Our Chicago Marathon training theme, TAKE ME HIGHER, comes straight from the dance floors of Chicago’s legendary house music scene. Born in Black, queer spaces on the South and West Sides, house music was never just sound. It was sanctuary. Its pulsing rhythm promised freedom, joy, and a sense of belonging. On packed dance floors, DJs lifted entire rooms, chanting and sampling words like “take me higher” as both invitation and affirmation.
That same ethos lives in running. A tempo run or a long run builds the same way as a DJ set. Steady, rhythmic, carrying you from struggle to release, until suddenly you’re lifted by the energy of those around you.
No one embodies that connective tissue between culture, community, and endurance like Eric Williams. As a DJ, four-time Chicago Marathon finisher, and owner of The Silver Room in Hyde Park, Eric has spent decades shaping spaces where people gather, create, and move together. The Silver Room is a living tribute to Chicago’s house legacy and the kind of place that keeps neighborhoods alive by creating spaces for ideas, music, and moments of joy.
You can get the collab Heartbreak x Silver Room shirt exclusively at The Silver Room.
For photos of last night click here.