Thousands cross finish line at Life Time Chicago Half Marathon and 5K
"Don't be afraid of anything, just get out there and do it. Put yourself first," a mother supporting her daughter said.
CHICAGO (WLS) -- At the crack of dawn in Jackson Park waves of runners crossed the starting line for the 2024 Life Time Half Marathon and 5K.
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The half marathon kicked off at 7a.m. and the 5K at 7:45 a.m.
"At Lifetime we're all about empowering people to live healthy and happy lives," Allison Humbert Wilkinson with Life Time said. "Just really excited to see the athletes come out and have a great day."
10,000 thousand athletes of all ages from across the country and around the world converged on the South Side for the annual endurance event.
Athlete Marco Lagona, 25, came in overall first place with a total time of 1:10:46, which is a 5:24 per mile pace, according to the event's website.
Organizers said more than half of Sunday's runners are women.
The race comes just two weeks before the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Many of Sunday's runners used the scenic morning run as a training event ahead of the 26.2 miles they'll run next month.
"Oh my god, she is my hero," Lesli Iverson from Wisconsin said as she cheered on her daughter.
"Don't be afraid of anything, just get out there and do it. Put yourself first," Iverson said.
The video in the player above is from a previous report.
"It can take you a whole lifetime or it can take you just a few months to get into it," Lesli's daughter Carly Casarrubias said at the finish line.
Casarrubias is from Canada and is with an organization called "Girl U Can" which encourages women to get into fitness.
She helped train some of the athletes that ran the half marathon for the very first time.
"I like watching how they don't believe in themselves and then they finish this huge thing that's a half marathon and they can't believe it. I always knew they could do it," Casarrubias said.
The race took off and finished near East Hayes Drive at 63rd Street and Richards Drive.
DuSable Lake Shore Drive between 31st and 67th Street will be closed at 6 a.m. on Sunday.
Street closures began on Saturday on E Hayes Drive from DuSable Lake Shore Drive to Cornell and S Richards Dr from Hayes to Marquette at 8 a.m.
Additional street closures on Sunday include, according to OEMC:
-Cornell from Hayes to Marquette - 6 a.m.-9 a.m.
-E Marquette Dr from South Stony Island Ave to Cornell - 6 a.m.-8:30 a.m.
-E Marquette Dr from Cornell to DuSable Lake Shore Drive - 6 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
-Northbound DuSable LSD from Marquette to McCormick Place - 6 a.m.-10 a.m.
-Southbound DuSable LSD from Marquette to 31st St- 6 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
-E 47th St from DuSable LSD to Cornell - 6 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
-E 57th Dr from DuSable LSD to Everette Ave - 6 a.m.-11 a.m.
-E Science Dr from DuSable LSD to the parking lot - 6 a.m.-11 a.m.
-Michigan Ave from Randolph to Adams curb lane closure from 4 a.m.- 6 a.m.
