- Plan Your Visit
- Animals
- Learning
- Conservation & Science
OPEN 365 DAYS A YEAR & FREE
OPEN 365 DAYS A YEAR & FREE
Run for the Zoo
sunday, June 2 register now
Run for the Zoo is an annual highlight on the Chicago running calendar. The 41st annual Run for the Zoo benefits Lincoln Park Zoo and helps to keep it free and open 365 days a year. Some of the race highlights include:
- 5K and 10K race options
- USFTA-certified courses that partially run through the zoo’s beautiful grounds
- Wave start times for an efficient runner experience
- Themed tech shirts (with a brand new logo for 2019!)
- Post-race celebration on the zoo’s Main Mall
And much more!
schedule of events
7:30 a.m. 5K Run/Walk
8:15 a.m. 10K Run
9 a.m. Safari Stampede (Heat 1)
9:45 a.m. Safari Stampede (Heat 2)
REGISTRATION INFORMATION REGISTER now
All participants receive a t-shirt with registration.
Registration Fees
Through March 28
10K Run (chip-timed): $39
5K Run/Walk (chip-timed): $34
Through May 9
10K Run (chip-timed): $44
5K Run/Walk (chip-timed): $39
Through May 31
10K Run (chip-timed): $49
5K Run/Walk (chip-timed): $44
PPU/Race Day
10K Run (chip-timed): $59
5K Run/Walk (chip-timed): $54
(Zoo members receive a $5 discount on the 5K and 10K events if registered by May 31, 2019. Members should enter their first three digits of their member ID when prompted during the registration process. We do not offer discounts on event day.)
SAFARI STAMPEDE
The Safari Stampede is a mini obstacle course for kids to express their inner animal! The event, recommended for ages 3–8, takes place on the South Lawn near Park Place Cafe. Registration includes a participation shirt!
Back by popular demand, we will have two waves for Safari Stampede! The first will start at 9 a.m. and the second will begin at 9:45 a.m.
TEAM CHALLENGE
Team up with coworkers, friends, or family and run the zoo during this 5K and 10K! The Team Challenge gives local businesses, churches, running clubs, families, and organizations the opportunity to promote health and fitness—all while supporting Lincoln Park Zoo. There will be fun prizes and awards to compete for as a team.
Team Registration Information
You can register your team online by clicking “create a team.” To form a team, appoint one person as team captain to represent your group. Then, simply follow the instructions below.
To qualify to participate in the Team Challenge, you must recruit at least three individuals to participate on your team. The team captain will then register and choose the “create the team” option during the online process and tell team members their team name. They will select “join a team” when they begin registering. All team participants must be registered as a team by May 24.
Team Challenge Scoring and Awards
The Team Challenge event has been designed to support the promotion of fitness though group exercise, community spirit, and good old-fashioned competition! Teams must have three participants in the 10K or 5K to be eligible for awards.
Overall Largest Team
The team with the most registered participants will win a special signed copy of Reach: The Remarkable Impact of Lincoln Park Zoo.
Biggest Fundraiser
The registered team that raises the most money for Lincoln Park Zoo will win two tickets, per team member, to Holiday Market on December 3, as well as a special behind-the-scenes tour of an animal building!
10K and 5K Top Three Fastest Teams
The top three participants’ times from each team will be tabulated. The teams with the fastest total times will win a free class at Lincoln Park Zoo’s Fitness at the Zoo program.
supporter medal
NEW THIS YEAR! Participants who donate a minimum of $25 will earn a commemorative supporter medal!
Lincoln Park Zoo is home to more than 800 animals, including more than 50 threatened or endangered species. Each day, thanks to the support of generous donors like you, they receive specially formulated diets, expert veterinary care, and customized enrichment to keep them active and healthy.
Your donation could go toward enrichment activities like:
$25
Black bears spend much of their time foraging for fruit, nuts, and vegetation. Lincoln Park Zoo’s resident bears—Birch and Katai—enjoy a nutritious diet that includes nuts, raisins, honey, and restaurant-grade produce. $25 supplies the zoo’s bears with a week’s worth of fresh, leafy greens!
Durable Kong toys are an excellent match for curious snouts and sharp digging claws. $25 buys a new Kong toy for animals like Paatsy, the zoo’s resident aardvark.
$50
Keepers at Regenstein Center for African Apes stuff healthy food items into puzzle feeders to make mealtime more enriching for western lowland gorillas. $50 provides the great apes with new puzzle feeders, which encourage natural foraging behaviors and minimizes waste.
The curious birds at Robert and Mayari Pritzker Penguin Cove flip for the crunchy snacks that keepers make using cereal. $50 supplies the penguins with enough cereal to keep the penguins snacking for two months!
$75
Lincoln Park Zoo is proud to host the only two Puerto Rican parrots in the continental U.S. The zoo has been helping to save this species in the wild since 2006, and the two young males who reside at Regenstein Small Mammal-Reptile House stay healthy with a balanced diet that contains nuts and fruit. $75 provides a year’s worth of fresh fruit for this dynamic duo!
African painted dogs have a barrel of fun with barrels—a favorite enrichment item—whether pawing them around their yard or rolling around inside them. $75 provides the playful pups with five new barrels!
$100
Bactrian camels store fat reserves, not water, in their signature humps. But that doesn’t mean they don’t get thirsty. The zoo’s camels stay hydrated with sturdy, automatic water dispensers—at approximately $100 each, they’re the gift that keeps on giving!
Bactrian camels store fat reserves, not water, in their signature humps. But that doesn’t mean they don’t get thirsty. The zoo’s camels stay hydrated with sturdy, automatic water dispensers—at approximately $100 each, they’re the gift that keeps on giving!
What would you do for a peanut butter treat? The zoo’s polar bears will do just about anything…which makes it a perfect training tool! $100 provides Siku and Talini with a five-month supply of peanut buttery goodness.
awards
5K & 10K Race Awards:
-
The first place male and female runner for the 5K and 10K races will each win two United Airlines round-trip economy certificates good for travel within the continental US.
-
In honor of the 41st year of Run for the Zoo, the 41st place male and female runner for the 5K and 10K races will each win a membership to Lincoln Park Zoo.
-
In honor of the 151th year of Lincoln Park Zoo, the 151st place male and female runner for the 5K and 10K races will each win a large animal plush from the gift shop.
Team Awards:
-
The group with the largest number of registered participants as a team will win a special signed copy of Reach: the Remarkable Impact of Lincoln Park Zoo – 1st 150 Years.’
-
The registered team that raises the most money for Lincoln Park Zoo will win two tickets, per team member, to Holiday Market on December 3, as well as a special behind-the-scenes tour of an animal building!
-
Each member of the top three fastest registered teams in both the 5K and 10K races will win a free class at Lincoln Park Zoo’s Fitness at the Zoo program.
Individual Fundraisers:
-
The individual that raises the most money for the Lincoln Park Zoo will win four tickets to any Lincoln Park Zoo public event of their choice in 2019, plus a free meal for them and three friends at The Patio at Café Brauer.
-
The individual participant that donates the most money will win four tickets to any Lincoln Park Zoo public event of their choice in 2019, plus a free meal for them and three friends at The Patio at Café Brauer.
courses
5K Run/Walk
The 5K Run/Walk starts outside the zoo’s West Gate, heads south on Stockton Drive, loops around the southern end of Lincoln Park, and then heads north through the park along the west side of the South Lagoon. Runners make a U-turn at the Lincoln Park Boat Club, head south, loop around the Nature Boardwalk pond and past Café Brauer, enter the zoo, run past Camel & Zebra, and finish on the east side of the Kovler Lion House.
No dogs are allowed on the course, and strollers must start in the last wave, regardless of pace time.
10K Run
The 10K starts outside the zoo’s West Gate, heads south on Stockton Drive, makes a U-turn near the south end of Lincoln Park, and then heads north on Stockton Drive. Runners turn east on Fullerton Parkway toward Lake Michigan, head north on the Lakefront Trail, and then loop around south of Belmont Harbor through a Lake Shore Drive viaduct. The course continues south through the Fullerton viaduct along the South Lagoon and makes a U-turn back north at the lagoon’s south end. Runners circle westward around the zoo at Fullerton, head south along Stockton, loop northward around Café Brauer and onto the Nature Boardwalk path, travel around the pond and into the zoo, run past Camel & Zebra, and finish on the east side of the Kovler Lion House.
No dogs or strollers are allowed on the course.
The Safari Stampede mini obstacle course will be held on the South Lawn, near Park Place Café inside Lincoln Park Zoo.
Download the 5K & 10K course maps here
t-shirts
Tech shirts will be offered in men’s and women's sizes once again for all 5K and 10K participants. Safari Stampede T-shirts are unisex and available in youth extra small, small, medium, and large.
T-shirt pickup is first come, first serve at Packet Pick Up, so please arrive early in order to obtain your preferred size. Here is a sneak preview of this year's shirt design:
RACE RESULTS
2018 Race results: click here to see the results.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We need more than 250 volunteers ages 14 and older to make this event successful! Volunteer positions include Packet Pick-Up, Finish Line, Course, Water Stations, and more. Volunteers will receive a special Lincoln Park Zoo shirt. This is a great opportunity for individuals or volunteer groups!
Please direct any questions to volunteer@lpzoo.org. Bring a friend!
PARKING INFORMATION
Paid parking is available in the zoo’s parking lot on Cannon Drive. Parking is limited, so please arrive early. Click here for more information and pricing.
frequently asked questions
Where is Run for the Zoo taking place, what is accessible, and will I see animals?
You can check out all the exhibits Lincoln Park Zoo has to offer by visiting lpzoo.org/exhibits. A portion of the Run for the Zoo course will cut through the south side of zoo grounds. The post-race party will take place on the Main Mall, where we encourage all participants, friends, and family to come together and celebrate.
To learn about what areas of Lincoln Park Zoo are accessible, please visit lpzoo.org/accessibility.
We have nearly 200 species at Lincoln Park Zoo. In general, animals tend to be most active around feeding—diurnal species are most active during the day while nocturnal animals are most active at night. But remember, most habitats at the zoo include behind-the-scenes areas, and the animals can choose where to spend their time.
What are the age restrictions for Run for the Zoo?
While the zoo is open and free 365 days a year to guests of all ages during the day, ticketed event age restrictions vary by occasion and ticket type. For Run for the Zoo 5K and 10K races, there is no age restriction, but for Safari Stampede, the recommended age is 3–8 years old. Spectators, family, and friends of all ages are welcome to join us on zoo grounds before and during the race, as well as at the post-race party.
Can I run with a stroller?
Yes. However, participants running with a stroller must start at the back during the 5K Run/Walk, regardless of pace time. Strollers are not permitted on the 10K course.
Can I sign up for Run for the Zoo day of the race?
If registrations remain available, a limited number of registrations will be for sale at the Packet Pickup tents for an increased fee. We highly recommend advanced registration, though, as there are a limited number of openings for this event and, historically, it sells out quickly! We cannot guarantee availability on the day of the event.
Can registrations be traded, transferred, or refunded? What happens if there is inclement weather?
There are no refunds for registrations purchased for special events at the zoo. Each runner must complete an application and sign a waiver, so registrations are non-transferable.
All events will be held rain or shine. Please dress accordingly!
How do I enter the event?
Guests may enter the zoo at the East Gate on Cannon/Fullerton (the zoo’s parking lot) or the West Gate on Stockton/Webster. Participants will check in and receive their race packets at the Packet Pickup tents located on the Main Mall.
Where can I pick up my Packet?
For your convenience, Packet Pickup for all Run for the Zoo events will be held on three dates. We strongly encourage you to pick up your packet in advance to avoid race day lines and ensure desired shirt size. We are unable to delay the step-off times of the race due to late registrations.
* Friday, May 31, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
* Saturday, June 1, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
* Sunday, June 2, 6:30 a.m.–8 a.m.
If someone is picking up your packet, please have them provide your photo ID, photocopy of your ID, or confirmation email.
Where can I park and is parking included with my registration?
Parking is not included in your registration price. However, paid parking is available. Guests who wish to drive can park in the zoo lot on Cannon Drive. For additional information and pricing, please visit lpzoo.org/plan-your-visit/hours-location-directions.
Lincoln Park Zoo is also accessible by public transportation.
Please be aware that due to the 5K and 10K courses, several streets around the zoo will be closed on the day of the race. Additionally, portions of the course cross the parking lot, which might cause delays and congestion at the exit. Please be patient and plan accordingly.
If I have more questions, who can I reach out to?
If you have a question regarding this event, please email events@lpzoo.org.
If you are interested in being a sponsor of this event, please contact Ryann Kehoe, manager of Corporate Alliances, at rkehoe@lpzoo.org.
Sponsored By
 |
 |
Produced By
All Content © Lincoln Park Zoo.
2001 North Clark Street • Chicago, IL 60614 • 312-742-2000
