Ignore The Thermometer, The Season Is Upon Us

Last week's Shamrock Shuffle was the unofficial beginning of the running season.  Beginning next weekend, Montrose Harbor will once again begin hosting a jam-packed schedule of events.  Plenty of runs for the athletes among us, as well as some other events.  There are far too many to list them all, but here are some that caught our eye (if it's a fundraiser, the name of the benefiting organization is in parentheses, and more information is available for each hyperlinked event by clicking on the blue text):

• April 12, Saturday -- Ald. Cappleman's Cycling Criterium
• April 12, Saturday -- Be The Match Walk/Run 5K, 1K and Tot Trot (National Marrow Donor Program)
• April 19, Saturday -- Lakefront 10-Miler (sponsored by CARA)
• April 26, Saturday -- Purple Stride 5K Run/Walk (Pancreatic Cancer Action Network)
• May 1, Thursday -- The Dock at Montrose Harbor opens for the season
• May 3, Saturday -- Kids and Kites Festival (free City of Chicago event)
• May 3, Saturday -- Bark in the Park 5K and festival (Anti-Cruelty Society)
• May 10, Saturday -- Greater Chicago Epilepsy 5K Montrose Harbor Fun Walk and Timed Run (Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago)
• May 11, Sunday -- Birdwatching Field Trip (Illinois Audubon Society)
• May 18, Sunday -- Make Strides 4 Mental Health 4-mile run (C4 Counseling Center, right here in Uptown)
• June 7, Saturday -- Bacon Chase 5K or 0.05K run (St. Jude Children's Hospital)
• June 14, Saturday -- Liver Life Walk (American Liver Foundation)
• June 21, Saturday -- Run For Their Lives 8K Run, 4K Pet-Friendly Walk and Sponsor Fair (PAWS Chicago)
• June 22, Sunday -- Color In Motion 5K (Special Olympics of Illinois)
• June 28, Saturday -- Proud to Run 10K run and 5K run/walk (About Face Theater, TPAN, Night Ministry, Frontrunners/Frontwalkers)
• July 12, Saturday -- Miles for Melanoma Chicago 5K Run/Walk (Melanoma Research Foundation)
• Saturday, August 9 -- Zooma Chicago Half-Marathon -- 10K and Half Marathon, followed by festival
• September 13, Saturday -- The Lung Run 5K & 10K (Uniting Against Lung Cancer)
• September 14, Sunday -- Walk & Run for Wishes costumed family fun run and walk (Make-A-Wish Illinois)
• September 28, Sunday -- Walk to End Alzheimer's 5K (Alzheimer's Foundation)
• October 18, Saturday -- Chicago Walk with Us to Cure Lupus (Alliance for Lupus Research)

* Red type signifies a non-run or an event that has some parts of it geared toward families.