Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K
Chicago, IL
- 8K, 2 Miler, 1 Miler
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
For four decades, the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle has catapulted Chicago from a season of hibernation to a season of movement. Continue the St. Patrick’s Day celebration and kick off your spring running season with the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle this March! The Shamrock Shuffle is one of … MORE
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Will definitely run again
Great race but I'm not sure how some walkers were able to start ahead of me, some were holding hands and taking pictures. Just got in the way. MORE
Great race but I’m not sure how some walkers were able to start ahead of me, some were holding hands and taking pictures. Just got in the way.
Run through downtown Chicago
Streets are closed off Fans cheering you on DJs One of the biggest race in the country Funny signs to read Free beee and bananas Fun for everyone. Runners and … MORE
Streets are closed off
Fans cheering you on
DJs
One of the biggest race in the country
Funny signs to read
Free beee and bananas
Fun for everyone. Runners and walkers
Tons of people in green
Great Race!
This race is a flat and scenic trip through downtown Chicago. It may be a little cold for someone from the south like me, but it wasn't too bad. The … MORE
This race is a flat and scenic trip through downtown Chicago. It may be a little cold for someone from the south like me, but it wasn’t too bad. The course is fast and there are lots of fans through all sections of the race cheering you on. The only downside was that the tall buildings did play havoc with my Garmin.
Always a fun day
I ran the race with friends and family, halfway hoping for a sub 1-hour race, but really just enjoying the fact that I could run the complete course with no … MORE
I ran the race with friends and family, halfway hoping for a sub 1-hour race, but really just enjoying the fact that I could run the complete course with no aches or pains. Post-race festivities are always fun – just a great way to start the running season in Chi-town.
A frenetic tour of downtown Chicago
Billed as the start of spring, the Shamrock Shuffle is a 5-mile tour of Chicago's Grant Park, River North, the Loop, and Financial District. Though its 30,000+ crowds can mean … MORE
Billed as the start of spring, the Shamrock Shuffle is a 5-mile tour of Chicago’s Grant Park, River North, the Loop, and Financial District. Though its 30,000+ crowds can mean serious congestion for slower runners, it is typically a fast course. Registration usually comes with a bevy of freebies, such as a tech t-shirt, hat, scarf, always green and high-quality. Late March and early April in Chicago provide no guarantees with the weather, as race-day conditions have varied from white-out snowstorms to clear skies in 70 degrees over the last ten years. Be prepared for everything!
A fast tour of Chicago's Loop
This race, which has become a Chicago running tradition, is basically an abbreviation of the city's famed marathon course. It features the same opening 2 miles and finishes with runners … MORE
This race, which has become a Chicago running tradition, is basically an abbreviation of the city’s famed marathon course. It features the same opening 2 miles and finishes with runners climbing Mount Roosevelt before finishing on Columbus drive (without the middle 23 miles). Usually held toward the end of March, it’s supposed to portend the coming spring running season, but race day is usually beset by freezing temperatures. But that doesn’t stop 30,000 runners from showing up and attacking their 8k PRs in this perfectly flat and fast time trial course. Afterward, Grant Park becomes a party with plenty of food and drink. I’ve run this race eight times (2008 – 2015) and don’t plan on stopping.
Shamrock Shuffle 2014 (Chuckling Thugs)
Being that we had such an awesome costume for Get Lucky this year, my sister and I figured why waste it on just one race... and so, in planning our … MORE
Being that we had such an awesome costume for Get Lucky this year, my sister and I figured why waste it on just one race… and so, in planning our Get Lucky costume a few months back, the Shamrock Shuffle excursion was born.
And so this story begins…
Now, let me tell you… Going to a place like Chicago on a Friday night, with race day being Sunday morning, is pretty much a guaranteed set up for race day disaster.
Oh, let me count the ways.
(1) Reserve a hotel room that is about 1 block away from the orange line, have trains go by all night long that wake you up at about 30 minute intervals.
(2) Hear sirens, car alarms, drunks yelling at each other and car horns in between the train intervals. (BTW, it’s never just one horn honk – people in Chicago like to have honk-conversations. It’s always a long hoooonkkkk, followed up by a short honk from another car.)
(3) Spend the entire day before the race being a tourist and walking all of downtown Chicago. Seriously, we were on our feet from 8 am until 9 pm, with our only time sitting being for lunch, a short taxi ride, and a 30 minute break at the hotel when we dropped off our shopping bags.
(4) Eat the LEAST healthy foods possible all weekend, topped off by a terrible dinner the night before the race – after realizing you didn’t stumble across any interesting restaurants on your walk back to your hotel at 9 at night, have a dinner at Wing Stop of deep fried boneless wings, french fries, various full fat dressing dips, sugary soda… and a side of veggie sticks (the only thing somewhat healthy). You know it was a REALLY good for you dinner when the 5 year old that gets in the hotel elevator with his parents says “Mom, it smells like french fries in here” (while mom slaps her hand over kids mouth in embarrassment).
(5) Stay in a hotel with really thin walls, so that when your Russian and Mexican neighbors start having in depth “discussions” with their roommates at midnight on race eve, you hear EVERY. SINGLE. WORD.
(6) And finally, a few hours before you need to wake up before your race, have a bum start sorting through the recycling for cans. Shoot for about 3 in the morning. Right outside your hotel window.
You can guess how I was feeling when the alarm went off for us to get ready to run.