I prefer to call myself a runner rather than actually engage in the act of running. I’m a latecomer to the sport, and not always an agreeable participant. For most of the past four years, I’ve run five kilometers outdoors every other day, though that’s not accounting for those frigid months when there’s a good chance I could slip on a hard patch of ice. I put my body through this unpleasant routine partly for the alleged health benefits, and more specifically to counteract my ridiculous sweet tooth. In my 20s, I realized every day can be Halloween if you really want it; in my 30s, I’ve learned my body doesn’t always want it. I still have mixed feelings about running, but at least I’m a little less guilty indulging in an extra scoop of ice cream afterward.
We frequently shared the Google doc on Twitter before each run, inviting anyone to join us; that’s how we recruited a couple of our regulars, Sarah Joyce and Zach Long, both of whom are friends (our other regulars, Julia Heney and Yana Kunichoff, helped plan the Freeze runs from day one). We don’t time our runs, since it’s not a race, and we want to encourage people of all levels of experience to join in—our feat isn’t complete till everyone finishes. So far, we’ve gone on seven treks that have taken us through Humboldt Park, Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Avondale, Irving Park, Albany Park, and the West Loop. Our longest journey was roughly five miles, which happened by accident; Susie’s Drive Thru in Albany Park was closed the night we arrived, so we recalibrated and sped off to Alaska Paleteria y Neveria, about a mile away.
