24 km from South Chicago to the North and back

Before a busy day of meetings, I got up early and did a beautiful run along the Chicago waterfront and the Chicago Riverwalk.

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Length:24 km
Elevation:72 m
Route type:Loop
Pavement:Road
How to get there:Car, or you are staying in one of the conference hotels next to the McCormick Place convention center.
How to shorten/extend run:Shorten: You can turn around at any point, or leave out the part on the Chicago river or towards the end leave out the 4 km "detour" on the Northerly Island.
Extent: You could go further north on the Lakefront Trail.

This run had pretty much everything, from sunrise to rain showers and from sandy beaches to skyscrapers. I got up early and ran from the McCormick convention center to Soldier Field and Burnham Harbor, where I got onto the Lakefront trail. The trail follows the shoreline from south of Chicago all the way to the far north. I stayed on the trail for a few kilometers and got off at Navy Pier for a detour around the pier. I got back onto the trail and followed it to Oak Street beach, where I took the underpass and got onto Michigan Ave, also known as the Magnificent Mile. I ran it back south, which at 7 in the morning is actually doable without running into too many pedestrians. I took a right hand turn at the Chicago river and ran the Chicago RiverWalk for a few kilometers until getting off at West Jackson Blvd and following it to Millennium Park. I then turned south again and did a quick tour of the Northerly Island Habitat Development Project.

Photos

The Marriott at McCormick Place, just after sunrise.
Navy Pier in the morning.
Chicago Riverwalk.
Bridges on the Chicago River.
Northerly Island.
All Photos.

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