If you’re looking for a great excuse to justify your next big-city getaway, a fitness trip could be just what you need. I recently spent a long weekend in Chicago during which my roommates and I ran a Rock-and-Roll half-marathon. Initially, we were torn between the Seattle race and its Chicago counterpart. We had never been to Chicago so we thought it would be a great place to explore.
After three months of training, we finally embarked on our journey on a steamy Friday afternoon. The flight from Boston to Chicago is fairly painless, just under 2.5 hours. Instead of taking a cab from O’Hare to the hotel, we hopped on the “L” train and rode it right into downtown Chicago. The trip is a little longer and you do have to lug your own stuff, but it was worth the money we saved by not taking a taxi.
Our hotel, The Inn of Chicago, was located right off of the Magnificent Mile – a shopper’s dream. Despite the small room and frighteningly smaller elevators, the hotel’s proximity to all of the major attractions was perfect. The best part about the hotel had to be the 22nd floor rooftop lounge. Although it lacked a bar or restaurant, we really enjoyed bringing our own refreshments and snacks and taking in the amazing view of the city.
Being the natural food-lovers that we are, we headed straight for Gino’s East, one of Chicago’s most acclaimed pizza restaurants. Unfortunately, the line for a table stretched for longer than we cared to wait. We decided to try our luck at Giordano’s which is also renowned for its pizza, especially the famous stuffed-crust pie. We waited for about 35 minutes, a minor setback as we were able to pre-order our pizza and sip on 312- the local-brewed wheat beer. The pizza was amazing, and ridiculously filling.
A piece of advice- despite how long you have waited and how hungry you may be, don’t be deceived, Chicago-style pizza is much thicker and more filling than your average one-inch pie. Be careful not to over-order, especially if your boutique hotel lacks a room refrigerator.
The night before our big race, we decided to carbo-load and revisit an Italian restaurant we had passed previously. Named after its extensive selection of sparkling wine, Prosecco served up an out-of-this-world gnocchi with gorgonzola-walnut cream sauce and diver-caught scallops in a vanilla prosecco reduction. Maybe not the best choice of entrée the night before a long-distance run, but worth every bite.
The following morning, we made our way to the starting point in Grant Park. To our surprise, the race was littered with reality TV stars, including E! personality, Giuliana Rancic. It definitely added an element of excitement to try keep up with some recognizable faces. The 13.1-mile course looped around downtown Chicago.
Despite the oppressive August humidity, the path passed by several major attractions, including the Transformers 3 movie set. Every mile a different band was playing a rock-and-roll classic or original tune. Overall, it was a great way to explore a new city and a truly rewarding event.
The best way (in our opinion) to celebrate achieving a physical goal, is to eat back all the calories you burned while running. I highly recommend visiting The Bongo Room. There are two locations in the city and we chose the one closest to Grant Park on South Wabash Ave. This meal literally brought tears to my eyes. White Chocolate & Caramel Covered Pretzel Pancakes with a white chocolate cream sauce and red velvet cocoa hotcakes-enough said. This was by far the best meal I have had in months, maybe years and totally worth the 13.1 miles it took to get it.
If you are looking for an exciting physical challenge in a new environment, destination races give you a great reason to travel. Especially those in Chicago!
