Running With Marlin Keesler: Chicago Running Tours
Tour Guide's Unconventional Start To A Lifelong Career And Enthusiasm About What He Does And The Stories & Heroes Behind It
Some companies start as a dream. Some companies start as a business plan. Others start as a practical joke. Chicago Running Tours is one of those companies. Now one of the most successful touring companies in the city, Marlin Keesler didn't even like running when his friends played a joke on him.
It should be noted that Keesler has run 50 marathons in all 50 states. But he didn't do it because he liked running. He did it with his two children, both on the autism spectrum, to teach them about goal setting and show them the country.
“I actually hate running,” he said.
Now that's weird.
“It gets weirder.”
After finishing the 50 runs back in 2006 he told his co-workers at the Continental Airlines that he would never run again unless he was paid to do it.
When City Running Tours – founded in New York City – spread to Chicago, his friends filled out an application on his behalf without him knowing.
Keesler played along, a good sport. He signed up to be a running tour guide. The first year he only led one tour. The second year he led five. When United Airlines purchased Continental Airlines and laid off all the employees, Keesler felt it was time to move on and become a manager of City Running Tours in Chicago.
He fell in love with Chicago and its history.
So he decided to start his own running tour guide company. He approached the Chicago Professional Tour Guide Association and told them about the idea and they “opened their door and said 'come on in.” Over the years it progressed.
Now, Chicago Running Tours is number one on Trip Advisor. Once in a while it will flip flop with Bobby's Bike Hike. Keesler and the owner of Bobby's Bike Hike send satirical nasty emails to each other when they hit number one.
So what is it that makes Chicago Running Tours number one?
“Marlin is an amazing tour guide,” said a review written in April of this year. “This was such a fun way to explore all the great sights of Grant Park. The views of the city were spectacular. I learned so much from Marlin. The running part was fun and easy. We would run at a slow pace for a bit then stop to learn about a particular place, person or work of art. Marlin took lots of pictures and sent them within a couple of hours after the run. I highly recommend Chicago Running Tours to anyone who wants to get a little fresh air and exercise while exploring and learning about Chicago.”
A second review written in the same month stated: “My boyfriend and I had a blast running with Marlin on his Chicago Running Tour – Tragic Events. Marlin was extremely knowledgable and highly amusing and the pace was perfect. We learned a lot, had some fun and burned off some calories (very much needed given the number of amazing restaurants in Chicago). In addition, Marlin provides some thoughtful and very useful recommendations for further activities in Chicago plus some great photos of the tour.”
While the business and leading tour groups is not Keesler's main job, it has grown on him. Well to be clear, not the running (“I still don't like running.”) But the running is just part of it.
“Chicago is an incredible city,” he gushed. “There are really rich, meaningful stories and I have an opportunity to share these stories with people. They can walk away with information that gives them value in their own lives. When you're able to do that... There's added meaning to what you're doing.”
One of the most popular tours he gives is called Chicago Tragic Events. It covers five major events throughout Chicago's history. And in the end the runners leave with one simple quote: “Pain is inevidable, misery is an option.” To Keesler, this quote applies to all of the tragedies that he talks about on the tour, which is full of stories of people overcoming disasters.
“The best example is there's a guy named Potter Palmer,” he explained. “He was one of the wealthiest real estate owners in Chicago. He started with dry goods but went into real estate and married a very young lady named Bertha. He gave her a hotel as a wedding gift, the Palmer House Hotel. It was the most fabulous hotel at the time, in 1871. Thirteen days later it burned down in a huge fire. He wasn't even here. But when he came back to all this devastation... All his properties were burned... He lost more than any individual person in the city.”
Most would think this story was a complete tragedy.
But that's not where it ends.
“When the Palmer House was burning, the architect that built the hotel was in it,” continued Keesler. “He had the drawings with him, giant blueprints. He realized he cannot get out of the house and run with them because they'd catch on fire. He went to the basement of the Palmer House and built a hole in the sand and buried the drawings and then he runs to safety. The fire passes, things cool off, they come back and dig up the drawings... Potter Palmer didn't leave. He rebuilt. It reopened in 1873. It's now the longest active running hotel in America and most famous in Chicago. It's a terrific story.”
The four mile tour is full of stories like this.
Then there are his other six running tours, which range from three miles to ten miles. The total distance of his seven core tours, which take runners all over Chicago, is 26.2 miles. That's the length of a full marathon.
When someone finishes all the tours they get a finisher shirt and certificate. Some people finish them all within one vacation. Others finish them over a few years.
“I've led bus tours, bike tours... And I've discovered that the best tour delivery system is the running tour,” said Keesler. “The reason is that I'm able to do more. I can grab photographs. I can stop and talk. It's a greater quality experience than if they were on a bus or a boat or even a large walking tour. We go much further, cover more events and locations.”
Keesler has lived in Chicago for 20 years now. He used to live in the suburbs. His family wouldn't even know their way around the city. They'd have to ask others for directions.
“Now,” he stated, “I'm an expert. I got the city down.”
He even has memberships to multiple museums and knows them inside and out. His favorites are The Museum Of Science & Industry and The Art Institute Of Chicago.
But his favorite part of the city are the stories, the heroes.
“I had a tour last week,” said Keesler. “We got to a memorial for Aaron Montgomery Ward. I started telling the story of Ward, one of my heroes. He was the first male catalog order person in the nation, starting before Sears. He was singlehandedly responsible for saving Grant Park. My customer says, 'How come we all know about Capone but don't know about Ward? Yet, he did something much more significant.' I find just find that to be a very profound question.”
Another hero of his isn't even from Chicago.
“I had a couple of guys take their mother on the Grant Park 5K as a birthday gift,” he recalled. “These guys were in their 60s. Their mom was 84. She kept up with everybody. She amazed me. She had a greater sense of humor than I had out there. We get a lot of interesting people out there. It sends a message – age doesn't matter.”
Olivia Richman
A graduate of East Connecticut State University in Journalism, Olivia has written for Stonebridge Press & Antiques Marketplace among others. She enjoys writing, running and video games.
Make Sure To Stay At:
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