Why CARA? – Raising money for the organization that raised me to become a marathon runner.

CARA Training shirts over the years.
In 2010 I lived in Chicago. I worked at the Chicago Botanic Garden as a postdoc and was on year two from grad school. Needing something different in my life, I decided to run the Chicago Marathon.

Because it was going to be my first marathon, I wasn’t sure what I should do. In addition, I made this decision in June, after registration for the marathon had closed. However, several charities offered entrance in exchange for fundraising. I chose to run for the American Red Cross.

There were numerous reasons to run for the American Red Cross (supporting Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, having volunteered for them in high school, etc.), but I was really interested in the marathon training program they enrolled us in. This was through the Chicago Area Runners Association, which we refer to as CARA. In all honesty, the training program didn't include much. They provided us with a training schedule and some information on how to train. The most valuable feature was supported weekend long runs where we ran increasingly longer runs along Lake Shore Drive. At the end of the season long training, there was the “Ready to Run 20 Miler”. This was the last really big, long run before the taper. The event included a shirt, numbered bib, and a finish line event with a beer tent. A race before the race that helped to mentally prepare first-timers like me.

I finished that first 2010 marathon with a decent time of around 4 hours and 30ish minutes. I was happy with my accomplishment, but the event lit a fire in me to improve the next year. This translated into a decade long affair with the Chicago Marathon and running with CARA.

Around 2013 I began volunteering for CARA as a pace leader during the weekend long runs. We would meet at Montrose Beach in Chicago to start our run along the Lake Shore Path. It was a fun time. I made several friends which I still keep today, and learned to enjoy the sunrise along Lake Michigan as we would run south towards downtown. Later in the season it would get brutal. Longer runs meant being out on the path well into the day when the sun was higher and the heat and humidity of the day built up. However, “misery loves company” and there was some respite in sharing the struggle of running the Lakeshore Trail with my other CARA friends.

Anyway, CARA was a big formative feature in my marathoning life. In this first year back to running the Chicago Marathon since 2019, it feels somewhat poetic that I’m running it to support the Association that supported me for many years.

As for support, I want to thank everyone who had already pitched in to support this new journey. If you haven’t donated, please consider $5 or $10.  Each little bit adds so much!
https://fundraisers.hakuapp.com/andrew-wilson-2

Cheers Everyone!

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