Chauncey's 4 at The Farm

Entry Schedule:

• Early Registration: January 14 – January 29 $40.00
• Standard Registration: January 30 – March 10 $45.00
• Race Weekend Registration: March 11 – March 12 $50.00

Entry Swag: The official Chauncey’s 4 at The Farm Trail Stampede Long Sleeve Performance Shirt (gender specific)

• Participant must register by no later than 12:00 midnight February 19 to be guaranteed receiving race shirt on race weekend. Anyone registering on February 20 or later may have to pick up their race shirt at a later date after race day weekend at a Dick Pond Athletics store location. The race shirt will NOT be sent to any registered participants.

• Saturday Bib Pick-up at DPA Carol Stream: Bib pick-up will be at the Dick Pond Athletics store at 26W515 St Charles Rd, Carol Stream from 2:00 – 4:00pm on Saturday, March 11.
• If you do not pick up your bib on Saturday, you can pick it up on race day at St. James Farm beginning at 7:00am.
• Aid Stations: Aid stations are to be determined and may be limited on race day depending on weather/trail conditions and volunteer availability. It is recommended you carry hydration with you if you think you’ll need it.
• Overall Winner Awards: The Overall Male and Female Winner will receive an award at the Finish.
• Age Group Awards: There will be NO age group awards at this event.
• Finisher Award: All finishers will receive the official Chauncey’s 4 at The Farm Trail Stampede Glass.

• Costume Prizes: We’ll look in our prize closet and find some good things to give out to the best-looking leprechauns on race day.
• Results: Overall results will be sent out to participants during the race and will be posted at http://racetime.info
• Event Cancellation: The Race Committee reserves the right to cancel this event if weather, trail or any other unsafe conditions on race day deem necessary. No refunds will be issued in the event of cancellation.

JUST ADDED!!

Chauncey’s is the first of four events in the 2023 Trail Race series presented by Dick Pond Athletics –

• Chauncey’s Stampede
• Hickory Knolls Trail Run (tentative May 14)
• Summer Classic (tentative August)
• Big Timber XC Challenge (November 5)

All those who sign up for each of the four races will receive a BONUS premium swag item at Big Timber in November!

There were a number of very happy runners who walked away with a real sweet running vest after stepping up for the Triple Trail Challenge last year. What will it be for those who endure the DPA Four Seasons Trail Challenge in 2023?

Volunteers are needed on race day to assist with bib pick-up, act as course marshals, or help at the finish. You’ll receive the eternal gratitude of the Race Committee and an official race mug.

The first Europeans to settle on this land were farmers, and several structures from late-1800 farmsteads remain, including a gabled-roof-and-wing farmhouse, one of the last of its kind in DuPage County. A massive wood-planked German-style barn with cantilevered floors dates back to 1890, if not earlier, as do the remains of another barn’s fieldstone foundation.

For decades, though, the property was the retreat of the McCormick family. Chauncey and Marion McCormick acquired the initial 203 acres in 1920. Chauncey was the great nephew of Cyrus McCormick, who invented the first commercially successful mechanical reaper and in 1851 co-founded the McCormick Reaper Works, which merged with the Deering Harvester Company in 1906 to become International Harvester Corporation.

To accommodate their interest in horseback riding, the couple built a colonial-style brick stable with stalls lined with wood and iron posts from England. To support their growing award-winning herd of Guernsey cows, they constructed a state-of-the-art dairy barn with roomy stalls and assorted outbuildings. For the better part of two decades, the buildings housed a dairy operation that was a benchmark for farmers throughout the Midwest.

In the late 1950s, the property passed to the McCormicks’ son, Brooks, who managed the estate with his wife, Hope. They built the estate’s indoor arena, which not only accommodated their black-tie events but also later served as the St. James Riding School for the Handicapped, one of the McCormicks’ charitable interests.

After his retirement from International Harvester in 1980, Brooks began to aggressively develop the estate’s renowned equestrian facility, which grew to include a 62-stall stable for competitors’ horses, a 1.5-mile steeplechase track, a 200-seat concession area and dressage and jumping arenas. St. James Farm hosted several international eventing and dressage competitions and an annual steeplechase race, which drew up to 14,000 spectators and raised funds for the Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital.

In 2000 Brooks McCormick sold the 607-acre St. James Farm to the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, retaining a life estate that gave him the right to live on the property until his death in 2006. In July 2007 the District officially took possession of the property.