Cheers to New Year's 5k Run/Walk - Itasca, IL

Cheers to New Year's 5k Run/Walk - Itasca, IL is run in Itasca, Illinois, on January 1, 2027. The program is a single 5K (3.1 miles) run/walk with a 10:00 a.m. start, and elevation gain is not listed for the course.

Chicago-area running on January 1 often means frozen ground and a bite of wind, which argues for shoes with some tread and a warm-up you actually finish rather than cut short. Race it and you have a fitness reference to build on: note the time, then plan a winter block of two easy runs, one longer weekend run and one session of intervals a week, and come back to the same distance in the spring. Take it easy and it is simply a good way to move on a morning when most people are not, with the run and the walk sharing one start.