The running scene across
Chicago Metropolitan.

Palatine · City-wide · Weekly

Palatine Running Club

A northwest-suburban community running club based in Palatine.

Richton Park · City-wide · Weekly

Park Forest Running and Pancake Club

A south-suburban club that has never pretended the run is the main event.

Park Ridge · City-wide · Weekly

Park Ridge Runners

A Strava-coordinated group for runners in and around Park Ridge, open to all levels.

Chicago · Garfield Park · Sat · 9:15 AM

Peace Runners 773

A nonprofit built to close health gaps on the West Side — a one-mile walk or two-mile jog every Saturday from the Gold Dome, for all ages and all paces, free.

Plainfield · City-wide · Weekly

Plainfield Running Club

A Will County community running club based in Plainfield.

Joliet · City-wide · Weekly

Prairie State Road Runners

Founded in Joliet in 1975 and now headquartered in Channahon, this RRCA 501(c)(3) runs a members race circuit and community events across Will County, including the Manhattan Irish Fest Parade 5K.

Chicago · City-wide · Weekly

Read & Run Chicago

A book club and a run club at once: read the book, then run the Chicago neighborhoods and landmarks it takes place in.

Chicago · River Park · Tue · 6:30 PM

River Park Run Crew

A CARA crew running north and back along the river trail, aimed squarely at getting River Park neighbors moving together rather than at race times.

Riverside · City-wide · Weekly

Riverside Running Club

A village club running Riverside, whose Olmsted-designed streets and Des Plaines riverfront make for unusually good suburban routes.

Chicago · Rogers Park · Weekly

Rogers Park Running Club

An all-volunteer neighborhood club with four standing weekly runs: two morning options that let you finish wherever your commute needs, a 1.5-mile evening social loop, and a northbound long run into the suburbs.

Arlington Heights · City-wide · Weekly

Runners High n Tri

Closed

Store-hosted group runs through the summer out of Arlington Heights, and the retail partner behind Busse Woods Running Club.

Chicago · Humboldt Park · Tue · 6:30 AM

Run Too Hard

An early Tuesday run out of Atmos Coffee in Humboldt Park, back in time for work.

Chicago · City-wide · Weekly

Second City Track Club

A competitive Chicago track club for runners chasing times rather than company.

Skokie · City-wide · Tue, Sat

Skokie Swifters

A run/walk club for everyone from beginners to distance runners — Tuesday Trails and the Saturday Scamper, plus race training and charity fundraisers.

Chicago · South Loop · Weekly

South Loop Runners

A South Loop neighborhood club with a "Slow Pokes" group for runners who want company rather than a pace target. Its published domain no longer resolves.

Tinley Park · City-wide · Weekly

Tinley Track & Trail

A Tinley Park club splitting time between the track and the southwest suburbs trail network.

Chicago · Pilsen · Sun · 10:00 AM

Tortugas Run Club

Tortugas means tortoises, and that is the whole thesis — a Sunday two-mile walk, jog or run built for slower runners. The route passes the founder’s father’s childhood home and church, and most weeks ends with everyone hanging around Harrison Park.

Chicago · Lakeview · Mon · 6:30 PM

Universal Sole

Universal Sole closed its retail store in 2017 and now runs as USOLE Running Events — a free, drop-in Monday Night Fun Run from Bitter Pops Bottle Shop in Lakeview, 3 to 6 miles at all paces with run/walk options, finishing back at Bitter Pops. A fixture of the Chicago running scene.

Chicago · Pilsen · Wed · 7:00 PM

Venados Running Club

Founded in 1981 to connect Pilsen runners over shared miles and a few beers, and still doing exactly that — three or five miles every Wednesday from Monochrome, all paces, plus a youth branch since 2017.

Chicago · Little Village · Tue, Thu, Sun

Viento Little Village Runners Club

Ten-plus years of getting Little Village walking, jogging and running — started by four friends, now a bilingual Spanish/English familia of all paces meeting three times a week at the 26th Street mural.

Chicago · Lakeview · Tue · 6:00 AM

Waveland Warriors

A CARA run crew that grew out of friendships made in marathon training — roughly six miles up the Lakefront Trail from Waveland to the North Avenue Chess Pavilion, at whatever pace you brought.

Chicago · West Loop · Thu · 6:00 AM

West Loop Run Crew

A free Thursday-morning CARA crew that alternates routes through the West Loop, three to five miles, walkers explicitly included. Membership is the free CARA Friend level.

Chicago · West Town · Fri · 6:30 AM

West Town Brew Crew

Friday mornings from a different West Town coffee shop each week, with the post-run coffee being at least half the point.