10/10/2026
Cornerstone Lakes parkrun – Event #180
Saturday 10 October 2026
There are worse ways to spend the morning before the Chicago Marathon than squeezing in a bit of parkrun tourism!
Bethany and I are visiting Chicago from the UK ahead of tomorrow’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon, and naturally one of the first things we looked for when planning the trip was where we could get our Saturday morning parkrun fix. Cornerstone Lakes was the answer, so this morning we made our way out to West Chicago for event number 180.
It was also a significant one for me personally. Cornerstone Lakes became tourist streak number 41 — my 41st consecutive parkrun at a different location this year. What started as a bit of parkrun tourism has turned into an adventure of its own, and getting to continue the streak in the USA on Chicago Marathon weekend made number 41 particularly special.
We were greeted by cloudy but increasingly warm conditions, with the temperature already around 21°C later in the morning and heading towards a high of 26°C. Perhaps not quite the cool autumn weather a couple of British runners preparing for a marathon were hoping for!
The course itself is a really enjoyable two clockwise laps on paved paths around the main lake. It’s flat, quick and gives you plenty to look at as you make your way around. With 26.2 miles waiting for both of us tomorrow, though, today was definitely more about enjoying the experience than testing just how fast the course could be.
There was also something neither of us had ever experienced at a parkrun before — a drone flying above the course! After visiting so many different events, it takes something new to surprise us, but that was definitely a parkrun first.
From the moment we arrived we were made to feel incredibly welcome. We also had a few compliments on our red and black buffalo print Arcade Crafty Runners merch, which gave us a little reminder of home while standing thousands of miles away in Illinois.
That’s one of my favourite things about parkrun tourism: you can travel thousands of miles, arrive somewhere you’ve never been before and within a few minutes everything feels familiar. Different country, different course, but the same Saturday morning parkrun community.
A total of 59 people ran, jogged and walked the course at event 180.
Matthew Huska was the first finisher in 18:28, recording a new PB, while Nicolette Hutton was the first female home in 21:30 on her first visit to Cornerstone Lakes.
Bethany and I both completed the parkrun as part of our final preparations for tomorrow’s Chicago Marathon. Beth also earned herself a volunteer credit as photographer, while I picked up one for writing this report — two fairly sensible volunteering roles when you’ve got 26.2 miles waiting the following morning!
Today’s event was made possible by 14 volunteers:
Bernard Henry – Barcode Scanning
Bethany Hillman – Photographer
Brian Mack – Run Director & Results Processor
Carly Thomas – Finish Tokens
Chaitu Panuganti – Event Day Course Check
Esther Bourassa
Jason Smallman – Report Writer
Joanne Schneider – Finish Tokens
Kristen Pemberton – Timekeeper
Lucy Park – Pre-event Setup, Equipment Storage & Delivery and Barcode Scanning
Melissa Ferguson – Communications and Barcode Scanning
Mo Ismail – Post-event Close Down
Nerina Human – Barcode Scanning
Rebecca Murphy – Tail Walker
A huge thank you to every one of them for giving up their Saturday morning and for making two visitors from the other side of the Atlantic feel so welcome.
Cornerstone Lakes was a brilliant addition to our Chicago trip. Tourist streak number 41 completed, a brilliant American parkrun experienced, our first ever parkrun drone sighting, a few compliments for the buffalo print, and another reminder that wherever you travel in the world, turning up with a barcode on a Saturday morning has a pretty good habit of finding you some friendly people.
One morning we’re running two laps around a lake in West Chicago with 59 other parkrunners; the next Bethany and I will be joining tens of thousands of runners on the streets of Chicago for 26.2 miles.
Quite a weekend.
Thank you, Cornerstone Lakes parkrun, for having us.
Now it’s time to put the feet up — we’ve got a marathon tomorrow! 🇺🇸🏃♂️🏃♀️
Jase Smallman
The Arcade Crafty Runners ♥️🖤
UK
