Michigan Runner January 2012

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January / February 2012 Publisher and Chief Executive Officer

Art McCafferty artmccaf@glsp.com Editor

Scott Sullivan scott@glsp.com

Associate Publisher

Jennie McCafferty jennie@glsp.com Editors Emeritus

Dave Foley Mike Duff

Dr. Edward H. Kozloff Grant Lofdahl Sheryl Lozicki Richard Magin Ron Marinucci Riley McLincha Charles D. McEwen Gary Morgan Jim Neff Rachael Steil Tamara Steil Nick Stanko Anthony Targan Cregg Weinmann Amanda Weaver Composer

Senior Photographer

Carter Sherline Columnists

Paul Aufdemberge Desiree Davila Ian Forsyth Tom Henderson Scott Hubbard Daniel G. Kelsey Herb Lindsay Laurel Park Robin Sarris Hallop

Jamie Fallon Photo / Video

John Brabbs Judith Cutler Pat Davies Peter Draugalis Dave McCauley Greg Sadler Victah Sailer Matt Yacoub

Chief Financial Officer

Cheryl Clark

Contributors

Tracey Cohen Cynthia Cook Peter Derby Heather Dyc Larry Eder Gale Fisher Michael Heberling Jeff Hollobaugh Dean Johnson Tyrin Johnson Bill Kahn William Kalmar

Calendar January - February 2012 Featured Future Events

p. 43 p. 46

Features and Departments Editor’s Notes: The Running Dog By Scott Sullivan Michigan Runner of the Year: Lisa Veneziano By Bill Kahn Men’s Co-Runner of the Year: Kris Koster By Charles Douglas McEwen Contributor of the Year: Don Kern By Art McCafferty Michigan Man Sets 7-Continent Marathon Mark Michigan Qualifiers: U.S. Olympic Team Trials- Men’s & Women’s Marathon Men’s Co-Runner of the Year: Boaz Cheboiywo By Charles Douglas McEwen Female Runner of the Year: Dot McMahan By Tracey Cohen Male Senior Runner of the Year: Brian Olsen By Ron Marinucci Male Masters Runner of the Year: Eric Green By Charles Douglas McEwen Running Shorts with Scott Hubbard Female Senior Runner of the Year: Laura Cooper By Laura Cooper Beyond the Chip: Number 9 By Ian Forsyth Benton Reflects on 35-Year Daily Running Streak By Ron Marinucci Gary Morgan Receives USATF Jackie Joyner Kersee Award ‘Great Comebacks’ Winner Survives – and Thrives By Ron Marinucci Unfulfilled Goals; Gains Realized Nonetheless By Amanda Weaver 50-State Marathon Quest: The Agony and the Ecstasy By Anthony Targan Running with Tom Henderson

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Postmaster: Send Address changes to Michigan Runner,4007 Carpenter Rd., #366, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. All contents of this publication are copyrighted all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. All unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, and illustrations will not be returned unless accompanied by a properly addressed envelope, bearing sufficient postage; publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited materials. The views and opinions of the writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect endorsement and/or views of the Michigan Runner. Address all editorial correspondence, subscriptions, and race information to: Michigan Runner, 4007 Carpenter Rd., #366, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, (734) 507-0241, FAX (734) 434-4765, info@glsp.com, www.glsp.com.

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Vol. 33, No. 6

Ann Arbor Turkey Trot By Tracey Cohen Footlocker Cross Country Regionals Headless Horseman ‘Flying Finn,’ ‘Scream’ and ZZ Tops at State Cross Meet By Scott Sullivan GR Marathon Serves Up Spectrum of Speed and Quirks By Scott Sullivan Run Thru the Rapids By Scott Sullivan NCAA Division I Cross Country Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon Nakluski, Kryza Survive Winds for Detroit Wins By Charles Douglas McEwen Big House, Big Heart Draws Close to 15K By Charles Douglas McEwen 1,375 Santas Take On Flint By Bill Kahn Fifth Third, Parade Co. Turkey Trot Sets Turnout Mark By Charles Douglas McEwen Big Bird Flies for 33rd Year By Ron Marinucci Run Scream Run By Tracey Cohen Kensington Challenges Runners with New Course By Anthony Targan Rain Wreaks Run Woodstock Havoc, Fun By Tracey Cohen Wicked Halloween Cold as Dickens Run Draws Festive Crowd By Tracey Cohen Teens Win 5K, Veterans Dominate 10K at Jingle Bell Run By C.D. McEwen Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis

Cover: Michigan Runner of the Year, Lisa Veneziano.

Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

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Editor’s Notes

The Running Dog

By Scott Sullivan

M

arriage brings consistency. I can come home and count on things, like:

• There’s some crisis with the house and/or my wife’s life and it is my fault.

The bounding hound does — with vengeance. My wife named him “Lev” (from lyv, or lion, an ancient symbol of Bulgaria) and he is part Lab, part locomotive.

Lev is so full of energy and exuberance — Oh boy! A squirrel! Another dog! — that towing him on a leash is an arm amputation about to happen.

• Why have I made this happen? © Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

than poop, turn and bail for home — weren’t cutting it.

• How can I not know about it? Don’t I listen?

He is so fast (or I’m so slow) that he zigzags in front of At this point I do listen, through the screen that protects me to amuse himself, stopping when the mood strikes. Scott, men’s sanity, to learn a litany of woes have amassed that re- meet asphalt. duce to just one thing: me.

No runner worth his assault lets a few abrasions cut short his workout. But try washing bloodstains out of GoreSolving this isn’t easy. Luckily, my wife helped recently without meaning to by adopting a bounding hound I Tex or explaining, “Your Bulgarian lion tripped me.” can take for runs.

“Well, if you weren’t so clumsy …”

The incumbent dogs — an Old Boy who’s game but The worst problem with Lev is I can’t get mad at him. Pee tires quickly, and a Yapper who’s too short-legged to do more lakes on the porch? He chewed up my running shoes? Won’t let me write because he keeps plunking a drool-soaked squeak toy on my keyboard (Let’s play fetch!)? How can I be angry?

I played wishbone for Thanksgiving when the Old Boy, seeing I was dressing to take Lev running, made it clear he wanted to go too. Let’s see: two arms, two leashes, one poop scoop and two plastic bags “in case.”

The wishbone part came when Lev (on the leash in my right hand) bounded off while the Old Boy (left) stopped to sniff every post, pole, leaf and grass blade.

When the Old Boy delivered a solid waste product, I needed both hands to scoop and bag it. Not about to let dogs outsmart me, I stood on both leashes while …

Incoming cat! Off went Lev and out went my feet.

I would have preferred a less-fragrant landing.

Any delusions I’d had about coming home a hero for running both dogs vanished quickly.

What did I do to myself? And why didn’t I take the Yapper?

Why do guys like sports? Because shutouts are rarer in them than marriage. With Lev I at least have a fellow scapegoat. Running removes us both from the house, allowing for domesticity that is feminine bliss or at least like an echo chamber.

The bounding hound, as my cohort in chaos, assures that such situations are short-lived. He provides a service there are no words for.

Plus, now that I’ve hid his squeak toy, I can … Yuk! He just plunked his slobbered-up leash on my keyboard.

Sorry, gotta run …

- MR 8

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i

By Bill Khan

L

Detroit), that we’d never done before. We always like to do St. Patty’s Day races and ended up doing one that was different. I didn’t realize it was part of the series until after the fact.

That’s another really nice race we’re looking to put on our calendar.

isa Veneziano went to a tiny high school in central Pennsylvania that didn’t offer cross country or track and field.

The closest thing she had to competition was being on the sidelines as a cheerleader for the football and basketball teams at West Branch High School in Alport, Pa.

Veneziano racked up 145 total masters and open points, outdistancing co-open men’s winners Boaz Cheboiywo and Kris Koster by 45 points. She was the Michigan Female Masters Runner of the Year last year.

She was the first Michigan masters runner in the two most prestigious races in the state, the Fifth Third River Bank 25K Run and the Crim 10-mile. She was the first overall woman in the Milford Labor Day 30K, first master in the Mackinac Island 8-mile race and second Michigan master in the Dexter-Ann Arbor half marathon.

“I feel that I always have a chance of winning,” Veneziano said. “I’m really competitive, so whenever I go out, I lay it on the line and try to do the best I can. I feel I can still compete well, except for in the really big races with major elite competition. I never count myself out.”

Veneziano, who started running when she was 25, isn’t sure if she’d still be this competitive had she gone for broke during her high school and college years.

“It would be neat to see where I would’ve been if I’d had the coaching,” she said. “Every now and then, I think it would be neat to get a coach now, someone who could tell me exactly what I should be doing for training; I’ve never had that.

“On the other hand, I’m also grateful, because if I’d run in high school and college, I probably wouldn’t be able to run as long as an 10

Lisa Veneziano poses with her family near the shores of Lake Fenton. From left are: Lisa, son Connor, age 7, son Carter, age 10, and husband Jay Owens. adult. I’m not burnt out. I don’t have any major injuries. I think it’s a trade-off.”

Veneziano said her best race of 2011 was the Crim, where she covered the hilly 10-mile Flint course in 1:02:23. By taking second overall among masters to Romanian Natu Olaru, Veneziano won $1,000 for the biggest of her seven paydays there. She’s won $3,375 in Crim dollars, placing in the money the last three years.

“The Crim is usually a really good race for me,” she said. “As a runner, you can have a good race or a bad race; it’s just a matter of what body shows up that day. For some reason, I’m usually right on for the Crim. I think it’s because we gear towards it, because it’s the local big-time race.”

Veneziano said she doesn’t do Michigan Runner series events to chase points. She genuinely likes each of the races on their own merit.

“Each one of them has a character of its own,” she said. “Jay (Owens, her husband) and I really like all of those runs. It’s something we put on our calendar every year and do.

“There was one this year, Corktown (in

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© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

The Fenton resident was still winning road races as a 47-year-old in 2011, running times that would easily make her a state qualifier in high school cross country. Never content with merely being the top masters runner, she was competitive enough in the open division to win the overall 2011 Michigan Runner of the Year award.

Veneziano ran two marathons, three weeks apart, this year. She was the 15th woman in the Detroit Free Press Marathon Oct. 16 in 3:06:07, and the second masters woman at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Nov. 5 in 3:08:52.1.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

At times, she wonders how good she could have been had she run during those so-called prime years. She doesn’t dwell on it, though, because she has been redefining what is considered a runner’s prime for more than 20 years.

“There’s just a lot of great races in that series. It sounds like the points just added up.”

Lisa approaches the finish line of the 2011 Crim 10 Mile.

She is registered for the 2012 Boston Marathon, an event she hasn’t run since starting with the elite women’s field in 2009.

“I’m happy I haven’t slowed down a whole lot,” she said. “I’m very fortunate there, but most important is that I’m still able to run. I want to be able to continue that for as long as I live, because I really love running. I just like working out and the benefits you get from it.”

- MR -

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ASICS.COM

By Charles Douglas McEwen

K

Forsyth, of Ann Arbor, always expects a challenge when he faces off against Koster.

ristopher Koster, married near Christmastime 2010, not only captured the heart of his wife, Sarah, but won races and picked up points in the 2011 Michigan Runner of the Year Series.

“I’ve raced Kris head-to-head at 5K, 10K, 10 miles and 25K,” Forsyth said. “He’s always exceptionally hard to drop. I call him ‘Bulldog’ because he won’t let go, no matter the pace. He’s one of the toughest racers I’ve ever run against.”

Koster, 30, excelled especially at races close to the 10-mile distance. He won the Striders Saturday Classic 10-mile, timing 53:18, and the Meijer’s National Cherry Festival 15K (9.3 miles) with a PR of 48:55. At the Crim 10-mile, a race with more than 9,000 runners in it, he finished fourth among Michigan men in 51:03.

Altogether, Koster scored 100 points in the series, which tied him with Boaz Cheboiywo in the open men’s category.

“My best race of 2011 was probably the first serious one I ran: the Irish Jig 5K in Grand Rapids,” Koster said. “I ran quite a bit faster (14:44) than I had run there before and finished ahead of guys I’m more used to reading about in your magazine (after their own wins) than beating myself.”

Of the series races, Koster liked running the Striders event in Grandville, in part because his parents recently moved into a house on the course.

“The Cherry Festival is another beautiful course,” he said. “There’s nothing like running on the peninsula, over ‘Mount McKinley’ and spending time in Traverse City in early July. It’s a good tune-up for the Great Lakes Relay the next week, too.

“I like to race pretty often. It’s easier to stay motivated to train when there’s always another race coming up soon. If you plan them out properly, you can use smaller races to build up to the ones you’re really pointing towards.

“The two races I care most about doing well in each year are the River Bank Run and Crim,” he continued. “Although I placed higher (15th and 13th, respectively) in both races this year than ever before, I don’t think the fields were as deep and I wasn’t pleased with the way I closed at the end of either. I’ve raced tougher at both in the past, despite placing lower than I did this year.”

12

Photo by Scott Sullivan

In other MR Series races, Koster finished third among state men at the Fifth Third River Bank 25K Run (1:23:40), Diemer Amerikam 5K (15:06) and Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon (2:35:49).

Koster calls himself a late bloomer. “I finished 167th as a high school junior and 86th as a senior in the state cross country meet,” he remembered. He bloomed as a runner at Calvin, where he was a three-time Division III All-American.

“I’d say my strong suit is hanging in there and grinding out a hard pace,” he said. “Kicking is probably my greatest liability.”

Kris Koster won the Striders Saturday Classic 10 Mile.

As a Calvin College graduate, Koster had Brian Diemer, Al Hoekstra and Rob Hyde as coaches, and he competes in the Diemer 5K every June.

“It must be the aura of Brian’s hometown of Cutlerville that gives me extra strength,” Koster said. “This year was almost a disaster, though. I locked my keys, flats and singlet in my car before the race, and sprinted around the starting area frantically looking for my wife (who had come later in her car to watch the race).

“I found her and got a spare key about 10 minutes before the start,” he remembered. “I ran about a mile round-trip from there to my car, put my stuff on and got back to the start with maybe a minute to spare.

“Ian Forsyth just shook his head when he saw me dash to the starting area. When I told him after the race what had happened, he chastised me for locking my car in the first place.

‘You’re at a race; just leave it open,’ Ian said.

“Whatever the case, I was just glad I didn’t miss it. The Diemer Run is fun every year — the course is blazing fast, the prize money goes 10 deep (which always lures a competitive field) and by early June I’m usually chomping at the bit to get the summer racing season off to a good start. Having Ian there gets me even more fired up.”

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Forsyth begs to differ. “Kris will tell you he has a weak kick, but when he starts to hammer for home from way out there, he’ll take your kick out of you,” Forsyth said.

Koster often runs cross country races for the Playmakers Racing Team and its coach, Jim Robinson. He is also an assistant cross country and track coach at Grand Rapids Christian High School, where he helped coach his younger sister, Jessica. She went on to become an all-American runner at Calvin too.

His father and brother also run road races.

“My entire family is into running,” Koster said. “My mom doesn’t run herself, but she’s a passionate spectator. I can always figure out how close the guy behind me is in the homestretch by listening to the pitch of her cheers; the higher her voice gets, the closer I am to getting kicked down.

“Being named Runner of the Year by your magazine is a special honor for me,” he continued. “I’ve read every copy of Michigan Runner I’ve been able to get my hands on since I began running competitively in high school, and I probably still have most of those issues filed away somewhere.

“It’s always been a highlight to read about past runners of the year like Paul Aufdemberge, Kyle Baker, Nick Stanko and others who I’ve looked up to and dreamed of one day being able to race with.

“It seems ridiculous to consider myself tied with Boaz for this award, seeing as he beat me handily every time we raced this year. But I guess the points system has a bit of a tortoiseand-hare element to it.” - MR -

Contributor of the Year:

Michigan Man Sets 7-Continent Marathon Mark

By Art McCafferty

Don Kern at the start of the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon

Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon race director Don Kern is one of my clients and, as such, I must give full disclosure here. I have worked with him in promoting his marathon and related events since they started.

He has grown them with care and class.

Don’s most recent “cool adventure” (see http://www.cooladventures.net) resulted in a new Guinness World Record for running a marathon on each continent in the shortest amount of time. Michigan Runner and The Running Network helped sponsor the odyssey and have chronicled it on our Internet TV channels. This was Don’s third attempt at the record; as he finished his last race in Antarctica, we can only guess at how fulfilling the moment was for him.

The positive impact of Don’s adventures on the running public has been immense. His zest for our sport is contagious. One only has to note the growth of the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon in eight years.

Those of you who have run it have likely hugged Don or shaken his hand as you crossed the finish line. By then, you’ve become familiar with his thoughtful and friendly pre-race emails and the quiet confidence they imbue.

The Michigan running community is fortunate to have Don in such a leadership role. While many of our event directors are amazingly talented, few have done the job with such passion and panache. During the 30-plus years I have been MR publisher, there have been others I would put in that category. Ed Kozloff, who is still creating and managing events for the Motor City Striders, is one. Ron Gunn, our first Michigan Runner of the Year who now creates running and walking adventures for hundreds of people each year, is another. Yet another is Randy Step, who with co-owner Steve Angerman has built Running Fit into an award-winning fitness company.

One wonders what goals are left for a man who has just about logged enough miles to circumnavigate the earth, and run more than 200 marathons which have taken him to 20-plus countries, all 50 states and all seven continents three times. Instead of wondering, click on his website to find out what’s next.

Photo courtesy o Don Kern

Normally, such decisions are made by editor Scott Sullivan or associate publisher Jennie McCafferty. But from time to time I venture an opinion on the subject — and this is one of them.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

C

ontributor of the Year is the one Michigan Runner award that requires staff decisions. Our other MR honors are earned through success on the roads, trails or track during the year and based on a pre-announced points scale.

Don Kern competed in the Antarctic Ice Marathon, Union Glacier Camp, Antarctica

T

he third time was charmed for Don Kern’s bid to set a Guinness World Record for running marathons on all seven continents in the shortest time.

The Grand Rapids resident completed the Antarctic Ice Marathon Dec. 1, capping his world-spanning effort in 25 days, 18 hours and 10 minutes. The previous record, set by Richard Takata of Canada in 2007, was 29 days, 16 hours and 17 minutes.

Kern, founder and race director of the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon, twice fell shy of his goal in 2007. He ran seven continents in 35 days in February-March that year, only to learn afterward that Takata had done so more quickly during an overlapping same time span.

Later that year, in another effort to run all seven continents in 25 days, Kern had to wait eight days until weather cleared to run the event in Antarctica. Still, he finished the cycle twice within 307 days and the same calendar year, both thought to be world records.

Kern’s successful bid this time included the Soweto Marathon in South Africa Nov. 6; Maratona Ticino in Switzerland Nov. 13; Maratona CAIXA de Curitiba in Brazil Nov. 20; Fukuchiyama Marathon in Japan Nov. 23; Speight’s West Coaster in Bethel’s Beach, New Zealand, Nov. 26; Space Coast Marathon in Cocoa, Fla., Nov. 27; and the Ice Marathon at Union Glacier Camp, Antarctica, Dec. 1.

For a firsthand account of Kern’s quest and record, go online to michiganrunner.tv.

- MR -

Don Kern, an amazing person and a very cool individual, is our Contributor of the Year.

- MR 14

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Michigan Runner TV http://michiganrunner.tv/2011seven_continents/

Michigan Qualifiers: U.S. Olympic Team Trials Men’s & Women’s Marathon

Photo by Victah Sailer / photorun.net

Photo by Victah Sailer / photorun.net

U.S. Olympic Team Trials Houston January 14, 2011

Dathan Ritzenhein

Desiree Davila

Men's Qualifying Times

Women's Qualifying Times

All are expenses paid A Standard: 2:19 marathon 1:05 half marathon 28:30 10,000

Expenses Paid A Standard: 2:39 marathon B Standard: 2:46 marathon 1:15 half 33:00 10,000

Best Qualifying Time

Name

Race City

Best Qualifying Time

Name

Race City

2:10:00

Dathan Ritzenhein (OR)

London

2:22:38

Desiree Davila (MI)

Boston

2:11:06

Jason Hartmann (CO)

Chicago

2:31:01

Katie McGregor (MN)

New York

2:14:39

Luke Humphrey (MI)

San Diego

2:31:48

Dot McMahan (MI)

Duluth

2:14:55

Mike Morgan (MI)

Chicago

2:31:52

Molly Pritz (MI)

New York

2:16:31

Brian Sell (PA)

Boston

2:33:09

Melissa White (MI)

San Diego

2:16:36

Drew Polley (MI)

Boston

2:35:23

Kathy Newberry (MI)

New York

2:16:52

Sage Canaday (MI)

San Diego

2:37:44

Andrea Pomaranski (MI)

Phoenix

2:16:54

Zach Hine (MI)

Boston

2:41:28

Sharon Thompson (TN)

Chicago

2:17:41

Chad Johnson (MI)

Boston

2:43:35

Michele Suszek (CO)

Virginia Beach

2:18:52

Matthew Fecht (MI)

Duluth

2:43:55

Erin O'Mara (MI)

Sacramento

2:18:56

Clint Verran (MI)

Sacramento

2:44:06

Ashley Carroll (CA)

Sacramento

1:02:26

Stephan Shay (CA)

Houston

2:44:38

Erin Richard (MI)

Houston

1:04:21

Tim Young (MI)

New Orleans

2:44:49

Jacklyn Rzepecki (MI)

Chicago

1:04:28

Jeremy Criscione (MI)

New York

2:44:55

Serena Kessler (MI)

Detroit

1:04:38

Ryan Sheehan (MI)

Ann Arbor

2:45:01

Katie Jazwinski (MI)

Grand Rapids

1:04:43

Nick Stanko (MI)

Houston

2:45:12

Lavenna Mullenbach (MI)

Minneapolis

1:04:52

Robert Scribner (MI)

Traverse City

2:45:58

Amy Hauswirth (MI)

Detroit

1:04:54

Paul Hefferon (MI)

Philadelphia

1:04:56

Brian Medivogich (MI)

San Jose

16

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Male Co-Runner of the Year:

By Charles Douglas McEwen

H

ners) in the Brian Diemer Amerikam 5K in Cutlerville (14:28). All of this gave him 100 points, tying him with Kris Koster for open men’s runner of the year.

e stands 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 114 pounds, but he presents a formidable force when he toes the starting line of a race.

Cheboiywo won the 2001 NCAA Division I cross country championship, the first EMU runner to achieve that feat. The next year, he won the NCAA Division I outdoor 10,000-meter championship.

Cheboiywo also has mindboggling PRs of 3:52 for the mile, 13:19 for 5K, 27:44 for 10K, 47:36 for 10 miles and 2:21:40 for the marathon.

Photo by Greg Sadler / sadlershots.com

Boaz Cheboiywo, 33, of Ypsilanti, came to the United States from Kenya to attend Eastern Michigan University just over a decade ago and found quick success as a runner.

Boaz Cheboiywo competes in the Dexter Ann Arbor Half Marathon.

Since his college days, our Male CoRunner of the Year has dominated many state races. His more recent accomplishments include winning the often cold and blustery Spectrum Health Irish Jig 5K in East Grand Rapids six of the last seven years. (He holds the course record there at 14:14.)

At the hot and hilly Solstice Run in Northville, he has won the 10-mile the last two years and owns the course record of 50:49, which he set in 2010.

And at the super-competitive Crim 10mile in Flint, Cheboiywo has finished as high as third overall and been the top state finisher for the last five years.

In 2011, he finished second overall in the ING Miami Half Marathon Jan. 30 in 1:07:33.

He ran fast in long races such as the Pittsburgh Marathon (2:27:17) and short ones like the Firecracker Mile in Clawson (4:13).

He ran well in MR Race Series races too.

Along with his 49:21 finish at Crim, Cheboiywo finished second overall in the Dexter-Ann Arbor half-marathon (1:08:14).

He was third overall (first among state run-

18

Growing up near the city of Eldoret, western Kenya, Cheboiywo had to run or walk everywhere he wanted to go, including to school each day. “Getting from place to place, it was your only transportation,” he said.

Though he had that solid base, Cheboiywo hesitated at first to get involved in competitive running, preferring to concentrate on his studies. His brother, David Kisang, a talented runner himself, encouraged him to do a few races.

Then he did a few more. And so on ...

Nowadays, running consumes a lot of his waking hours. When he trains for a marathon, Cheboiywo often averages 120 miles a week. He also coaches and personally trains 16 clients. “I’m jampacked,” he said of his busy schedule.

His wife, Stacy, recently gave birth to their first child. “She’s a beautiful girl,” Cheboiywo said. Being a parent “is the best feeling you can imagine, by a mile.”

In the not too distant future, Cheboiywo would like to have another child — maybe a boy, he said.

He still believes he can win the Crim.

“I’ve come close two times,” said Cheboiywo, who finished third in 2008 a few seconds behind the winner, and again in 2009 when he ran his 47:36 PR. “I want to win so bad!”

He also believes he can still chase down some of his PRs, particularly the 2:21:40 he ran in the 2008 ING New York City Marathon.

“I’m always wanting to improve — every race,” he said.

- MR -

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

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Ann Arbor Turkey Trot

Ann Arbor Turkey Trot: 6Year Tradition Grows

By Tracey Cohen

ANN ARBOR (11/24/11) – “A nice touch,” police said.

“Quite the coincidence,” race director Ron Suffolk added as he and officers worked to cajole the wild turkey who laid claim to the course just moments before winner Brian Hernandez finished in 16:11, edging Kaleb Keyserling by two seconds.

“It’s like running up north,” said Suffolk of the venue for his sixth annual Turkey Trot 5K, held on the University of Michigan’s North Campus. “Where else would you see a live turkey on Thanksgiving morning?”

Nearly 1,700 runners and walkers, three deer and one bird enjoyed this growing tradition for runners near and far.

Ann Arbor natives and Burns Park race directors Joel and Jackie Dalton trot here each Thanksgiving. “It’s always fun and well organized,” said Joel, adding of this year’s t-shirt design, “I like the feathers on the butt!”

“Our whole family came,” said Michelle Ritter, now living in Chicago. “It’s a really good time!”

Suffolk reversed course direction this year to accommodate the record turnout. “We wanted to allow for more distance between the runners,” he explained.

“The last hill was rough, but it was a good challenge,” Ritter said.

“I enjoyed seeing all the people in costumes,” said her cousin, Brad Langland of Monroe. He vowed to be back next year.

For complete results and information on next year’s event, visit http://www.theturkeytrot.com.

Tracey Cohen can be reached at runtrace2000@yahoo.com.

- MR -

Female Runner of the Year:

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

By Tracey Cohen

“I

school once her daughter is ready for the same.

“I want to do something in healthcare,” she said. “I’d like to promote healthy living as a chosen lifestyle.”

t was a great surprise,” said Dot McMahan, Michigan Runner’s 2011 Female Runner of the Year.

“I didn’t set out to do it,” said McMahan, 35, a HansonsBrooks Distance Project member since 2005. “I would like to actually do more races in the series after I retire. At this point in my career, we focus more on training than racing.”

The Wisconsin native enjoys spending time with Tim, Elizabeth and “our extended Michigan family,” playing outside, cooking and baking.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

McMahan earned women’s high-point honors finishing second woman overall at the Fifth Third River Bank 25K Run (1:28:38) and first Michigan woman at the Crim 10-mile (55:52), which she called a “rust buster” after running a personal record 2:31:48 at Grandma’s Marathon.

When not training or racing, McMahan “spends every free moment” with her daughter and Tim, her husband of 11 years.

Dot McMahan finishes the 2011 Crim 10 mile.

She seeks a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic women’s marathon team and is gearing up for the trials in Houston Jan. 14.

McMahan calls her bid a long shot, but assistant coach Corey Kubatzky has faith in her.

“Dot is one of the toughest athletes I’ve ever met. She knows how to get the most out of herself,” he said.

For all her success as a runner, McMahan said her best moments in life surround her daughter, Elizabeth Brooke, age 2.

“She’s made me a better person and keeps me in check,” said McMahan. “Everything I teach her I must follow myself, including enjoying life day by day and not sweating the small stuff. I’m way more ‘chill’ than I used to be.

“Since having my daughter, I’ve allowed myself to dream big because I’ve already accomplished a lot of my running goals.”

Though she “cannot imagine a life without running,” McMahan plans to go back to

McMahan at first resisted when Tim was offered a job in Michigan, but she found the running community here as strong as it was in her home state and maintains our “dirt roads and trail systems are hard to beat.”

She is grateful to Keith and Kevin Hanson for taking “a huge risk by adding a self-proclaimed middledistance runner that had just started dabbling in half marathons” to their program.

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“Dot’s awesome,” said teammate Erin Richard. “She’s fun to train with - so encouraging and she works hard.

“We’re really proud of her,” said Richard of McMahan winning MR honors. “She deserves it.”

McMahan’s own advice: Train like a machine, race, take a break, repeat.

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“We have some mighty fine runners in Michigan,” she said. “I’m honored to be considered Michigan Runner of the Year.”

Tracey Cohen can be reached at runtrace2000@yahoo.com.

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Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

19

Male Senior Runner of the Year:

By Ron Marinucci

W

Olsen ran 23 races in 2011. “I usually compete in about 10 or 12,” he said. “I felt worn out in my last few races and couldn’t wait to take a break.”

hen Brian Olsen turned 50 last January, he set goals for 2011. Having won Michigan Runner’s Male Masters Runner of the Year award in 2004, “I set a goal to win the award again as a senior,” he declared.

Still, he ran his last race of the season, the Dinosaur Dash, in 16:42, his fastest 5K of the year. “I was pleased,” he said, “especially since I hadn’t specifically trained for that event.”

This goal, among other ambitious ones, was met. Olsen amassed 78 points in the MR Series.

Runner-up Chris Glowacki tallied 33, while third-place finisher Bob Horan scored 27.

Olsen is the head men’s and women’s cross country coach at Jackson Community College, where Martha is an assistant. Before then, he was the Jackson High School track and cross country coach.

“My progress went smoothly,” Olsen said.

“I started running when I was 16 as a member of the Grand Haven High School track team,” he remembered. “As a sophomore, I was recruited and encouraged to run by my physical education teacher, Mr. Root, who also coached cross country.”

Olsen moved to Jackson High School, where he ran for coach Charlie Janke during his senior year. “What a great program and coach I had!” he exclaimed. Olsen won the state Class A two-mile run and was a threetime all-stater.

He was an all-American runner at Jackson Community College, then transferred to Oklahoma State University. “Other than a few minor setbacks with injuries, I have never stopped running since graduating,” Olsen said.

He continues to run for a variety of reasons. “I love the competition,” he enthused. “I like the social aspect of meeting new people, catching up with old friends and traveling with my wife to road races. I like the feeling of being in shape and seeing how long I can run with the younger guys.”

Olsen is keeping up with the youth just fine. At the Alma Highland Festival 8-Mile, an MR Series race, he was not only the first masters and senior runner, but also first overall in 47:44, age-graded to 41:46. He consistently placed among the top masters runners in other races too.

In other Series races, Olsen was the first senior at the St. Patrick’s 8K (28:16, agegraded to 25:21), Striders 10-Mile (59:08, 53:21) and Cherry Festival 15K (56:01, 50:30).

At the Fifth Third River Bank 25K, he was the second senior (1:35:26, 1:26:31). Olsen 20

“JCC decided to start sports again after a 25-year hiatus,” he explained. “I ran there in 1980-81, the last season before they eliminated the program.”

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

He’s no stranger to running, having pounded the track, trails and roads for almost 35 years.

Olsen was hired at JCC in June 2006. “I was approached, or you could say recruited, by the new athletic director, Steve Bloomfield,” he remembered. “I put men’s and women’s teams together in about six weeks.

Brian Olsen runs the Dexter Ann Arbor Half Marathon. was third among seniors at the Crim 10-mile (59:41, 53:30).

“I have to give credit to my wife, Martha, who is a great motivator and good masters runner herself,” said Olsen. “Thanks also goes to our chiropractor, Dr. Michael Hughes, who I see on a regular basis so I can keep in tune and be ready for my next competition.”

Martha had good racing season too. In the Lansing area Playmaker Series of Races, she placed first, outscoring the runner-up 87 points to 38.

As if his goal of winning the MR Series wasn’t enough, Brian Olsen added an extra challenge: to win the Playmaker Series in Lansing and Citizen Patriot Series in Jackson as a grand masters runner.

He did that, finishing as the first senior in nine of the 10 Playmakers races he entered; his 87 points more than doubled those of the runner-up. In the Citizen Patriot Series, he won not only the senior division but the masters division.

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

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“It wasn’t an easy decision to leave coaching at the high school because my daughter, Hanna, was still running there,” he continued.

But there was an upside to that family dilemma. “She decided to run for JCC two years later,” Olsen said.

Olsen’s JCC teams have fared well, especially considering they started from scratch.

Both the men and women have finished sixth or higher in Region XII of the National Junior College Athletic Association every year since 2006. In 2011, the women’s team placed 10th at the national junior college meet in New Mexico.

“Due to my work schedule, most of my runs are on my own,” Olsen said. “I do run with the teams during the cross country season, just the distance runs. As a coach, I typically don’t do the harder workouts with them because I like to observe how they are handling the workouts.”

For himself, “I race better than I train,” Olsen said. “I’m not saying that I don’t train hard. It’s just that some people race better than they train. I am one of them.

“With all the racing this year, I did not do a lot of workouts,” he continued. “When I decide to do one, I prefer the track; it’s easily measurable and flat.

“Most people consider pace workouts bor-

By Charles Douglas McEwen

E

“This year’s Free Press was the worst ever for me,” Green said. “The time was second worst in the 11 years I have run it. My training for the race deteriorated in September when I had to report for federal jury duty for four weeks. This interfered with my last month of training (before the marathon), since my mileage went down and I was too tired to get in the long runs. My other races during that time suffered too.” (Green was top master in the Kensington Challenge 15K for a fourth straight year, but his time was much slower than in past years.)

ric Green, 44, of Pontiac keeps adding to his collection of Michigan Runner of the Year awards.

“I have a streak of running competitively for 25 years without a running-related injury,” Green said. “It’s more important than any winning streak.

“The law of averages says it will have to end sooner or later,” he went on. “The streak of winning Runner of the Year awards has been fun, but every year it gets tougher. The new masters coming up in 2012 — especially Ian Forsyth and a couple other studs who are turning 40 — will make it even tougher.”

Green had stiff competition this year too.

He earned 80 points in the series, just 10 ahead of David Chomet. Hank Risley and Esteban Vanegas were also in the mix with 55 points each.

Green said of his friend Chomet, “He is

Brian Olsen, continued. ing, but I thrive on them. They’ll range anywhere from repeat 200s all the way up to repeat miles. My pace is dependent on what my next race is … a short 5K or a 10-miler to a half marathon.

“I’m not a high-mileage runner. I never was when I was younger. If I run 2,000 miles a year, it’s a good year. That’s only averaging about 40 miles a week.”

Although Olsen was taking a “break” as we spoke, he was already setting goals for 2012.

“It’s not too early to tell,” he said. “I explain to my athletes that it’s important to set goals, keep a running log and verbalize goals to others. By telling others about your goals, it makes you accountable and you have to work harder toward those goals.

“Hmm … I’m sticking my neck out a little.

How about a sub-16:00 5K for a 51-year-old?

I have a plan!” he said.

- MR -

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

In 2009, Green won his first Masters Runner of the Year title. Last year, he graced the cover of this magazine as the open Runner of the Year. This year he claimed the Male Masters crown again.

In the Free Press, Green finished right behind Paul Aufdemberge, last year’s Male Masters Runner of the Year. “Paul’s longevity in the sport is one of the things that motivates me,” Green said.

Eric Green was top master at the Dexter Ann Arbor Half Marathon. great to train with and brought out the best in me ... as well as the worst. I did well in the series during the first half of the year, but as Dave got in better shape he really came on.”

Green finished first state or overall master at the Fifth Third River Bank 25K (1:31:09), Dexter-Ann Arbor half marathon (1:15:51) and Steve’s Run 10K (36:00). He finished behind Chomet in the Crim 10-mile and Milford Labor Day 30K. (Green finished fifth among Michigan masters at Crim in 57:56 and second among all masters at Mildford in 1:59:54.)

Outside the series, Green finished eighth overall (2:47:40) at the Glass City Marathon in Toledo, Ohio. He ran his fastest and maybe best race of the year at the Run for the Hills 10K in Farmington in August; timing 34:04, he edged Chomet by five seconds. They placed second and third overall behind Kevin Smith.

“Dave was basically stride for stride with me the whole way,” Green remembered. “As soon I saw that last downhill to the finish, I got all my energy together and went for it.”

On the downside, Green fell to 31st overall (2:51:38) in the Detroit Free Press/Talmar Bank Marathon after capturing fifth overall (2:38:54) last year.

michiganrunner.net

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Overall, he views 2011 positively. “Last year, I think I won $1,800 in race prize money,” Green said. “This year, the total was $2,300, so that goal was met.”

Green gets help from his friends when training.

“I would like to thank Kevin Kaspzyk, who ran with me every Sunday for my long run during spring and summer. Dave Chomet trained with me and pushed me in series races.

“I especially thank Leo Foley and Shane Logan, who worked around my schedule to run with me and took me to the Glass City Marathon,” he continued. “Those two were on last year’s Michigan Runner cover with me and are the best training partners an older man could have.”

Green, an Oakland Community College physical education building manager and assistant cross country coach, also receives support from his wife, Julia, his 14-year-old son and 16-year-old twin daughters.

“The girls drove with me all the way out to Dowagiac (150 miles from their home) for Steve’s Run just to support their daddy,” Green said.

He also appreciates his Runner of the Year awards and can occasionally be seen warming up in a Michigan Runner t-shirt before races.

During races, he wears t-shirts of Front Line Racing, a team he has belonged to for more than a decade.

- MR -

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

21

Running Shorts with Scott Hubbard Herb pulled away and was out of sight by six miles, coming around the west side of the island. I wrestled with racing the Mid-Michigan guys because I knew they didn’t count, but my competitive fire kept me near them.

Herb won in about 39:00 and continued his great running into the early ‘80s, twice being voted World Male Road Racer of the Year by Runner magazine in ‘79 and ‘80.

I gradually lost ground to my competition but finished in a happy 40:28. Then I had to nervously explain to officials I ran under an assumed name. Luckily, there was only mild protest and I was awarded second place.

Scott Hubbard Trivia: What are the dates for the 30th Olympic Summer Games in London?

25 Things To Be Happy About: 1. Getting your registration in before a race closes entries due to field limits. The Boston Marathon is the only race with a dual registration process; qualify by time and wait your turn to enter via a newly-revised entry set-up.

The first big race, outside Boston, I recall with a size limit was Grandma’s Marathon in the 1980s. Perhaps the first Michigan race with an entry cap was the 1978 Mackinac Island 8-mile.

The Mid-Michigan Track Club and St. Ignace Kiwanis had been holding separate races on the island a week apart around Labor Day for six or seven years prior to ‘78. Only the Kiwanis were given a race permit that year, and with concerns about how to manage and time the “burgeoning” race field, entries were limited to 600.

I didn’t make the cut, but a friend who did get in was unable to go and urged me to use his number. Fine by me! I went up north with another friend who had family in St. Ignace. The race started at Windermere Point in the downtown area and went counterclockwise.

The Mid-Michigan TC was the first to hold a race around the Island in ‘71 and several club members wore t-shirts that had “7th annual” crossed out (in reference to the Kiwanis year) with an “8th annual” next to or under it. Interestingly, the Kiwanis white race t-shirt was fairly generic with “Mackinac Island Road Race” on the front —nothing about the distance or year.

As the race got underway, Herb Lindsay, an acquaintance and recent MSU grad at the time, bolted to the lead. I settled in with a couple Mid-Michigan TC runners who ran without race numbers (they hadn’t got in either).

22

2. Marathon & Beyond magazine; go to http://www.marathonandbeyond.com for subscription info.

3.

Being inspired by others.

4.

Listening to your coach tell stories.

Mackinac Island before the Great Turtle races in October. We were Ann Arbor Huron mates in ‘69-‘70. In the ‘69 team photo, Ken is right behind me and next to me is Kent Overbey, still coaching through fall 2011.

19. Races where you enter early enough to get your name printed in bold above the number on your bib.

20. Running with your eyes closed for several minutes with a hand on a friend’s elbow for guidance.

21. Marshall Ulrich’s new book “Running on Empty,” the story of an accomplished ultramarathoner’s 2008 run across America at age 57.

From west to east, Ulrich covered 3,063 miles in 52 days. The book touches on his introduction to running and what drove him to pursue the edges of endurance. It’s a gritty tale of perseverance and encounters along the long road.

22. Running your age in minutes for 10K.

5. For the cyclists out there, knowing how to fix a flat out on the open road or trail.

6.

Pizza, Rice Krispies Treats, chocolate milk.

7. The 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon for men and women in Houston in mid-January.

8.

Dogs behind invisible fences.

9. Humming a song that puts you in a happy, calm place.

10. Letter jackets or sweaters.

11. The Michigan High School Athletic Association Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals held at Michigan International Speedway every year since 1996.

12. Community college cross country programs.

13. Reading running and training books published before World War II. 14. The abundance of good weekend racing weather from late summer through fall 2011.

15. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association calls its outdoor track and field championships “Field Day,” a throwback to an earlier era of the sport. The MIAA, founded in 1888, is America’s oldest collegiate conference.

16. Winter races that give gloves or caps instead of tees or sweatshirts.

17. On an out/back run, going around one more curve or over one more hill to see what lies beyond.

18. Running into an old high school teammate.

I bumped into Ken Herman outside Horn’s on

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

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23. The Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank half marathon.

24. The scourges of winter running are highly overrated. Put on some clothes and get out there!

25. Sports banquets. Nov. 12 was a long, busy, special day for me that started 90 miles from home at the NCAA Division 1 Great Lakes regional cross-country meet, hosted by the University of Toledo. Top teams and individuals qualified for the national championships in Terre Haute, Ind., nine days later. It was a return to my roots in running and I got to call the action as announcer on a pretty afternoon at Ottawa Park. I enjoyed my “job,” being part of such an important event and talking with friends.

That evening, the Eastern Michigan University men held their cross-country banquet and I was honored with the Eastern Man award, given to those who have made valuable contributions to the program. In my case, I ran for the Hurons from 1970 to ’74 and have announced home meets since 2000. Among other things, I was on the first EMU sports team to win a MidAmerican Conference championship when our ‘73 cross-country team won in Athens, Ohio. As a junior and senior I was a team co-captain with future EMU Hall of Famer Gordon Minty.

The long tradition of EMU cross-country success, which stretches back to the 1940s, was further enhanced with another MAC championship team win in 2011.

I spoke with athletic director Dr. Derrick Gragg before the banquet and said about the award, “Thinking about it makes you stop and remember all that’s happened, all the people you’ve encountered along the way and the work

Female Senior Runner of the Year:

By Ron Marinucci

“I

Older but not slower. The Kent City resident set PRs at different distances en route to winning Michigan Runner’s Female Senior Runner of the Year award.

It wasn’t Cooper’s first MR award. She was 2008 Female Masters Runner of the Year.

Cooper “wasn’t really surprised. I’d been following it, keeping track of points,” she said. “But it’s very nice.” She accumulated 62 series points, more than tripling tallies scored by her nearest competitors Donna Olson and Laura Maslar.

Photo courtesy of Laura Cooper

was excited about it, a new age group,” said Laura Cooper about turning 50 last year. “It softens the blow about getting older.”

first masters and second overall.

years. “Just on and off when the kids were growing up,” she said.

She ran a 1:44:54 PR (age-graded 1:32:09) for the River Bank 25K, where she was the first Michigan senior woman and third masters woman.

“It was really a good race,” she said.

She began running “full-fledged in 1996. I really don’t know how I started. I guess I just finally had the time.”

She ran the Sparta Apple Run 5K soon after that. “I did well. Which fueled my desire to race more,” Cooper said.

“I was shocked at Diemer to get under 19 minutes,” Cooper added. Her 18:57 (16:33) led the senior women and was the third fastest among masters.

A non-series race, the Bayshore Laura Cooper 10K, “was another PR for me. I was the And she did so in only three MR first-place woman for Series races: the Striders Classic, Fifth Third the first five miles,” she recalled. “Then some River Bank 25K Run and Brian Diemer 5K. young girl (Andrea Ripley) in her 20s zipped by me.” Cooper finished as the overall “I’m not real good about traveling,” said women’s runner-up in 39:12 (34:24), only 16 Cooper of those events, all near her homeseconds back. town. “I should try some new races. I ran a 5K in Comstock Park for the first time a few There was one downside to Cooper’s seaweeks ago and really liked it.” son: an injury to her toe. “I snagged it on a box of kitty litter waiting to go downstairs,” At the Striders 10-mile, Cooper finished in she said. “I was off a couple weeks.” The in1:07:08 (age-graded 59:28. It was not only jury caused her to miss running a 5K in Frankgood enough for first senior woman, but also fort, where she was born.

Running Shorts, continued. involved. I’m happy with how everything’s gone and pleased to get an award like this that lets you know others appreciate what you’ve done.”

Cooper set a Frankfort High School record in the mile, then ran little for the next 17

“My favorite distance is probably the 5K, then the 25K. I know that’s a gap,” she laughed. She ran a marathon and “didn’t care for it. It takes a lot out of you. It isn’t worth the fatigue and chance of injury.”

“Chance of injury” also directs her training. “I seem to do about 40 miles a week,” she said. “Fifty is my upper limit. I try to be consistent and listen to my body.

“I don’t do track or speed work,” she continued. “It brings on injuries. I do all my running on the roads early, at about 4:30 or 5 in the morning — before I have a chance to think about it. I can do 10- or 13-mile runs and not see more than one or two cars.”

To help stave off injuries, she sees a chiropractor who gives active release massage.

Cooper still gets a lot from running and racing. “I guess it’s my thing, something I can excel at,” she said. “It’s nice to have a passion – sewing, knitting or something.”

She doesn’t plan to rest on her 2011 laurels.

Besides trying new races in 2012, Cooper has general goals for the year. “I would like more PRs,” she said. “I don’t know if I’m up to it, but I’d like to get under 18:00 in the 5K.” - MR -

Pot O' Gold 2012_sixth horizontal 12/8/11 6:21 PM Page 1

31st Annual

In a semi-joking way I’ve also said, “The list of others who have won the Eastern Man award reads like a ‘Who’s who’ in EMU history. I’ll be the first to win as a ‘Who’s he?’”

You don’t set out to win awards like this; it’s the work that’s the most satisfying.

I’m happiest when on task or putting in cycling or running miles. The glory’s in the doing.

with 1/4 mile Little Blarney kids run

Medals to All Finishers

Saturday

For more information contact

Complete Runner

March 17, 2012 Answer: The Games will be held July 27 through Aug. 12.

- MR -

5:30 pm • Kearsley St. Downtown Flint

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Best After Party !

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Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

23

Footlocker Cross Country Regionals

LIndsey Burdette Regionals: 9th) 17:43 Nationals: 14th) 17:55 All American

Photo by Victah Sailer / photorun.net

Photo by Victah Sailer / photorun.net

Photo by Victah Sailer / photorun.net

Photo by Victah Sailer / photorun.net

Photo by Victah Sailer / photorun.net

Kenosha, Wisconsin, November 26, 2011 Five Michigan Runners Compete in Footlocker Championships

Erin Finn (bib 1) Regionals: 3rd) 17:34 Nationals: 2nd) 17:23 All American Molly Seidel of Wisconsin (bib 2) won the Footlocker Championship 17:21

Evan Chiplock Regionals: 6th) Nationals:

Julia Bos Regionals: 2nd) 17:14 Nationals: 10th) 17:39 All American

Taylor Manett Regionals: 4th) 17:35 Nationals: 25th) 18:16

Headless Horseman

Alex Kulick (bib 1075), Jennifer Kulick (bib 1077) and Mara Metler (bib 1072) 24

Adam Sulkowski (bib 80), Anson Ratke (bib 75)

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

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© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Howell, October 22, 2011

Nicole Heyboer

Gary Morgan

Beyond the Chip

Number 9

By Ian Forsyth

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

As meaningless as words become, rendered upon rolling eyes, I was undaunted. Every few days I’d lend her gems I had locked in my vault of self-indulgent running rhetoric, hoping to effect at least a smidgeon of positive influence.

The premier experiential excerpt I tossed my daughter’s way is something I solemnly believe now, but never would have accepted at her age; all you can expect of yourself is to run as hard as you can.

Until not too long ago, I judged each race purely by results, not the effort put in. Upon finally understanding this most basic of premises, I’m enjoying racing much more by simply focusing on giving what I’ve got, rather than worrying if I’m going to have enough. I was hoping my daughter would stumble this way well before I did.

I wish that I knew what I know now When I was younger I wish that I knew what I know now When I was stronger — Ronnie Wood-Faces

B

usting from the trees, she pushed onto the flat, motion suddenly mirroring those pictures of her mother, now hanging dustily. I watched, mind agape, not altogether surprised but silently stunned; she was getting it.

Smoothly hammering from the front, she had popped an unexpected aggression, slicing a bolt of fear through my heightened state. Innocent of strategy, she had instinctually gone do-or-die.

The two widespread options given her were to hang tight as possible through to successful summation or fall off in a pool of whimpering, dejected mess; unlikely to go again.

Eleven-year-old girls, wrapped in the glorious middle school world of omniscience and spurned parental viability, certainly don’t seek advice of their fathers. Knowing the inflated possibility of my oldest daughter’s nonchalant dismissal of cross country simply because I favored it, when the possibility came up I didn’t pounce. I waited, weakly convincing myself it didn’t matter if she wasn’t into it, but of course, it did.

Eventually opting to see what she could do on the grass, I was encouraged. Wisely not interfering with her coaches’ training doctrine, I subtly tracked her progress, but I couldn’t help slipping in unsolicited snippets of guidance; even that raising my wife’s ire as “psycho running dad.”

Past the initial thrashing thunder, adrenalized breathing slowly settled to extended rhythm and the leaders took shape. Gradually engulfed by the older experience of the race, my rookie daughter far from faltered. She pounded on behind the pack, ripping from mere genetic possibility to realize true personal power.

Heart swollen, I followed; jacked up beyond what I could have ever imagined. Sure, there was an element of old man dad retrieving long-decayed glory through his daughter, but I prefer to hope there was something more.

Hitting the line with accomplished determination, she grabbed me in an instant of perfect joy and I knew she had discovered something; something hers alone.

One afternoon later I was pleasantly surprised to pull the No. 9 bib from my Columbus Marathon packet, corresponding exactly with my daughter’s finish the day before. That cozy coincidence combined with actually making it there with three crazy girls, one angry, car-seatbound baby sister and two tension-fired parents in tow; good aura was certainly afoot.

This was to be my second marathon attempt on the chilly streets of Columbus; the first ending satisfactorily but without the function of my legs for many hours following. I learned well that cruising a couple hours on Sunday mornings doesn’t exact the toll of jamming the distance in racing flats. Although my log illuminated some uneven training over the two months previous, due to an untimely barrage of debilitating back and foot problems, I was determined to fulfill my racing commitment.

As per usual, race morning found me dawdling at the hotel, shy of my proposed schedule. Cranking across the parking lot to michiganrunner.net

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our elite shuttle, in a semi-panicked state to hit the 6:30 a.m. sharp departure time, I was relieved to see everyone still there. Half marathoners and marathoners, men and women, coaches and agents were all present, ready to roll.

As time gradually disappeared, small talk and niceties slowly ratcheted to stressed phone calls and anxious searching as the van commissioned to take us to the start remained ominously absent. Forty-five eternally confused minutes later transportation arrived and the load of us crunched in, destined for the rear of the final starting corral, as traffic dwarfed the vehicle, allowing us no further.

Jumping out, we mercilessly knifed through 17,000 people shivering in the dark to arrive in the front and scale the fence to the start line. Two minutes later, the gun joined AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” in starting the proceedings directly at 7:30.

A little doubtful of fitness and even more suspicious of health, I rationalized my uneven pre-race preparation as excuse to progressively ease into pace, rather than jumping immediately to form. My standard competition shot away early, but soon enough I was hitting it hard, mind entranced as the motor hummed.

Twenty-three miles in, my route remained relatively unobstructed; right foot feeling on the edge of breaking, calves randomly jolting mini spasms, but I had just moved up another spot and was feeling the finish. Moments following the marker, unraveling furiously commenced.

Wrangling with my final Gu, impossibly pinned inside my shorts, my right calf suddenly exploded to stone, devoid of forgiveness.

Immediately hobbled to incapacitation, failure loomed. Desperately massaging my calf, I stood prone in the middle of the road, momentum long wasted. One guy blew by, instantly shrunken in the distance and my mind turned to my own message given my daughter; just do what you can do.

Tentatively toeing and launching, my body shockingly responded, allowing me to barely attain the line, time elevated but position maintained. A rough finish, yes, but it was good to be there.

Father, beaten but not broken, we happily returned home. Looking at my daughter, her breakthrough day surging through my mind, I was reminded how nothing beats that first great awakening, except the wide-eyed hug that springs from it. – IF - MR -

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

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MHSAA Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals, Brooklyn

‘Flying Finn,’ ‘Scream’ and ZZ Tops at State Cross Meet

It was an amazing day — held in a sequence of four girls and four boys division races — that saw Michigan showcase its high school best.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Nousain’s Concord teammates joined him claiming their second team title in three years, tallying 64 points to 99 for runner-up Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart.

Kelly Schubert D3 Champion

CC’s Clash in D-3 The last race before the lunch break pitted two powerful CC’s — Zingsheim’s Lansing Catholic Central and defending champ Grandville Calvin Christian — for the D-3 boys crown.

D3 Benzie Central’s Theresa Warsecke (2nd from right) takes it out early.

Alexa Rumsey D4 Hesperia’s No. 1 Runner

Manistee senior Kelly Schubert, seventh last year, pulled away late to claim the individual title in 17:58.6. Next came St. Louis junior Raquel Serna (18:23.1) and Ida freshman Ashley Sorge (18:28.1).

Concord Conquers

Division 4 girls bolted first from the starting line under clear skies in near-freezing temperatures that by mid-afternoon rose to almost 60.

Hesperia, whose top five race places added up to just 67 points, bested runner-up North Muskegon (103) and Saugatuck (159), which placed third for the third-straight year.

Concord conquered the Division 4 boys race paced by senior Spencer Nousain, who placed first after back-to-back years as individual runner-up.

Photo by Scott Sullivan

There were few surprises, with Breckenridge sophomore Kirsten Olling, state champ as a freshman, rolling to the day’s biggest individual win in 18:02.7. Next came seniors Nicole Zeinstra of Holland Black River (18:40.3) and Alexa Rumsey (18:45.7) of repeat team champion Hesperia.

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D4 Concord’s Hersha, Saenz and Hall run in a pack mid-race.

Spencer Nousain D4 Champion

Nousain went out strong, then held off Saugatuck junior Sean Kelly over the shoesucking last quartermile on the racetrack infield,15:55.8 to 16:00.3.

LCC led with Zingsheim and followed with four who could rival any Division 1 team. Each of GCC’s top four had

Zach Zingsheim D3 Champion

© C Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Photo by Scott Sullivan

Kirsten Oiling D4 Champion

The Huskies claimed their 10th Michigan cross country championship (six boys, four girls) since 1982 with 126 team points, besting Kent City (146) and twotime defending champ Hanover-Horton (166). © C Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Olling Rolling

Benzie Central, whose boys and girls have been claiming division or class titles since before Christ, it seems, did so again in the D-3 girls race.

Photo by Scott Sullivan

Erin Finn evoked memories of “Flying Finn” Paavo Nurmi, Zach Zingsheim showed ZZ was tops and Julia Bos won while running from start to end with her mouth wide open, reminiscent of Edvard Munch’s painted character in “The Scream.”

BC Bashes Competitors

Photo by Scott Sullivan

BROOKLYN (11/5/11) — There was no lack of cultural references during the Michigan High School Athletic Association Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals on grounds of the Michigan International Speedway car track.

© C Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

By Scott Sullivan

D3 Grandville Calvin Christian’s Justus Pinckney leads. run under 16 minutes. The team outcome would hinge upon how far up or back GCC’s fifth man finished.

ZZ beat everyone’s tush in 15:48.2, but Grandville’s top four were close behind him:

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012 |

michiganrunner.tv

Last year’s D-2 boys runners-up — Mason in the team race and Chelsea’s Bryce Bradley among individuals — climbed a step on the podium this time out.

It was hard to blame Bos, a Grand Rapids Christian junior, for her Expressionist ovalmouthed expression. Chasing her in the D-2 girls race were two defending state champs: Zeeland West’s Rachele Schulist from that division and Allendale’s Ali Wiersma, whose school stepped up from D-3 the year before.

Mason, which returned its top seven runners from last year, saw Tanner Hinkle, Alex Whitmer and Joe Cecil finish 45-8 in the team race

Finn, South Win Nurmi, who earned the sobriquet “Flying Finn” after winning nine gold medals for Finland during the 1920 through ‘28 Olympics, may be given a run for his money by Erin Finn of West Bloomfield before she’s through.

Finn, the top underclassman at last year’s Foot Locker nationals, did not miss a beat at the state meet, capping her junior season by winning the D-1 girls crown in 17:22.6.

Brian Kettle, D1 Milford’s No. 1 Runner.

D-1 boys kings Highland-Milford and Garret Zuk can tell you about good timing.

The Mavericks flew under the ratings radar until the postseason, then peaked perfectly, while Zuk ran in shadow of Evan Chiplock until it was time to step up as champ.

Bryce Bradley D2 Champion

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Bos showed who was boss nonetheless in 17:24.7. Cedar Springs freshman Kenzie Weiler edged Wiersma for second, 17:35.1 to 17:35.6. Schulist led the next wave of runners, placing fourth in 18:14.4.

East Grand Rapids claimed its fifth team title since 2003, tallying 153 points. Weiler’s Cedar Springs finished second with 176.

Garret Zuk D1 Champion

Runners-Up Step Up

Kassidy Clark, D2 E. Grand Rapids, No. 1 Runner

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Meier’s teammates, all-state through their first four, edged Saline when their freshman fifth girl crossed 73rd in the team race, 40 places behind Saline’s fifth but good nonetheless for a 106 to 111 triumph.

Photo by Scott Sullivan

senior Taylor Manett and Grosse Pointe South junior Hannah Meier kept the latter-day “Flying Finn” in sight, crossing in 17:24.0 and 17:24.1 respectively.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Photo by Scott Sullivan

Julia Bos D2 Champion

Hannah Meier, D1 Grosse Pointe South’s No. 1 Runner

Erin Finn D1 Champion

Bos in Charge

Milford, Zuk in Luck

Photo by Scott Sullivan

Not to worry. Fast-closing Squire Andrew Rylaardsam churned home 36th in 17:03.6 and Logan Jurgens 39th 4.4 seconds later.

Calvin finished with 56 points, the day’s low team total, and Catholic with 65, which would have won every other meet except D-4 boys.

Photo by Scott Sullivan

Not to be outdone, Lansing’s Keenan Rebera, Jimmy Hicks, Joe Marrah and Austin Winter finished seventh, 10th, 18th and 29th respectively. Grandville needed its fifth in in 45th place or better.

Seniors Bradley and Nicholas Soter of Dearborn Divine Child reprised their 2010 battle for runner-up (won by Bradley by 0.8 seconds) for this year’s title. Bradley powered

by Soter late to prevail in 15:20.6, the day’s fastest time. Soter crossed in 15:21.6.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Josh Kersjes placed second in the team race in 15:56.9, Zac Nowicki fourth in 15:59.3, Simon Reidsma sixth in 16:03.8 and Justus Pinckney eighth in 16:08.5.

Coach Brian Salyers, whose Milford teams won back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004, primed his squad for a dominating win at the Brighton regional, then saw them hold that edge at the Speedway. Sophomore Brian Kettle (second in 15:24.3), junior Cody Snavely (fifth in 15:37.1) and senior Paul Ausum (10th in 15:51.3) paced the Mavericks to 128 team points, well ahead of second-place Hartford with 172.

Saginaw Heritage senior Chiplock, unbeaten all year, led the individuals from the start line until the track infield near the finish, then collapsed two times in the homestretch.

Zuk, a White Lake Lakeland senior, flew by him first to prevail in 15:21.2. Trailing Kettle were Saline senior Nick Renberg (15:28.2) and Lake Orion junior T.J. Carey (15:32.3).

Tanner Hinkle (r), D2 Mason’s No. 1 Runner edges Ionia’s Connor Montgomery and St. Clair’s Cody Smith. en route to 92 points. St. Joseph edged Ionia for second, 129 to 134.

Chiplock fought to his feet both times and staggered home 38th in 16:09.7, an effort that showed he has not only speed but moxie. He, like all who trained for and were rewarded by running in the state meet, can look forward to more successes in life ahead.

- MR -

She did not run unchallenged. Rockford michiganrunner.net

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Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon

GR Marathon Serves Up Spectrum of Speed and Quirks

By Scott Sullivan

Gillette, who milks cows on his family’s dairy farm when not running, won his 35th career marathon (and 11th in 2011) by easily besting a record field.

“Lance Armstrong Pace Team”?

Among other quirks, the race is known for celebrity pace teams, the brainchild of Holland M.D. and ultra runner Rick Ganzi.

More than 4,000 runners and walkers showed for the marathon and half-marathon on a mid-40s morning which started with sprinkles that vanished quickly.

Matt Logan, 25, of Washington, D.C., finished a mile behind Gillette in 2:33:31. Top Michigan finisher Keith Shoemaker, 34, of Holland, finished another mile back in 2:39:12.

Ganzi, who swears by pickle juice Marathon winner: as a cure for cramping, organizes teams Dani Steinbacher to keep pace with everyone from Armstrong (who ran 2:59:36 in his first marathon) to Oprah (4:29:20) to Al Gore (4:58:25).

Dani Steinbacher, 26, of Ann Arbor, ran much of the way with the race’s Lance Armstrong Pace Team, surging to win the women’s title in 2:58:12.

It was the first win in four attempts at the distance for Steinbacher, a former Ann Arbor Pioneer High School swimmer told by friends to stick with that sport, as she wasn’t cut out for running.

Skeptical? The pace teams worked fine for Steinbacher. And pickles? You could test them yourself at aid stations and finish, where three types of beer were served from an Elvis tap.

“I was determined to make it happen. If you love it, you can do it,” the winner said.

© C Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

© C Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Jerry Johncock, 83, of Shelbyville (4:48:22) won a men’s 75-plus age group that

Bobby Crim (r), age 79, made his marathon debut.

Marathon winner Justin Gillette (bib 5) passes half-marathoner Amy Mick. included Bobby Crim, father of Flint’s Festival of Races. Crim, 79, made his marathon debut in 6:37:04 and suggested afterwards the distance was far enough.

Prevailing in the half-marathon were repeat men’s winner Jesse Kelinjan, 27, of Chicago in 1:12:50 and Julia Viel, 26, of Mentor, Ohio, in 1:24:19.

Texans Stephen Strasser and Che Morris finished far behind them but together in 5:29:29, taking time out at 10 miles to get married.

For complete results and more information, visit http://grandrapidsmarathon.com.

- MR -

Texans Stephen Strasser and Che Morris took time out to get married.

Michigan Runner TV http://michiganrunner.tv/2011grandrapidsmarathon/ Includes Run Thru Rapids

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Photo by Scott Sullivan

Marathon masters honors went to Andrew Dalton, 40, of Holt in 2:45:28 and Amy Wing, 41, of Grand Rapids in 3:07:15.

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Photo by Scott Sullivan

Only Ryan Greutman, another Hoosier who won the 2008 race in 2:26:46, has run faster here.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Nicole Clement, 22, of Kalamazoo edged Karrie Hamstra-Wright, 34, of Chicago for second, 3:01:03 to 3:01:15.

GRAND RAPIDS (10/16/11) — This just in: Justin Gillette, 28, of Goshen, Ind., won the eighth annual Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon in 2:27:44, the second-fastest time in race history.

The Elvis Tap make a regular appearance serving beer at the finish line.

Run Thru the Rapids, Grand Rapids

NCAA Division I Cross Country

Run Thru Rapids Pairs with Marathon, Cuts Thru Wind

The Y’s Men this year hooked with a relative newcomer on the running block: the eighth annual Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon. Which made sense. The new marathon makes its home at the downtown Y. Both events take place on October weekends. Why not save on course set-up costs using barricades Saturday for the RTR and the next day for the marathon?

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Dennis Rainear was hit in the head by a stray bullet 10 miles into the 1978 marathon, but finished anyway. One year a cyclist led elite runners down a dead end, but survived as well. In short, RTR’s been a long, strange trip — and it’s not done yet.

“It was a good fit for both of us,” said marathon director Don Kern.

“We will look for more synergies next year.”

Danielle Tauro, 1st) Regionals, led Michigan to Championships

Women’s champ Biz Van Tiflin, 22, of Saginaw (46:15) was followed by Dorothy Davey, 32, of Cedar Springs (47:56), Kristin Haight, 31, of Grand Haven (48:37) and masters queen Steil, who survived her buffeting by bridge breezes to finish in 49:21.

Matthew Smith, 13, finished first among 129 5K finishers in 18:22, followed by fellow Wyoming residents Ed Smilde, 21, in 18:29 and Taylor Holt, 26, in 18:57. Mike Dykstra, 50, also of Wyoming, was the men’s masters winner in 20:01.

Eliza Harris, 25, of Mattawan led the women in 21:22. Next came Kyle Ranthum, 22, of Dearborn (21:36) and Andre Beukema, 22, of Grand Rapids (21:55). The fifth woman, Carla Koretsky, 40, of Kalamazoo, paced the masters in 23:02.

What race is complete without runners who wear superhero costumes?

Captain America lugged a star-spangled shield (good for smacking competitors and using as a “sail” with the wind behind him) and Green Lantern made his masked way through downtown too.

For complete results, go to http://www.classicrace.com.

Megan Goethals 7 Michigan titles, Washington (2d team), 18th at Championships, All-American

Craig Forys, led Michigan to Championships

Tecumseh Adams, Central Michigan, 4th Regionals, 30:33 at Champs

Michigan Runner TV http://michiganrunner.tv/2011ncaa_xc/ Interviews with Darling & Goethals

- MR -

michiganrunner.net

Gabi Anzalone Michigan LP 3200 champion, Wisconsin’s 3rd runner at nationals

Sara Kroll, led Michigan State to Championships

© C Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Dan Vanden Akker, 25, of Grand Rapids, paced 174 10K finishers, crossing in 36:10. Next came Alex Salinas, 22, of Dearborn in 36:22 and men’s masters champ Hank Risley, 43, of Cedar Springs in 37:13.

© C Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Wisconsin’s men finished in a pack at Regionals, then won the Championship: #267 Mohammed Ahmed, #273 Maverick Darling - 3 time Michigan LP X-C Champion, #271 Ryan Collins, #274 Elliot Krause, and #272 Reed Connor

Not that stranger things haven’t happened at Michigan’s longest-running road race. The Grand Rapids Y’s Men’s Club, which sponsors it as a funder for summer camp scholarships, started it as the Grand Valley Marathon 41 years ago. It has transformed since then into the Run Thru Apple Country 10K and 5K, then swapped its reference from apples to river currents.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Tamara Steil

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Taking the low road — going under the bridges and literally running through the river rapids — did not occur to Steil, to her credit. A bath in the downtown Grand stands to make the skin crawl.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

“My agoraphobia (fear of open spaces) really kicked up when I crossed the bridges,” said Tamara Steil, 57, of Grandville. “The wind hit me harder over the river, too.”

Photo by Scott Sullivan

GRAND RAPIDS (10/15/11) — It only seemed like runners were running through rapids at Run Thru the Rapids. Gusts up to 50 mph made it feel like they were battling Grand River waters instead of winds.

Photo by Pete Draugalis / draugalisphotography.com

By Scott Sullivan

Regionals, Toledo, Nov. 12 Championships, Terre Haute, Nov. 21

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Benton Reflects on 35-Year Daily Running Streak

By Ron Marinucci

1

No, not that kind of streaking. Benton’s effort involved running on consecutive days, keeping on his clothes.

Yep, Benton, 61, of Farmington Hills has been streaking since 1977, almost 35 years ago, running on more than 12,600 consecutive days. He is currently 19th on the United States Running Streak Association’s Active Running Streak List (http://www.runeveryday.com).

The USRSA has standards. Its official definition of streaking is “to run at least one continuous mile within each calendar day under one’s own body power (without using any type of health or mechanical aid other than prosthetic devices).” Running can be done on the roads, track, trails or treadmill, but not in pools. To be listed, a streak must reach “at least one year in duration.”

Benton began his current streak on April 23, 1977. He started an earlier one on March 9, 1970, while he was a University of Detroit cross country team member. It lasted for 2,005 days, just about five and a half years and is 51st on the USRSA “Retired List.”

“Back in the ‘60s,” he remembered, “a teammate saw a book I had about Joe DiMaggio and decided he would run 56 days in a row in honor of the Yankee Clipper’s 56-game hitting streak.”

Benton thought this was “silly, but on a lark, I started a running streak too.” He was also inspired by British running ace Ron Hill.

“I admired his daily dedication to running,” Benton said.

Plantar fasciitis and a left heel injury ended the first streak. Benton ran occasionally for the next year and a half, mostly to see if he was ready to start training again. “I returned to training and racing,” he said, on that fateful April day.

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now averages 30 miles a week, and between 1,500 and 1,600 miles a year.

“Most people are surprised and amazed to hear about my streak,” he admitted. “When I tell them that it is only 19th on the (USRSA) list, they are even more surprised.”

For the record, California teacher and coach Mark Covert holds the longest current streak on record, having reached more than 15,800 days. Even if Benton had continued his first streak, run through the 18-month down time and added his present one, he would be more than a year behind Covert. Still ...

Photo courtesy of Bill Benton

977. Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as the 39th President. Gas sold for 65 cents a gallon and postage stamps cost 13 cents. The mini-series “Roots” made its debut on television, setting ratings records, and “Star Wars” opened at movie theaters. Elvis Presley died and Gary Gilmore faced a firing squad in Utah. Apple was incorporated and the Commodore PET was introduced as the world’s first personal computer. Supersonic passenger travel became a reality, with regular Concorde flights between London and New York. Men wore leisure suits, people danced to the disco sound and streaking was in its American heyday, especially for Bill Benton.

Benton usually runs early in the morning, around 5 a.m. “I don’t feel right if I don’t start my day with a run,” he said.

Bill Benton Obsessive? Benton doesn’t think so. “It’s not something I think about every day,” he said. “I don’t need it to motivate me to get out and run, but it’s nice to have it there.

“I’ve always valued steadiness and continuity in work and in daily life,” the retired accountant said. “So a streak is a perfect fit.”

Benton, who has run since high school, entered the Boston Marathon nine times. “My first time I wanted to break three hours,” he said. “I did 3:00:19. Then I broke 2:30 four times.

“I don’t race anymore. I just run for fitness now”.

When training for racing, said Benton, he often became injured. “It all came back again, so I stopped.

“Since I don’t race anymore, the streak is my only connection to my running past.

Benton runs at least a mile or two every day, meeting USRSA standards. “My official limit is one mile,” he said, “but I’ve only used that the day before big races. Two miles has been my minimum while injured or sick.” He runs four to five miles most days.

In 1980, Benton averaged 12 miles a day.

He averaged more than 10 miles daily four other years. Beginning in ’78, he had a string of four years with an average of more than 300 miles a month, missing out on a fifth by less than five miles in ’82.

He ran more than 4,000 miles two years and more than 3,000 miles five other times. He

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“Some people who are stuck in the snow with their cars are surprised to see someone show up to help push them out at that hour.”

He remembered the time a woman had driven into a three-foot snowdrift. “She rolled down her window and asked why I was out running in this,” he remembered. “‘Why are you out driving in this?’ I said.

“I’m a sky buff, so the morning runs provide great sunrises, planet sightings, shooting stars and occasional space station sightings.

The calm then is a great time for prayer and quiet reflection.”

Weather has chased him indoors on rare occasions. “But then I do outdoor runs too,” he said. “I wouldn’t feel as happy with a treadmill.

“I like to see what it’s like running in extremes. I might never get a chance to experience that again.”

An injury in November 2007 almost ended things. While biking to work at Total Runner, Benton was hit by a car whose driver hadn’t seen him. After a hospital visit and return home, he pondered the end of the streak. “I was ready for that possibility,” Benton said.

But after watching a Detroit Lions football game on television that afternoon, “I decided to give running a try. What the heck!” he said.

Benton grabbed a rolling walker, just in case, and headed out, figuring he would try a 1.1-mile circuit in his neighborhood. “If I couldn’t do it, I’d hobble back with the walker,” he said. “My wife, Debbie, thought I was nuts!”

He soon realized he didn’t need the walker.

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Central Michgan alum Matt Loiselle ran a 2:16:00 for an 8th place finish.

Photo by Victah Sailer / photorun.net

Photo by Victah Sailer / photorun.net

Photo by Victah Sailer / photorun.net

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 16, 2011

Fauja Singh of London, England, age 100, set an age group world record of 8:11:05. He is the oldest person ever to have completed a full marathon.

Ed Whitlock of Milton, Ontario, age 80, ran 3:15:54 to shatter his own agegroup record by 10 minutes.

Benton, continued.

“I was pushing it like a shopping cart, so I ditched it and went out for more,” he said.

The injury restricted him to two miles a day. There was no pain, just a collapsing knee if he turned too sharply. “Down I’d go,” he said. But he was soon back to five miles a day.

Gary Morgan Receives USATF Jackie Joyner Kersee Award

Obsessive? Running is still fun for Benton; it’s not a chore. He still finds challenges and takes time for other pursuits, such as working with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

“The streak is fun,” he said, “but in the overall scheme of things, it is not important.

“I equate my effort to the journey of the little Voyager spacecraft, which, after its useful exploration of the outer planets, just keeps transmitting as it leaves the solar system.

“How long will it go on? How long will I go on?” he asked. - MR -

Photo courtesy of Gary Morgan

“There was another time I had compound stress fractures of both knees, but I kept running,” he continued. Actually, he was unaware of the fractures, which only showed up later after they had healed. Had he known, he admitted he might have stopped the streak.

ST. LOUIS (December 4, 2011) - Gary Morgan (l) with Jackie Joyner Kersee.

Morgan received the Jackie Joyner Kersee Service Award from the USATF Alumni association & AAC. Morgan was honored for his dedication to the sport of track and field and his service to the track and field community. michiganrunner.net

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Detroit Free Press / Talmer Bank Marathon

Nakluski, Kryza Survive Winds for Detroit Wins

By Charles Douglas McEwen DETROIT (10/16/11) — Derek Nakluski and Wioletta Kryza persevered through rain-spitting winds to win the 34th annual Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon.

Kessler finished in 2:44:55, followed by Amy Hauswirth, 42, of Hancock in 2:45:48.

Kryza’s time didn’t match the 2:40:46 she ran in 2005, but she felt strong. “If the weather was good, I run in the low 2:40s,” she declared.

Detroit was her 72nd marathon completed and 28th win. For men’s champ Nakluski, the Freep was his second win in a marathon. He finished in 2:28:22, about the same time he did in winning the Waterloo Marathon in Ontario May 1.

“I would have liked to have run faster, but I’m glad I won,” he said.

Masters champ Viacheslav Shabunin, 42, of New York City took second in 2:29:36.

Next came Mike Anderson, 24, of Milford in 2:31:03.

East Lansing-based Playmakers Racing came loaded with talent to the relay. Its A Team (Jacob Crowe, Nicholas Katsefaras, Zach Ripley, Jason Bigelow and Alex Russeau) finished first in 2:17:28, its B Team second in 2:21:45 and Coed Team third in 2:25:54.

Derek Nakluski

Photo by John Brabbs / runmichigan.com

Corey Nowitzke

Wioletta Kryza

Russeau, who recently graduated from Michigan State University, had one basic strategy in running the last 4.4-mile leg of the relay: “Go hard the whole time,” he said. “My teammates did a really good job; I just had to finish for them.”

In ninth place overall, Playmakers Women’s Racing topped the distaff teams in 2:55:03; in 18th place, Playmakers Masters Women won the women’s masters title in 3:16:31.

David Randall, 37 of Mansfield, Ohio, won the handcycle race with a 1:21:55 clocking. Grant Berthiaume, 49, of Tucson, Ariz., captured his second straight wheelchair crown in 2:05:13.

Corey Nowitzke, 27, of Dexter and Dayna Pidhoresky, 24, of Tecumseh, Ontario, were the men’s and women’s half-marathon winners.

Nowitzke edged Julius Kiptoo, 34, of Toledo with a strong kick at the end, finishing in 1:10:33 to Kiptoo’s 1:10:46. Donald McLaughlin, 35, of Rochester Hills placed third in 1:10:54.

Elizabeth Boyle 32

Dayna Pidhoresky

Photo by John Brabbs / runmichigan.com

Kryza trailed Serena Kessler, 39, of Ann Arbor, before passing her at 22 miles and going on to win in 2:44:09. “Serena was very strong,” Kryza said.

Photo by Dave McCauley / runmichigan.com

With the wind gusting up to 30 mph, she faced tougher conditions than when she won in 2005. “To run a good time today is not possible,” she said.

Photo by John Brabbs / runmichigan.com

“I am very happy,” said Kryza, who won this marathon in 2005 and finished runner-up in 2006 and 2007. “Detroit is my lucky town.”

Photo by John Brabbs / runmichigan.com

Nakluski, 29, who drove 150 miles from Kitchener, Ontario, and Kryza, 43, who journeyed more than 4,000 miles from Poland, each won $3,000 as the overall champions.

Kryza took home another $1,500 as the top masters woman.

Photo by John Brabbs / runmichigan.com

A record 20,940 entrants turned out despite the weather for the marathon, marathon relay, half marathon and 5K. Events awarded close to $30,000 in prize money.

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Alex Russeau

Nowitzke and Kiptoo may have posted much faster times, but they went off course between miles 11 and 12.

Photo by John Brabbs / runmichigan.com

“We did an eight-minute ‘mile’ (on mile 12) after averaging five-minute miles,” Nowitzke said.

Six-time marathon champ Doug Kurtis, 59, of Livonia, was the fastest runner over age 55 in the half marathon, crossing in 1:27:20.

“I’m glad the Ambassador Bridge worked with the Alex Ralston marathon to open up two lanes,” said Kurtis. “Last year the bridge was a little tight; this year there were no problems. I would love to have been back to run another marathon, but I wasn’t quite ready.

(Last year, Kurtis ran his 200th marathon here.)

Pidhoresky buried the women’s field with a time of 1:14:03. Next came Angela Matthews, 27, of Westland (1:19:40) and Leah Scharl, 34, of Clarkston (1:25:33).

“I was blown around out there,” said Pidhoresky, who blazed to a women’s course record 1:13:15 last year. “I knew it wasn’t going to be my best time, so I just tried to stay steady.”

Two 22-year-olds dominated the 5K. Alex Ralston of Holly paced the men in 15:49, while Hansons-Brooks Distance Project athlete Elizabeth Boyle led the women and was second overall in 16:58.

Masters Jonathan Hoag, 41, of Sylvania, Ohio (17:11) and Vincent Jesudowich, 44, of Northville (17:35), were the second and third males. Estefania Redondo Escobedo, 26, of Beverly Hills (17:50) and Erin Webster, 25, of Dearborn (17:59) finished 2-3 among the women.

For complete results, go to http://www.freepmarathon.com.

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Big House, Big Heart, Ann Arbor

Big House Big Heart Draws Close to 15K

By Charles Douglas McEwen ANN ARBOR (10/9/11) — The Big House Big Heart 5K, 10K and 1-mile had an enormous turnout.

About 15,000 runners cascaded into Michigan Stadium and onto the football field’s 50yard line at this Champions for Charity event presented by United Bank & Trust.

“It was awesome to run through the tunnel that the football players run through every weekend,” said Kelly Horst, 32, of Indianapolis, Ind. Horst, a medical school graduate doing a fellowship in pediatric radiology at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, won the women’s 10K in 37:39.

Perrin dropped off the pace first. “Then Jordan fell back,” Bethke said. “He told me, ‘I just don’t have it today; keep up the pace.’ So I did.”

Bethke won in 30:38, followed by Desilets in 31:24 and Perrin in 32:48. Bob Horan paced the masters in 36:14.

The 10K course provided challenges. “You’ve got the big hill on Division,” said Bethke. “In the 5K you only hit it once, but in the 10K the second time gets to you.”

“Going up a hill, they (Bethke and Desilets) really put the hurt on me,” said Perrin.

“Bethke is in phenomenal shape.”

“It was awesome to run through the tunnel that the football players run through every weekend.”

Next came Kristi Matuszewski, 39, of Brighton (39:41) and Natasha Boruszok, 18, of Ann Arbor (39:48). Sharlene Day, 42, of Ann Arbor was the fastest masters woman in 42:52.

“Downtown was beautiful,” Horst continued. “The fall leaves were changing. Students were cheering along the sidelines. There was a lot of school spirit and camaraderie.”

The 10K course did two loops through the U-M campus before finishing inside the stadium.

“It’s fun to run on University and State streets that are normally filled with traffic, but they’re empty for you,” said men’s 10K winner Brandon Bethke.

Bethke, 24, an Arizona State University graduate who lives in Ann Arbor, had former Eastern Michigan University stars Jordan Desilets of Pinckney and Joshua Perrin of Ann Arbor with him for the first three miles of the race. All three wore blue Michigan Rehabilitation Specialists singlets.

“We have the same sponsor, so we got out and had some fun up front,” Bethke said.

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Perrin, who swept the 10K and 5K last year, won the 5K again this year timing 15:26.

Next came Neil Atzinger, 25 (15:37) and Garrett Cullen, 19, of Ann Arbor (15:41). Paul Mayer, 44, of Ann Arbor was the top master in 17:39.

Angie Sullivan, 39, of Ann Arbor won the women’s 5K in 18:59, followed by Katie Samuelson, 19, of Grand Rapids (19:04) and Andrea Pollack, 27, of Ann Arbor (19:27) Rebecca Price, 53, of Ann Arbor led women’s masters in 21:01.

“I’ve won my age category before,” said an elated Sullivan,“but never the overall.”

Big House Big Heart contributes a portion of all entry fees to ALS research at the UM Program for Neurology Research and Discovery, the U-M Cardiovascular Center, Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voightlander Women’s Hospital.

For complete race results, go to http://www.thebighousebigheart.com.

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By Ron Marinucci

K

aren Lewis has run 32 marathons and four 50K ultras. What’s more impressive, the Brighton runner has finished each of them after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer.

Toss in a fractured tibia, add her commitment to raise funds and co-found the Feet and Friends Fighting Colon Cancer Race/Walk and you have someone still more special.

For her accomplishments and dedication, Great Comebacks named Lewis its 2011 Central Region Award recipient.

Great Comebacks was founded by former National Football League placekicker Rolf Benirschke. While playing for the San Diego Chargers in the 1970s and ‘80s, the all-pro underwent emergency surgery for colitis, but returned for several more record-setting seasons.

walk around the block without becoming short of breath.”

total surprise, because I didn’t go into it with the notion of even trying to qualify,” Lewis said.

Walking was followed by running. “I started running in 1994,” recalled Lewis, “while training to walk the Honolulu Marathon. I had started race walking two years prior.

Her walking and running goals were to keep her colitis in remission. “I had this wacky idea that the more I exercised, the longer the disease would stay in remission,” she said. “I knew that if I could run marathons, I could beat cancer.”

“One day I walked past a Running Fit store and saw a flyer recruiting walkers for the Honolulu Marathon. This was the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program. Since I had recently completed my first Crim 10-mile, I decided this was a great incentive to take my walking to the next level.

“I think the real reason I started running was that while training to walk Honolulu, I became impatient with how much time the long walks were taking. By jogging some of them, I could get done quicker.

Lewis encountered another serious diagnosis in 2005: colorectal cancer. Enduring radiation and chemotherapy treatments, she found that running “was something to look forward to in the healing process.” With support of her husband and running friends, she continued to train for her next race by walking laps around hospital floors.

“Running has kept me strong for all of the surgeries I have had: 11 altogether,” Lewis said.

She also was thrilled by Boston — not necessarily running the marathon, but qualifying for it.

Benirschke started Great Comebacks “to provide information and inspiration to people facing the emotional and physical challenges of living with serious intestinal diseases and ostomy surgery.” By raising public awareness of colorectal cancer, Crohn’s disease and colitis, “the program also aims to remove the stigma surrounding ostomy surgery.”

“Karen,” said Benirschke, “is a wonderful example of a young woman who has overcome many serious medical challenges and continues to push herself to make a positive difference.

Her bravery continually inspires many others in our community who face severe intestinal conditions.”

Lewis was diagnosed at age 23 with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory disease that affects the large intestine/colon and rectum. “I suffered for about eight years before finding a doctor who started me on a new type of drug which finally put me in remission,” she remembered.

The colitis caused her to lose weight and become anemic. “Even trying to exercise was difficult,” she said. “Once my disease was in remission, I gained weight, my anemia became better and I started feeling much better. I could 34

“Since I was doing all of the training and mileage by myself, one evening I decided to go to the Brighton Road Striders and see if there were any walkers. Although there were none, I met an awesome bunch of women who were fairly new to running.

By 2006, she was ready to tackle the North Country Trail Marathon near Manistee. It was special because “it was the first marathon after my colorectal cancer diagnosis, surgery and treatment.” And it almost didn’t happen — but not due to cancer or its complications.

“In order to keep up with them and socialize, I realized that my race walking made for an easy transition into running.”

A little while before North Country, Lewis bought new running shoes and went out on a 5-mile run. “My toe blistered and got infected,” she said.

Lewis found finishing her first marathon, Honolulu in ’94, exciting. “I couldn’t believe that I did 26.2 miles when, a few years earlier, I’d never have dreamed I could.”

She also was thrilled by Boston — not necessarily running the marathon, but qualifying for it. Although Lewis has run Boston twice, she was more excited by her qualifying marathons.

“The first time I qualified for Boston, at the 1997 Glass City Marathon, the ‘high’ I got from doing so was more exciting than Boston itself,” she said.

The 2004 Bayshore Marathon, her third qualifier, was another such high. “It came as a

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Five days before the marathon, she visited a podiatrist who told her, “I don’t think you’ll be able to run.” Lewis remembered thinking, “I‘ve been through everything and now this is going to take my dream?” She decided she wasn’t going to let this stop her.

Her podiatrist suggested “cutting the toe out of my shoe and I did.” Easing the pressure, she completed North Country. She was on her way.

The next year, Lewis ran another of her favorites, the Mount Desert Island Marathon in Maine. “I love Maine,” she said. “It is such a beautiful course and nothing is better than a fall day there.”

June 2010 brought another setback; Lewis fractured her tibia in a lawnmower accident.

The mower “shot a big rock out of the back and it hit my leg,” she said. “They had to put in a metal rod, then another temporary one until January 2011.

YMCA Santa Run, Flint

1,375 Santas Take On Flint

By Bill Khan

“I got the go-ahead to run again in April.

The leg is fine now,” Lewis said.

Lewis tries to run five to seven miles two or three times during the week, after work.

“On the weekends,” she said, “I like to do a long run of eight to 10 miles, perhaps more, on one day and a 5-mile run the other. I also make sure I do yoga three to four times a week.”

In the spring and summer, she tries to get in one session a week of eight miles of repeats.

“But I’m not real serious about my training,” she said. “I don’t use a watch. I run depending on how I feel.

“I know when I’m pushing it. I want to run to enjoy it, not have it become a chore,” she said.

“Karen is dedicated to raising awareness for colorectal cancer, especially among younger people,” Great Comebacks spokeswoman Andrea Coan said. In 2008, Lewis raised funds while running the San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, contributing $10,000 for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation’s Team Challenge.

In 2010, Lewis teamed with a friend, Susan Snyder (also a colorectal cancer survivor), to approach the American Cancer Society with an idea to create a run/walk event for colon cancer awareness. Thus, Feet & Friends Fighting Colon Cancer was born.

The inaugural event was held last spring in Ann Arbor. With 564 participants, Feet & Friends raised more than $60,000 to donate to research seeking a cure for colon cancer.

To accommodate an expected larger turnout, the April 21, 2012 event will be moved to Hudson Mills Metropark near Ann Arbor. Lewis and Snyder plan for two events, a 5K and 8K, for both runners and walkers.

They hope another successful race will lead to its expansion to other parts of the country. In fact, they’ve had such inquiries already.

Lewis is aiming to add to her list of marathons in 2012. Targets include New Orleans in March and St. George in October. “I might sneak in another one,” she admitted.

After everything she’s conquered, don’t be surprised if she does just that.

Photo by Art McCaferty

So fine that she completed the Chicago Marathon in October with her sisters, another highlight. “After all these years, they finally decided to give the marathon a try,” she said.

FLINT (12/3/11) — The inaugural Flint YMCA Santa Run was big, but a certain writer predicted even bigger things in the future after taking part in the 2010 race.

those who were at least curious about their time, a clock was positioned at the finish line.

“I would not be surprised to see this event top 1,000 entrants next year,” I wrote in the Flint Journal. “It’s hard for a first-time race to generate this kind of turnout. I am sure that it will experience tremendous growth, as those 650 Santas spread the word about what an awesome time was had by all.”

A middle-of-the-pack finisher in this race was coming in around the 40-minute mark, quite possibly walking a dog, pushing a stroller, snapping pictures with their camera or accompanying a gleeful small child.

There is no greater public relations campaign than positive word of mouth, as was shown when the 2011 Santa Run more than doubled its predecessor’s numbers with 1,375 entrants who ran, walked and frolicked on a three-mile course through city streets decked out in full Santa attire.

“I would have been happy to get 800, 900,” said Janet Tweddle, chief operating officer for the YMCA of Greater Flint.

“Part of it was word of mouth. It seemed like after last year’s event, everybody there said next year they were bringing a friend or family or so-and-so. The excitement of last year helped it grow. Also, we had a great sponsor, Al Serra, who really helped promote the event, and other sponsors who helped to drive more people into the event.”

Heading into the first Santa Run, many folks didn’t know what to make of a road race in which people would sign up to run around in a Santa suit with no timing or results. For

Most people couldn’t have cared less.

“It helps having one year under our belts and having the photos from last year,” Tweddle said. “When you tell people that a bunch of people will be running around in Santa suits, they think one thing. When they actually see all those people running in Santa suits, they realize how festive it is and how much fun it can be.”

Proceeds from the event benefited the YMCA of Greater Flint’s Partner With Youth Campaign.

The Santa Run culminated a year of huge numbers in Flint-area races.

The area’s signature event, the Crim 10mile road race, had a record total of 10,371 for its 35th anniversary. The inaugural Michigan Warrior Dash in Genesee Township was a massive success, with a field of 24,912 that ranked second in the extreme running event’s national series. The Atwood Stadium Race, which replaced the Tuuri in 2011, was the largest first-time Flint-area race since 1990 with 1,132 entrants.

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Michigan Runner TV http://michiganrunner.tv/2011santa/

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Fifth Third Bank Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, Detroit

Fifth Third, Parade Co. Turkey Trot Sets Turnout Mark

By Charles Douglas McEwen Winning the 10K were Patrick Duntzer, 27, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Angela Matthews, 25, of Westland.

DETROIT (11/24/11) — The 29th annual Turkey Trot, presented by Fifth Third Bank and The Parade Co., stuffed downtown streets with a record turnout.

Duntzer, wearing Bib No. 20000, finished in 31:56. Next came Nathan Peters, 22, of Salt Lake City (32:54) and Max Hock, 23, of Mason, Ohio (33:00).

“Our finisher numbers (in the 5K and 10K) were 17,339 and that doesn’t include the mile,” race director Doug Kurtis said. “Our 60 captains did an incredible job of orchestrating all the events. I’m looking forward to the 30th next year.”

Bachman, 24, of Grosse Pointe finished in 15:31. Kevin Cataldo, 24, of Williamston placed third in 15:47.

Like Boyle, Osika won by three seconds.

She said Ian’s wife, Sarah Boyle, 25, snuck up on her going into the final mile.

“I hadn’t noticed her in the crowd of men,” said Osika. “I looked to my left and suddenly she was there.”

“She (Matthews) took off at about 5K and put 10 seconds on me,” continued Walter. “I never got those seconds back. I just looked at her back the rest of the way.”

Shannon Laurie of Howell gets into the Turkey Trot costume spirit. got by her.”

Boyle timed 17:04. Tammy Nowik, 37, of Clarkston took third in 19:15.

The top Stocking Stuffer masters were David Hamway, 40, of Birmingham (18:10) and Tina Kremer, 44, of Hudson, Iowa (21:38).

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Boyle made the first move to the finish line. “She grabbed the lead with 800 meters to go,” said Osika. “In the last 100, I kicked and

Walter battled Matthews early. “I tried to pull away from her three times,” Walter said.

“But she kept coming back. I guess she psyched me out.

Aaron Bachman (bib 152) and Ian Boyle (bib 1377) lead the 5K. 36

Vincent Jesudowich, 44, of Northville (35:44) and Julianne Wiggins, 49, (37:23) topped the masters.

Turkey Trot charities included The Parade Co., Special Olympics-Michigan and Gleaners Food Bank.

For complete results, visit http://www.gaultracemanagement.com.

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© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

“My friend Aaron (Bachman) was with me all the way,” Boyle said. “It came down to a kick finish and I just nipped him at the line.”

Rebecca Walter, 27, of Bloomington, Ind. (36:19) and Erin O’Mara, 27, of Ypsilanti (36:51) finished second and third.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Ian Boyle, 24, of Brighton timed 15:28 in the Stocking Stuffer 5K, breaking Max Sadler’s 16:05 event record set in 2008. Shannon Osika, 18, of Waterford, shattered Denisa Costescu’s 2010 record of 17:59 by winning the women’s 5K in 17:01.

Matthews won the women’s 10K for the second year in a row. Her 35:58 clocking was six seconds faster than her time last year.

Shannon Osika’s 17:01 set the 5K course record.

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10K winner Angela Matthews speeds by parade spectators.

Big Bird Run, Roseville

ROSEVILLE (11/13/11) – Darrell McKee, wearing Bib No. 33 for having completed all 33 Big Bird Runs, reminisced about race directors.

called having prostate cancer a few years ago, losing 20 pounds via diet and training, then coming back to racing.

“(Russ) LaBarge might have been the first one,” said McKee, 77. “Then there was Larry Snelling, Kevin (Wasilewski) and now Tony (Lipinski). The first Big Bird Run started up the road, at the high school.”

“Now I’m running times I was running eight and 10 years ago,” Seguin said, noting he and friend Richie Powers had just “run three marathons in 29 days — Chicago, the Free Press and New York.” Seguin ran the Big Bird 10K in 42:30.

McKee ran with a cracked rib this year. “I tripped over a curb during the Brooksie Way run Oct. 2 with about a mile to go,” he remembered. “The EMTs wanted to (transport) me, but I said ‘no’ and made it to the finish.”

McKee finished the Big Bird 10K again as well, sore rib and all, taking home hardware for his second-place age-group finish.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Until 2010, LaBarge had also run every Big Bird. Surgery ended that streak last year,

Brendan Martin (l.) and Kelsie Schwartz won “Big Bird” turkeys along with their first place trophies. said McKee, adding this year LaBarge underwent a triple-bypass operation.

Other Big Bird veterans have come to expect all kinds of race-day weather. This year was overcast with temperatures in the mid-50s and winds gusts up to 20 mph.

“I struggled some running into the wind, but could relax with it at our backs,” said Mike Rollason, who won his 60-64 age group in 41:57.

Bud Seguin, 60, another Big Bird veteran, celebrated his “20-month comeback.” He re-

Longtime Michigan runners will remember Ed Munoz, who moved to upstate New York about 12 years ago. “I came back for a surprise birthday party for my sister, went online and saw Big Bird was this weekend,” Munoz said. “I used to run this race all the time — and it’s still the same.”

The course has changed little over the past 30 years since moving from the high school.

Now the start and finish are at the Roseville Recreation Center, where runners are still serenaded by the Roseville High School marching band.

The course is mostly flat; its only “hill” is the pedestrian overpass crossing Int. 696, which runners encounter twice (giving thanks on windy days for the cyclone fence that encloses it). There are many twists and turns as the course winds through residential streets of Roseville.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

By Ron Marinucci

Brendan Martin leads 10K runners over the Interstate 696 pedestrian overpass.

Next came master’s winner Laura Shamblin (42:48).

“I ran with a lot of men,” Schwartz said.

“They helped block the wind. I like the course and plan to be back next year.”

Other 10K winners were male masters champ Scott Fiske, 47, in 36:38, plus seniors Jeff Martin, 54, in 37:03 and Kathleen Clark, 54, in 51:34. The oldest finishers were Bill Olsen, 79, in 1:04:01 and Cleo Pawlyn, 76, in 1:14:25.

Brendan Martin, 22, ran Big Bird for the first time this year and won it, beating last year’s champion Matt Fecht (32:01) by more than a minute. Martin’s 30:50 was “the fastest time in quite a while,” said Lipinski, but did not eclipse Brian Sell’s 29:59 course record.

Noah Fiehn, 12, won the boys 14-andunder mile in 5:23; next came Nicholas Murray, 12, in 6:13. Nicholas’s sister, Emma Murray, 11, was the girls’ champ in 6:58. The over-14 mile runners were paced by Kevin Sherwood (5:57), who also ran the 10K, and Nikki Franchy (8:09).

Martin, a Hansons-Brooks Distance Project team member from Long Island, said he enjoyed the race. “It had a lot of character,” said Martin. “I’ve never run a race with a pedestrian bridge before.”

Claiming the 4K run were Vince Cracchiolo, 16 (14:39) and Samantha Allmacher, 14 (15:30), winning by 90 seconds.

The many turns “slowed me down a bit,” he went on, “but the course was extremely well-marked and the volunteers were helpful. I always knew where I was going.”

Martin also appreciated the “Big Bird” – a turkey — given to winners. “I’ll probably share it with my teammates. It’s the best prize I’ve ever won,” he said.

Kelsie Schwartz, 15, repeated as women’s champion, improving from 38:46 to 38:30 this year. michiganrunner.net

As usual, two dozen turkeys were raffled, along with other nice prizes. Overall winners received big trophies and age-group aces took home plaques. All runners received running gloves, courtesy of Hansons Running Shops.

Complete results can be found at http://www.runmichigan.com.

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Run Scream Run, Ypsilanti

Golden Morn for Run Scream Run Debut

By Tracey Cohen

Unfulfilled Goals; Gains Realized Nonetheless

Lisa Hagan

Race director/head zombie Randy Step was thrilled. “What a day we got!” he said.

After prolonged rain, wind and fog, sunny skies and temperatures in the 40s greeted nearly 1,200 runners and walkers who took on whimsical courses littered with zombies, ghouls and “a chilling camouflaged corn stalker guy,” entrant Karen Wilson said.

“I can’t believe I haven’t been out here before,” said 10K finisher Tara Taulbee. “The course was beautiful with rolling hills on the paths, and I loved the part through the woods.

I can’t wait to come back!”

Erin O’Mara, clad in pirate garb, agreed on all fronts.

“The weather was perfect,” said O’Mara, the overall 5K winner in 19:05. “I enjoyed the nice wooded section and scary-themed finish.”

Laura Mullins appreciated the hot cider and doughnuts offered finishers. “Doughnuts are key!” she exclaimed. “Just smelling them made me run faster!”

test for men, women and children rounded out the morning.

Adam Hauser, 6, proudly wearing his finisher’s medal, claimed third in the mile and described it as “good because it wasn’t that scary.”

The candy received along the way wasn’t bad either.

“I think we’ll separate the 5K and 10K next year,” Step said, “and maybe offer an iron pumpkin for those who choose to do both.”

Amanda Weaver is captain of the Albion College women’s cross country and track teams. This is an excerpt from her November blog.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

YPSILANTI (10/22/11) – Weather was golden for Running Fit’s first-ever Run Scream Run 10K, 5K and one-mile races on grounds of Wiard’s Orchard, home to “Michigan’s premier haunted thrill park.”

Erin O’Mara

Linsdey LaLonde For results and information about 5K winner next year’s Run 16:39 Scream Run, visit http://rftiming.net and http://www.runscreamrun.com.

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A Kids Cider Mill Mile and costume con38

Photo courtesy of Amanda Weaver

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

By Amanda Weaver

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o give it your all, and then …

People are always striving to achieve their goals. Sometimes they are easy, sometimes absurdly difficult. However, “The greatest danger for most of us is not that we aim too high and miss it, but that we aim too low and reach it,” said Michelangelo.

Cross country is based on setting goals.

No good runner runs with no goals in mind; they need purpose.

All last summer I kept my goal in mind. I wanted to qualify for the NCAA Division 3 cross country national championships. I knew what I had to do: finish in the top 15 at the regional meet. No girl in Albion history had ever made it to the cross country national meet.

Every time I felt discouraged or didn’t want to run in the heat, I did — because I wanted to go to nationals.

With pride, determination and help from my parents, I ran 673 miles in three months — because I wanted to go to nationals.

50-State Marathon Quest: The Agony and the Ecstasy

I ran in 93-degree heat, rain and as late as 11:30 at night — because I wanted to go to nationals.

By Anthony Targan

Once summer ended, the regular season came and went, clustered with some great races and some I would rather not remember.

Nov. 12 came more quickly than I expected. It was time for regionals. “I know I can do it,” I tried to convince myself that morning, despite the butterflies in my stomach.

My dad sensed my nervousness and sent me a text: “Embrace it. You are prepared. Let the others who didn’t work as hard as you be concerned and nervous.”

I was suddenly flooded with positive thoughts and my legs felt great. I was ready.

The gun went off and things looked promising. I was toward the front of the field with my teammate, Lauren, next to me. We weaved and turned corners, huffing and puffing our way through the 6-kilometer race. I went through mile splits faster than I had ever gone through them before.

“I’m going to make it,” I started to believe. Just to be sure, I pushed it extra hard the last half mile. I left all my energy on the course, passing six people in that span.

When I found my coach, he said he wasn’t sure I had made it. We would have to wait for results to come out.

An extraordinarily long half-hour later, white sheets of paper were taped to the side of a white van near the finish line. “There I am,” I thought. I traced my finger from my name over to the place: 22. I had missed nationals by 10 seconds.

I had run my fastest time on the course by 33 seconds, but it wasn’t enough. I was crushed. All that work for nothing.

Goals are meant to be attained, but sometimes things don’t go our way. The key is to hone in on the good things that happened during the season. For example, Lauren and I became the first two girls in Albion history to gain all-region recognition for finishing in the top 35 at the regional meet.

I’ve moved on to focusing on my goals for track season. But my question is, should I already be moving on? Or should I try to figure out what happened: why I wasn’t able to accomplish my goal despite my readiness and ample preparation last weekend?

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I

wrote here in 2006 about my law school buddy Jack Strausman, who had run his first marathon when he was 40 and now wanted to run marathons in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., before he turned 50.

Running at least one marathon a month, Jack made quick progress on his goal. By early 2008, he had finished 43 states and planned to complete his 50th state that fall.

Jack tried to run the Wyoming marathon that June and got screwed.

More specifically, he suffered a stress frac-

finish line in Newport, R.I., his 50th state plus D.C. To understand how remarkable this accomplishment is, compare it to other feats of endurance: more than 41,000 athletes finished a full Ironman triathlon in the last 12 months alone, over 4,000 runners have finished the Leadville 100-mile run since its inception, 3,142 climbers have summited Mount Everest and 1,229 swimmers have made solo crossings of the English Channel.

By comparison, only about 625 people have finished marathons in all 50

“. . . only about 625 people have finished marathons in all 50 states.” ture that prevented him from finishing, then had three 3-inch screws surgically implanted in his hip.

To someone who had never taken a sick day in 17 years, this hiatus from running was a shock. Jack’s doctor warned him not to run any more marathons, saying, “You might want to find a different sport.”

To most people, this would have meant abandoning their 50-state dream.

But Jack is not most people.

After months of false starts and setbacks, repeatedly climbing the mountain of recovery only to have his hopes dashed

like Sisyphus, Jack ran the Charlotte Marathon in late 2009.

In 2010, he finished Wyoming and Montana, then suffered a stress fracture in his other leg. This one did not require surgery, but it ended his running that year.

After another 10 months of recovery and training, Jack resumed his quest in 2011, completing Idaho, Alaska and Maine. Finally, on Oct. 16, he crossed the

michiganrunner.net

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states. Jack ran 46 of those states in under four hours, which is even more rare.

As Tom Petty sang, Jack’s been “runnin’ down a dream … and goin’ wherever it leads.” Now he’s achieved his goal, he can reflect on this accomplishment.

“It was very emotional to finally finish something I’ve been working on for so long,” Jack told me. “It’s an incredible feeling to know I’ve completed something that so few people have done.”

Some of his personal highlights: favorite race – The Marathon to Marathon (Iowa); toughest race – Grandfather Mountain, N.C.; strangest race – Zoom!

Yah! Yah! Indoor Marathon at St. Olaf College, Minn.; most fun – Boston Marathon (which we ran together in 2008); most inspirational – Marine Corps Marathon (his first, which included running past the Pentagon just one month after 9-11, 2001); and most beautiful – Newport, R.I. Anthony Targan is a regular contributor to Michigan Runner magazine.

- MR -

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

39

John Rogucki Memorial Kensington Challenge, Milford

Kensington Challenges Runners with New Course

By Anthony Targan MILFORD (9/17/11) — One of my least favorite sayings is, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Settling for the status quo is contrary to the goal of continuous improvement.

Fortunately for runners of the 28th annual John Rogucki Memorial Kensington Challenge, race director Doug Goodhue never settles for good enough. This year’s race featured a new course that reversed direction around Kent Lake and added other features to enhance the overall race experience.

The halfway turnaround for the 5K included a gradual turn in a parking lot, rather than the abrupt stop-and-spin at a cone, which is typical of most out-and-back races.

“My reasons for changing the 15K course,” said Goodhue, “were to create a faster, smoother single-loop of Kensington Park without having to use the original outand-back loop on the Turtle Head Peninsula.

With the added downhill start and downhill finish, this year’s finishing times seemed to reflect my planned goal to offer a faster, certified 15K course in one of the most beautiful venues in the state.”

Female 15K winner Serena Kessler of Ann Arbor (56:07) echoed that sentiment: “It was great. I loved it. The weather was perfect. Lots of downhills. Really enjoyable.”

Goodhue credited Hal Wolfe as course architect and certifier, which enabled the race to serve as the Road Runners Club of America’s 15K state championship.

The attention to detail was noticeable. The first mile of both the 5K and 15K courses was on Maple Beach Drive, which allowed the crowds to spread out before picking up the bike trail at the one-mile marker.

Most runners seemed to appreciate the new course. Male 15K masters winner Eric Green of Pontiac (54:50) said he “loved it. It was nice going the opposite direction. We were on the road a little bit more than we have been in the past.”

Overall 15K winner Michael Andersen (48:03) had not run the Challenge before, but as a Milford resident he was familiar with the setting. “I really enjoyed the course as it was this year, although that downhill start was a bit fast,” he said. “Kensington is a great place to run and the course did a great job showing off the beauty of the park. I never felt that ‘How far do I still have to go?’ feeling that can plague boring courses. Doug did a great job creating a fast and runnable course.”

Andersen stuck to his race strategy. “I wanted to make sure I got out in control, es-

pecially with that downhill start,” he said. “I knew that Matt Fecht was a formidable runner and I wouldn’t just run away from him early.

“As we started getting into the rolling part of the course, I made an effort to push a bit on the uphills and let it roll on the downs,” Anderson went on. “At about 3.5 miles, a gap formed. I just surged every hill and corner and the gap grew.

“I was able to negative split, something that’s usually tough for me. Running even or negative was the pre-race plan, so it was nice to execute it the way I imagined it.”

The 5K winners were Jesse Sweeney of Southfield (18:00) and Tammy Nowik of Clarkston (19:20).

For complete results, go to the Ann Arbor Track Club Website at http://www.aatrackclub.org.

Anthony Targan is a regular contributor to Michigan Runner magazine.

- MR -

Michigan Runner TV http://michiganrunner.tv/2011kensington/

Run Woodstock, Pinckney

Rain Wreaks Run Woodstock Havoc, Fun

By Tracey Cohen Fla., to pace a friend in the 100-mile, called the course “fun and extremely challenging.

“We doubled our numbers,” event staffer Bruce Purdy said. “It was wet but fun-loving mud on the trails: good for everyone!”

“The fog at night made it hard to see the trail, but it was a blast.

I’m thinking about coming to run the 100mile myself next year.”

Jonathan Hastings, the 100-mile winner in 19:01, agreed.

“The course was muddy as could be, but a blast!” he said. “I really liked running at night.

It was different — so peaceful, so quiet. ”The victory proved extra sweet for Hastings, who sought redemption after not finishing last year’s event.

Rick Slifkin, who came from Boca Raton,

40

First-year Woodstock half-marathon finisher Andrea Gooch also plans to return.

“The half was slippery but fun,” she said.

“I’d like to experience it when it’s dry.”

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

|

Adrian Berkeley, a “Canadian from Windsor,” disagreed. “I plan to come back especially if it’s raining!” Berkeley said.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

PINCKNEY (9/9-11/11) — While drenching rains all but annihilated trails at the third annual Run Woodstock series of races, event registration reached an all-time high.

All in all, the event went as race director Randy Step intended: “a special, fun time where running is the focus and we get to play all weekend long.

“It excites me that the race has grown by 50 percent each year,” Step said. “It restores my faith in the running community. They think like me — that Run Woodstock is cool.”

5 Mile winner Lemon James sports Woodstock-era tie-dye gear.

michiganrunner.tv

For complete results and information on next year’s event, visit http://www.runwoodstock.com.

Tracey Cohen can be reached at runtrace2000@yahoo.com.

- MR -

Wicked Halloween

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Plymouth, October 30, 2011

Sarah Aittama

The Domino Family

Michigan Runner TV http://michiganrunner.tv/2011wicked_halloween/ Darlene and Matthew Riemann

Run Like the Dickens, Holly

Cold as Dickens Run Draws Festive Crowd

By Tracey Cohen unofficial entertainers on the course this year; the community really stepped it up.”

“It was a beautiful day,” remarked 10K age-group winner John Tarkowski, a Dickens veteran or, as he put it, repeat offender.

“The first mile was a little slick,” he said of the course, “but the rest was good. I just like this race; it’s so festive!”

Eight-year veteran Jennifer O’Guinn agreed.

“It’s fun to see all the dogs and people dressed up,” she said. “There were a lot more

“This is a race put on by runners for runners,” said race director Rob Basydlo. A course wheeled for accuracy, free babysitting and homemade baked goods all add to the Dickens’ draw.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

A record number of runners, walkers and spectators braved 20-degree temperatures to enjoy sunshine and a jolly scene.

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

HOLLY (12/10/11) — As cold as it was, everyone looked happy at the ninth annual Run Like the Dickens 10K, 5K and Tiny Tim Trot Kids races.

10K Winner Mike Andersen 31:51 michiganrunner.net

Lori Guthrie, back for her third year, most enjoyed “the family-friendly atmosphere while still maintaining a competitive field of runners.”

For complete results and information on next year’s event, visit www.runlikethedickens.com.

10K Winner Jenny Scherer 37:47 |

Tracey Cohen can be reached at runtrace2000@yahoo.com.

- MR -

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

41

Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis, Birmingham/Bloomfield

Teens Win 5K, Veterans Dominate 10K at Jingle Bell Run

By Charles Douglas McEwen

Bloomfield Hills residents Stephen Young, 16, and Audrey Belf, 14, dashed to victory in the 5K, timing 17:49 and 19:55 respectively.

50, of West Bloomfield, won a close battle for the men’s 50-54 age group title.

third overall and top master in 18:22.

Belf also had strong competition. Trailing her in the women’s race were Marissa Dobry, 13, of Franklin with a PR of 20:10 and Veronica Alatorre, 43, of Grosse Pointe, masters queen in 21:20.

“I was jockeying back and forth up the last hill with two other guys,” he remembered.

“We kept passing each other. Finally one guy pulled ahead, but he coasted the last few yards as I kicked hard. He beat me by two seconds, but as it turned out my chip time was one second faster, which was the difference in winning my age group.”

“I liked the course,” Belf said. “It’s pretty fast. I liked the rolling hills.”

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

BIRMINGHAM (11/19/11) — The Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis attracted 741 entrants to Covington School on a cold, breezy morning and featured strong performances from two Birmingham Seaholm High School teens.

Matt Fecht, 28, of Warren made quick work of the 10K, perhaps because he had forgotten his hat and gloves. Fecht came in from the cold after finishing two loops of the 5K course in 32:32. Andrew Porinsky, 26, of Dexter was a distant second in 36:00.

Targan timed 42:40 with David Fisher, 50, of Bloomfield Hills second in 42:41.

“I really enjoyed the race,” Targan said.

“The course was challenging but not too hilly. The biggest obstacle was dodging the 5K walkers, many of whom were oblivious to the 10K runners weaving around them.”

Dorsey Dobrey, 43, of Franklin (5K winner Marissa Dobry’s mother) claimed the women’s 10K in 43:01, well ahead of runnerup Kristy Korth, 35, of Bloomfield Hills, who finished in 45:47.

‘I took the lead the last 800 meters,” Tom Liebelt of Young said. “There West Bloomfield, were some fast guys out there. The two be- age 8, finished hind me ran a heck of the 5K in 34:13. a race.” They were John Dolan, 17, of Troy, runner-up in 18:00, and Jeffrey Martin, 53, of Bloomfield Hills,

John Utley, 47, of Bloomfield, who won the 45-49 age group in the 10K, told Targan he had a hard time telling the 10K runners from 5K runners. “I was chasing these guys up the hill and thought ‘they’re going so fast’ when they peeled off to the 5K finish line,” he said.

John Tarkowski, 58, topped the men’s masters and was third overall in 40:45, while Christina Moran, 41, of Bloomfield Hills topped the over-40 women in 49:41.

For complete race results, visit http://www.everalracemgt.com. - MR -

Michigan Runner writer Anthony Targan,

Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis

Megan Eiswerth & Ryan Simmons 42

Doug Kurtis, Grand Masters Winner, 18:48.

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

|

Katie Jazwinski, Winner, 16:18.

michiganrunner.tv

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Northville, December3, 2011

Mike Andersen, Winner, 15:12

Jennifer Smith, Masters Winner, 19:39

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January - February 2012 Event Calendar Date

Event

See past issues of Michigan Runner online: http://issuu.com/michiganrunner/docs/ Distance City Phone/Web

Sun, 1/1/12

John Daley Memorial One One Run

4.4MR/W, 2.2MR/W

Kalamazoo

(269) 342-5996

Sun, 1/1/12

New Year’s Resolution Run

5KR/W, 1MR/W

Lake Orion

(248) 693-9742

Sun, 1/1/12

Sergeant Preston, Yukon King Run

6MR, 5KR/FW

Muskegon

(231) 206-5571

Ad Reference

Tue, 1/3/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Mt. Pleasant

(616) 895-3042

Thu, 1/5/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Ann Arbor

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 1/7/12

Cross Countery Winter Trail Days

XC Ski Cinic

Thompsonville

(800) 968-7686, x 4000

Sat, 1/7/12

IDADARUN

8MR, 8M relay

Linden

(810) 701-8625

Sat, 1/7/12

Lansing for Haiti 5K

5KR

Lansing

(517) 290-0769

Sat, 1/7/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Mt. Pleasant

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 1/7/12

Pontiac Lake Trail Run

10MR

White Lake

(248) 320-9102

Sat, 1/7/12

Reese Winter Road Race Series

10KR, 5KR/W

Reese

(989) 529-7904

Sat, 1/7/12

Snowflake Run and Walk

10KR, 5K R/W,

Flushing

(810) 659-6493

Sat, 1/7/12

USA 50 km Race Walk Championships

50KW, 20KW, 5KW

Houston

(281) 498-0027

Sat, 1/7/12

Walt Disney World Half Marathon

13.1MR

Orlando

runDisney.com

Sat, 1/7/12

Winter Series Resolution Run

5KR/W

Mt. Pleasant

(989) 772-0323

Sat, 1/7/12

Yankee Springs Winter Challenge

250KR, 6.2MR, 13.1MR, 10KR Middleville

Sun, 1/8/12

Boyne Highlands Classic

12K, 6K classic XC ski

Harbor Springs

(231) 526-3029

Sun, 1/8/12

Dave’s 10 Mile Shoe Run

10 MR

Delta

(419) 704-8164

(616) 706-6308

Sun, 1/8/12

Walt Disney WorldÂŽ Marathon

26.2MR

Orlando

runDisney.com

Thu, 1/12/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Ann Arbor

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 1/14/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

track & field,

Hillsdale

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 1/14/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Saginaw

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 1/14/12

Montrose Frozen Blueberry 5K

5KR/W

Montrose

(810) 449-8340

Sat, 1/14/12

PoHo Hot Cocoa 8K Run/ 5K Walk

8KR/W, 5KW, 1MFR

Port Huron

(810) 824-3272

Sat, 1/14/12

REI Frosty Freestyle Cross Country Ski Race

15K X-C Ski; 5K X-C Ski

Brighton

(248) 535-9351

Sat, 1/14/12

SISU Ski Festival

42K/ 21K/ 10K XC ski

Ironwood

(715) 254-4104

michiganrunner.net

|

See Ad Sep/Oct ‘11

See Ad Sep/Oct ‘11

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

43

January - February 2012 Event Calendar Date

Event

Sat, 1/14/12 Sat, 1/14/12 Sun, 1/15/12

See past issues of Michigan Runner online: http://issuu.com/michiganrunner/docs/ Distance City Phone/Web

U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Men’s Marathon 26.2 MR Houston US Olympic Team Trials, Women’s Marathon26.2 MR Houston Chevron Houston Marathon 26.2 MR, 13.1 MR, 5K, kids run Houston

houston2012.com See Ad page 17 houston2012.com See Ad page 17

(713) 957.3453

Mon, 1/16/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

East Lansing

(616) 895-3042

Mon, 1/16/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

track & field

Ypsilanti

(616) 895-3042

Thu, 1/19/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

track & field,

Hillsdale

(616) 895-3042

Fri, 1/20/12

Cote Dame Marie Loppet Kids Race

kids XC races

Grayling

(989) 348-9266

Fri, 1/20/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Ann Arbor

(616) 895-3042

Fri, 1/20/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series - tentative

hs track & field

Warren

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 1/21/12

Bling in the New Year Fun Run

5KR

Royal Oak

(248) 577-0800

Sat, 1/21/12

Cote Dame Marie Loppet

30K XC Ski, 15K XC Ski

Grayling

(888) 876-2196

Sat, 1/21/12

Freeze Your Fanny 5K Run/Walk

5KR, 1MR

Bay City

(989) 832.2267

Sat, 1/21/12

Frozen Foot Race

5 MR

Traverse City

(231) 933-9242

Sat, 1/21/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Albion

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 1/21/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Saginaw

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 1/21/12

OPC Indoor Triathlon

tri: 20minS/ 20minB/ 20minR

Rochester

(248) 608-0295

Sat, 1/21/12

Paint Creek 50K

50KR

Rochester

(248) 391-1559

Sat, 1/21/12

Portland Winter Run

5KR/W

Portland

(517) 526-2210

Sat, 1/21/12

Tip Up Town 5K Run/Walk

5KR

Houghton Lake

(989) 366-5644

Sat, 1/21/12

Winter Wolf Run

25KR, 2person relay

Omer

(989) 529-2906

Sun, 1/22/12

Dirty Herd Winter Classic

FR/W

Lowell

(616) 940-9888

Sun, 1/22/12

Epic Triathlon Clinic Series, #1

triathlon clinic

Ann Arbor

(734) 678-5045

Thu, 1/26/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Ann Arbor

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 1/28/12

Bigfoot Snowshoe Race

10K, 5K snowshoe races

Traverse City

(231) 933-9242

Sat, 1/28/12

Freeze Your Fanny 5K Run/Walk

5KR/W

Shelby Twp.

(586) 850-6611

Sat, 1/28/12

Freeze Your Franny

5KR/W

Shelby Twp.

(584) 850-7711

Sat, 1/28/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Albion

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 1/28/12

Noquemanon Ski Marathon

51K, 25K XC Ski

Marquette

(888) 370-RACE

Sat, 1/28/12

Richmond Park Winter Rush

2MFR

Grand Rapids

(616) 990-1402

Sat, 1/28/12

Snowmans Half Marathon

13.1MR, 10KR, 5KR

Mt. Pleasant

(989) 317-5889

Sat, 1/28/12

The Barren Dash

5KR/W, 1MR/Q

Sidney

(616) 754-9315

Sun, 1/29/12

Meridian Twp Parks & Rec Polar Bear 5K

5KR/W

Okemos

(517) 853-4616

Thu, 2/2/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Ann Arbor

(616) 895-3042

Fri, 2/3/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Albion

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 2/4/12

Borgess Run Camp

Training

Kalamazoo

(269) 345-1913

Sat, 2/4/12

Hot Chocolate Hustle

5KR/ 1MW

Adrian

(517) 263-2911

Sat, 2/4/12

Maple Syrup Stampede

20K XC Ski, 7K XC Ski

St. Joseph Isl, ON

(705) 759-0626

Sat, 2/4/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field - distance fest

Saginaw

616-895-3042

Sat, 2/4/12

Reese Winter Road Race Series

10KR, 5KR/W

Reese

(989) 529-7904

44

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

|

michiganrunner.tv

Ad Reference

See Ad page 17

January - February 2012 Event Calendar Date

Event

See past issues of Michigan Runner online: http://issuu.com/michiganrunner/docs/ Distance City Phone/Web

Ad Reference

Sat, 2/4/12

Tackle the Tower Stair Climb

38 flight R/W

Cleveland

(216) 623-9933

Sat, 2/4/12

The Frostbite

10KR, 5KR/W

Fremont

www.fremontxc.com

Sat, 2/4/12

White Pine Stampede

40K, 20K, 10K XC Ski

Mancelona

(231) 587-8812

Sat, 2/4/12

Winter Series Sweet Heart Run

5KR/W

Mt. Pleasant

(989) 772-0323

Sat, 2/4/12

Winterlaufe

8KR/W

Frankenmuth

(989) 860-3388 or (800) fun-town

Sat, 2/4/12

YMCA Snowshoe Shuffle

5K snowshoe

Middleville

(616) 855-1982

Sun, 2/5/12

Copper Island Classic

10K, 5K, 2K XC Ski classic

Houghton

(906) 523-4884

Sun, 2/5/12

Michigan Cup Sprints

1K junior xc ski

Traverse City

(989)348-9266

Sun, 2/5/12

Super 5K

5KR

Novi

(734) 929-9027

Sun, 2/5/12

Super Bowl 5K

5KR/W

Okemos

(517) 702-0226

Tue, 2/7/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

track & field

Ypsilanti

(616) 895-3042

Thu, 2/9/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

track and field

Hillsdale

(616) 895-3042

Fri, 2/10/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Saginaw

(616) 895-3042

Fri, 2/10/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Warren

(616) 895-3042

Fri, 2/10/12

Midwest Telefest

XC ski clinic, races

Ontonagon

(906) 226-7112

Sat, 2/11/12

Frosty Five Trail Run

5MR

Adrian

(517) 266-6344

Sat, 2/11/12

Grand Rapids Urban Adventure Race - Winter

4-6MR, orienteering, tubing

Belmont

grUrbanAdventureRace.com

Sat, 2/11/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Saginaw

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 2/11/12

North American VASA

50K, 27K, 12K, 3K XC Ski

Traverse City

(231) 938-4400

Sat, 2/11/12

Sweetheart Run & Team Competition

10KR, 5KR/W, Couple Teams

Flushing

(810) 487-0954

Sat, 2/11/12

USA Cross Country Championships

6KR, 8KR, 12KR

Saint Louis, MO

usatf.org

Sat, 2/11/12

Valentine’s Training Run

20MR, 10MR

Ann Arbor

(734) 623-9640

Sun, 2/12/12

Bon Soo Lantern Ski

ski tour

Sault St. Marie

(705) 759-0626

Sun, 2/12/12

Borgess Health & Fitness Indoor Triathlon

Tri: 20 minutes each S/B/R

Kalamazoo

(269) 552-2251

Sun, 2/12/12

Hagerty Insurance Gran Travers XC Classic

12K / 6K XC Ski

Traverse City

(231) 938-4400

Sun, 2/12/12

Heart Throb 5K

5KR/W

East Lansing

(248) 660-7390

Sun, 2/12/12

Riverview Winterfest Breakfast & 4 Mile Run 4 MR, 4x1M relay

Riverview

(734) 658-7792

Tue, 2/14/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Mt. Pleasant

(616) 895-3042

Thu, 2/16/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Ann Arbor

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 2/18/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Albion

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 2/18/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

hs track & field

Allendale

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 2/18/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series

track and field

Hillsdale

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 2/18/12

MSU College of Law Frosty 5K

5K/W

Lansing

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 2/18/12

Soup’r Chili 5K Run

5KR

Acme

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 2/18/12

Spirit of Winter 5K Run/Walk

5KR/W

Bay City

(989) 832-2267

Sat, 2/18/12

Tahquamenon Snowshoe Race

20K, 10K, 5K, kids snowshoe

Paradise

(715) 460-0426

Sat, 2/18/12

Winter Blast 5K

5KR/W

Grandville

(616) 293-1862

Sun, 2/19/12

Hanson Hills Classic

12K, 6K XC Ski

Grayling

(989) 348-9266

Sun, 2/19/12

Howell Splash n’ Dash Indoor Tri

tri: 20 each S/ B/ R

Howell

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Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

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January - February 2012 Event Calendar Date

Event

See past issues of Michigan Runner online: http://issuu.com/michiganrunner/docs/ Distance City Phone/Web

Fri, 2/24/12

Mid American Conference Indoor Championships

track & field meet Akron, OH

Sat, 2/25/12

Big Ten Indoor Championships - Men

track & field meet

Lincoln, Neb.

bigten.cstv.com

Sat, 2/25/12

Big Ten Indoor Championships - Women

track & field meet

Lincoln, Neb.

bigten.cstv.com

Ad Reference

Sat, 2/25/12

Dash Down Division

5KR/W

Grand Rapids

(616) 588-7200, x 2006

Sat, 2/25/12

IceCube Half Marathon

13.1MR, 10KR. 5KR

Mt. Pleasant

(989) 289-2361

Sat, 2/25/12

Michigan Indoor Track Series - Championship hs track & field

Ypsilanti

(616) 895-3042

Sat, 2/25/12

USA Indoor Track & Field Championships

track & field meet

Albuquerque, NM usatf.org

Sun, 2/26/12

Disney’s Princess Half Marathon

13.1MR, 5KR, kids runs

Lake Buena Vista, FL runDisney.com

Sun, 2/26/12

Junior Muffin Race Skiathlon

8K xc ski, kids 6-12 races

Higgins Lake

Sun, 2/26/12

Last Chance for Boston Marathon

26.2MR, 13.1MR, 10KR, 5KR Dublin

(614) 431-9134

Sun, 2/26/12

Tortoise and Hare Training Run

11M training run

(734) 623-9640

Ann Arbor

See Ad Nov/Dec’11

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Featured Future Events See past issues of Michigan Runner online: http://issuu.com/michiganrunner/docs/ Date

Event

Distance

City

Phone

Sat, 3/10/12 Sun, 3/11/12 Sun, 3/11/12

Shillelagh Four Mile Shamrocks and Shenanigans St. Patrick’s Parade Corktown Race

4 MR/W, kids run 5KR/W, kids’ run 5KR/W

Flushing Ann Arbor Detroit

(810) 487-0954 See Ad page 19 (734) 969-9027 (248) 354-1177 See Ad back cover

Sat, 3/17/12 Sat, 3/17/12 Sat, 3/17/12

Fitness Expo St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun Races St. Patrick’s Day Pot O’ Gold Shuffle

Expo kids runs 4 MR/W, kids run

Bay City Bay City Flint

(989) 274-9495 See Ad page 8 (989) 415-5593 See Ad page 8 (810) 233-8851 See Ad page 23

Sun, 3/18/12 Sun, 3/18/12 Sat, 3/24/12

ShamRock ‘n’ Roll Run St. Patrick’s Day Races Dances with Dirt - Green Swamp

10KR, 5KR/W, 1MFR Plymouth 8KR, 5KR/W Bay City 50M, 50K, 26.2M, 13.1M+ Dade City, FL

Sat, 4/14/12 Sun, 4/15/12 Sat, 4/28/12

Martian Invasion of Races Big House / Big Heart 5K Let’s Move Festival of Races

26.2M, 13.1M, 10K, 5K, kids Dearborn (734) 929-9027 See Ad page 43 10KR, 5KR, 1MFR Ann Arbor (734) 213-1033 13.1MR/ Relay, 5K, 1M Mount Clemens (586) 295-1532 See Ad page 3

Sat, 4/28/12 Sun, 4/29/12 Sun, 5/6/12

Running Fit Trail Half Marathon Running Fit Trail Marathon Kalamazoo Marathon / Borgess Run

13.1 MR 50KR, 26.1MR, 5MR 26.2 M, 13.1M, 5K, kids+

Sun, 5/6/12 Sat, 5/12/12 Sat, 5/12/12

Mississauga Marathon Dances with Dirt - Gnaw Bone Fifth Third River Bank Run

26.2 M, 13.1 M, 5K, 1M Mississauga, ON (905) 949-2931 50M, 50K, 26.2M, 13.1M+ Nashville, IN (734) 929-9027 25KR, 10KR, 5KR/W, teams Grand Rapids (616) 771-1590 See Ad inside back

Sat, 5/19/12 Sun, 5/20/12 Sun, 5/20/12

Midland Cmty Center’s Dow Run Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K The Qualifier

10KR, 5KR/W, 1MR, kids 26.2 MR, 13.1 MR, 10KR 26.2MR, 13.1MR

Pinckney Pinckney Kalamazoo

Midland Cleveland, OH Midland

(248) 345-6168 See Ad page 13 (989) 415-5593 See Ad page 8 (734) 929-9027

(734) 929-9027 (734) 929-9027 (877) 255-2447 See Ad inside front

(989) 832-7937 See Ad page 9 (800) 467-3826 See Ad page 15 (989) 415-3120 See Ad page 9

See past issues of Michigan Runner online: http://issuu.com/michiganrunner/docs/

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Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

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Ad Reference

Featured Future Events Date

Event

Distance

City

Phone

Sun, 5/20/12 Sat, 5/26/12 Sat, 5/26/12

XTERRA Last Stand Tri/Du Alma Highland Festival 8 Mile / 5K Mackinaw Memorial Bridge Race

Triathlon / Duathlon 8MR, 5KR/W, kids runs 6 MR

Augusta Alma Mackinaw City

(419) 829-2398 (989) 463-4122 (231) 436-5664

Sun, 6/10/12 Sun, 6/17/12 Sun, 6/17/12 Sat, 6/23/12

Waterloo Triathlon / Duathlon Ann Arbor Marathon, Half, 5K XTERRA Torn Shirt Tri /Du Solstice Run

Triathlon / Duathlon 26.2MR, 13.1MR, 5KR Triathlon / Duathlon 10MR, 10KR, 5KR/W, Kids

Grass Lake Ann Arbor Brighton Northville

(419) 829-2398 (734) 213-1033 (419) 376-9496 (248) 345-6168

Ad Reference

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Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

47

Running with Tom Henderson

By Tom Henderson

© Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Six freaking 44 pace for 5K and you win?

That pace wouldn’t have got you close to the trophy table in a half marathon 20 years ago.

That was the fastest pace out of 108 men aged 40-49? Mind-boggling.

• I don’t get why nearly everyone wants flat and fast courses, blacktop instead of trail.

(This does not include trail maniac Jeff Gaft.)

M

ost of November was fabulous, shirtsleeves-and-shorts running. I was out picking apples and autumn berries the Saturday after Thanksgiving in sunshine and 55 degrees north of Traverse City.

But December is going to be here in two days as I write this, and they’re predicting three to five inches of snow in Detroit tonight.

So here’s a column to match the weather: some gloom, no sunshine, a little bit of bitchin.’ It’s all about what I don’t get.

• For example, I don’t get why in this day and age of GPS everything, why do race directors keep putting on races that are such awful approximations of the correct distance?

The Thanksgiving Day Traverse City Turkey Trot added what was billed as a 5-mile race to go along with the traditional 5K. The event website had maps of each route, clearly showing the distances for each course: 3.16 miles for the supposed 5K and 4.24 miles for the supposed 5-miler.

At least 3.16 miles is in the ballpark. But 4.24 miles?

• I don’t get why hardly anyone runs fast anymore. I know, I have written about this before, and I don’t want to sound like an old geezer moaning about the good old days. But a reading of the 5K results in the Traverse City Turkey Trot was still surprising.

Granted the extra distance in the 5K added a bit of time — nearly 22 seconds for someone running 6-minute pace, for example — but of the 108 male finishers in the 30-39 age group, no one broke 20:15. Of the 108 finishers in men’s 40-49 division, no one broke 21:18. That means the men’s master’s age group winner ran 6:44 a mile on a pancakeflat course with not much wind.

48

I opted to run the Crystal Mountain 5K on Thanksgiving instead. This small race involved roughly 100 people tackling the ski and golf resort southwest of Traverse City. There wasn’t any snow on the ground and I warmed up on these wonderful wide trails of mowed grass carved into the sides of the biggest, baddest hills in the Lower Peninsula.

They’ll be groomed cross-country ski trails once the season hits, and would have made for great cross-country running. But no such luck.

No course there is flat, but organizers delivered the flattest one they could, on a blacktop road that went around the golf course and mostly skirted the hills.

The only dirt was a 30-yard stretch that connected to another road. As much as the route disappointed me, I know the one I would have preferred would probably have sent most of the runners off to their turkey dinner in a grumpy mood and looking for a faster course next year.

• I don’t get why volunteers at fund-raising runs often spend so much time on details and so little on mechanics of the race itself.

Yes, I know the real purpose is to raise money for the cause, and you volunteers and organizers are much appreciated for giving your time and energy. But although fewer people seem to take racing seriously, there still is a competition to conduct once the gun goes off, and that means attention to detail there, too.

The summer before last I did a 10K on the steep, heavily-wooded trails on the southern edge of the Munson Hospital campus in Traverse City. The local garden club put it on to raise money to save a historic barn or something. Both the 5K and 10K courses used some of the same trails, and both cut back and forth across trails that weren’t part of either course.

There were dozens of places in each race to take a wrong turn. There were a ton of volunteers at the start and finish and none, zilch, out on the course. You were supposed to follow little color bits of fabric tied here and there, but everyone got lost. At the finish, people were coming in from 18 different directions.

Michigan Runner - January / February 2012

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When I politely suggested to one volunteer that next time they might want to have people out at key intersections, she looked at me like I was a selfish oaf.

The Tara Grant Memorial 5K cross-country run at Stony Creek Metropark in Washington Township north of Detroit is a must-do for me in September. It’s a fundraiser for Turning Point, a shelter for abused women. Tara Grant was killed by her husband, and since I capitalized on her murder by writing a book, “Blood in the Snow,” it’s only fair I write a check each year to run the race.

Two years in a row, runners went off course, last year in the 5K and this year in the newly-added 10K. I led a bunch of 10K runners off course about half a mile into the race. We had been warned at the start that we would split off from the 5Kers early on, so when I came to a T intersection and three volunteers, I hollered out if the 10K went left. I was running in second place and the leader was far enough ahead to be out of sight.

The volunteers interrupted their conversation long enough to say yes. Another 100 yards or so I came to another T intersection at a bike path. I was running on the shoulder of the road and a long white arrow painted on grass went to the left. I ran on the arrow to the left and everyone behind me followed.

A mile later, we finished a loop that brought us back to the same spot where I’d asked the volunteers which way to go. I went left again, and this time, at the next T intersection, one of the volunteers told us to go right.

“You were supposed to go right last time,” she hollered out. “It was marked. You should have followed the arrow.”

Sure enough, there was a second arrow going right. The first one was the remnants of a previous race. It was my bad luck to be running on it and not see the arrow to the right.

Too bad a volunteer hadn’t been stationed there to tell us which arrow to follow.

So, anyway, we were now back on track, a mile late. By then a runner had caught up to me and the dog and we ran side by side for half a mile or so until we came to another T intersection, this one marked neither by a volunteer nor any arrow. We went left and soon were about to leave the park.

We doubled back, returned to the intersection and went right. Came to another dead end. Gave up, jogged around awhile getting some miles in and returned to the staging area.

Turned out, soon after we got back on track at the first wrong turn, there was either supposed to be an arrow or a volunteer to direct us off the asphalt bike path and back onto the dirt trail. No arrow, no volunteer, no 10K. After the race, a volunteer said it was the Hansons’ fault. They had scored the race and were responsible. Au contraire, I replied. The Hansons might score races, but they can’t bring a busload of folks to man every intersection or turn on a trail 10K. That’s what you need your volunteers for.

This race might have lacked organization, but it didn’t lack volunteers. The turnout was huge. There were four or five people passing out hot dogs at the finish. Two manned the cardboard box where you turned in your raffle tickets. There were volunteers everywhere in and around the start-finish line.

The race setting is perfect, the cause near and dear. But the cause and the setting ultimately don’t mean a thing without making sure the actual competition goes off OK, too.

LED light aiming at the car, the dogs or Kathleen in her reflective gear.

Jade knows enough to stand off to the far side of the road and that’s what she did. But at the last second, the driver saw Kathleen and the other two dogs standing on one side of the dirt road, hit the brake and made a panicked veer to the left, right into Jade, still going at high speed.

aged, though Jade’s body was a mess of blue and purple, her head swollen badly, blood and fluids dripping out of two shunts in the side of her face to release fluids and reduce swelling.

Friday, she was hungry and eating. She couldn’t get up on her own, but once lifted to her feet, she demanded a walk and was able to traverse a 200-yard route around the property.

The car kept going another 40 to 50 yards, then stopped. The driver looked out, saw Kathleen bending over the fallen dog, hit the gas and took off. One of Jade’s eyes was dangling out of its socket and blood was everywhere.

By Sunday, she was ravenous, getting up on her own, jumping on and off the couch, trotting around the yard, eagerly sniffing where various critters had been walking, peeing or sleeping during the night.

Kathleen had to scoop her up while holding onto the shepherd’s leash and carry her the 100 yards back to the cabin. She called me from the car, hysterical, sure Jade wasn’t going to make it to the animal hospital 20 minutes away.

By Sunday, too, she was pissed at me for putting on my running gear in front of her, then having the audacity to take the other two dogs for a walk and leaving her behind, though she didn’t hold it against me and was happy to see me when I got back.

She made it. That was Tuesday night. Two days later, Thanksgiving afternoon, Jade was released from the hospital. One rib was cracked.

Another rib was badly fractured and they had to operate to cut off a piece of it. A cut on her neck was stitched, one in her side, another in her mouth. The eye couldn’t be put back in.

Another week, old girl, maybe two, and you’ll be back on the roads, running with the rest of us.

Nothing like a Thanksgiving to have something extra to be thankful for.

third square 8/11/11 ken square and notemplate_third organs were irreparably dam-10:21 AM Page 1

Miraculously, no long bones were bro-

- MR -

O

K, some good news, now, involving an old dog getting hit by a speeding car and losing an eye, breaking two ribs and taking a slew of stitches for several bad lacerations.

Jade is technically my grandson’s dog, but she’s been living at our cabin up north for three years now. She used to visit on weekends, but would get so depressed when she returned home that my grandson and stepdaughter, who had another dog, generously told us if Jade was happier living in the woods, good for her.

She just turned 15, looks six, has no arthritis nor gray hair — a 40-pound mutt who can keep up with me and Maddie on any 6- or 8-mile run we take.

During deer season, middle of the week, I was back in Detroit while my wife Kathleen was walking the dogs in the dark after getting home from work. Jade and Maddie were off leash, our big German shepherd on leash and Kathleen wearing one of those lights that strap on around your head.

On the big long hill that goes past our old schoolhouse, an SUV came flying around the corner at 50 mph, barreling downhill right at Kathleen and the dogs.

The driver must have been drunk or on a cell phone, not seeing the bright beam of

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