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
• USATF-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

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 30
10K Run (chip-timed): $49
5K Run/Walk (chip-timed): $44

PPU/Race Day
10K Run (chip-timed): $60
5K Run/Walk (chip-timed): $60

(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

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.

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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!

 

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.

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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 41^st year of Run for the Zoo, the 41^st place male and female runner for the 5K and 10K races will each win a membership to Lincoln Park Zoo.
• In honor of the 151^th year of Lincoln Park Zoo, the 151^st 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 – 1^st 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

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED- sign up here

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