Yesterday, I was out for my 14 miler along the Chicago Lakefront. As I ran near North Avenue beach, I spotted a crowd of people and I realized that the annual Polar Plunge was taking place there. The Polar Plunge is when they cut the ice in Lake Michigan and about 3,000 people in all manners of dress and costume jump into the frigid waters to raise money for the Special Olympics. The temperature for the event was probably somewhere around 20 degrees which was a little warmer than it had been the previous week, but still very cold for a swim!.
I slowed my run to a walk as I got close to the crowd. As luck would have it, the event was about to begin and the MC was announcing that they had a "very special guest" to kick off the festivities. The special guest turned out to be Vince Vaughn. Vince took the stage in a Jonathan Toews jersey.
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| Vince Vaughn about to Address the Crowd |
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| Vince Getting Ready to Go |
Then Vince jumped into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan:
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| Vince After taking the "Plunge" |
As Vince was making his way back, I started hearing people scream "Gaga, Gaga" and I first thought that someone had dressed up like Lady Gaga and was about to jump in the waters in costume. However, it turned out to actually be the real Lady Gaga in person. She climbed on the back of her fiance Taylor Kinney (from the tv show "Chicago Fire") and they headed for the lake:
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| Lady Gaga and Taylor Kinney about to "Plunge" |
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| Gaga Leaving the Water with Icicles on her Hair. |
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| Taylor Kinney after the Plunge. Gaga in brown hat to the right. |
All three celebrities looked cold, but were casual about it as they walked back to the warming tent. They weren't carrying on or shivering even though they were probably pretty cold, which I thought was cool. If I ever do the plunge, I am going to act similarly! Anyway, I took off to finish my run and wanted to tell the people I ran by, who I had just seen on my run. As luck would have it, Lynton ran by and I was able to tell him and his running group!
It was quite an exciting long run. Only in Chicago!
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| Runners Along the Lakefront Trail Yesterday |
That's awesome you got to see them so close!! We're you tempted to jump in and join them?? ;)
ReplyDeleteHa. Actually, at the time I was thinking that the best time to do the plunge would be right after a long run with lots of body heat stored up. The water would be a relief - at least for a few seconds!
DeleteWhat great timing! I swear you see Lynton everywhere!
ReplyDeleteYes Lynton seems to pop up wherever I am!
DeleteWhat amazing luck! So fun to be able to see them - I knew Vince was doing it but I had no idea about Lady Gaga until after the fact.
ReplyDeleteYes, I had no idea either of them were doing it!
DeleteSo you saw 4 celebrities on your run!
ReplyDeleteLynton said the same thing! :)
DeleteHmmm, I usually see turkeys or deer on my long run. Yours sounds much more exciting! :)
ReplyDeleteWell if it's a bottle of Wild Turkey and some venison steaks you see on your run, I'd say that you have it better! :)
DeleteAwesome! I saw all of the coverage of the Polar Plunge, but it never occured to me to try to time a run on the LFT with it! Maybe next year! Since now it seems to be the celebrity go-to event. Maybe they will all run the Shamrock Shuffle next ... ?
ReplyDeleteIt was sheer luck that I stumbled upon the PP at the right time. I wonder who they'll get next year? The Chicago Fire cast was at the Chicago Marathon finish line two years ago.
DeleteSO COOL!!! What did they look like in person? Were they being besieged with people wanting autographs or pictures?
ReplyDeleteActually, they pretty much looked the same in person as they do in pictures and tv. They were not besieged by people as far as I could tell. I think there was a feeling of camraderie about the plunge and out of respect everyone gave Gaga/Vaughn/Kinney time to just enjoy the moment. So most people (except the press photographers), gave them room to do the plunge and then recover afterwards. Makes me proud that us Chicagoans can let celebrities just hang out with us like regular people!
DeleteHow fun! I love it when I run across events while I am running - you never know what you will find! :)
ReplyDeleteYes. People who don't run/walk miss out on loads of fun stuff!
DeleteHow awesome! I have always secretly had a crush on Vince Vaughn.
ReplyDeleteNow do you want to do the plunge next year? I could NEVER do it!
Ha, if I had known I would have tried to get his autograph for you! I don't think I would ever do it, I'd rather run by the Plunge and watch! :)
DeleteHow cool is this!? I saw Vince at a Cubs came once....pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteYes, I guess he still has a place in Chicago, although I read that he is selling it.
DeleteSo cool that you saw them just by coincidence.
ReplyDeleteI would like to do it one year but then when I see how cold it gets, I quickly change my mind.
Yeah I'm with you! It sounds like a fun idea until you actually have to do it!
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