Man Attempts 11 Virtual 5Ks In 11 Days For Preserve Program

LOCKPORT, IL — Lockport resident Richard Fague is taking the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s “Harvest Hustle” virtual 5K program to the next level, according to a release from the preserve.

The program requires running one virtual 5K race during October, but the 44-year-old will attempt to run 11 races in a row on all 11 trails designated for the program, the preserve said. Each 5K is 3.1 miles, so he will run 34.1 miles if he finishes his quest on Saturday as planned.

Fague told the preserve it is just what he needed to ramp up his training.

“I needed the motivation” he said in a release. “I had been slacking, and I was coming off a plantar fasciitis injury, which brought me down at the end of last year.”

He started his mega “Harvest Hustle” endurance test on Oct. 13 – just three days after running the Chicago Marathon, the preserve said. His first “Harvest Hustle” outing was on the Spring Creek Greenway Trail at Messenger Woods in Homer Glen. His second run was on the DuPage River Trail at Whalon Lake in Naperville. On Oct. 15, he stopped by the Sugar Creek Administration Center in Joliet for a quick pre-race interview before hitting the Wauponsee Glacial Trail, according to the preserve.

Fague loves to run, and he loves nature; and both running and being outdoors is keeping him healthy and away from alcohol, something he had a problem with in the past but has been able to kick for the past two years, according to a release from the preserve.

“I’ve done seven marathons and a couple of ultra-marathons,” he said. “But I want to do a 50K and a 100-miler.”

Fague was living in his home state of Rhode Island when he was transferred to Lockport in June 2020 to become a supervisor at a Mokena distribution facility.

“I love it out here because there are so many places to run,” he said of his new home turf. “Every weekend I go somewhere new.”

Since being interviewed on Oct. 15, Fague has run four more trails: Lake Renwick Bikeway, Old Plank Road Trail, Hickory Creek Bikeway, and Rock Run Greenway Trail, the preserve said.

"I really have enjoyed them all!" he said of his progress. "I will return to them once I'm done and really explore them."

As part of his quest to stay sober, Fague is also an athlete ambassador for a nonalcoholic beer company called Athletic Brewing Co. He also participates in charity runs, and recently raised $1,750 for Mercy Home Heroes during the Chicago Marathon.

Fague’s goal is to run the Boston Marathon next year, but he has to run a marathon in around 3 hours and 10 minutes to qualify in his age group. He said he’s not quite to that level yet.

“I’m a lot healthier being out in the woods in the crisp clean air,” he said in a release. “Even in the rain at Messenger Woods, where I ran the first one, it's very refreshing and running for me is mind clearing.”

The preserve said participants can still join the Harvest Hustle program, and still have time to run one virtual 5K on one of the 11 designated trails by Halloween. You can use a phone app to record your “race” and upload it to the “Harvest Hustle” page on the Forest Preserve’s website. The first 100 participants will receive a long-sleeved shirt.

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