This past weekend I ran the Ditka Dash 5k! I would have to say this was one of my all time favorite 5k races I’ve ever run in. Even though it was cold, it beats out a LOT of the other races I’ve done.
As we all know, Mike Ditka is a Chicago Legend. He’s DA COACH and has a killer mustache. This race also helped the Movember charities raise money for prostate cancer.
I was already in the Chicago area visiting my family for Thanksgiving so I woke up early Saturday morning and bundled up. It was about 30 degrees…not too bad for the end of November in Chicago at 8am!
I rocked my new Under Armour cold weather gear. They sent me some running gloves and cute ear warmer to try out. They were both great and kept me warm! And…as always..I had my Polar FT4 on my wrist. I seriously never do anything active without that thing!
I headed to the City and met up with my friend to get my Ditka gear. When you sign up for this race, you get aviators, a mustache, a beer and a Ditka race shirt. We also spent the extra couple bucks on the headband. This race had by FAR the best race accessories.
You think the above pic is creepy? Wait until the later ones where I’m actually wearing my mustache haha.
We took a cab to Soldier Field. Daaaaaaaaaa Bears!!!!!!
Every sign obviously started with “Da”..like “Da hydration station” and “DA START”. Being from Chicago, I LOVED every bit of it.
And….here we go..things just got creepy. The mustaches are on!
I’m so incredibly glad that women don’t have mustaches…seriously. Not a good look 🙂
We headed to the start line and they sang the national anthem. Then….
The crowd went wild. We weren’t sure why until we got up to the start line to see DA COACH was there!! Even though this was the “Ditka Dash”, I still didn’t think he would actually be there..especially this up close and personal.
Of course, being the Bears fan and blogger that I am, I needed to shake his hand and get some pictures.
I shook his hands and gave a creepy mustache smile. haha
He was really nice. We ran in the first heat of the morning (9am) which am very happy about because we got to see him. I wonder if he was making the appearance all the way until 2pm?
The race was South along Lake Michigan and at the half way point you turn around and run the same route back towards Soldier Field.
Even though it was only 30 degrees out, I was so bundled up that I got a good sweat. A couple of my friend’s mustaches flew off when we were running as the sweat made them slip off..but the race was smart enough to give everyone 2 mustaches in our race swag bag in case that happened. Way to go Ditka..always thinking ahead.
A little support for LiveLifeActive.com in front of Solider Field 🙂
Afterwards we went out and met some friends. What a great day. I got to run in a race for a good cause, in the best city in the world, rocking BEARS gear, with my friends and hung out with friends and family afterwards. Nothing tops that. A few more pics from the race and the after party…
I met Bert and Ernie..
My brother and I…
A couple things I learned from the Ditka Dash…
- I do NOT look good in a mustache.
- Cold weather, a runny nose & sweat are not a good combination while wearing a stick on mustache.
- Smiling makes you look even creepier with a stache on.
- Sneezing just simply sucks while wearing a mustache.
- I don’t like mustaches.
- I WILL wear a mustache again next year because I can’t wait to do this race again!
