Well, another incredible Marathon weekend is in the books! On Sunday, October 13, Sr. Stephanie, Sr. Maggie, Anna (postulant) and 157 other Team OLA runners did an incredible job running in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Also amazing – just one day after the race, our team officially met our 2024 fundraising goal of $300,000 to support the work of our community and the Mission!
The night before the race, we gathered with 100+ runners and their families for our traditional pre-Marathon thank you Mass and Pasta Dinner. Then Franciscans and runners alike were up bright and early to begin shuttling runners to the start line beginning at 5:30 am.
The Saturday vigil Mass was concelebrated by three running priests this year! 
Pre-Race Mass 
Pre-Race Mass 
Team OLA runners enjoying the Pre-Race pasta dinner 
Everyone listens as Sr. Stephanie, Sr. Emily, and PJ present fun Team OLA awards at the pasta dinner 
The aforementioned award’s ceremony 
Some of the special OLA award winners smiling with their medals
We were very blessed with a beautiful race day – the weather was just about perfect and we saw some amazing finishes including tons of personal records and first time finishes!
The Mile 15 Cheer Station was a party and featured a number of hilarious signs crafted by Sr. Emily (a lover of puns and a 4-time Team OLA marathon-finisher, so she knows what goes into a good sign!)
Sr. Alicia and other Franciscans held down the fort at the “Letter O” in the Runner Reunite section at the finish line. They were there all day to greet and celebrate with our finishers as well as to help runners find their way back to the Mission. After the race, Team OLA runners and their friends and families were welcomed back to the Mission for a post-race lunch, and then we wrapped up the evening with a 5 pm Mass for Franciscans and any others who wished to stay for it.
And if you can believe it, registration for the 2025 Chicago Marathon opened the day after the race! Team OLA has 160 guaranteed entries and there is already a waiting list of over 70 people – so the spots are going to go fast! So if running a marathon with nuns is on your bucket list, reach out to Sr. Stephanie asap to secure your spot today!
Benefits of joining Team OLA include: Custom training plans/ individualized help from 2:53 marathoner (Sr. Stephanie), race weekend accommodations (room, rides, food), pre-race Mass and dinner, an entire prayer team praying for you (1:1 prayer team to runner ratio!), T-shirts, motivational emails from Sr. Stephanie, fully supported fundraising platform/ materials, and Facebook runner support group.
You can learn more about Team OLA and register here. You can also always email Sr. Stephanie at olamission@gmail.com if you have questions or want to get involved with publicity or supporting the team in other ways.
