Chicagoans Run 'n' Rock Under The Stars At The Terrapin 5K & Music Festival

Aug. 10, 2012 - PRLog -- CHICAGO - Last Thursday night, August 2nd, Soldier Field’s Stadium Green transformed into "Terrapin Station" as thousands of runners came together for a beautiful Chicago summer rocking ‘n’ running evening courtesy of RAM Racing. For 2012 the Terrapin 5K (T5K) expanded its musical reach, as Newcity correspondent Zach Freeman explained "RAM Racing has expanded the music-festival part of the event, with race grounds including two stages, merch tents, LOTS of port-a-potties and plenty of food and beer ... For the most part, these guys have events like this running like a well-oiled machine."

Over 4,000 registered for the event covering 3.1 miles of beautiful Chicago terrain. To facilitate a clean, organized start, RAM placed each participant into a corral based on their expected pace per mile. While corrals are tricky, I Heart Pikermis blogger Maureen wrote "This is the first time in a long while that I think that the corrals were correct." in her race report and fellow participant Alicia M shared "I'm ridin the wave too! I have to say I enjoyed the wave start. It is rare during a 5k that size I can hit my natural stride without constantly weaving in and out of people! But thanks to spreading it out I was able to. My husband PRed and I got my second best time :) thanks RAM Racing!" via Facebook. Chicagoan Bob Swanson won the wheelchair division in 18:16 minutes; Nicholas Johnson of Seattle was the men's winner in 16:37 and May 2012 Chicago Athlete of the Month Jill Czarnik took the women's race in 18:18.

Following the 3.1 mile run course finishers entered the Post-Race Party to enjoy their complimentary Magic Hat brew, food and 6 bands across 2 stages. Pete of The Lakefront Trail weblog savored his experience, "There's nothing like a well organized 5k with great music, great beer and partying on the lawn in front of Soldier Field with your neighbors to rejuvenate the tired marathon training soul." T5K started as a Grateful Dead themed race, and stayed true to its roots even as the lineup expanded. Mr. Blotto, a Dead cover band, rocked the crowd as they have done every year, since the inaugural T5K in 2009.

The Kickback, Board of Governors, The Smoking Popes, Elephant Gun and Truman & His Trophy also played to reward the runners for all their hard work. "Terrapin 5k & Music Festival was an amazing experience for us. Thank you to all of the people who came out" Truman wrote on Twitter. Participants also bought into the Dead theme, including one who dressed as guitarist Bob Weir, "Last year, I was most excited about this race, cause I wanted to run it as Bob Weir. Then I fell off my bike. HEARTBREAK. So this year, I was UNSTOPPABLE. I did an amalgamation of old and young Bob, with jean shorts ... a Ratdog tank top, a guitar, and a gray wig and beard." wrote Erica Reid of ericareid.com.

The race's official charity partner was Chicago Blade Runners. Amongst their race day responsibilities was beverage distribution, which Lauren of laurenruns.com enjoyed, "Chicago Blade Runners were manning the Beer Tent, and there is a lot of overlap between this group and the Dare2Tri paratriathlon club I’ve been volunteering a bit with this year. Yea for friends who will pass you a free beer! And yay for fundraising!" Melissa Stockwell, one of the Blade Runners' organizers and a 2008 Paralympian, commented "Thank you to everyone who showed their support for the Chicago Blade Runners on Thursday night. Your contributions will help with the costly prosthetic legs that these runners wear to get them out to the starting line. We look forward to seeing you all at the Bucktown 5K, thank you!"

About Chicago Blade Runners

The Chicago Blade Runners launched in 2007 as a dedicated group to help amputees get back into running. The group is filled with great people who motivate and push each other to have fun and achieve their goals. Donations help aspiring amputee runners get the running blades they need to get to the starting line. Visit http://www.chicagobladerunners.com/ for more information.

About RAM Racing

RAM Racing was co-founded 10 years ago by Steve Ginsburg and Paul Rosenblum as a result of their passion for endurance sports. Since its beginning, RAM exploded onto the racing scene and now the RAM Racing series hosts 8 Chicagoland running and triathlon events with 8 Hot Chocolate 15/5Ks in key markets across the country. RAM is committed to providing an excellent, safe race experience with award-winning goodie bags; while focusing on well organized and supported race courses.

Reporters May Contact

Adam Murray, Marketing Director
(224) 374 - 1740
info@ramracing.org
www.terrapin5k.com