Over 700 [barely] Clad Runners Raise $188K Plus for Center on Halsted

Winter Arrived Early

December 6th and Chicago had already seen 15 inches of snow, giving us our snowiest start since 1978. I strapped on my camera backpack and headed out to North Halsted Street and Sidetrack Bar, where the 14th Annual Santa Speedo Run, benefitting Chicago's LGBTQ+ Center on Halsted, was scheduled to take place.

A colleague I worked with a decade ago sent me an announcement of the event along with a request for a donation. It piqued my curiosity. I have another friend who is a runner and participates in his city's version of the event. So I decided to see what all the excitement was about.

I expected to find spectacle, or at least a lot of shivering runners, but instead I found community and belonging. From the moment I walked in the door I knew that I had encountered something very special, and resolved to do my best to capture it in images and video.

I wasn't the only one there with a camera. A number of news outlets had also sent photographers and reporters to chronicle the day's events. Participant were more than eager to stop for the camera, giving it their "best face" with warm and bright smiles, or sometimes mugging like a mischievous child photo-bombing dad's pictures.

I unpacked and started shooting. Here's what transpired. You can see the link to the video that resulted below.

There Is Something Written on the Face of the Person Within

As a photographer I have always been fascinated by faces and what they tell us, or what we think they tell us, about the person behind the facade. I wasn't disappointed by what I found at Sidetrack. Young and old, men and women, different ethnicities and cultures, all telling us something about the infinite variety of human appearance as well as our capacity to work together for common goals.

Faces form a large part of the imagery I collected that day.

Excitement and Celebration

The atmosphere of excitement and celebration was everywhere. Friends greeting friends, teams assembling and preparing for the run, volunteers handling check-ins and accepting last-minute donations, and the friendly Sidetrack staff managing the logistics of IDs and beverage service.

Doors opened at noon. By 1:00 PM they had already reached legal capacity for the premises, and a line extended North on Halsted to Roscoe Street and beyond.

The Run

The start of the run was announced by the cheering of the crowd, encouraged by the pompoms and shouts of the cheer leaders that had gathered to urge the runners on as they poured out of the doors of Sidetrack and onto Halsted Street sidewalks. Most wore only their Santa hats, Speedos and running shoes, but a few had more imaginative ideas.

The runners disappeared up and down Halsted Street, and eventually turned East on side streets to circle around to Broadway and return to the warmth they had only recently left behind.

My cell phone said that the ambient temperature outdoors was 32°F when the runners started out.

The Return

Upon returning, the runners poured back into the relative warmth of Sidetrack, most of them smiling and laughing in a spirit of "Hey! We did it!" I got more than a few thumbs up, high fives or mugging at my camera by the delighted runners.

Carl Sandburg got it right, decades earlier in his poem, Chicago^[1]

Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs
the heart of the people,
Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked,
sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

...and, I might add, working as a community for the betterment of many lives.

City of the Big Shoulders, indeed.

The party continued following the run.

Why Do They Do It?

I didn't really have time to talk to a lot of the runners. Here are some of the reasons I think that runners would brave freezing temperatures to raise funds for a charity.

• Some are just born runners. It can be an addictive sport
• Others were recruited by friends. The event is organized by teams, so peer pressure is part of the formula.
• Some have a spirit of what the Greeks called agape or love of all mankind. They want to contribute. We might call them civic-minded.
• Some have a great need to be a part of something greater than themselves as an individual. The event provides an opportunity to fill that need.
• Camaraderie is certainly a part of it. Just watching teams pose for photos showed how close-knit some of the teams were.
• Others may do it because they want to give back to the Center on Halsted, either for help they have received personally, or because the Center provided help for a friend.
• It's is just plain fun and a good time.

Results

I received an email from the Santa Speedo Run about a week following the event. Here's an excerpt:

Just one week ago more than 700 festively (and barely) dressed runners hit the streets of Lakeview, raising over $188,000 for Center on Halsted!

This represents 94% of our goal and is a new record for the Santa Speedo Run.

We can't thank you enough for running, for donating, for volunteering, and for coming out to watch.

The Video

The full video of the event is available on YouTube: