A Roosevelt University graduate student with a goal to run every street in all 77 neighborhoods of Chicago is treating the city like his treadmill.
“This is day 362 of running every single street in Chicago,” Joabe Barbosa told NBC Chicago Tuesday.
Barbosa’s story started in August of 2024 after he became bored of running along the lakefront and made a new goal, he said.
“I was like, why don’t I run the whole city? No one has ever done it before, so why not be the first one,” he said.
Last year, Barbosa started documenting his journey on Instagram.
He records himself on many of his runs, highlighting lesser-known neighborhoods.
Barbosa said it’s important to him to shut down certain stereotypes about Chicago.
“I run 1 a.m., 3 a.m., 7 a.m., 5 p.m. — any time of the day, any weather,” Barbosa said. “I’m always safe and I always meet lovely people.”
One of his favorite parts of this is meeting so many different people. Sometimes, he even picks up a running partner.
“I go to these neighborhoods and people are just so nice, and people love that. Because people in Chicago love Chicago,” he said.
Barbosa was born in Brazil and grew up in England. He is currently in Chicago studying at Roosevelt University as a graduate student.
So far, Barbosa has run nearly 4,000 miles. He’s now about 81% done, with just 19% of the city left to cover.
His goal is to finish in April.
You can follow him and his journey at @heyjoabe on Instagram.
