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A mountain of peanut butter and banana sandwiches were waiting for runners as they completed the 10th Annual Elvis Is Alive 5K Fleet Feet race yesterday in Lincoln Park, which benefit Rock for Reading, a non-profit group fighting the trend of illiteracy and working to renew interest in reading.
2007 marks the 30th anniversary of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s passing, and race organizers expanded the post-race concert, adding additional Elvis impressionists. Chicago’s tribute run is the largest in the country, surpassing Memphis’s Elvis Presley International 5K by at least 1,000 participants with over 1,700 runners registered yesterday. Runners wearing Elvis attire lead the race. Hunk-a, Hunk-a, burnin’ love 41-year-old Al Baumgartner of Palatine, Ill., was the fastest Elvis, clocking in at 19:20.
Alice Peacock, Rock for Reading co-founder and singer/song writer performed a post-race concert, opening for Elvis impressionist Doug Church and the Anthony Guitar Street Orchestra.
“What Elvis was, was revolutionary,” said Peacock, who admires him for understanding the power of music. Today, she and her husband Hugh Haller are turning up the volume. “We have the power of music, and we can use it as an awareness building tool. Music does need to be used for good reasons.”
“A population that doesn’t read, doesn’t vote. They don’t support the arts,” said Peacock. “One out of three Chicagoans are functionally illiterate, which means they can’t even read at a third grade level. Being unable to read is the source of so many problems. If you can’t read, you can’t dream of something bigger and something better.”
If Elvis were alive today, we’re certain he’d sing his hit, “I Can Dream,” along with Peacock.
Photo provided by the author.
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I ran this on Sunday. I almost fainted from the heat. I can only imagine how the polyester-clad Elvis' faired.
Elvis sucks.
your mom sucks...
Did the runners actually eat those sandwiches after the race? Between reading about the running, the heat, and the sheer mass of sandwiches, I feel a bit queasy here at my desk.
Elvis' mom sucks. And so do you.
“A population that doesn’t read, doesn’t vote. They don’t support the arts,” said Peacock. “One out of three Chicagoans are functionally illiterate, which means they can’t even read at a third grade level. Being unable to read is the source of so many problems. If you can’t read, you can’t dream of something bigger and something better"
Yup, sounds like the average Red Eye reader to me
It was a beautiful run - a little warm, but not terrible. Still, I couldn't have stomached those sandwiches afterwards. Good in theory...
the peanut butter/banana sandwiches were a fun touch. fortunately, they were cut into quarters. the beer was really welcome at the end, especially since the water and gatorade were warm. the course was crappy, though, with mud under your feet and tree branches at eye level -- you would have thought that the race organizers would have taken care of such things, at least to avoid possible litigation from an injured runner.
"If you can’t read, you can’t dream of something bigger"
You can always dream of reading a big book someday- DUH!