I ran the Lululemon Chicago Marathon Shakeout last year and said then, if I ever run the Chicago Marathon again, I will come back and join the Lululemon community for the shakeout again, so here I am, running the Chicago Marathon again tomorrow and back standing in the North Rush Street store ready to shake it out once again.

Just an FYI, in 2024 and again in 2025, Lululemon were offering 25% off everything for anyone wearing their finishers medal. It’s not very often you get 25% off at Lululemon, so I was all over that.

Lululemon Chicago Shakeout Run – Sat 11th October:

This year, the shakeout run was scheduled to start at 8:40am with registration opening at 8:15am. To join the shakeout, you needed to register online beforehand and scan the mailed QR code at the door to enter the store. If you didn’t register, you could easily stand outside and join the runners when they left the store, it is public roads after all.

In store, you had the chance to chat with other runners before some influencers/ambassadors led a warm-up.

After that, we headed outside for a 3 mile run, very easy-paced run over to the lake before looping back around. It felt like most people around me were running in groups or with a friend, so I ran by myself today.

Just like in 2024, we stopped at a grassy area with the cityscape in the background for photos before running the last half mile back to the store. I chatted to a couple of people here, both running the marathon for their 7th time! Being a solo traveller from UK to run in Chicago, I like to join these brand activations and shakeout runs as opposed to the bigger official 5k shakeout, to feel part of the community and be around other marathoners and Lulu fans. These short one-off conversations with strangers like this are what draw me and make me feel included in the group and brand.

When we got back to the store, they had put out some breakfast treats: fruit, yoghurt & oats and were handing out Chicago Lululemon caps.