graduate school and am getting by on student loans. There are so many races I want to sign up for, but I have to pick and choose due to the money. I try to run races in the area to avoid the extra cost of traveling! I would love to be able to start my summer break by running this!
It would be great to run the 13.1 prior to running my first Chicago Marathon. Race fees are high including the travel expenses so winning a free entry would offset the travel expenses! Thanks for the chance to win!!!