The Run Commute Guide

No matter how you feel about public transportation, there's no denying that delays happen and it's more accessible to some and less accessible to others. 

According to a study done by Time in 2015, Chicago had the second-longest weekly commute time at 5 hours and 25 minutes. That's about 65 minutes per day.

Using that one hour of commute time to run, you can get in a daily 3-5 mile run (or further if you’re fast) each day. Getting your run in during your normal commute time not only makes sense, but you’ll be able to get home and get more done.

Money

The CTA "L" costs $2.50 trip. If you are doing 2 trips per day, 5 days per week, 4 weeks per month, and 12 months per year that is approximately $1,200 per year in basic transit costs alone. And public transportation is the cheap option. Commuting by car includes fuel costs, maintenance, and parking fees. The cost to run commute includes some shoes, apparel, and a backpack.

The world

The environmental aspect might be the best part of run commuting. Using this greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings calculator we calculated the basic commute from the Lakeview neighborhood to the start of Chicago’s grid at State and Madison.

The tool uses the Google Maps API to route your trip using both automobile and transit. The Google Maps API response includes each step of the journey, including mode and distance. It applies the standard rates of GHG emissions per mile to the different modes used. As an added bonus, if your transit trip includes walking, it tosses in an estimate of the calories you burned too.

Take a look at the comparisons below.

The following route is for a car commute using medium gasoline (1.4 to 2.0 L).

• Distance: 6.73 miles
• Duration: 20 minutes
• Emissions: 4.75 lb of CO₂-e 
• Social cost: $0.23, $82.52 annually (assuming a cost of $105 per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent)

The following route is for a public transit commute using the "L" Brown Line.

• Distance: 6.76 miles
• Duration: 31 minutes
• Emissions: 1.31 lb of CO₂-e 
• Social cost: $0.06, $22.74 annually (assuming a cost of $105 per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent)

The following route is for a run commute.

• Distance: 5.06 miles
• Pace: 9 minutes per mile
• Duration: 45 minutes and 54 seconds
• Emissions: 0.0 lb of CO₂-e 
• Social cost: $0.00, $0.00 annually (assuming a cost of $105 per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent)

 

 

 

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Here's how to do it:

Sure it sounds easier said than done, but with a little hard-work and planning you can be on your way to being a run commuter. We interviewed three acquaintences, some more experienced than others.

Damon King

• Age: 29
• Occupation: Senior manager at BMO Harris
• Length of average run commute: 10 miles
• How long you've been run commuting: 4 years

Lyndsey Baum

• Age: 32
• Occupation: Product manager at Fleet Feet Chicago
• Length of average run commute: 3-4 miles
• How long you've been run commuting: Off and on since moving to Chicago almost 8 years ago

Lionel Montenegro

• Age: 30
• Occupation: Store manager at Fleet Feet Oak Park and coach of the Fleet Feet Racing Team
• Length of average run commute: 7 miles
• How long you've been run commuting: 6 years

Carla Benton

• Age: 32
• Occupation: Copy editor
• Length of average run commute: 7.5 miles
• How long you've been run commuting: 6 years

My first question is probably a question that a lot of people who don’t run who see you out run commuting probably have in their head. Why do you do this? Is it an aesthetic decision? Is it to save money? Is it to save the environment?

Damon: There are a few reasons I prefer to run commute. The biggest benefit is saving time. Not only is it the quickest way to get me to and from work, it also allows me to knock out the daily run schedule. It also makes the commute much more enjoyable, gone are the days of waiting in traffic, or packing into a somehow always late train or bus. Overall I reach home or work much less stressed.

Lyndsey: Heavily influenced by my husband, Eric, we try to incorporate run commuting into our weekly routine for a number of reasons. My number one reason is, it's the only time I have to get certain runs in - like my easy recovery runs. More recently, we've been discussing the impacts on climate change and what we can do as a family to do our part, and using a run commute to do this just makes sense. Saving money on transportation is merely a bonus - I enjoy getting my run done and opening up time to spend with Eric and my son Carson.

Carla: For me it's a combination of saving time by cutting out the 35-minute Red Line commute to work after a home-based morning run and an opportunity run along parts of the lakefront path I don't normally reach if I'm doing an out-and-back route starting from home. Plus, even though I'm saving time, it sometimes allows me to sleep a bit later, run later than usual, and still arrive to work at my normal time.

Lionel: In a city with so much going on, with as much congestion like Chicago it seems practical in every sense.  "Oh I have plans tonight, I'll knock out this run on my way to work so I can give myself more time in the evening," or the CTA can be really unreliable, my run pace is a lot more dependable.  Yeah, it saves money -- but that's the lowest common denominator.  Admittedly, running West to Oak Park I do often think about how this is in fact "the road less traveled."

Run commuting is a daunting task for many reasons I think. One of the biggest for me is the commitment. There’s no giving up is there? What if you’re not feeling it that day?

Carla: I always have my Ventra card on me for the commute home after work, so there is the option of throwing in the towel and hopping on a bus or train in the morning. I've never actually done that, though! I only run commute once per week for the most part, so I look forward to the variety it adds to my routes.

Lionel: If I'm taking Chicago Ave. to work, certainly I have no real way out.  On days where I'm not feeling particularly great, I'll just slow down -- it's really motivating to know that I'm still saving time by doing this.  There's never really been a scenario where I've considered stopping entirely. If absolutely need to, I'll divvy or hop on the green line -- but again, not really a common occurrence.  

A lot of it is mental preparation. I feel like you have to be an organized person as it is. How do you prepare for your commute? Do you have a mental checklist?

Damon: Run commuting does require thinking ahead and organizing. I keep all my work clothes and shoes at the office (I’m lucky to have a locker, though I’ve stored clothes in drawers in the past) and bring them to and from the office in bulk so I don’t have to commute with it daily. I only commute with my lunch and undergarments so that keeps the pack nice and light.

Carla: I'm a minimalist; I like to carry as little as possible on me. In fact, run commutes are some of the rare runs when I actually bring my phone with me. If I'm going to run to work, I'll bring everything I need the day before so I only have to carry the essentials on the run: phone, keys, CTA pass, ID, credit card, etc. I mentally run through that short list just before I step out the door. I have a running backpack I could use to carry my work clothes there the same day, but I prefer to plan ahead and pack light for the run.

Lionel: The beautiful thing about run commuting  to work is that it makes you a disciplined minimalist.  You focus on what you absolutely need, (change of clothes, small tupperwear of food, water bottle, phone and wallet).  In that light, packing can be a quick task that requires only the bare necessities.

This question expands on the previous questions a bit in terms of preparation. How do you map your route? Is it the shortest distance from point a to point b? Or do you consider things like safety and scenic imagery into your route? Talk me through your thought process.

Lyndsey: It all depends on the distance my coach has me doing for a given day. Typically, I schedule my run commutes on an easy or recovery day, so anywhere between three and five miles. From my home to office is about two and a half miles so I have to add on by either running out to the Lakefront Path or around the neighborhood (least favorite). When I run commute home, I am typically picking up my son from school, so my route needs to include that. Plus I get the bonus of stroller pushing. I rarely think of safety and scenery, maybe I should.

Carla: I conveniently live right off the lakefront path, and my office isn't too far from it either. I'm lucky to be able to essentially step right outside to a scenic, traffic-free route to work. However, this was only partially the case when I did run commutes in NYC; the most direct route was about 8 miles through some of the city's busiest streets, so I instead opted to incorporate some traffic-free mileage along the Hudson River path. This brought the distance up to 11 miles, though some days I'd shorten that by taking the subway to the waterfront to start from there.

I feel like a lot of people have this stigma around run commuting that when they finally do arrive to their destination, a lot of the time a workplace, they stink of their sweat. What do you have to say to this?  How do you deal with it?

Damon: Not being the smelly person at work is the biggest obstacle. I’m lucky to have a shower at work so I head right there to clean up. If you don’t have that option consider finding a gym close. I keep all my used clothes in air tight bags. Prior to having a shower at work, I would only run commute home to save my coworkers from having to smell me throughout the day.

Lyndsey: I'm privileged enough to have a membership at a gym down the street from my work, so I check-in, do some stretching or lift lifting and take a quick shower. 

Carla: Honestly, I don't really care about this. My office building has a free gym where I can shower, but they don't rent lockers, so I always have to go to my desk first to grab my work clothes and such. My coworkers already know I run a lot, and it doesn't bother me if they see the actual evidence. I suppose those who are concerned about it wouldn't have to worry about this if they opted to run commute home after work. (Out of preference, I'm personally almost exclusively a morning runner.)

When people think of run commuting, they think of commuting to work. Do you run commute as a means for transportation for anything else? Grabbing groceries, running errands, getting to a friends place?

Lyndsey: Totally. I will often end my run at Whole Foods (3 miles from work) and grab things we need. It's usually a smaller grocery haul, but that gets us through a couple days. I just need to be better about having some grocery bags stocked in our running stroller for these occasions.

Carla: I'm a devoted Trader Joe's shopper, and the location that's most convenient to where I live is just over 4 miles away, so Sunday morning runs there have become a weekly ritual of mine. During these runs I'll commute with a running backpack containing my reusable grocery bags, and then I'll take an Uber/Lyft home with my groceries (a relatively inexpensive ride to travel just ~4 miles). As with the route to work, I like that this adds variety to my runs, even though the route is also all along the lakefront (but entirely northbound; the opposite direction of my work route).

Damon: I never leave home without my Divvy pass, if things ever go haywire on the commute, the Divvy pass is the best insurance policy to get where you need.

Lionel: Wallet, keys, phone, waterbottle, deodorant, phone charger, baby wipes, socks, and a light second set of clothes to change into depending on where I'm going.  

What is your go-to gear? From shoes to accessories, lay it out for me.

Carla: For those backpack-free commutes, I'm a fan of the Koala Clip, a phone pouch that clips to the back of my sports bra (I'll stash any cards in there too). I recently purchased a lockbox where I can leave my keys behind when I've worn shorts or tights without a zipper pocket to store them in. 

Lionel: Of course the backpack, it has to be snug and fitted.  Otherwise, at least a t-shirt  because the backpack can definitely chafe certain areas.  I usually tuck it in as well.  Otherwise, I'll usually try and wear a more cushioned shoe since I'm running with more weight.  Last detail i'm somewhat picky about, half tights or full tights.  Tights are less likely to ride up as a result of the backpacks' movement. 

Here's the gear you'll need:

Shoes: There aren't any shoes specifically for run commuting. Stop by one of our stores and we'll find the best pair for you based on your goals and gait using our fit id™ three dimensional scanner. Your average running shoe will run you about $120-160.

Apparel: Your normal running apparel is just fine for run commuting. Although, we'd recommend picking up a lightweight weatherproof jacket in preparation for any bad weather you may encounter. Picking up a few new pairs of socks is a smart idea too as you will be going through them quickly.

Backpack: If you'll need a backpack for your commute, many hydration packs double as commuter packs. The main difference between a regular backpack and a run commute backpack is that your gear doesn't bounce on your back thanks to the run-specific design. NATHAN Sports makes great options as well as Osprey.

Miscellaneous: Baby wipes. If you don't have access to a shower, baby wipes are as good as it gets. If you do have access to a shower, don't forget to leave some shampoo and soap at the workplace.