I played Journey Chicago as a runner in 2008 and survived to the end. It remains one of the most memorable nights I've spent in this city. This year, I decided to experience JTTEOTN from the other side, the darker side. As a staff chaser, my job was clear. Strike fear into the hearts of every runner and induce paranoia at every possible turn. I started my fear campaign on facebook weeks before the event, taunting friends whenever possible. I teamed up with 2 of my friends who were also staff chasers and made comic book villain costumes for us.


After meeting the rest of the chasers and talking strategy, we headed for checkpoint 2A and scouted out some great spots to hide. I chose an area along the train tracks at the north edge of the safe zone. There was a little path in the bushes leading up to a perfectly hidden alcove where I could see the runners going by. The problem was, no runners were going this route. Finally a group of 4 ran past me on the other side of the street. It was going to take some serious running to catch up to them. I went for it, as fast and as silently as I could. Just as I was gaining on them, the lead runner turned around and spotted me. They all scattered and I was too far away to catch any. But the look on his face when saw me, running silently behind them and from out of no where was victory enough. That route continued to be unpopular so I made my way over to another team member and we started the pack technique. One pops out and flushes the runners right into the waiting hands of the other chaser. It was foolproof. The first runner I tagged was so focused on my team member, he didn't even see me until I had tagged him. Brilliant! We stalked that area for a while until it became crowded with our previous kills.

As I was waiting for the rest of our super villain team, I took the opportunity to get inside the runner's heads. There was an overpass around checkpoint 2A that had a ledge that was calling my name. I scaled to the top and struck my best villain poses: crouching, leering, daring, pointing. The checkpoint was eerily quiet and had at least 100 people all crowded around in it. Those that noticed me all had the same reaction. They were first shocked, then looked around to make sure this was in fact a safe zone, then looked back with cautious bemusement. This was my favorite part of the night. None of the runners expected to see a chaser so prominently and obviously placed. I let them all have a good look at me, daring them to find me out there. Reminding them no where is safe...

avoision said this of the experience in his praxis and posted a photo:
"At the second checkpoint. I'm not sure who the woman was, but she was obviously a chaser. She had perched high up, Batman-like, and had on a pretty bad-ass trenchcoat. She would stand/crouch, and very calmly, very quietly taunt all the runners. Awesome and unnerving."


We moved on to checkpoint 5, which was only now starting to get the first runners through. Three of us set up the perfect ambush point in an alley and waited. And waited... No one came through so we headed north to Estes, which proved to be fertile hunting grounds. The wolf pack technique really kicked into high gear here. Staggering ourselves between dark alcoves, parked cars and bushes, we steered the runners into the gauntlet of doom. The looks of surprise mingled with pure terror were priceless. To be in this elaborate and obvious chaser costume, but to be absolutely invisible to them until moments before their doom was an amazing feeling.

When Estes got crowded with previous kills, we moved on to Touhy for a few final chases and then to the final checkpoint to hang out with the finishers. Sadly, I never got the chance to chase any of my friends who were running.

It was amazing to experience JTTEOTN from both sides. As a runner, fear dictates your every move and clouds your judgement. As a chaser, you feed on the fear of others. By the end of JTTEOTN 2011, that hunger was satiated.