the short quote descriptions of the night:
"We used children as spotters" -oliver x
"I never felt unsafe in Chicago.. I mean from strangers." - starfive
"He's red! Run!" - celina

link to bigger map

here's the approximate route we ran. the blue: being a runner on foot, the red: being a chaser on foot, the black: on the train.
we were on foot for over 8 miles, on train for 1.25

the long story..
STARFIVE:

I traveled from minneapolis with Celina, and we met up with InkTea, MeanJeanine and eventually OliverX. Meeting people and hanging out in Chicago was lots of fun. Accordians, puppets, songs, dances, tasty vegan food, feeling famous, sharing shoes and mischief.

But this.. this is all about my journey.

We arrived at the park, just in time. We would have been there sooner, but some people had to cause some mischief (stealing the cg0 flag) earlier that we had to uh.. find.. but it all worked out okay. We signed up as team SPOON & CHERRY. We procured our ribbons.. and I put the checkpoints into my iphone maps. Inky made a friend who was going to run with us. Then they yelled go or something and we all ran.. Someone picked a direction and our team set off. But suddenly Inky was missing? the new girl told us that she had told her not to follow her, that she wasn't running. TRAITOR! we thought. But the clock was running.. so we had to as well. We ran through some back streets, trying to keep off the main roads. Down alleys. Used the iphone to search out secret ways across the freeway. no such luck. Ran into some kids in an alley. The asked about our ribbons. We told them we were playing a game and enlisted their help in scoping out the street ahead. Also got some instructions for a way across the freeway.. it wasn't the most secluded, but it managed to get us there without getting caught.

We saw other runners near us at times. We had decided against the trains at this point.. figuring that might be to obvious. We hit a couple little dead ends, but then made it into the first safe zone.. just in time to run into a chaser. But he couldn't touch us where we were.

CUPCAKES! and vegan too! After being fed with sugar, we moved on. We made it to Checkpoint two without too much trouble.. we did spot a couple suspicous figures in the distance. We tried to lose them. We also saw some hiding behind a distant garbage can. But again we were safe! Stopped for a drink of water and to consult the map. Moved on.. We ask people on the street if they've seen anyone go by wearing ribbons.. some have, some haven't. Nothing too useful.

Then came the decision. Do we go for the first bonus checkpoint? It's a more direct route to checkpoint 3, but there are no safe zones near it. We risk it. I'm glad we did. we managed to cross the bridge and realized it was the symbol for CG0. Oliver searched around for the bonus stamp. He found it! He didn't quite realize how it worked though.. he thought it was something to take with us.. so he was looking for something to cut it loose. Luckily I was there to point out it was a stamp and ink to stamp your map. Celina realized she'd taken photos of those stamp images at Dax's earlier.. so we knew what to look for in the other bonus checkpoints.

Unfortunately we wouldn't be making it to those checkpoints. We got to the point where we were across the block from the 3rd checkpoint.. but we were a little unclear about where we were.. so we were consulting a map. and suddenly Celina spots some chasers. We scatter. One runs after Oliver. I run the other way.. I know I can't out run them. I don't have the stamina. So I duck into a parking ramp. up the stairs and hide out. unfortunately I don't crouch down soon enough. I'm pretty sure one sees me from outside. I crouch down, out of breath. I decided that If he finds me, then i'm caught. He comes around the corner, looking around. He sees me on on the ground.. reaches out a finger and taps me. I surrender my blue ribbon.. and begin a new life as a chaser.

I meet up with Oliver, who has also been caught. we decide to keep moving. Suddenly we see the other girls we're with.. I yell to get them! but.. they've been caught already too. So now we're all chasers.

We decide to move on towards checkpoint 5.. but some runners are spotted so it takes us a little longer to get on our way. We chase some around, but they managed to get away from all but Oliver.

We leave Mean Jeanine with Torrie(sp?).. who seem to be a good team.. and take the train towards checkpoint 5. It's nice to sit. We explain the game to a stranger, he offers us his map of Chicago. We decline and he wishes us luck. We run into Dax and Beetle Bomb.. Then head over the longest bridge ever. We stake out the area around the diner which is checkpoint 5. We see InkTea's car! We think up things we could do to leave her a note on her car. Just as I'm heading to Wallgreens for some sort of supplies.. I spot some people coming down the street. I hide on the corner behind a sign and wait. They come around the sign and I tag one.. I chase the other into the street and tag her in the crosswalk. I look at my map wanting to make sure they are fair tags.. The map shows me that safe zone is no the the diner corner and all across the bridge. My sign has no safe zone.. but they want to fight it. I agree to go inside and ask.. Inky is the Checkpoint person. She calls that one is fair, the other isn't. So I get one ribbon. The girl I tagged on the sidewalk seems upset and really wants to win. She says she was in the street. I'm pretty certain she was on the sidewalk when i got her. I take her friend's ribbon instead.

We chase some more people around the whole foods parking lot. Celina gets a kill. We wait down the street a bit. Oliver calls me saying there's a group coming up the street on the next block. I hide in a bank alley. I jump out just as they get to me.. there is confusion. They try to throw their non-playing friend at me, but I manage to tag all the other 3.

We wait around a little while longer.. I use my camera as a spy device and get an image of someone around the corner, but never found them. Eventually we are too exhausted to go on.. we make our way to the end.. limping. At least it didn't rain!

We barely make it to the end.. which has been moved. Every step hurts. But we make it. Oliver gets a moxie medal for his story of using children as spotters. We limp back across the park and catch a cab to the after party. It's so worth it.

Alcohol helps numb the pain in my legs and feet. We stay for a while.. then make our way back to beds.

Much pain the next day.. a little less each day after. Three days later I can walk without much pain at all. I should have stretched before.. and not eaten so much.. but at least I had good shoes!

It was lots of fun, but so tiring. I met neat people. Saw more of Chicago than I have before.