Pizza 5K’s Last-Minute Date Change Leaves Some Runners Fuming

SOUTH LOOP — Chicago runners were ready to lace up for the inaugural Slice of Chicago 5K last Sunday, but the pizza-themed run’s founders announced a key element of the event wasn’t fully baked.

The Slice of Chicago “pizza run” was set to kick off July 12 at Soldier Field. Runners were supposed to receive a pizza-shaped medal, race shirt and a slice from either Angelo’s Stuffed Pizza, Bob’s Pizza, Connie’s Pizza or Rosati’s Pizza.

But in an Instagram post last week — five days before the race — Slice of Chicago’s event organizers told participants that it had postponed the event until Oct. 3 because its finisher medals were held up at customs. The post set off a flurry of negative comments from runners, including those participating in other races taking place on the same date.

“Would’ve been better to let us race and get medals etc at a later date vs just cancel it,” one commenter wrote. “Many of us can’t make it 10/3 and not offering options or refunds is really bad business. I hope you rethink this.”

“Is this a joke ? Last minute and why October 3?” another person wrote.

Windy City Events Management founders Fernando Nieto and Miguel Torres, who operate the race, told Block Club Chicago in a text that while the medals were supposed to arrive in Chicago three weeks before race day, the shipment was delayed and stuck in customs.

“We’ve been watching it closely and have stayed in constant contact with our vendor, but the medals still haven’t even reached the port,” Nieto and Torres wrote on Monday. “We actually looked at flying two of our own people out to grab the shipment and drive it back ourselves. That’s how much we wanted to make race day work. It just wasn’t possible since the shipment hasn’t cleared the port yet.”

Windy City Events will begin processing refunds after Friday, when the refund request window closes, Nieto and Torres said.

Diplo’s Run Club is hosting a 5K in Humboldt Park on Oct. 3, and the Ditka Dash kicks off at Soldier Field that day — just an hour after Slice of Chicago runners start.

“It wasn’t lost on us,” the Slice of Chicago organizers said when asked why they scheduled their race on the same day. “But of everything available for our venue and logistics, it was still the best option on the table. Our focus stays on giving our runners a great experience, conflict or not.”

The Chicago Park District did not respond to Block Club’s request asking how the two races would operate on the same day in the same location only an hour apart.

Slice of Chicago’s founders said keeping the original race date and shipping the medals later was not an option for them.

“We don’t collect mailing addresses at checkout, so shipping medals afterward isn’t something we can actually do,” they said in a text. “And honestly, we’d rather push the date than hand runners an incomplete experience. No medal isn’t the deal they signed up for. We stand by that 100%.”