Bastille Day Run
Chicago, IL
- 8K, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
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Underwhelming Compared to Previous Years
Quick, how do you take one of Chicago's most beloved summertime 5K/8K races, benefiting one of the most worthy charities in the city, and transform it into an expensive, sub-par, … MORE
Quick, how do you take one of Chicago’s most beloved summertime 5K/8K races, benefiting one of the most worthy charities in the city, and transform it into an expensive, sub-par, also-ran race in the span of just 1 year? Total participation in the combined 5K & 8K events dropped from 1,571 runners in 2014 to just 603 runners in 2015, a stunning decrease considering the overall upward trend of the current national running boom. In no particular order, here are some areas where the Bastille Day organizers dropped the ball:
ORGANIZATION
–As best I can tell, registration for the 2015 Bastille Day run didn’t open until about 1 month before the race, or *maybe* 2; I know that when I searched for the race some time back in May, I couldn’t find information for the 2015 edition *anywhere*, to the point where I had assumed it was canceled. It was only in June that a friend asked if I was going to sign up, and that’s when I saw that the website had been resuscitated.
–THE WEBSITE: No course map was ever posted on the website. Even on the afternoon of the race, we still didn’t know where we were supposed to be running, we just had to trust that the course markings were correct.
–PRICING: If I’m paying $45 for a 5K or $50 for an 8K before fees (which was the confounding pricing structure), then the race better be running through the heart of downtown Chicago, closing city streets and the like. Nope. I paid $49.47 after fees for a 5K that ran on city paths that weren’t even closed to other bikes or pedestrians. To put that race fee in perspective, the 2015 Chicago Shamrock Shuffle 8K cost $50 *total*, and that’s one of the premier road races in the world, effectively shutting down Grant Park and lots of prominent streets downtown. I hold out a deep, fervent hope that the majority of the Bastille Day race fees went to the charity beneficiary, because otherwise this cost structure makes no sense.
PRODUCTION
–Past editions of the Bastille Day 5K/8K have been a celebration of French culture, where the post-race party would feature French music, mimes, performers on stilts, baguettes, croissants, and the whole works. The 2015 Bastille Day even was French in name only…the only nod to France was that every finisher was given a small French flag. That’s it, that was the extent of French theme. Other than that, it was a generic 5k/8k race.
THE COURSE
–Both the 5k & 8k races ran along a course in Lincoln Park familiar to any jogger in Chicago. Each race started and ended on dirt paths (which were rather bogged down thanks to recent rain), and then ran along the lakefront path for a period of time. No part of the course was closed off to non-racers, so we all jostled to share space with bikers and recreational runners, leading to a cramped environment (even with fewer than half of the runners that participated in 2014).
SWAG
–Past editions of the Bastille Day races have featured some rather fetching tech running shirts that featured the French flag or the Eiffel Tower on the front. This year, runners were given a baggy gray Gildan cotten t-shirt. Mine will be donated immediately.
–All runners received a beer ticket for 1 Lagunitas IPA at the finish, so that part was actually nice.
–Food options were limited to a banana and a chocolate milk at the end. No fancy post-race spread this year.
Overall…gosh, I just don’t know what happened. This had always been a great race, it’s been run for 30+ years in Chicago, and up until the 2015 race I’d loved it every time that I ran. But this year the organizers waited until the last minutes to open registration (I’m assuming there had to have been a permit issue, because otherwise this means they just straight-up forgot about it), they jacked up the price, they downgraded the SWAG, and they stripped out all of the French culture that this race once celebrated.
If you read my past reviews here on RaceRaves, you’ll see that I’m not a difficult person to please…but all things considered, I don’t think I’ve ever been more disappointed in a race.
Night racing in Chicago!
Night races have been popping up all over the Chicago area, and this is one of the better ones. The race starts in Lincoln Park and follows the Lakefront Path. … MORE
Night races have been popping up all over the Chicago area, and this is one of the better ones. The race starts in Lincoln Park and follows the Lakefront Path. The views as the sun is going down in the west and the boats are out on Lake Michigan are stunning. They added a post-race party this year that has some potential. About the only thing I could say negative about this race is that it’s getting a little big and the path is pretty crowded, so it’s best to go into this one as more of a relaxed run than a PR attempt.
Can't beat night racing in Chicago!
Night races have been popping up all over the Chicago area, and this is one of the better ones. The race starts in Lincoln Park and follows the Lakefront Path. … MORE
Night races have been popping up all over the Chicago area, and this is one of the better ones. The race starts in Lincoln Park and follows the Lakefront Path. The views as the sun is going down in the west and the boats are out on Lake Michigan are stunning. About the only thing I could say negative about this race is that it’s getting a little big and the path is pretty crowded, so it’s best to go into this one as more of a relaxed run than a PR attempt.