Day 30

Rockford, IL ➡️ Chicago, IL

Today was another really cool day. We got to start the day by meeting our teammate's friend Shawn, who lost his leg 17 years ago and only recently got into running when he got a running prosthetic. His story doesn't involve cancer, but it goes along the lines of so many of the stories we hear every day with 4K. In every story we hear, a young adult has gone through a time during which their body couldn't do what they wanted it to do, and Shawn clearly has had his own experiences going through such a time and has overcome everything in such a courageous manner. Our first pair of the day got to run a couple of miles with Shawn and his brother, and we all welcomed them in at the end of their miles.

Because of a lack of safe roads to run on (no shoulders, construction, etc.), we ended up running most of our miles for the day in Chicago along Lake Michigan. I absolutely LOVE Chicago, and running along the lake was beautiful. We made stops at the Bean, fountains, and some other famous Chicago spots along our run. There seems to be a huge running/fitness community in Chicago, especially along the paths by Lake Michigan, which was really cool to see. I'd love to spend more time there and run along the paths or do some swimming workouts in the lake! It was a pretty hot day, so after we finished our miles we jumped into the Lake, which felt amazing. What was even more amazing was having my sister and my mom meet me at Lake Michigan! We had a fun afternoon together in Chicago, including lunch at Chipotle and a nap in a real bed in my mom's hotel room, which was amazing.

At the end of the day, we had a fundraising event at the Diag Bar and Grill, who graciously allowed us to fundraise as part of their weekly trivia night. We all participated in the trivia; my team (my mom, sister, and me) only got a few answers correct, but it was still a fun time.

DePaul University is our host site for Chicago, which means another night with beds!! We've been very lucky to stay at a few universities, where we have been able to sleep in dorms and get a great night's sleep in comfy beds. We'll definitely savor another couple of nights with beds and access to warm showers!