Blackberry Farm 5K Spring Gallop Sat. 3/28 at 8:30 a.m. Blackberry Farm 630-892-1550 www.foxvalleyparkdistrict.org Bank of America Shamrock - Shuffle 8K – Sun. 3/29 at 8:30 a.m. USATF certified. Grant Park, Chicago. 312-904-9814.

April Relay For Life – For all area events, please go to relayforlife.org/relay/findevent. April Fools 5K Run – Sat. 4/4 at 9 a.m. 5K & Kids’ Dash. USATF certified. Benefits Women of Domestic Violence. Bloomingdale. 224653-8094. Bunny Rock 5K & Egg Hunt – Sat. 4/4 at 9 a.m. 5K Run/Walk. Benefits Red Door Animal Shelter. Grant Park, Chicago. 847-829-4536. “Bunny Wabbit” Run – Sat. 4/4 at 8:30 a.m. 10K Run/Walk, 5K Run/Walk. Libertyville. 855987-6307. Chicago Quarter Marathon – Sat. 4/4 at 9:15 a.m. 6.6mi Run. Benefits Prevent Child Abuse America. Soldier Field, Chicago. 773868-3010. Chi Town Half Marathon & 10K – Sat. 4/4 at 8:15 a.m. USATF certified. Benefits Special Olympics Chicago. 224-757-5425. Chocolate Chase Rabbit Race – Sat. 4/4 at 9 a.m. 5K Run/Walk. USATF certified. Palos Heights. 708-361-1807. DeKalb ARuna Run – Sat. 4/4 at 10 a.m. 5K. Benefits ARuna Project. DeKalb. 855-987-6307. Egg Shell Shuffle – Sat. 4/4 at 8;30 a.m. Half marathon, 5K Run/Walk & Egg Hunt. Benefits Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Elk Grove Village. eggshellshuffle.com. Fast Cat 5K & 10K – Sat. 4/4 at 8:30 a.m. 5K, 10K & Kids’ Fun Run. USATF certified. Plainfield. Runfastcat.com Wauconda Bunny Hop 4 Mile – Sat. 4/4 at 9 a.m. 4mi Run. Benefits Wauconda Area Library. Wauconda. waucondabunnyhop.webs.com. Foodie 5K – Sat. 4/11 at 9 a.m. 5K Run/Walk. Benefits Northern Illinois Food Bank. Cantigny Park, Wheaton. 630-443-6910. Batavia Mothers’ Club Fox Trot 5/10K – Sat. 4/11 at 8 a.m. 5 & 10K Runs & Kids’ Fun Run. Benefits local charities. Batavia. www. facebook.com/pages/Fox-Trot-5K-and10K/332976773413745.

Top 3 Mental Tips for Your Race By Meghan Kennihan

1) Mental Trick #1: Visualization: Many runners use a technique called visualization, or mental rehearsal, to improve their technique. All you have to do is sit or lie still with your eyes closed and spend 10 minutes imagining yourself running smoothly, efficiently, and powerfully. The more vivid and realistic you can make these images, the more effective they will be. When you visualize yourself running, you activate the same parts of the brain’s motor centers that become active when you actually run. But the advantage of mental rehearsal is that you can change these brain patterns for the better by seeing yourself running more efficiently and powerfully than you really do. Then your goal becomes turning visualization into reality. 2) Mental Trick #2: Mind Games: Every runner occasionally finds himself or herself dreading a planned run. Overcoming this dread and having a good run anyway can be as easy as using motivational “mind games” like change your route to something unfamiliar, buy new running shoes or clothes for your run, find a friend to run with, tell yourself you’ll just run for fifteen minutes (you’ll almost certainly wind up running longer!), drive somewhere cool to run (the beach, a nice park), change your pace: do something short and fast. 3) Mental Trick #3: Positive Self-Talk: Researchers at U of I found that athletes who believe they can tolerate leg/muscle pain performed better in a running test than those who doubted their ability to withstand pain. How do you believe in your capabilities? Think of all the challenging workouts and races you have already made it through to remind yourself how strong and capable you are. Repeat those images in your head over and over. Develop your own mantra such as “I’m fit, I’m good, I’m fast.” Or “I’m healthy, happy, and light on my feet”. Mantras can be performance-oriented or feeling-oriented.

38TH ANNUAL

10K AT 8:30AM 5K AT 9:30AM Fun Run at 8:45am

REGISTRATION:

Recreation Office 1500 Walker, Western Springs or call 708-246-9070

REGISTER ONLINE AT: www.signmeup.com/105797

REGISTRATION FORM & INFORMATION:

www.wsprings.com/recreation USATF Certified A CARA Registered Race

Fun Run in Color 2015 Sat. 4/11 at 9 a.m. 5K Run/Walk featuring 4 color stations Benefits Rotary of Central DuPage AM, DuPage County Historical Museum Memorial Park, Wheaton www.wheatonparkdistrict.com/ funRun March/April 2015

CARA 5 Year Divisions

suburban family | subfam.com

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