Featured 5k of the Week - Resurrection Mary 5k

Few things say "Chicago" better than a run dedicated to the memory of Resurrection Mary!!!

The Resurrection Mary 5k benefits the Indian Springs School District 109 in Justice and Bridgeview - the two towns directly adjacent to the famous Resurrection Cemetery on Archer Avenue.

The course starts at Commissioners Park in Justice, located slightly off of 79th and Archer, in a residential area.  Due to the way the roads in the area are configured, this alcove neighborhood feels completely separated from the nearby Archer Avenue, LaGrange Road, 79th Street, and I-294 thoroughfares.

The race begins with the most unique pre-race speech of all time as the DJ tells the sad tale of Mary's legend, demise, and perpetual return!

The route leaves Commissioners Park and winds through the neighborhood which is a nice blend of older houses and large trees and newer houses and open skies.  After a long straightaway to start the race and spread the field out, the course begins making several small turns as it weaves through the neighborhood - to eventually emerge on Archer Avenue...................................insert scary music here..............almost directly across from the gates of Resurrection Cemetery!!!!  

The course then heads up Archer for a few before making a U-turn and heading directly in front of the Cemetery gates, the home of the legendary "burnt bars", that Mary bent trying to get back into the cemetery after one of her first "nights out".  (Those bars have since been removed by the Church, by the way).  The course then proceeds nearly a mile on Archer Avenue going past the legendary Chet's Melody Lounge before turning back into the neighborhood on a sharp 90+ degree turn.  (Chet's Melody Lounge is known for leaving a fresh Bloody Mary drink at the end of the bar during operating hours, in hopes of enticing Mary in for a drink some day)

Almost immediately after the hairpin turn, the course begins a nice comforting downhill trot before turning to a minor uphill and then a long, well-deserved downhill, which lasts quite a distance.  The course then turns back towards Commissioners Park for a nice 2-3 block finish line homestretch.

Speaking of the downhill, the course actually begins with a very gradual uphill climb for almost the first 1.5 miles of the course.  It's gradual, so it's not all that noticeable to the eye, but participants tend to look back before their first turn, as they start to realize they might have been running uphill for a while.  Which is why those downhills after leaving Archer Avenue are so enjoyable to finish the race.

Even though this event is held in an area generally considered "congested", the entire event has that nice small-town feel to it...........maybe just the way Mary remembered the neighborhood.

Runners have commented on seeing Mary while running.  Were they just seeing other runners in costume......................or not????