Aaron Del Mar has received the 2019 Crain’s Notable Entrepreneur Award for
work with his two event management companies.

September 18, 2019 (VPR) Palatine, IL. – Crain’s Chicago Business has awarded Palatine resident and business owner, Aaron Del Mar, with the Notable Entrepreneur Award for 2019. The award recognizes Chicago area business owners and entrepreneurs who are taking calculated risks – and succeeding – through creative and successful management styles for each of their respective companies. A total of 44 individuals were honored with this year’s award.

Del Mar was recognized for his leadership at his two 5K and half marathon event/race management companies, Adrenaline Special Events (ASE) and the Santa Hustle Race Series, LLC. (SHRS).
The inaugural race for ASE (formerly Adrenaline Sports Management) was held in 2005, which was the Halloween Hustle 5K in Palatine. Offerings of ASE have since grown to include eight other Chicago area 5K’s, such as the Bunny Rock Chicago, Bunny Rock Hawthorn (Vernon Hills), Gino’s East (Chicago), Taco Tuesday (Chicago), Candy Dash (Chicago), Buona Beef (Chicago), Uncle Sam (Palatine) and Stan’s Donuts (Chicago).

SHRS was founded in 2009 with Santa Hustle 5K Chicago as the first-ever event, and has since spread to nine other U.S. cities over the last 10 years, including Santa Hustle(s) in Milwaukee, WI., Sevierville, TN., Roseville, CA., Belmont, NC., Galveston, TX., Sandusky, OH., South Portland, ME., Glendale, AZ., and Indianapolis, IN.

“I am humbled as it is a huge honor to be recognized for my work, and to be in the company of 43 other diverse business owners,” said Aaron Del Mar. “Supporting local businesses in today’s economy is crucial; Crain’s Notable Entrepreneur Award helps these trend-setters to be recognized for their accomplishments.”

All races managed by both companies promote fitness and fun through holiday- or food-themed 5Ks and/or half marathons, and each has a charity partner who receives a portion of the event’s proceeds.

The Crain’s award winners have identified needs and opportunities in their unique markets, organized and ran successful companies while taking on a greater-than-average financial risk. Revenues for the companies who receive the award must be between $500,000 and $10 million. To see the entire list of winners, please visit chicagobusiness.com/notable/crains-notable-entrepreneur. To learn about ASE and all of its offerings, visit AdrenalineSpecialEvents.com. For more information about SHRS, visit SantaHustle.com.