The Carrera de los Muertos 5K (the “race of the dead”) has become a Gerdes family fall tradition. It’s held down in Pilsen and is something of a neighborhood festival as well as a race. The course is gorgeous, going past some of the amazing murals that line the railroad tracks, and then coming back through the heart of the neighborhood along 18th Street. There are music and dancers all along the course, ranging from very traditional performers to DJs. And in addition to the usual post-race snacks, community groups set up stalls where you can purchase delicious food. I’m going to be very disappointed that I can’t finish every race with a warm bowl of pozole. Oh, and there’s a great Day of the Dead themed shirt every year. This year, everything seemed even more so, and the race was great fun. We ran into a ton of people we knew, but I ran the actual race by myself and clocked a pretty OK time.

Official results:
Time: 28:58.3
Place: 927 / 3892
Place in Age Group (M40-44): 56 / 194
Place in Sex: 560 / 1386