Getting to the race was a bit of a challenge as traffic to the parking area went from five lanes to one without much traffic direction from police. It took 45 minutes to go 1.8 miles. That made me question paying for parking until I realized that the shuttle busses from the free lot were stuck in the same traffic.

A lot of people just got off the shuttle busses and out of their cars and walked to the race. The race ended up starting 30 minutes late because of the traffic, but once we got there things improved. The race itself was well organized and clearly marked—which is important considering that going off course during this race could lead to running on an active runway.

United was the aviation sponsor of the run and they sweetened the pot by parking a 777-200/ER at the end of the runway. Last year they had a 747, but didn’t allow anyone near it. This year they allowed us to get up close and personal with the 777. You can view the full gallery from the run and community day on Flickr.

777 Nose Gear

Rear of the PW4090 Engine

The great thing about this years race was instead of being on the north side of the airfield, we were in the heart of the action. During the race ex-Korean Air, China Airlines, and EVA Air 747 freighters landed on the next runway. That was worth the price of admission alone. After the race we were shuttled back to the end of the runway for a photo-op with the United 777. I got a few shots of the 777, but was also treated to ANA 11 and JAL 9 departing on 28R a few hundred feet away.

JAL 9 departs for Tokyo.

It was the perfect day for a race and some planespotting and I’m always happy to support such a worth organization like the Wounded Warrior Project. If you’re interested in running (or just showing up) next year, keep an eye on the Chicago Events page.

This year’s run adds a 10K in addition to the 5K, so you can run on the runway even longer. Also new this year is the location of the race. The race will take place on the brand new Runway 10C-28C, which will not open to aircraft until October. That’s right, we’ll get to run on the runway before it’s used by aircraft. Even better, as you can see in the map below, 10C-28C is much closer to the action than last year’s runway 27R-9L.

Last year United parked a 747-400 on the taxiway and used as a the centerpiece of the course. After the race was over, trolley’s took anyone who wanted to go back out to the runway to take pictures with the aircraft. I’m crossing my fingers that this year the 787 makes an appearance. You can check out the full gallery of photos from last year’s event here.

Go here to sign up for the Run on the Runway. To get $5 off your race fee before August 31, use coupon code RUNWAYrun2012.