Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Jaramillo.
Carlos, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2007, while working at the UNO Charter school Network, I came up with the idea to organize a 5k to raise funds for the network’s after school programs.
At that time, as a 25 year old, I had never organized a race before let alone any major special event. I was serving as a guidance counselor for the schools.
I had come from a big sports family with soccer being the primary sport of choice within the family. Yet after playing 4 years of soccer at St. Xavier University I was recruited by the Cross Country coach for the university to try out for the team. I somehow managed to make the squad and never looked back. I became hooked and would run daily. With the cross country team I would run 70 miles a week and yet after graduating in 2005, I didn’t stop running. I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2006 and that’s where I got the inspiration to have this 5k in Pilsen. Because the Chicago Marathon’s 19th mile goes straight through the heart of Pilsen. The energy I received running through the neighborhood provided the spark that I needed to get me through the last 6-7 miles. Pilsen converts into one one big block party on race day.
So, fast forward to 2007 when I was given the green light to organize the race, I figured, how hard could it be to organize a 5k in 3 months? How hard can it be to get 3,000 runners? Piece of cake!
Little did I know all the nuances, logistics and politics involved with putting together such an event. There were people and entities that tried to dissuade me from putting together the race or that would tell me “no, it can’t be done in such a short time frame,” or “why do you want to run through these major streets? Why don’t you just run through the neighborhood side streets.” Everyone had their motives and it all added to making this first time experience the most stressful period of my life at the time.
That first year became a huge learning experience for me, getting a big wake up call as to just how difficult it is to organize a 5k race, let alone one in 3 months, and in a major US city. I had promised 3,000 runners that first year and we ended up with just over 500 runners. Now, to get 500 runners for any first year race was not a bad number by any stretch. But at the end of the day, I promised the executive director and the alderman a much higher number. We ended up losing quite a bit a money that first year and I think in many ways I was surprised that the executive director (and alderman) stated that they would give me one more shot to make the race a success and ultimately profitable. I give them a lot of credit because they saw the potential of the race and my passion, willingness and determination to make the race into one of Chicago’s premier and unique running events. I vowed to them that I would make this work.
Every year, after that the race grew and we no longer lost money. In fact, the race became the biggest fundraiser for the school network that I had worked for bringing in over $300,000 in revenue. We went from 1,200 runners in the race’s second year (2008) to having over 5,500 registered participants in 2017.
It’s beyond words to see the race become what I envisioned it could be back in 2007. I think people gravitate to the uniqueness of the race and the different type of experience that we offer that no other race does. For one, we’re the only race that is centered around “Dia de los Muertos,” the historical and traditional Meso-American holiday that is widely recognized in Latin America. Recently, this tradition has garnered much more interest from Americans and the world in general. Our race is the only 5k that is held in the neighborhood of Pilsen, which has become a melting pot of cultures in Chicago’s lower west side. Runners are greeted with mariachis, folkloric dance groups and even djs playing as “house” music as they run through the route. Afterwards, they are treated to delicious Mexican/Latin food at the finish line. And, I can’t forget our awards. Rather than giving the top finishers medals, we give them life-size skulls decorated by local artists from the community. They’re truly beautiful.
The Carrera as we affectionately call it, is a celebration of life.
It’s amazing to see now where runners are coming from. It is no longer runners participating and coming in from the nearby neighborhoods. Now, folks come from all over the Chicagoland area and surrounding states, as far as Florida and California. It never gets old driving through the city and seeing people wearing our colorful shirts or receiving emails from people proudly wearing their Carrera shirts in a foreign country.
We’ve come a long way but its been such an amazing journey. And, even though the race is now entering its 12th year in 2018, we still haven’t lost that passion and are always looking for ways to keep separating ourselves from other races.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I kind of touched up on this in my previous answer but there were a number of struggles along the way. It certainly wasn’t smooth sailing all the time. From the beginning, it was a challenge to organize the race the first year in three short months coupled with the fact that I had never organized a 5k event before let alone one in Chicago. I wasn’t aware of all the logistics, nuances and the politics involved with putting together such an event. Who thought ordering shirts for a race was a big deal? Permits? What are those? It was a big learning curve to say the least. The running scene in Chicago and the US has become quite saturated and so every race is trying to compete for runners, so pushing the envelope and being as creative as possible is a must. People are rooting for you to fail. The world of special events is not for people that cannot work well under pressure.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Carrera de los Muertos 5k – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Our running event is called the Carrera de los Muertos/Race of the Dead 5k. I am the creator and race director for the event. I created the concept, theme and strategy for the event. On race day I lead the execution of the event overseeing logistics ensuring that the race goes off without a hitch.
There are many things that I am proud of as a race. For one, I am proud of the fact that we kept at it despite a tumultuous beginning. I think many people could have called it a quits after giving it one try. But, I was determined and had a deep sense of curiosity to want to learn as much as possible about the race industry, how to put together a race/event from top to bottom. If there was something that I didn’t know, I wanted to make sure I took the time to understand and grasp it. We would not have made this successful if we didn’t fail in the beginning.
I am proud of the fact that we have runners that come up to us and say that this is their favorite race. That they look forward to it every year and have been participating in it for several years. It makes you want to keep enhancing the product that we put out year after year.
I am also proud of the fact that more people know about Dia de los Muertos and actively get their families involved with this tradition than ever before. It is a beautiful tradition and if we played a small role in getting families to learn more about it, that’s something I am proud of.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We’re always looking to improve the race year after year. There is never one goal to far stretched. We’ve become one of the biggest 5ks in Chicago but I do not want to stop there. 2017 was our biggest year to date having over 5,500 registered participants yet, I would like to keep letting folks know about our event, including beyond Chicago and Illinois. I would like to expand and have the Carrera in other cities. Stay tuned!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.unoraceofthedead.com
- Email: uno5k@uno-online.org
- Instagram: @Carreradelosmuertos
- Facebook: @Carreradelosmuertos
- Twitter: @raceofthedead
Image Credit:
Micaela Bernal, Norman Timonera, Zuno Photo, Dimitre Photography
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