Jorge is the friendly face welcoming you to 'Go Run at 63rd Street Beach and encouraging you to enjoy the outdoors while working on your fitness. Jorge always has a great attitude and we love that he is a part of the CARA 'Go Run family. Learn a little bit more about him below.
What interested you in being a site coordinator for 'Go Run?
Funny thing was, I wasn't interested until the opportunity came about. I just wanted to be a part of 'Go Run, where we have fun every Saturday morning. Enjoying the outdoors, seeing people smile and enjoy themselves is a plus. To answer the question, I love helping people period. And it gives me something to do and look forward to every Saturday morning. Also the feeling I get after everyone has crossed the finish line is great knowing these people are doing something good for themselves.
What is your running past and present?
Believe it or not, I actually started running last year in June. My first 5k was in July 2018. Since then, I have run 5 more races. I did my first 10k in July of this year, and an 8k in August. This is the reason why I started volunteering last year in 'Go Run - to get me running more, but they "dragged" me into being a Site Coordinator.
What makes 'Go Run' special?
'Go Run is special because every Saturday I get to hang out with some of the best people I have ever met. We get to see so many friendly faces. Everyone is just so happy to be there.There is no judgement at all. We are here to support all the runners, no matter what level of runner you are. Whether you do a 1 mile or a 5k, we are proud of you. In 'Go Run you see runners improve, they might have started walking in their first 'Go Run and now they are running or improving their times.
What advice do you have for all the participants?
I always tell everyone, the hardest part of 'Go Run is getting up in the morning. It's not the running; although hard for some, it's being motivated to do it. There are days that you get up in the morning and don't want to do anything. That's when you need to tell yourself, "Get up and get going." Once you are at the park, that's when it gets easy. You just go and start walking or running, doesn't matter. There's a timer there but you don't need to use it. It's all about finishing. You can bring your own partner to run or walk with you or you can find someone at 'Go Run to walk or run with.
What makes 63rd Street Beach a unique place to host a 'Go Run?
I don't know if you know this but, there is a gorgeous lake in Chicago you can see while running the lakefront. With a lake, there's a sandy beach to get your tan on afterwards, and there even is a jungle gym right by us to bring the kids to after the run.
What is your favorite food?
I like a lot of food. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what is my favorite, especially with a culinary town like Chicago. If I have to choose, I will pick Mediterranean. Yes it's easy for me to say Mexican but I've had that all my life (which I'm not complaining about).