michigan runner january / february 2011

Eric GreenEric GreenMichigan Runner Michigan Runner of the Year 2010of the Year 2010

michiganrunner.net michiganrunner.tv

Michigan Runner - January / February 20114

In This IssueJanuary / February 2011 Vol. 32, No. 6

Cover: Left: Eric Green, Open Door Julie Run, photo by Charles Douglas McEwen;Right Top: Eric Green, Crim Festival of Races 10 Mile, photo by Carter Sherline / FrogPrince Studios; Right Bottom: Leo Foley, Shane Logan and Eric Green, Brooksie Way HalfMarathon, photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios.

Features & Departments

CalendarJanuary - April 2011 p. 39-45

Editor’s Notes: Future Games By Scott Sullivan p. 6

Letters to the Editor p. 6

Michigan Runner of the Year: Eric Green By Charles Douglas McEwen p. 7

Beyond the Chip: Name By Ian Forsyth p. 8

Masters Runner of the Year: Paul Aufdemberge By Daniel G. Kelsey p. 10

Running Shorts with Scott Hubbard p. 14

Female Masters Runner of the Year: Lisa Veneziano By Bill Khan p. 15

Senior Runner of the Year : J. C. Collins By Ron Marinucci p. 18

Female Runner of the Year: Jackie Rzepecki By Charles Douglas McEwen p. 19

Gone Fishing with Bill Rodgers By Riley McLincha p. 20

Senior Runner of the Year: Peggy Zeeb By Daniel G. Kelsey p. 21

Contributor of the Year: Chuck Block By Ron Marinucci p. 22

Beer-Running Link Probed by Grand Rapids Pioneers By Scott Sullivan p. 29

Playmakers Named Running Specialty Store of the Year p. 31

Notes on the Run: Vibrant By Daniel G. Kelsey p. 34

Totally into SkiWalking By Jim Neff p. 36

Book Review: ‘Again to Carthage’ By Ron Marinucci p. 38

Running with Tom Henderson p. 46

Energy Glows on Cold Holiday Hustle Night By Charles Douglas McEwen p. 9

Eles Makes Like Hare at Great Turtle Run By Katie Kelly-Noble p. 11

32nd Big Bird Runs ‘Stuffed’ By Ron Marinucci p. 12

Big Bird Flies Again By Bill Kalmar p. 13

Detroit Turkey Trot Offers Crowd, Costumes, Fun By Charles Douglas McEwen p. 16

The Parade Upstairs By Scott Sullivan p. 17

Footlocker Midwest Championships Photos by Greg Sadler and Bruce Wodder p. 23

Jazwinski, Zendler Romp to GR Crowns By Grant Lofdahl p. 24

Grand Rapids Marathon: Hustle and Flow at Mile 17 By Daniel G. Kelsey p. 25

Desilets Dominates Detroit Marathon Debut By Charles Douglas McEwen p. 26

Hell Halloween Run Celebrates Hallowed Pair By Ron Marinucci p. 28

Thousands RunThru Hall on Halloween; Goal Reached By Tracey Cohen p. 29

Headless Horseman Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios p. 31

Wildlife Marathon Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios p. 31

Speed Thrills at State Final XCMeet By Scott Sullivan p. 32

NCAA Cross Country Photos by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios p. 35

AATurkey Trot Thankful for Record Numbers,More By Tracey Cohen p. 37

At the Races

If hindsight is20/20, what isforesight? If

those who forgetthe past aredoomed to repeatit, how can weknow we remem-ber clearlyenough to basetomorrow on it?

Case in point:I was thinkingthe other dayabout how tobecome an

Olympic gold medal runner. “Would sleepingin an altitude tent put me on the podium?” Iasked one expert.

“Nope,” he said.“Training on an underwater treadmill?

Cryotherapy?”“Nope.”“Is there any place I can go to become

the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)?”“Nope.”Here is where learning from the past

comes in. Based on my career in communica-tions, I know that no matter what you say,people hear what they want to hear. What Iforgot was those “people” include me.

I assumed the expert was referring toNOP, the Nike Oregon Project, where famedcoach Alberto Salazar, armed with Nikemoney, works to help American distance run-ners overcome Africans’ natural advantages(growing up at altitude, running from youth

as an everyday means of transport) with ourability to outspend them.

“Yup,” I thought, “NOP is the place forme!”

For those of you blinded by running sci-ence, an altitude tent is an enclosed livingspace which simulates high altitude by main-taining a lower oxygen concentration; thebody adapts by producing more oxygen-bear-ing red blood cells, boosting runners’ strengthand endurance.

Underwater treadmills allow greatertraining and recovery without stressful,injury-causing pounding, while cryosaunas(metal cylinders in which nitrogen-cooled airdraws blood from extremities, causing anenergy boost and skin rejuvenation) are thelatest high-tech and -cost toys to drop run-ners’ times.

I called Alberto to say NOP should say“Yup” to me if it wants to prove something.Making Alan Webb, Dathan Ritzenhein andothers who are already fast slightly fastermeans nothing compared to making a rocklike me a rocket.

When I couldn’t get through to Alberto, Itried Nike co-founder/chair Phil Knight, whoalso did not call back. With all those cylin-ders, tents and treadmills, they probably did-n’t hear the phone ringing.

I may have to put my Olympic hopes onhold until 2016, when I am 61, or even till2020. Some Games those will be for hind-sight.

If failure to communicate is the cause ofmost things that never happen, at least wewill never know what we missed. - MR -

6 Michigan Runner - January / February 2011

Future GamesEditor’s Notes

©C

.S

herli

ne/

Frog

Prin

ceS

tudi

os

By Scott Sullivan

November 28, 2010

Dolores and Harrison Hensley really appreciate everybody whoparticipated in the Helloween Run Thru Hell. We were overwhelmed byyour kindness and generosity. It was the best day that Dolores hashad in two years. It gave her a new lease on life.

The people who helped to make this possible are Gault RaceManagement, Bauman’s Running and Walking Shop, Hanson’s NewBalance, Playmakrs, Running Fit, Total Runner, Livingston Co. Sheriff,Runmichigan.com, Michigan Runner, race volunteers, Boy Scfouts andthe running ommunity. Many thanks to all, especially CoachChuckBlock who put it all together

Dolores and Harrison

Letters to the Editor

7Michigan Runner - January / February 2011

Michigan Runner of the Year:Eric Green

By Charles Douglas McEwen

Although thrilled when he won MastersRunner of the Year in 2009, Eric Green,43, of Pontiac always believed he could

win the overall Runner of the Year award.

This year, he amassed 170 points in theMichigan Runner Series and ran away withthe title.

“I thought last year was the highlight ofmy running career,” Green said. “I guess thistops that.”

Amazingly, he claimed the honor withoutwinning a Series race. He did, however, havemany formidable performances.

Green was second overall and firstamong masters in the Solstice Run 5K(16:40), Steve’s Run 10K (34:51) and MilfordLabor Day 30K (1:50:04). He also finishedfirst master at the Detroit Free PressMarathon (2:38:54), second master in theDexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon (1:14:24)and third master in the Corktown 5K (16:53)and the Crim 10-Mile (55:17). He was thesecond state masters finisher at Crim.

“Eric is a staple in the Michigan runningscene,” said 2009 Runner of the Year Nick Stanko.“Winning Runner of the Year honors is a testa-ment to his consistency on the roads.”

“It amazes me to see to Eric in results atso many races across the state,” continuedStanko. “He puts a lot of miles on his run-ning shoes and his odometer as he travelsfrom event to event to accumulate his racepoints, while always sporting his famousgreen-and-white Front Line Racing singlet.”

Front Line founder and president FredVanhala also marvels at Green’s consistency.

“Eric was born and built to run,” saidVanhala. “He has never been injured (Greenconfirms this) and knows what to do to gethimself ready at any distance.

“He’s an incredible athlete who can competewell at distances from 400 meters to themarathon,” Vanhala went on. “I’m sure if heapplied himself, he’d do well at the ultra distances.

“Eric loves indoor track. You will neverfind him happier than at indoor meets run-ning every race he can. He is proud to beaffiliated with Front Line and does a greatjob recruiting team members, then enteringthem in meets.”

Green, now Front Line vice president,joined the team a decade ago.

“Fred asked me to join in 2000 and Iturned him down,” he remembered. “Then Isaw some other good guys doing it, and Idecided give it a try.”

More than 25 years ago, Green startedout as a skinny sprinter at John F. KennedyMiddle School. He quickly found that heneeded to try longer races if he wanted tostick with the team. He moved up to the half-mile, mile, two-mile and eventually beyond.

Though he enjoys jumping into an indoormile here and there during winter, Greenfocuses mainly on longer races. He finished2010 with a string of strong performances at

such distances, including the aforementionedCrim, Milford and Free Press runs, first mas-ter for the third straight year in theKensington Challenge 15K and second over-all at the Brooksie Way half marathon.

Green, who has run the Free PressMarathon many times, finished fifth overallthis year, his best place there ever. He origi-nally planned to run a six-minutes-per-milepace, hoping to set a PR by breaking 2:36.He also wanted to run with Jordan Desilets,29, a former Eastern Michigan University starwho was NCAA 3,000-meter steeplechasechampion in 2004.

“I was honored that Jordan asked me torun with him in his first marathon,” Greensaid.

The pair started the race running fasterthan a six-minute pace. “We were clippingalong at 5:50 to 5:55,” Green said. “That’sbecause of Jordan. He kept saying we’ll slowdown when we get back into the city, but wenever cut it back.

“We went through the 13.1-mark at justover 1:16, so we were on track for a 2:32marathon. I knew sooner or later I wouldhave to slow down. I finally started runningover six-minute pace around mile 19.”

Desilets broke away after that and won themarathon. Green fell short of his PR and goal, buthe was elated with his fifth-place finish.

This year’s Runner of the Year, a physicaleducation building manager at OaklandCommunity College and assistant coach forits men’s and women’s cross country teams, isproud of his teams as well. The men tied forfifth out of 24 teams in the National JuniorCollege Athletic Association Half-MarathonChampionships this year.

“I love coaching college-age kids,” saidGreen, who, with his wife Julia, has threechildren of his own. “They spend just twoyears at our school, so we try to show themhow to properly train during the first year.They usually show significant improvementin the second year.

“But we only have a short window oftime to work with them. Hopefully, we caninstill training habits that will last beyondcollege.”

And maybe they will keep at it as long asour durable Runner of the Year

. - MR -

Eric Green finishes 5th in theDetroit Free Press Marathon.

Pho

toby

John

Bra

bbs

/ru

nmic

higa

n.co

m


NameBeyond the Chip

By Ian Forsyth

I’m not a parent, or an uncle,or a godfather.

I think children are sticky.-- Shawn Spencer-Psych

I’m the jerk who forgets your name assoon as you tell me. As much as I’d liketo retain it, overriding distraction prevails.

From that first introduction, any future inter-action exists on a plane of head bobbing orfriendly finger salutes. Certainly cordialenough for base Neanderthal communication,but we both know...

I pop the browor shoot the gun

‘cause I don’t know your nameoh no, I don’t know your name.

As storied husband, I would expect inti-mate knowledge of your Cliff Huxtable, mar-ital ease. The calming blend of confidenceand humility you bring, ushers any spousalconflict to logically loving completion.Though we’ve met, it’s more that awkward“friend of a friend” indirect dynamic, thaneasy conversation.

My wife knows my complete devotion,but actions often betray this promise. WhileI intend to give as I’m given, every lapse into“me” world snuffs a hint of her selflesssparkle and my grasp of the ideal husband isrendered a touch more intangible.

Now when you and your contentedCosby smile stroll by with a pleasant, “Hey,hey, hey”…



Three daughters into my fatherhood cycle,with a fourth child stealthily stalking, yourjust and forgiving father figure of myHoward Cunningham aspiration is yet but aneighbourhood acquaintance. Daylight deliv-ers you work, but when dinner hits, you’drather enthusiastically launch into your chil-dren’s offering, than plow through a meal.Our downing a couple beers at chaotic sum-mertime gatherings has yet to drift to thesequiet moments of distinct illumination.

Living in a house of hugs offers uncom-promising bliss, but loud impatient tantrumstend to blast through to bedlam; and thekids’ cool sometimes falters as well. I lovemy girls with all, but that’s not always glar-ingly apparent, as our incessant familial coup

of my morning dictatorship spills to the out-side.

Hectically herding the girls toward theirschool rendezvous, I spy you leisurely exitinganother effortless drop off in your TomBosley DeSoto and…



Well before my hood changed from boyto man, seconds and sweat have been trick-ling, pushing to emulate your Ivan Dragotraining resolve. Ever adapting to increasingrigour, uncompromising resolve shatteringany doubt to sustain; you evolve onward.Unconscious consistency and unbridled inten-sity, latched with a key of wisdom, slidesyour fitness steadily flowing forward.

Long betrothed to endlessly recurringcycles of threshold mileage, interrupted only

by periodic workout punishment; ignoringbasic preservation continues to sabotage mylongevity. Revolving extended days withundone nights leave me increasingly suscepti-ble to bodily breakdown. Inevitably, I sub-mit.

Momentary encounters on moonlessmornings surely supplement memory of ourinitial long run link up. Yet when I lift myeyes, your image remains cloudy. Crankingby, you growl your dirtiest Dolph Lundgren,“I must break you” and…



Though my brain’s information pick upgenerally carries some fuzz, your PBs arelocked as soon as they are uttered. Obsessionflailing for my own PBs has delivered me thislone “Rain Man” function.

Lunging from the line with DanielLaRusso recklessness, you savagely launchyourself into racing oblivion. Wrenching allfear aside, paralyzing mind gnawing limits,you fight into the fray. Strangled by con-stricting pack adversaries, within and with-out, your body senses imminent shrivel.Time and space pulse into an obscure kalei-doscope of shifting anguish. Just whenJohnny’s boys are calling for Ralph Macchio’sbody bag, Mr. Miyagi heats his hands andyour finish is realized. In a final flourish,your empty nothingness is punctuated withperseverant power.

Untold success and failure on the trackstill leaves me wanting. When I hit a race, Iwant to hit it hard, but each click of myweathering odometer proves my shelteringcomfort zone more difficult to pierce.Hammering through the heart of exhaustionhas become increasingly daunting the moreit’s been successfully attained. Seeming rever-sal of right, the more concise my vision ofobstacles ahead, the tighter this knowledgebinds.

Joining you in the chute, after being dis-tanced moments before…


‘cause I don’t know your nameoh no, I don’t know your name…

but I’m tryin’oh yes, I’m tryin’.

- MR -

Ian Forsyth competes in the Crim10 Mile, August, 2010.

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios


DEXTER (12/4/10) — While an ever-green tree and hundreds of holiday lightsbrightened Monument Park, JasonMahakian and Laurel Park lit upRunning Fit’s Holiday Hustle 5K ona frigid evening.

Park, 47, of Ann Arbor, ran awaywith the women’s race, whereasMahakian, 21, of Farmington Hills,had to tangle with Andrew Porinsky, 25,of Dexter and Brian St. Onge, 34, ofFarmington Hills.

Park (17:55) finished one fullminute ahead of runner-up SarahSherwood, 22, of Plymouth (18:55).Next came Serena Kessler, 38, ofAnn Arbor (19:11).

“Man, it was cold!” Park said with ashiver. “But I was happy with myeffort.”

Mahakian (16:08.6) kicked down thehome stretch to edge Porinsky (16:10.3)and St. Onge (16:11.6).

“I felt pretty good for the first cou-ple miles, then got a cramp in my side,”said Mahakian. “Having those guys withme helped me push through it.”

Mahakian, Porinsky and St. Ongebattled each other through the final mile.

“We made the last turn,” St. Ongesaid, “and it was a sprint for thefinal 300 meters. Jason out-kicked theother guy and me. It’s exciting to be inthat situation. It gets the blood flowing.’

St. Onge, who took third in this racelast year, has run against Mahakian inthe past. “Jason ran a great race,” hesaid. “It’s exciting to see everybody outhere enjoying the cold weather.”

The race attracted about 1,380 run-ners for the 5K and the ForestersFrozen Fun Mile Run.

Nicholas Pariano, 7, of AnnArbor described the one mile as “awe-some.” He was pretty awesome himself,winning the boys’ race in 6:52, thefastest time for someone under age 12 inrace history.

Next came Ben Cabana, 10, of

Dexter (7:16) and the top two girls in therace, Katie Miller, 10,of Ypsilanti and Lauren McCabe, 13, ofDexter (both in 7:19).

For complete results, go tohttp://www.runholiday5k.com.

- MR -

Michigan Runner - January / February 2011 9

Energy Glows on Cold Holiday Hustle NightHoliday Hustle, Dexter


Masters Runner of the Year: PaulAufdemberge

By Daniel G. Kelsey

Meet the two aspects of PaulAufdemberge.

Sitting down to talk, we discoverAufdemberge-the-deliberative-thinker.Standing up to compete, we findAufdemberge-the-fleet-of-foot.

The latter aspect sped him to the title ofMichigan Runner’s 2010 Male MastersRunner of the Year; the former slowed himdown to take a balanced view of another sea-son of honors and records, and of a runner’splace in the wider world.

“There are heroes all around us,” saidAufdemberge. “We all realize that no matterhow fast we are, there’s always somebody outthere who can beat us. So I try to keep thingsin perspective.”

Readers of these pages recognize him as athree-time overall Runner of the Year. Theyknow the prose of his articles as formal andclean. They’ve seen Aufdemberge’s qualitiesas a book reviewer and tech critic. They’vegotten glimpses of the value he places onserving as coach and teammate.

What they don’t know, if they’ve nevertalked to him, is his tendency to pause beforehe speaks. His interviewer has a challenge inadjusting to his cadence. Once he opens hismouth, though, and gets going, it’s worthwaiting for.

“I didn’t run quite as well this year as Idid last year,” said Aufdemberge, 45 at thiswriting. “Maybe that’s partly getting older.”

He credited his 2010 successes to his coach-ing of athletes like Andrea Pomaranski andMarybeth Reader to notable performances inmarathons. “The runners I’m working with arealways thanking me, but without them I would-n’t have been as diligent,” he said.

Successes came often for Aufdembergelast year. At the Hillsdale Gina Relays April22, on an outdoor track, he ran the 10K in31:14 to set an American record for the 45-49 age group. It was in the same event in2005 that he set the existing American mas-ters record at 30:04.

“I’ve slowed down 70 seconds in sixyears,” he said. “I went out a little too fastthis time and kind of ended up hurtingtoward the end.”

Aufdemberge placed first in the 15K atthe USA National Masters Championship inBuffalo, N.Y., with a 47:52; and in the halfmarathon at the USA National MastersChampionship in Melbourne, Fla., with a1:08:57.

“If you’re running well, you kind of lookforward to some little rewards … and somebigger rewards,” he said.

Aufdemberge took points in three of the10 races in this magazine’s Runner of theYear series. He was first overall and firstmaster with a 15:40 in the St. Patrick’sCorktown 5K in Detroit March 14; first mas-ter with a 1:22:22 in the Fifth Third RiverBank Run 25K in Grand Rapids May 8; andfirst master with a 52:43 in the Crim 10-Milein Flint Aug. 28.

Aufdemberge praised race director DougKurtis for growing Corktown, a 5K in 2010after years as a 4-miler, into a celebrationattracting 5,000 runners.

“It was a fun race this year. TotalRunner, the store I’m involved with, was partof early registration and packet pick-up,” hesaid. “I had a pretty good battle with the sec-ond runner, then pulled away.

“Overall wins are few and far between atmy age,” he said.

At the Fifth Third River Bank Run, held ona cold and damp day for the second year in arow, he was a minute slower than in 2009.

“River Bank has to rank near the top ofmy list of races,” he said. “The conditionsweren’t as bad as it looked like they weregoing to be.”

At Crim he ran close to his slowest timein 17 tries on that course. “Conditions werevery favorable for August,” he said. “I felt Iwas in shape to do 52:30, and got close.”

So, given a pause for thought, how doesAufdemberge, husband of Jeanne and fatherof Emily, 13, and Jacob, 10, feel about hisplace in the wider world? What does he thinkof the closure in October of the 31-year-oldTotal Runner in Southfield, where he workedfor seven years, and his new gig as managerof the outlet’s Southgate branch?

“I’m fortunate to be continuing withTotal Runner,” he said.

How does he feel about his successes onhis feet?

“For me it’s a feeling of inner accom-plishment; of knowing I’ve done my best,” hesaid. “When the race is over, I feel good if Iknow I’ve done all I can do on that day.”

Each December from 2006 through2009, Aufdemberge competed in the USATFClub Cross Country Championships with fel-low masters on the Front Line Racing Team.This year he was willing to forego the bene-fits of team running for the sake of healingsome nagging aches and pains.

“I’m hoping to come back strong in early2011,” he said.

That could give the rest of us pause forthought. - MR -

Paul Aufdemberge was first mas-ter with a 52:43 in the Crim 10-Mile in Flint Aug. 28.

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios

By Katie Kelly-Noble

MACKINAC ISLAND (10/23/10) — SteveEles had a winning streak to keep alive at theeighth annual Great Turtle Half Marathon.

“There was great competition throughthree miles,” said the Lake Superior StateUniversity cross country coach. “Then I wentup the hill pretty hard and started to pull away.

“I really had a good last four miles,” thewinner continued. “I think I clicked off a5:24, 5:15, 5:22 and 5:16.”

Eles, 31, had won both times he had runhere before, in 2005 and 2007. This time theBrimley resident prevailed in 1:13:36, his per-sonal record for the course by more than 30seconds.

“I kinda knew what to expect. It’s hilly,”Eles said.

Nearly 2,000 runners and walk-ers boated their way to the island fora race that awarded them stunningviews.

“It was pretty cool, especiallywhen you got up high and could seethe whole town and the lighthouses,”said Jake Hoover, an LSSU trackteam member who finished third,about three minutes behind hiscoach.

“I was with four guys for a cou-ple miles, but I basically ran bymyself the whole time, which workedout all right,” Hoover said.

Jay-Michael Yockey, 23, ofAdrian broke up the LSSU twosometo finish second in 1:15:26.

“It was my first half marathon,so it was really good,” said Yockey,an Adrian College student assistantcoach. “I went out and paced thefirst seven (miles) or so and then real-ly started to race. It was a great day,perfect weather. I loved the course,the hills, the flat roads. It was awe-some.”

The 5.7-mile race started justbefore the half-marathon. Shorter-race entrants ascended a steep hill inthe first quarter-mile of the courseand swept over paved and cedar-chipped trails before bursting outalong the island’s coastline.

Justin Noble, 25, of Pinckney was first inthe 5.7-mile race in 36:02. Next cameCameron Sleeper, 14, of Grand Haven in37:00 and Nick Lynch, 20, of Bay City in37:13.

Robin Arp, 32, of Byron Center led thewomen in 38:26, followed by masters champChristine Vincent, 46, of Jackson in 39:21.

Shawn Wehrly, 42, of Royal Oak was themale masters winner in 37:27.

Angela Long, 32, of Grand Rapids tookfirst in the women’s half-marathon, running1:31:14. Peggy Zeeb, 52, of Colon claimedsecond and was top masters female.

“It was a lot hillier than I expected andvery tough,” Zeeb said. “A lady in blue(Long) went by me like I was standing stilland by mile eight I couldn’t see her any-

more.”

While many people use running as anescape, Mackinac Island served as an alluringgetaway to combine with the thrill of a race.

“I like 5Ks and marathons, so this (dis-tance) tough for me, but nice,” Zeeb said.“My husband and I needed a break andwanted to stay on the island, so we combinedour trip with the race.”

The island was a good choice for Yockeytoo.

“I have a cabin not too far from here andthey (the Adrian cross country team) don’thave a race this weekend, so I came up to theisland to try the half marathon. I’ve neverbeen on the island before; it’s absolutelybeautiful,” Yockey said.

- MR -


Eles Makes Like Hare at Great Turtle RunGreat Turtle Half Marathon, Mackinac Island


By Ron Marinucci

ROSEVILLE (11/14) – I arrived 45 minutesbefore the 32nd annual Big Bird Runs to findthe large nearby parking area full. Racedirector Tony Lipinski was right: this year’sBig Bird would be stuffed!

“We expect 850-plus runners,” saidLipinski the Friday before the race. “We have697 pre-registered already.” The total num-ber of participants in the 1-mile, 4K and 10Kraces came to 922, the most in at least adecade and close to event records set in the1990s.

Some potential race-day entrants mayhave been frightened off by the raw weather.With temperatures in the 40s, clouds andblustery winds, runners were faced with anextra challenge.

“We’ve had worse days,” said many-timeBig Birder Maggy Zidar, 60, at the startingline. “We’ve had better days, too.” She han-dled conditions fine, finishing second in herage group in 50:55.

Kevin Sherwood has run 28 Big Birds butsaid that, “You have to double that.” Each yearhe competes in two races. This year the 48-year-old was runner-up overall and first masterin the mile, finishing in 5:46. Sherwood fol-lowed that with a 45:40 in the 10K.

Mike Rollason, 62, won his age group in43:04, but had hoped to run faster. “Runninginto the wind was rough,” he said. “I couldn’tmake up for it, even when it was at our backs.”

Roseville resident Michael Markie saidhe likes having the races run past his house— and how they show off the city’s spirit.

Bob Fitch, 71, said he’d run 12 or 13 BigBirds; this year’s weather did not concernhim. The long-time age-group ace finished in47:03, age-graded to 34:23.

Megan Kossak, 13, who came to run with hermother, Marcy, completed the 4K in 19:07. Aftertheir races, in the cozy Roseville Parks andRecreation gym, she remarked, “I liked the spirit… all the people and smiling faces.”

“We’re hoping to win a turkey,” said hermom, 51, who finished second in her agegroup in the 10K in 46:26.

Several dozen such “big birds” were raf-fled off, courtesy of the Christian FinancialCredit Union.

Darrell McKee, who has run all 32 Big

Bird 10Ks, first ran the 1-mile with hisgrandson, Aidan, 12, and wore No. 32 on hisrace bib. He was quick to point out that oneof the race founders, Russ La Barge, who hadrun all the Big Birds until this morning,“won’t be here. He had heart surgery lastweek.” Don’t count on La Barge not beinghere next year.

There have been few course changesthrough the years. The 10K is flat, with itsonly hills coming at the overpass across I-696, out and back. The course passesthrough residential Roseville, with quite afew twists and turns, with the start and finishat the parks and recreation department.

Joel Kozlowski, 39, and AllisonKotelniski, 13, won the men’s and women’smile run in 5:18 and 6:53 respectively. In the4K, Sam Watson, 24, (12:06) and JessicaGaines, 15, (15:31) were the top finishers.

Matt Fecht, 26, won the 10K in 32:57,more than a minute in front of runner-up andtop master Bruce Raymer, 42, who finished34:19. Kelsie Schwartz, 14, paced the femalesin 38:46, while Dori Downey, 40, paced thewomen masters in 40:31.

32nd Big Bird Runs ‘Stuffed’Big Bird Run, Roseville

Matt Fecht’s 10K winning time of32:57 bettered his 2007 winningtime by one second.

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios

Kelsie Schwartz, 14, paced thefemales in 38:46 for the 10K win.

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios

Andrew Hanley managed to finishthe 10K in 58:55 with a couple ofextra feet.

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios


Big BirdFlies Again

By Bill Kalmar

It may have been Thanksgiving time,but the Roseville Big Bird Runs knowhow to survive.

I’ve competed in all but a few of its32 runnings and was cheered to see thisyear’s 922-entrant turnout. One canalways detect first-time runners, as theyoften hang onto guardrails when thebridge crossing I-696 is swaying in thebreeze.

Tony Lipinski, race director since1995, credits sponsors, race volunteers,the Roseville High School marchingband (which performs each year) andassistant director Bobbie Wilson for theevents’ success.

Other ingredients include the flaw-less packet pick-up process, raffle prizespre-selected while runners are on thecourse, the serenity and beauty of theneighborhoods on the route, well-organ-ized parking, exact starting times, post-race refreshments and some of the best-looking shirts given entrants in any race.

If the wind is blowing in the rightdirection, the smell of White Castlehamburgers wafting through the morn-ing is exhilarating. It makes you want todetour off the route for a bag of sliders.

This Bird has been soaring for yearsand, unlike the one you made sure wasnot overcooked during the holiday, is“well done.” From what I see, it willremain so for years to come. - MR -

The seniors were led by Bruce Paul,54, whose 39:58 age-graded to 34:45, andMichelle Rupe, 51, whose 42:34 age-grad-ed to 37:06.

Lipinski praised sponsors includingPettipren, Hansons Running Shops,Randazzo Market, the Christian FinancialCredit Union and Pepsi, along with com-munity groups who provided race volun-teers.

For complete results, visithttp://www.runmichigan.com. - MR -

Masters Dominate Jingle Bell 10K inBloomfield Hills


BLOOMFIELD HILLS (11/20/10) — Thoughit took place before Thanksgiving, the 900 orso participants in the Jingle Bell Run forArthritis Run/Walk showed their Christmasspirit wearing reindeer antlers, tree orna-ments and other festive garb.

Two masters runners, both of whom livenear the races’ starting line atCovington School, led the 10K. MarkMorawski, 43, won his first road race ever,while Marybeth Reader, 41, added to her col-lection of women’s titles.

Morawski won handily in 36:29. JustinKoo, 32, of Lanscaster, Calif., placed secondin 38:07 and Caspar Vester, 17, of WestBloomfield third in 39:31. With Morawskiclaiming the overall title, Doug Goodhue, 68,earned the masters crown in 39:51.

“I told Mark (Morawski) he would wintoday, but he didn’t believe me,” said Reader,who also won easily in 40:51. “Perfectweather, perfect course. I had everythinggoing for me except for a little Achilles’ ten-

don issue. But it still was fun.”Reader was followed by Dawn Pelon, 39,

of Downington, Pa. (43:07) and masterschamp Karen Perzyk, 42, ofWest Bloomfield (43:20).

In the 5K, Justin Goetz, 28, of Berkley(17:11) finished ahead of Zack Demko, 17,of Birmingham (18:13) and masters champMichael Gutilla, 42, of Bloomfield Hills(18:34).

For the women, Julia Demko, 13,a student at nearby Derby Middle School, tri-umphed in 19:34. Next were Audrey Bilf, 13,of Bloomfield Hills (21:27), and CarrieOleszkowicz, 24, of Plymouth(21:30). Melissa Brandon, 43, of Rochestertopped the masters in 24:26.

“I’ve never won a road race before,”Demko said. “It was pretty cool.”

The weather was also cool but notwindy. “It was perfect for shorts and a long-sleeve shirt,” Demko said.

For complete results, go tohttp://www.gaultracemanagement.com.

- MR -

Jingle Bell Run, Bloomfield Hills


Trivia: Who was the first African-Americanman to break four minutes in the mile?

OUCH! In the latest episode of “BadThings that Happen to Scott on aConsistently Irregular Basis,” I was

struck by an 85-year-old driver while I wascycling in Holly Nov. 2.

I was eastbound in a bike lane and shewas turning south toward a road I was pass-ing. I sensed her car in my peripheral vision,had about one second to size up herapproach and then braced for impact.

When hit I had a flashing thought, “Ahgreat, I wonder how this experience will turnout?” Then I flew through the air, landingthankfully on grass, did a roll, whacked myhelmet and came to rest looking skyward.

I’d guess only 30 seconds passed before a guywas standing over me calling 911, and the elderly,mortified driver was cradling my head, saying howsorry she was and, “I didn’t see you.”

Of course therein was the problem, but I did-n’t feel it the time to discuss her vision or reactiontime. I just laid there, assessing damage.

Soon others were huddled over me, talk-ing among themselves. One guy wonderedhow old I was and was answered, “Looksaround 35.” Thanks guys; I took off my hel-met and said, “No, 58.”

A Holly police officer arrived minuteslater. By then I was sitting up, quiet and alert.My lower back side was sore but I felt nopain elsewhere. I felt fairly calm but foughtbeing angry too.

I went back and forth between those feelingswhile answering questions, first from the offi-cer, then an ambulance crew. I seemed to passall the medical tests, assured them I’d be OKand signed a release that said so.

Anger finally got the better of me and Iurged the driver to, “Please, get away fromme.” I was polite at first, but in her addledstate she was slow to respond. I couldn’tprocess this as I might normally and suggest-ed she leave using language I’m not proud of.

I was unhappy with myself as soon as thewords left my mouth and wish I could do itover. I couldn’t use trauma as an excuse. Iknew she cared about me and felt horribleabout her part in what happened. I hope sheunderstood these were “heat of the moment”comments.

The rush of activity lasted about 15 min-

utes before I stood up, walked around andstarted to wonder about my bike. It was,amazingly, in good shape, although you couldtell where her bumper had struck the backquick-release lever. I had general soreness inmy left leg and my rear end was achy, but Iwas able to mount up and complete the last22 miles of the 27-mile ride.

Before doing so, I thanked all who hadstopped to help and learned that the driverhad a “spotless record” ... until momentsago. I thought about the accident during therest of the day and worried she might become

overwhelmed by her inattentiveness thatcould have caused me far worse damage.

I know how lucky I am to escape withthe minor aches I received. I hope time healsher wounds as it will mine, and she makesbetter decisions in the future.

I do what I can to control my safety as acyclist: ride on the far right, regularly wear brightclothes and a helmet always. It has saved me severehead trauma more than once.

Think of it this way; there are peoplewho care about you and your welfare. Dothem a favor and wear a helmet to save youall harm and heartbreak.

The running corollary is to always beaware of your surroundings, wear reflectivematerial in the dark, make eye contact withdrivers at intersections and driveways, and

never run with traffic at your back.

I’ll add that I have emergency info on asticker inside my helmet. Carrying ID on therun is a safety option also.

Please don’t think bad things can’t andwon’t happen to you. I was doing everythingI could to be safe, yet everything went wrong.Stay vigilant, my friends!

GOING TO HELL, IN THE NICESTWAY. Thanks to equal measures ofinspiration and perspiration, Chuck

Block put all the details together in animprobably short two-plus months to hostthe the Run through Hell on Halloween.

Block, Lansing Community College’scross country and track coach, got to think-ing in August it had been quite a while sincehe’d seen Michigan’s revered ambassador ofrunning, Dolores Hensley, at a race. Dolorestwo years ago suffered a stroke that severelylimited her mobility.

Chuck thought it might be a good idea toput on a race to raise funds for a wheelchair-accessible vehicle for Dolores and her hus-band, Harrison. He contacted Harrison, whogave the idea his OK.

Since wheelchair-accessible vehicles don’tcome cheap, Chuck knew he had to keep racecosts down. The first vendor he approachedoffered to donate goods and services.

Buoyed by this goodwill gesture, Chuckbegan asking other running-related businessesto consider chipping in. All, recognizing thepassion and devotion Dolores has brought torunning events for more than two decades,joined the effort gratis.

The sport’s No.1 volunteer has madelegions of friends with her work, signaturehugs and kisses. Now it was time to giveback and entries started coming in. Boy, didthey ever!

Race day dawned clear and cool with 5Kand 10K courses laid out over dirt roads atHell Creek Ranch, site of the Run ThroughHell that the Hensleys directed for manyyears. There was some concern about parkingfor the 3,400 registered participants, but theevent was held up only 15 minutes to squeezeeverybody in.

Before the start, runners gathered fromall parts of Michigan and northern Ohio sangan early “happy birthday” (80th) to Dolores,who thanked them by coming out from herperch above the start line.

Running Shorts with Scott Hubbard

Race Director Chuck Block checksthe course of the Run Thru Hellon Halloween.

Pho

toby

John

Bra

bbs

/ru

nmic

higa

n.co

m


What other start-up racecould attract so many folks onshort notice? It was a one-of-a-kind event for a special woman.Nobody doesn’t adore Dolores!

Who gave what:

Bauman’s: screen printing andawards.

Gault and Everal race manage-ment: timing/results.

Hansons: food.

Michigan Runner and runmichi-gan.com: advertising.

Playmakers: equipment andhalf-cost of t-shirts.

Running Fit: toilets.

Total Runner: water.

With Chuck’s permission,here’s the text of my message tohim following the race:

“It was an extraordinary day,well organized and fortunately,although not surprisingly, very well-attended. You deserve a giganticsmiley face from all of us in the run-ning community for your work onthis. Well done, buddy!

“As the morning went on, Ifelt better and warmer about mysmall part as emcee than I do at90 percent of events I work.That’s because of what you did,who helped out, the thousandswho showed up (3,150 finishers)and who the primary beneficiaryis going to be. I don’t thinkyou’ll ever do anything as per-fect as this again.”

The love for Dolores flowedon Halloween and Chuckreports, “We just ordered a new2011 Ford F250 van. We’ll get anew wheelchair lift put in andstill have money left over forinsurance.

“The outpouring of supportwas incredible. It won’t be longbefore we’ll be seeing ourbeloved Dolores and Harrison atthe races again.”

Answer: The University ofNorth Carolina’s Reggie McAfee

ran 3:59.3 in 1973.

- MR -

Female MastersRunner of the Year:Lisa Veneziano

By Bill Khan

She doesn’t do speed worknor log the mileage onewould expect from a run-

ner of her caliber.

In spite of that — or per-haps because of that —Fenton’s Lisa Veneziano contin-ues to defy age.

As she reached her mid-40s, Veneziano’s times hadn’tslipped much from those sheran 10 or 20 years earlier.

The 46-year-old still com-petes for overall victories,which gets more difficult in themajor races, but she has fewpeers at the masters level in anyrace.

Veneziano was among thetop three masters in four of thebig races that are part of theMichigan Runner Race Series,earning 2010 Female MasterRunner of the Year.

She was the first Americanmasters runner in the Crim 10-miler in Flint (1:02:10), wasfirst master in the Dexter-AnnArbor Half Marathon(1:23:49), was second masterin the Milford Labor Day 30K(2:12:52) and was third masterin the Fifth Third River BankRun 25K (1:41:19).

“Those are races that I enjoy doing,” Venezianosaid. “I didn’t even realize I won the series. I justlike doing all those races. They’re ones we do everyyear. I use those to get in shape for doingmarathons. It worked out well.”

At the Crim, Veneziano won $900 as the sec-ond-place master behind Russian RamilyaBurangulova, a two-time Olympic marathoner. Shehas won a total of $2,375 in Crim prize money,divided among six races.

Cross-training is a big part of Veneziano’s regi-men, as she regularly hits the stationary bike. Shealso did triathlons for the first time this year, plac-ing in the top three twice.

“I’m not a high-mileage person,” she said.

“Because of that, itallows me to stay injury-free and keep consistent.This year was an OKyear. Last year was oneof my best years ever. Ifyou look at my 5K, 10Kand 10-mile, I had mysecond-fastest times everin those.”

Veneziano’s speedwork comes in races.She said she’ll occasion-ally do a tempo run onthe treadmill.

“I don’t beat myselfup a whole lot, so I’mable to consistently keepup the running,” shesaid. “I don’t do speedwork. I don’t head tothe track at all. It’s oneof those things wealways say we’re goingto do, and we never endup making it.”

A race that perhapsbest illustratesVeneziano’s ability torun consistently over theyears is the St. JohnApplefest 10K inFenton. She won thatrace for the eighth timeon Sept. 18 with a timeof 37:38. Her 2009 timeof 36:39 is her best everin that event. This year’s

time is faster than her winning times in 1992, 1993and 1995.

Outside of the Michigan Runner series,Veneziano’s other highlights were an overall victoryin the Capital City River Run half marathon(1:26:08) and a 20th-place overall finish in theMarine Corps Marathon (3:04:22).

She ran four marathons in 2010, a bit higherthan in recent years. She said that doing that manygot her injured in the past, but she’s recovered wellfrom her 26.2-mile races this year.

“I’m trying to be more careful, but all of a sud-den I realize it’s four again,” she said. “This is themost I’ve run since 2004 or 2005. That’s when Ihad to back off. It starts getting me a little nervousthat I’ve done four, but I feel pretty good.” - MR

Lisa Veneziano, with Bobby Crim,was the first American mastersrunner in the Crim 10 Mile.

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios


Detroit Turkey Trot Offers Crowds, Costumes, FunBy Charles DouglasMcEwen

DETROIT (11/25/10) —Detroit’s28th annual Turkey Trot, presentedby Fifth Third Bank and TheParade Co., filled downtownstreets with 17,100 registered run-ners and walkers.

Volunteers did everything theycould to accommodate those mass-es, race director Doug Kurtis said.

“What an amazing turnout!”he said. “We increased our packetpickup to nine locations thisyear. We added a running float (acategory in the costume contest),doggie water stops and quadrupledthe cookies and candy canes at sta-tions along the course.

“We added a Powerade/waterstation at our new, improved finishsite. It also looked like our three-wave system (the 5K and 10K runsstarted together with a fast/fit wavefor swifter runners at 7:45 a.m., afun wave at 8, then a 5K walk at8:10) worked well.”

Kurtis dressed as leader of a marchingband (though he didn’t have a band to followhim). Others dressed as turkeys, pilgrims,superheroes, cartoon characters, SantaClauses and in other costumes. Some bravedthe cold, rainy weather wearing just shortsand running shoes.

Members of the Hansons-Brooks Development Project led the way inthe 10K. Paul Hefferon, 24, who recentlymoved to Rochester Hills from Kansas, won

the 10K in 30:11, edging teammate LukeHumphrey, 29, who finished in 30:24.

They were were followed by teammatesZach Hine, 23, (30:26), Mike Morgan, 30,(30:35), and Drew Polley, 25, (30:39).

“We all ran in a pack until about fourmiles,” Hefferon said. “Then I started to testmy fitness a bit.

“I was hurting at the end. It may be a funrun, but it wasn’t easy,” the winner said.

Angela Matthews, 26, of Westlandled the women from the gun to tri-umph in 36:04. Next came ElizabethHansen, 29, of Euclid,Ohio,(37:24) and Leah Scharl, 33, ofClarkston (38:01).

“She was gone from the start,”Hansen said of Matthews. “I had nochance of catching her, but I tied myPR so I can’t complain.”

Alex Bowman, 22, of Detroit(16:12) and Denisa Costescu, 34, ofCommerce (17:59) were the 5Kmen’s and women’s champs.

Bowman, a 3:44 1500-meter runner who recently graduatedfrom the University of Virginia,moved to Detroit to teach at EarhartMiddle School. “I did it for my stu-dents,” he said of his victory.

“I’m proud of the city for puttingon a race and parade that we can allenjoy in a safe, fun way,” Bowmansaid.

Darryl Jessup, 19, of Milford(16:26) and Susan Sonoshy, 21, of Berkley(18:31) finished runners-up.

Turkey Trot charities included TheParade Co., Special Olympics-Michigan andGleaners Food Bank. Complete results areposted at www.gaultracemangement.com.

- MR -

Fifth Third Turkey Trot, Detroit

Cat in the Hat (Susie Johnston, Royal Oak) withpals Thing 1 (Ashley Hagaman, Decatur, FA) andThing 2 (Jennifer Hagaman, Franklin, MI)

Costume award winningfemale.

Costume award winning“running” float.

Costume award winning centipede. They are lis-tening to the Lions game on radio (left).

Pho

toby

Judi

thC

utle

r/

runm

ichi

gan.

com

Pho

toby

Judi

thC

utle

r/

runm

ichi

gan.

com

Pho

toby

Judi

thC

utle

r/

runm

ichi

gan.

com

Pho

toby

Judi

thC

utle

r/

runm

ichi

gan.

com


The Parade UpstairsBy Scott Sullivan

It makes no sense, this Detroit and Dadthing. But here it is: cross a state and lifetimeto see America’s Parade and, wouldn’t you

know, it would go on 43 floors below.

***Mom grew up in Detroit. We moved far

away, but she’d gather her sons eachThanksgiving around the TV to watch thefamed parade through her hometown. Bands,balloons high as skyscrapers, singers, floats… a whole human spectacle rolled pastHudson’s, the largest department store in theworld, towers, crowds and monuments.

Screens were small, black-and-white andapt to fuzz should you not cock the rabbitears — antennae that sat on the console —properly. Or maybe that was real snow. Itwas magic … and still goes on.

Dad loved driving to Michigan, but notto Detroit, from where we had settled inIndiana. The big city — likely in-laws too —stressed him out. Instead, we more often vis-ited his parents at their cottage on CrystalLake, Montcalm County.

Now and then Mom prevailed and we’dvisit her mom and stepdad, Dad drivinggrudgingly through the miraculous distrac-tions. “Look!” my brothers and I wouldexclaim from the back seat. “A giant tire!”(the eight-stories-high Uniroyal tire) ... “TheVernor’s gnome!”

We went to Detroit seldom, then lessoften. I fell in love with newspapers at age 12reading in the Free Press about the Detroitriots — during the same summer that theDoors’ song “Light My Fire” burst fromevery radio — a hundred miles away atCrystal, and, the next year, about the WorldSeries-champion Tigers led by black andwhite men.

***Mom died in 2002, Dad soon after. My

daughter Flannery, 10, and I came to Detroitthis Thanksgiving to cover its pre-parade runs:the kids’ Mash Potato Mile, grown-ups’Stuffing Strut 5K and Turkey Trot 10K. Runsfinish on Woodward Street before the parade; Icouldn’t wait to show Flannery the energy ofthe city ... and at last see the parade myself.

I didn’t curse, unlike Dad, fighting trafficwhile driving in. I explained to Flannery what“Renaissance” meant when we parked under-neath the Center and found our 43rd-floorhotel room. She was thrilled looking down at

the twinkling-light geometry and across theriver to a foreign country.

My driven Dad couldn’t sleep and wasplagued with insomnia all his life. My daugh-ter and I were excited, too, with Detroitbelow and Thanksgiving Day tomorrow.

Our “gig” was for Flannery to interviewkids taking part in the Mash Potato Mileearly the next morning. Of course she barelygot any sleep. Then it rained, to boot.

I lugged our camcorder, mic, cords, mono-pod, semi-water-resistant gear and half-hauledFlannery from the Ren Cen to Cobo Center,where the kids run would start and end, whenshe lost a shoe and got her left foot soaked.

I was proud of what a trooper she wasdoing interviews, but it soon grew clear thatwe couldn’t tarry to help the MichiganRunner crew shoot video of adult runs.

Flannery fell asleep at the warm, dryhotel and I got her breakfast. The paradecame on the TV and rain cleared. “They’reshowing that street down there,” I said,pointing through the window to Woodward.“Want to go?”

“I just want to stay here with you,” shesaid.

***America’s 84th Thanksgiving Parade last-

ed long enough for Flannery to recover, getdressed and go down with me to see it beingdisassembled. Bands boarded dozens of busesparked near the foot of Woodward. Parts offloats were loaded onto waiting semis.

We looked down one street and sawheads of characters — Snow White, dwarfs,maybe even the Vernor’s gnome — perchedon asphalt, a cartoon Stonehenge.

I wanted to go and go, like always, butFlannery’s smaller legs grew tired and sensessated. She was ready to go home ... and tellfriends about her adventure.

***Who can tell, as a parent, if you are fail-

ing your kids? You can bewail it or givethanks for the opportunity. You can see thespectacle on the streets, on a screen or, lessthese days, on pages — with who knows howmuch authenticity as it registers in your oryour child’s memory.

What can match the parade upstairs- MR -

Michigan Runner TVmichiganrunner.tv/2010_53turkeytrot/


By Ron Marinucci

The surprise isn’t that J.C. Collins wasMichigan Runner’s 2010 SeniorRunner of the Year. It’s that he did it

with only a couple years of racing under hisbelt.

“I just started racing two years ago,”Collins said. “My daughter’s high schoolcross country coach, Rick Brauer, talked meinto it.

“I had run fairly regularly most of mylife trying to stay in shape, but fell awayfrom it in my early 40s,” he continued. “Istarted back at it when I was 50 to helptrain my daughter for cross country.

“I would run with Rick and the girlswhen I could, but it took me a couple yearsto become consistent. Now the running hastaken on a life of its own.

“A couple people told me I should beracing; I had the ability. I wish I’d knownthat in high school!

“I knew I’d scored quite a few points inthe Michigan Runner Race Series, but I did-n’t know where I stood in it,” Collinsadded. He hadn’t run all of the series races,“so I didn’t know how it would end up.

“A couple miles into the Crim 10-miler,Bob Horan (2008 Senior Runner of the Yearand a runner-up this year) told a lad runningwith us that I was the top 50-year-old in thestate. Then Bob proceeded to whoop megood and proper.”

Collins’ rise on the state running scenehas been just less than meteoric. “I witnessedmy first cross country race in 2005, mydaughter’s sophomore year at Cass-BentonPark in Northville,” he remembered. “Shehad run track as a freshman and now crossthat fall. I had no idea how they even starteda race like that.”

He found out quickly. “I was awestruckby this thundering herd running past me. AllI could hear were the footsteps of the stam-pede. It was so cool! I was hooked.”

There were other things about cross thatdrew Collins to running. “There was no‘striking the pose’ for cameras,” he said.“Coming through the finishing chute, all run-ners look the same. Cross the line and some-one will stick a hand out and say, ‘Nice race.’It’s refreshing.

“Cross country runners are a differentbreed,” he went on. “It’s the last pure sport.If you lace them up for the first time and fin-ish in the top seven for your team, you canrace again the next time.

“There are no politics. You get out of itwhat you put into it. If you slack off, youdon’t race very well,” he said.

Something that occurred at theKalamazoo Klassic 10K “was the highlight ofmy year,” Collins said. He was the first mas-ter with a 36:49 (age-graded 32:15) clockingand second runner overall. “It was a distantsecond, four minutes behind,” he noted.

“The winner, Jason Drudge, was sittingin a chair, taking off his timing tag and beinginterviewed when I crossed the finish line. Hestopped his interview, made a beeline for meto shake hands and said, ‘Nice race.’

“That young man showed a boatload ofclass to even consider treating me like hispeer. That one will stick with me forever,”Collins said.

Front Line Racing Teamfounder/president Fred Vanhala, whose

squads include Collins, calls him “an incred-ible runner,” citing last December’s USATFClub Cross Country Championships inLexington, Ky.

“Against the deepest masters runningcompetition in the country, J.C. was 12thout of 81 in the 50-54 age division,” saidVanhala. “He’d only had a dozen or so com-petitions in his lifetime before that race.”

Collins loves running for Front Line.“The team thing gives me the opportunity tocompete against the best of the best,” hesaid. “The 2009 nationals was my firstexposure to running like that. It was an eye-opener and a motivator.”

“J.C. is a dedicated team runner,” saidVanhala. “He had teammates over for pastain October the night before the Free PressMarathon relay. I can count on him helpingto get the team together.”

In winning 2010 Senior Runner honors,Collins, 53, had these performances:

• Corktown 5K, 17:40, first age-graded sen-ior, 15:24.• Kalamazoo Klassic 10K, 36:49, secondopen, first master and age-graded senior,32:15.• Solstice 5K, 17:25, second master, firstagegraded senior, 15:11.• Cherry Festival 15K, 55:05, first masterand age-graded senior, 48:27.• Steve’s Run 10K, 36:31, secnd master, firstage-graded senior, 31:60.

The Cherry Festival 15K in Traverse Citywas among Collins’ favorites. “I hadn’t gonebeyond 10K in a race before,” he said. “BobHoran and I talked about running it together.I didn’t know what to expect for the last 5K.

“It was a beautiful course and they hadquite the crowd, as the finish was run downthe parade route,” he continued.

“I haven’t been racing long enough toknow what my favorite distance is. I guessI’m best suited for 10K. In the 5K, you reallyhave to get out fast. With the 10K, you get towork into it.

“Maybe if I ran a few more 15Ks … whoknows?”

Collins said he does not have a typicalworkout. Time, or lack of it “with work andall,” sometimes puts a crimp in his training.

“There’s not much time during my

Senior Runner of the Year:J.C. Collins

J.C. Collins

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios

week,” he said. “In the past, I’ve had helpalong the way, especially from Rick Brauer.He has put together training programs for meand offers never-ending encouragement.”

Paul Aufdemberge has also been influen-tial. “Paul has been kind enough to freelyshare his wealth of running knowledge,”Collins said. “But I only occasionally join histraining group, because it takes me forever torecover from his workouts. They’re brutal.

“Eventually, ample time passes to makeme stupid enough to show up for more pun-ishment,” Collins laughed.

He figures he’ll have run 3,000 miles,including races, by year’s end. “About 2,900of them have been alone,” Collins said. “Ihave to go when I can.”

The 2011 season “is not really on myradar screen yet … not a clue yet. If I’m stillrunning, I’d like to do better at the club cross

country championship. But that’s a long wayoff.”

“J.C.,” said Vanhala, “is the kind of guywho can be improving even though he’s in his50s, as he’s such a ‘baby’ in the racing world.I know he’s looking to place even higher,even though he’s a year older.

“As he’s still improving and learning as aracer, he just might be able to do that,”Vanhala said. - MR -


Female Runner of Year:Jackie Rzepecki


Jackie Rzepecki, 31, of Lake Oriondescribes her experience with the 2010Bank of America Chicago Marathon as

sweet and bitter.

Sweet because she ran a 2:46:17 PR, 26seconds faster than her previous-bestmarathon.

Bitter because it fell a mere 17 secondsshort of the time she need to qualify for the2012 Olympic Trials Marathon.

“With a little over 100 meters to go, Iknew it (a trials-qualifying time) wasn’t pos-sible,” she said. “I saw the clock turn from2:45:59 to 2:46:00. It was painful to comeso close.”

Rzepecki isn’t complaining, because sheenjoyed the race.

“I felt great,” she said. “It’s the firsttime I’ve felt really strong in a marathon. Icouldn’t have asked for a better opportunity.It was a fun race too.”

Though Rzepecki had geared her 2010training toward qualifying for the trials, shehad a pretty sweet year overall.

Along with her 34th-place finish inChicago, she did well in other mega-racessuch as the Disney Half Marathon (ninthwoman overall, 1:25:16), Meteor 10K (eighthoverall, 37:17) and Crim 10-Mile (18th over-all, 1:00:48). She also took fifth in theBayshore Half Marathon in 1:19:55. “Thehalf marathon is my favorite distance,”Rzepecki said.

She was the only woman to win twoevents in the Michigan Runner Race Series:the Corktown 5K in Detroit and the LaborDay 30K in Milford.

“I really like Corktown,” said Rzepecki,

who has won there two years in a row. “It’s agreat way to start the racing season.”

The Labor Day 30K “definitely got meready for the Chicago Marathon,” she added.The 30K (18.6-mile) course at Milford is hillyand traverses quite a few dirt roads.

“I actually thought the marathon waseasier than the 30K,” she said.

Rzepecki, who grew up in Buffalo, N.Y.,ended the season with her fourth victory at aTurkey Trot 8K in that city, timing 29:05.

“Jackie is one of the toughest women I

know,” said Molly Brinker, who has trainedwith and raced against Rzepecki. “She push-es that red line every time she races. She isreally tough at all distances.”

Rzepecki has run 4:28 for the 1500meters, 4:50 for the mile, 16:35 for 5K,35:32 for 10K, 1:15:43 for the halfmarathon and hopes to break her 2:46:17marathon PR soon.

She plans to enter the Houston MarathonJan. 30. (Rzepecki attended the Universityof Houston, so she knows the area prettywell.) And she’ll probably have at least onemore crack at qualifying for the trials afterthat, barring injury.

Rzepecki knows too well about injuries. Shehad to drop out of the 2008 Olympic TrialsMarathon because of a bad knee. She had towork her back after surgery in June that year.

“It took me at least a year of racing sub-par before I felt like I could run PR’sagain,” she said.

“Jackie has fought injuries, yet has agood attitude about it,” said friend andcompetitor Marybeth Reader, our FemaleMasters Runner of the Year last year. “Shejust keeps plugging away.”

Rzepecki, office manager for Clint VerranSports Medicine, is listed as a coaching part-ner on the business’ www.runguru.com Website. “Clint has been a great influence onme,” she said. “He’s given me great flexibili-ty, so that I’m able to train 100 miles aweek.”

Verran thinks Rzepecki is a good choicefor Female Runner of the Year.

“She deserves it,” Verran said. “Shemakes it a point to run and supportMichigan races. She is a very positive influ-ence on the running community as a whole.”

- MR -

Jackie Rzepecki

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios


Gone Fishing with Bill RodgersBy Riley McLincha

Answer: Al Kaline, PaulMcCartney and Bill Rodgers.

Question: What three famouspeople

would you like to spend a daywith?

Baseball, music and run-ning have long been mymajor interests. They

mark three different periods ofmy life: childhood, adoles-cence and adulthood. Askedtoday, as I approach the big 6-0, what interests me most,they would be my answers.

From the day I got my firstkid’s glove, baseball ruled mylife. My heroes changed monthto month during summers, but AlKaline has stood time’s test.

The same goes for Sir Paul McCartney. Myinterest in music was sparked by the earlyBeatles. I don’t think I’d be a performing musi-cian today had it not been for them.

Then, at age 26, I became a runner. Norunner in the late 1970s was more famousthan Bill Rodgers. I read his books, used histraining logs and ran in his sportswear. Hewas the man.

It’s been 35 years since Rodgers won hisfirst of four Boston Marathons, but hisremain the most recognized face and name inour sport.

I’ve had my share Bill Rodgers encoun-ters. In 1980, at the height of his popularity, Ihad a photo taken with him at the Crim. Wehad another taken of us 16 years later hold-ing the photo from 1980.

Twice more we held photos of ourselvesfrom the previous photo as the shuttersnapped. By the summer of 2008 I had aphoto of a photo of a photo of us in the orig-inal photo. But none match my latestencounter with Bill Rodgers.

When the running legend made plans toreturn to Flint for the 2010 Crim, race direc-tor Deb Kiertzner asked him what he wouldlike to do during his visit. Rodgers’ schedulewas busy Thursday through Sunday, but hewould have some free time here Wednesday.

“I’d like to go fishing,” he told Deb.

Why she thought to call me, I don’tknow. “Riley,” Deb asked, “would you gofishing with Bill Rodgers?”

I said “Yes!” without looking at my sched-ule, before Deb could withdraw the offer. I had-n’t been fishing in years and know very littleabout the art form. Here was my chance tolearn about fishing from Bill Rodgers!

When the big day came, I arrived at theCrim Fitness Foundation office. There wait-ing were Bill and two exceptional young run-ners, Ben Dickie and Leo Foley.

The four of us were transported by van toLake Ponemah in Fenton. Bill asked en routehow much fishing the three of us had done.

We gave full disclosure of our experience,which ranged from “total ignorance” to “fullof it.” Bill, it turned out, was likewise igno-rant. When it came to fishing, we were all inthe same boat.

As the pontoon pulled away from the dock,Bill suggested we eat before reeling in the bigones. So Ben piloted the craft to a docksiderestaurant where pizzas-to-go were ordered.

We had plenty of beverages in coolers togo with the pizza. By the time we finishedeating, before had we even started fishing, myday seemed to be complete.

Bill and I are about the same age, Ben and Leomuch younger. But they too were enthralled tohang out with this running legend.

One of my objectiveswas to introduce Bill toMichigan beer. I just hap-pened to have a growler (1/2-gallon jug) of wheat winefrom a Frankenmuth breweryin my cooler.

Bill’s eyes bugged outwhen tasting the 10-percent-alcohol beer. “That’s interest-ing,” he said. Though hedrank what I poured him, heseemed more than willing togo back to Millweisers Leohad in his cooler.

It was finally time cameto cast lines and try catchingfish. We all laughed at ourincompetence. After we tan-gled and cut enough line tocreate a softball while tryingto cast, I abandoned the luresand simply put a worm on ahook.

In less than a minute I reeled ina three-inch sunfish. The rest of

the crew made the switch to worms andbefore we knew it, all but Bill had landedmini-fish.

Time flies in proportion to the amountof fun one is having, or so it seems. Waytoo soon it was suppertime. Ben piloted usback to the dock, from where the threeMichiganders agreed we had take Bill toFenton’s French Laundry for dinner.

As on the lake, dinner conversationrevolved around running. Bill’s eyes bulgeand head lurches forward when he’simpressed, as he was by Leo’s and Ben’s cre-dentials. Lacking their speed, the best I couldmuster was telling him how I’d run Bostondribbling three basketballs. Bill’s eyes bulgedat this as well.

Bill told running stories and we relishedevery word. When Leo and Ben spoke of cur-rent elite runners, Bill knew them all, somepersonally.

We hated to see the day end. Too soonwe shook hands and Bill was gone. Theremaining three of us looked at each other,still in disbelief, and exchanged high fives.

Before Boston Billy got away I broughtout the photo of us taken two years earlierand we posed again. I now have a picture ofus holding a picture of us holding a picture ofus holding a picture of us when we firstposed together in 1980. - MR -

Bill Rodgers (left) admires Riley McLincha’s fish.

Pho

toco

urte

syof

Ben

Dic

kie


Senior Runner of the Year:Peggy Zeeb

By Daniel G. Kelsey

Peggy Zeeb knows what to expect fromlife as Michigan Runner’s 2010 FemaleSenior Runner of the Year. She’s been

through the drill before.

Two years ago, at age 50, she garneredthe same honor.

A do-over on the title and publicity willchange nothing at home, she suggested. Thereit’s ho-hum to her loved ones, who are usedto her competitiveness.

“I know my family isn’t going to be anydifferent,” Zeeb said. “If I set out to dosomething, they just expect me to do it.”

Her award in 2008 was mentioned dur-ing a board meeting of the Colon CommunitySchool District, where she teaches. Anannouncement appeared on a sign outside anelementary school. She received cards.

“I had a lot of congratulations from myrunning friends,” she said.

Zeeb’s award in 2010 might well result inanother round of yawning from her lovedones and praise from her community. Buthow she got to the title was different than thefirst time around, because she didn’t set hersights on it this season.

“I just did my normal schedule and ithappened to coincide with the race series,”she said. “The first time it was my goal, butnot this time.

“I actually think I could’ve been the over-all runner of the year if I’d done more of therace series.”

Like most serious runners, Zeeb knowsher closest rivals, often having met them onthe racing circuit. If she hasn’t encounteredthem in person, at least she knows them byname and reputation. The senior women whocame in behind her in the 2010 race series —Jackie Blair, Sharon Dolan and Donna Olson— were on her radar screen.

“I know Jackie. I’ve run against herbefore. I think I’ve lost to her once,” she said.“I don’t know if I’ve ever met Sharon orDonna.”

She talked as well about women whosenames did not appear in the top four fromthe series; those who are, or were, “so much

faster” than her, such as Laurie Decker andMonica Joyce; and those who test her mettle,such as Rebecca Price and Sue Parks. It’sapparent they inspire her to intensify hertraining by their mere presence.

“I’m actually faster than I was 10 yearsago,” Zeeb said. “For some reason I haven’tslowed down. I’m sure it’ll catch up to me.”

She ranked one race in the series, theFifth Third River Bank Run 25K in GrandRapids in May, where she posted a 1:50:33,among her highlights of the year. She tookpoints that day as second senior.

“This was the first time I’ve ever won myage division at the River Bank,” she said. “SoI’m happy about that.”

Other highlights included a hometown5K in Colon in which she broke 20 minutes,and the first annual Prairie State Marathon in

Libertyville, Ill., in which she finished secondoverall among women. She described the lat-ter race as “mentally challenging” becausethe course passed the finish line twice, onceat about 18 miles and once again at morethan 25 miles.

But for Zeeb the grand prize of the yearwas the grand finale of the race series: theGreat Turtle Half Marathon on MackinacIsland Oct. 23. She’d never done the GreatTurtle before. She spoke in awe of the trails,woods and scenic vistas.

“I couldn’t even begin to say how beauti-ful it was,” Zeeb said. “It was by far myfavorite race of the year. It was like a vaca-tion for us … an expensive weekend get-away.”

One question remains; what kept herfrom a senior title in 2009? She didn’t botherto explain it away.

“Most of that season I was fine,” shesaid.

But in September she suffered a freakinjury; walking in high heels across a brickroad in Holland, she caught a spike andtwisted her knee.

“I can run and not hurt myself. And thenI fall walking across the street,” she said,laughing before getting serious again. “WhenI ran the Grand Rapids Marathon the nextmonth I found out I wasn’t quite healed.”

Zeeb was this year. And hopes to remainso for years to come. - MR -

Peggy Zeeb was top Master at theKalamazoo Klassic 10K.

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios


By Ron Marinucci

It culminated in late October and earlyNovember. But for Chuck Block,Michigan Runner’s 2010 Contributor

of the Year, it began long before.

In June 1999 Block established theMichigan Running Foundation, a non-profit, charitable organization whosegoal is to help young runners.

Back then, when his own childrenwere grown and out of the house, he foundthere was “a void. I wanted to share what Ilove — kids and running. I wanted to givekids a chance. We want to make a differ-ence in their lives and in their training.”

The MRF’s mission has three prongs.The first is awarding scholarships toyoung runners. “I started the foundationto give high school student-athletes achance to continue their education andrunning,” Block said. “We usually giveout about 12 scholarships a year.”

That is quite a jump from the twoor three in the first years. MRF targetslow-income, needy kids, but not exclu-sively. The scholarships don’t necessarilygo to all-state or all-conference runners,nor to all-A students. “We want some-one willing to go to college, someone willing toimprove,” he said.

Block coaches Lansing Community Collegecross country teams. A number of the scholar-ships go to LCC and other community collegerunners, but, again, not exclusively. Some go tostudent-athletes at four-year colleges such asSiena Heights.

Block notes the special role played by thetwo-year schools. “To keep many kids runningafter high school, they wouldn’t get the chancewithout the community colleges,” he said.

A second prong involves grants. MRF pro-vides money for youth running clubs to purchasethings such as shoes and uniforms, plus coverexpenses for travel to local and national meets.

Block singled out efforts by Steve Mitchell,coach of the Detroit area Jets Track Club; RobertHollingsworth, coach of the Lansing/mid-Michigan Great Lakes Track and Field Club; andTony Shellman, coach of the Grand Rapids areaF.I.R.E. (Focus in Reaching Excellence).

“A coach will call and say his kids needhelp,” Block said. “For example, a group ofkids qualified for nationals at a local USATFmeet. But they had no money and the kidscouldn’t go. We sponsored them, covered alltheir expenses.”

It goes beyond the running and competi-tion, though. “The kids get to leave their hometowns,” Block continued. “They see what’s outthere.” That inspiration may lead to college andrunning after high school, he hopes.

The third prong concerns the fundraisingitself. In 2010, Block and MRF were involvedin 48 running events. “I put on about eightraces myself,” he said.

He times races too, and is grateful for thehelp given him by John Gault, who with wifeAnne runs Gault Race Management. “Johnbeen so gracious, helping with chip timing.”Event entries are asked to make checks payableto the Michigan Running Foundation.

The foundation’s goal is not to spend, butinvest funds raised. Block hopes to “just spend theinterest, not the principal.” MRF will dip into itsprincipal if the need dictates, he concedes.

MRF is “a three-person operation,although I probably do about 90 percent of thework,” Block said. His sister, Kathy, and son,Rob, are also officers. “They help decide wherethe money goes. My sister helps me a lot andmy son helps tremendously,” he said.

One of Michigan’s 2010 highlights was theHalloween Run Thru Hell, Block’s inspired effortto raise money to purchase a wheelchair-accessiblevan for Dolores and Harrison Hensley. (See relat-ed stories in this issue.)

Although not cobbled togetheruntil late summer, the event drewmore than 3,400 participants andbrought together running stores, tim-ing companies, runners and volun-teers statewide.

Since becoming LCC cross coachin 2000, Block’s teams have enjoyedremarkable success. In November, themen place fifth and the women thirdat the Junior College Nationals. “Itwas a fantastic year,” he enthused.

In Region 12, which includesOhio, Indiana and Michigan, LCC’smen have never lost. The womenhave won the regional each year since2003 as well. “They keep comingafter us, but we’re strong. We’re apowerhouse,” Block said.

LCC’s men were national champsin 2007. “Three years before that,”Block said, “there weren’t enoughteams to warrant two divisions. SoDivision I (junior colleges with dormsand scholarships) and Division II(junior colleges with no dorms but largeenrollments) were combined. We werethe only Division II program to everwin the combined crown.”

Block was named National Junior CollegeCross Country Coach of the Year that seasonand has been Region 12 Coach of the Year sincehe started at LCC.

Block is not ready to sit back with his suc-cesses. He has further dreams.

“Michigan is a hotbed of running.Recruiters come here. We have great runnershere!” he said. “If we have enough money,someday I’d like to buy a plot of land for a run-ning center — for camps, youth groups, a per-manent cross country course. We don’t haveone like they do in Kansas and Wisconsin.Runners could run for free!”

Block was and remains a good runner him-self. He has been Runner of the Year for both theAnn Arbor Track Club and Motor City Striders.

“Coaching, timing, the foundation take alot away from training,” he said. “I used to runevery weekend. Now I time every weekend.”

Yet he still runs most days and popped amasters 18:52 5K at the Ele’s Race in Lansingthis year.

“I love running … anything to do with run-ning,” Block said. “It is not just a sport, but away of life.”

- MR -

Contributor of the Year:Chuck Block

Pho

to©

Dan

eR

obis

on/

Tim

eFr

ame

Pho

to

Dolores Hensley and Chuck Block smile at theRun Thru Hell on Halloween.


Footlocker Midwest ChampionshipsKenosha, Wisconsin, November 27, 2010

Brook Handler, Rochester, 17:35,finished 8th for a trip toFootlocker Nationals.

Gabrielle Anzalone of Grand Blanc, (bib no. 23) 2nd;eventual winner, Allison Woodward (bib no. 262); ErinFinn of West Bloomfield (bib no. 88), 4th.

Shannon Osika of Waterford (bib no. 2), 3rd, con-tributed to the Michigan Girls Midwest Regionalwin in the team race.

Caleb Rhynard of Shepherd, 15:12,qualifies for Nationals with a 10thplace finish.

Maggie Sadler, South Lyon, looksforward to competing in the girlsseeded race.

Pho

toby

Gre

gS

adle

r/

Gre

gS

adle

rP

hoto

grap

hy

Pho

toby

Gre

gS

adle

r/

Gre

gS

adle

rP

hoto

grap

hy

Pho

toby

Bru

ceW

odde

r/

phot

orun

.net

Pho

toby

Bru

ceW

odde

r/

phot

orun

.net

Pho

toby

Bru

ceW

odde

r/

phot

orun

.net


Jazwinski, Zendler Romp to GR CrownsBy Grant Lofdahl

GRAND RAPIDS (1017/10) -- KatieJazwinski’s frontrunning exploits garneredmost of the media attention at the 2010Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon, but aless-heralded runner emerged from the men’spack to steal the show -- and win the race.Jazwinski, a Grand Rapids native and formerWest Catholic High School state championwho earned multiple All-American honors atthe University of Michigan, was making acomeback to competitive racing at age 31.Not content to merely qualify for OlympicTrials, she elected to push the pace from theget-go and by the 7-mile mark had built asubstantial lead.

Not just a lead over the other women inthe race -- that outcome was never in doubt.Jazwinski, a mother of two who lives inDexter, raced away from the entire field, menincluded, in an attempt to make history bywinning the race outright.

“One night my husband Bob woke up atabout midnight and said, ‘We should try toqualify for the (Olympic) Trials,’” saidJazwinski, who still held a commanding leadand looked unbeatable at the halfway point.“He’s been training me and I’ve been runninga lot. I absolutely got back the love of run-ning and the addictiveness to running.”

Eventually cracks appeared in her armor.By the 20-mile mark, a pack of men who hadtrailed her through most of the course wasgaining ground. Charles Wiegand, 32, ofLagrange Park, Ill., emerged from the chasegroup and appeared to have things in handafter he passed a struggling Jazwinski nearthe 22-mile marker.

But the race threw another curveball whenWiegand began to flag shortly after taking thelead. Enter Nick Zendler, 24, a first-timemarathoner from Garden City. The 2008 HopeCollege graduate surged into the lead with lessthan three miles remaining and never lookedback en route to the victory in 2:42:31.

Anyone who had seen Zendler competein his first Ironman five weeks earlier wouldnot have been surprised to see his doggednesspay off. At the grueling Sandusky, Ohio,triathlon, the Flint native “ran into big-timedifficulties” during the run portion and washospitalized briefly. Deciding that he hadn’tcome so far to drop out, Zendler went backto the course a few hours afterward and fin-ished the race.

“I was running with a group of aboutfour guys from mile 10 to mile 19 or 20,”Zendler said of his Grand Rapids effort. “Atmile 20 I was feeling good -- my legs hurt,but I said, ‘I have the energy’ -- so I keptpressing the pace. I saw the leaders andthought for sure there was a big spread, butthey were all together.

“At mile 23 I saw them and went for it. Ithought, ‘If I can do it, this would be sweet,’ so Ipulled into the lead and just went all-out.”

It was sweet indeed for Zendler, whopoured it on over the late miles to finish 1:59ahead of runner-up Wiegand. Wiegand’sclock time of 2:44:30 was one second behindofficial third-place finisher John Taylor, 38,of New Lenox, Ill., but Wiegand beat Taylorby three seconds according to the computerchips in the runners’ shoes.

“I just came today with a time in mindand didn’t care how I finished,” said Zendler.“I wanted to break 2:50 and went 2:42.“I’d like to see what I can do if I get in somespecific marathon training, because I’ve beendoing triathlon training till now,” he said.

Lee Rietsma of Tampa, Fla., came in fourthoverall, with Jazwinski close behind in 2:45:01.Despite falling well off her sub-2:40 early pace, shefought through late-race fatigue to demolish thewomen’s course record and achieved the Trials “B”standard.

Asked if she had plans for another marathon

before the Jan. 14, 2012, Trials in Houston,Jazwinski responded, “Right now I’m going torevel in my happiness, but … it’s my debutmarathon and I can only improve from here.”

Janet Becker, 36, of Grand Rapids tookwomen’s runner-up honors in 2:56:38, withdefending-champ Hannah Norton third in2:57:22. Fourth-place finisher Carrie Kutzliof Cedar Springs also broke the 3-hour barri-er with a 2:57:39.

Ann Arbor’s Melissa Sundermann led thefemale masters in 3:04:09, with MichaelMallon of Davenport, Iowa, taking the men’sover-40 title in 2:47:32.

The top two finishers in the accompanyinghalf marathon were out-of-staters, as Chicago’sJesse Kleinjan clocked an impressive 1:09:41 toedge former GR Marathon champ Ryan Greutmanof South Bend, Ind. (1:10:28). Rockford’s JoshMiller, in third place, was the top Michigan finish-er in 1:10:57, while Henry Hofman led the mas-ters.

In the women’s half, Davenport’s MaryToohill, 43, gave that Iowa city a pair ofmasters champs and won the overall title aswell in 1:24:27. Megan James of Portage wassecond in 1:25:45, followed by MackenzieAdams of Belmont.

All told, 1,606 people finished the 13.1-mile race, while 1,658 completed themarathon. Both established new records forthe seventh annual event. - MR -

Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon

Marathon winner Katie Jazwinski,with daughter Jessica, achievedher goal of qualifying for theOlympic marathon trials.

Nick Zendler of Garden Citywon his first marathon.

Michigan Runner TVhttp://michiganrunner.tv/2010grandrapidsmarathon/

Pho

toby

Sco

ttS

ulliv

an

Pho

toby

Sco

ttS

ulliv

an

By Daniel G. Kelsey

GRANDVILLE (10/17/10) — 8:49 a.m.:There’s not a soul in sight along a stretch ofIndian Mounds Road.

Out on the Grand River, water birds sailthrough patches of fog and breaching fishcreate widening ripples. The road runs inconcert with a belt of woods, but most of thetrees have not gotten their color, so only afew fallen leaves lie on the pavement andfewer float down on the air. Nature’s peacewould dominate the scene if not for a free-way bordering the woods on the east.

This is the 17th mile of the Grand RapidsMarathon. An official sign designates thestretch the Greg Meyer Mile. A hand-letteredsign on a tree a little way further along says,“Yea Dana — Go — 26.2 miles.”

In a few minutes Dana and hundreds ofother runners will put an energetic stamp onnature when they come streaming alongthese woods.

But for now, three women fromWayland — Chris Demaagd and herdaughters, Jaime and Jackie — come walk-ing along the road, on their way to volun-teer at Aid Station 9.

Jaime and Jackie run for coach SueBrewer on the Wayland Union HighSchool cross-country team. Chris says herhusband once ran the Grand RapidsMarathon.

“He said he won’t do it again untilhe’s 50 years old,” she says.

On up the road, geese commence tohonking, crows to cawing and fans acrossthe river to cheering for runners.

9:29 a.m.: Katie Jazwinski arrives atAid Station 9 to the sound of Tone Locbelting out “Wild Thing” from a lineup ofspeakers.

Jazwinski has the overall lead in therace regardless of gender. The extremity ofher effort shows in the strain on her faceand an occasional hitch in her step. A manrides a bicycle at her side, urging her onand keeping tabs on her need for fluidsand nutrients.

Shelby and Aimee McKenzie, 15-year-old twins from Dexter, cheer her on, stand-ing with their family in the grass off the

pavement. Jazwinski coaches the two sopho-mores in cross-country at Dexter HighSchool. The McKenzie family talks abouthow Jazwinski inspires the girls.

“She’s a really good coach,” Aimee says.

“She pushes us hard,” Shelby says. “Buteverything pays off.”

Their coach has so far this day giventhem an example of pushing hard; she has 10miles to go before the payoff.

9:53 a.m.: Back in the Greg Meyer Mile,the two leading male runners, John Taylor(New Lenox, Ill.) and Charles Wiegand (LaGrange Park, Ill.) come through a series ofbends in the road at about 30 seconds apart.Having retraced their steps after a turn-around, they’re approaching the 19-milemark.

Two more males, Michael Boulter(Plainwell) and Matthew Jeromin (Roselle,

Ill.), only a few steps apart, trail the leadersby a minute or more.

They meet a stream of runners still goingout. Some of the also-rans call out encourage-ment to the leaders; some go with a heavyslap of shoes on pavement, others with awhisper; some commune with their surround-ings, others with nothing but themselves.

A pack behind a sign for a 2:59 pace setsup a chatter as if they’re out for a Sundaycolor tour.

On toward the turnaround, past AidStation 10, near the junction of IndianMounds Road and 28th Street at one end ofa bridge over the Grand River, a crowd ofspectators forms a gauntlet. They raise a cho-rus in support of marathoners to put toshame the voices of geese or crows.Thousands of souls are in sight.

- MR -


Grand Rapids Marathon:Hustle and Flow at Mile 17


Desilets Dominates Detroit Marathon Debut


DETROIT (10/17/10) — Though he hadnever run a race longer than the Crim 10-Mile, Jordan Desilets found another gear inthe last 10 miles to win the 33rd annualDetroit Free Press Marathon.

Desilets, 29, of Pinckney passed his for-mer Eastern Michigan University teammateBoaz Cheboiywo at the 22-mile mark andcontinued to victory.

The event had its largest field in historyas some 19,749 runners, walkers, wheelersand handcyclists participated. That was upfrom 19,393 last year.

Michigan runners dominated the men’sraces with Nick Stanko, 29, of Haslett win-ning the half-marathon and August Pappas,17, of Chelsea taking the 5K.

Canadians triumphed in two of thewomen’s races, as Paula Keating, 44, ofMiramichi, New Brunswick, won themarathon and Dayna Pidhoresky, 23, ofTecumseh, Ontario, captured the half.(Maddy Lafave, 18, of Livonia was thewomen’s 5K champ.)

Desilets, an All-American steeplechaser atEMU, decided to tackle the “Freep” aboutsix weeks before the race.

“This was on my to-do list,” he said. “I

wanted to run a marathon.”

He ran with Jake Flynn, 28, of Lansingand MR’s 2009 Masters Runner of the YearEric Green, 42, of Pontiac for the first 16miles, while Cheboiywo led.

“We were clipping along real nice,” Desiletssaid. “I felt great. The other guys said, ‘If this istoo easy for you, go.’ So I went.”

Desilets moved up on Cheboiywo, 32, ofYpsilanti, quickly.

“I was catching him and it looked like hewas hurting,” Desilets said. “Then he justkind of called it quits.” (Cheboiywo droppedout that point.)

Desilets led by himself from there.“Jordan ran awesome for a first-timemarathoner,” Green said.

“It’s beautiful, running along the waterso much,” the winner said.

Desilets finished in 2:28:30 and tookhome $1,500 for his efforts. Next came BrianGoodwin, 28, of Dearborn Heights (2:36:02),Jason Lakritz, 23, of New Windsor, N.Y.(2:36:25) and Donald McLaughlin, 34, ofRochester Hills (2:38:08).

Green, fifth overall, paced the masters in2:38:34. Flynn took sixth in 2:42:04.

Women’s champ Keating was greeted atthe finish line by her younger sister, ErinSeagris, 38, of Windsor, who had run the halfmarathon — her first.

“I started crying when I heard theannouncer say Paula was leading,” Seagrissaid. “I knew she would be in the mix ofcompetitive runners, but I didn’t expect this.”

Keating, who also won $1,500, timed2:52:14, more than five minutes faster thanher old PR. “I trained hoping to beat myPR,” she said.

Leah Scharl, 33, of Clarkston took sec-ond in 2:58:08, followed by Stephanie Locke,32, of Mt. Clemens (2:59:59), Nicole Falvo,35, of Grand Blanc (3:00:29) and MarijaByrne, 24, of LaSalle, Ontario (3:04:33).

Dori Downey, 40, of Grosse Pointe Park,took sixth overall, was the second masterafter Keating and first among Michiganwomen, crossing in 3:04:46.

Desilets’ 2:28:30 was the slowest winning timesince the Free Press took over this race in 1978.Keating had one of the slowest women’s times.Running in the same cool, sunny weather, bothhalf-marathon champs had the fastest times at thatdistance in race history.

Stanko, who won the 2007 5K andmarathon last year, achieved a unique hattrick.

Detroit Free Press Marathon

Jordan Desilets debuts at the marathon distance with a victory.

Pho

toby

John

Bra

bbs

/R

unM

ichi

gan.

com


“I led pretty much from the second mile until the end,” hesaid of this year’s 13.1-miler.

Julius Kiptoo, 33, of Toledo stayed close behind him until10 miles. “I kept trying to break him and eventually put spacebetween us,” the winner said.

Stanko, who took home $1,000, timed 1:06:16. Next cameKiptoo (1:07:16) and Josh Perrin, 24, of Hamburg (1:09:24).Paul Aufdemberge, 45, of Detroit was the top masters runnerin 1:12:51.

Stanko didn’t come close to his PR of 1:04:01. ButPidhoresky, who also took home $1,000, shattered her previ-ous best mark of 1:17:58, crossing in 1:13:15.

“I knew (winning) was a possibility, but I didn’t expect tokill my old PR like that,” she said.

Lanni Marchant, 26, of Okemos set a fast pace early in thehalf-marathon.

“I went with her,” Pidhoresky said. “I didn’t knowwhether it was smart going out that fast.

She took the lead after mile seven. “I was running scaredafter that,” Pidhoresky said. “I thought she (Marchant) wasright behind me, but when I looked back and I didn’t see any-one, I just tried to run comfortably.”

Marchant took second in 1:15:04, followed by defendingchamp Angela Matthews in 1:19:06. Cindy Cucuzzella, 44, ofWilmington, Del., topped the the women’s masters in 1:30:55.

“It was a great course,” said Pidhoresky, who was running theFreep for first time. “It went by fast. And the crowds were awesome.”

Lafave, a Schoolcraft College freshmen, set a PR in winning thewomen’s 5K: her 20:26 topped her previous best 20:51.

“It was a tough race, but fast,” she said. “I’m surprised to win.”Men’s champ Pappas finished in 15:52.

Playmakers Racing won the open male marathon relay division in2:17:19, while Running Redskins paced the women in 3:20:22. Front

Line Racing had the best open mixed division time with a 2:39:18.Masters winners included The A Team for the men (2:29:06), theMarathon Moms for women (3:23:14) and Mixed Masters Flash forcoed (3:18:24).

Grant Berthiaume, 48, of Tucson, won the marathon wheelchairace in 1:59:40. Adam Rose, 16, of Shelby Township captured thehandcycle category (1:34:00) for men, while Dodi Blumstein, 27, ofFar Rockaway, N.Y., won the women’s race (4:06:09).

For complete results, go to http://www.detroitmarathon.com.- MR -

Paula Keating, of Miramichi, NewBrunswick, won the marathon.

Nick Stanko, who won the 20075K and marathon last year,achieved a unique hat trick withthe 2010 half marathon win.

Nicole Falvo, of Grand Blanc, fin-ished the marathon in 5th place.

Wonder Women finishing the half marathon are EliseLovell (14621), Diana Strasburger (16019), ChristineKulstad (16020), and Hannah Watts (14616), all fromChicago.

Pho

toby

John

Bra

bbs

/R

unM

ichi

gan.

com

Pho

toby

John

Bra

bbs

/R

unM

ichi

gan.

com

Pho

toby

John

Bra

bbs

/R

unM

ichi

gan.

com

Pho

toby

John

Bra

bbs

/R

unM

ichi

gan.

com


Hell Halloween Run Celebrates Hallowed PairBy Ron Marinucci

HELL (10/31/10) --They came dressed asSpiderman, Batman andthe Joker, as nuns andastronauts, witches, dev-ils … There were bum-ble bees, lots of bumblebees with their wingsflapping.

Was that swimmerMichael Phelps, com-plete with Olympic goldmedals and Speedo, onthis cold morning?There was Scoobie Doo,accompanied by Daphneor Velma (I can’t keepthem straight). I think Ifound Waldo, too.

Several runnersyelled “Hello!” to meduring the race. I greet-ed them back, seldomknowing who they werebecause of their clevercostumes.

I was disappointedto have a gorilla zoomby me just past thehalfway turn-around. Iwas running with ChrisBurley of Howell, whotook some of the edgeoff by exclaiming, “Hemust really be roastingin there!”

They came for theRun Thru Hell, heldthis year on Halloween,and for its prized t-shirt.They came from nearand far -- Cheboygan,Beaverton, MackinacIsland, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois … evenFlorida.

But mostly the 3,400 runners and walk-ers came for Dolores and Harrison Hensley.“They are a gift to the running community,”Running Fit stores owner Randy Step said.This year’s race was a tribute, to pay themback.

The Hensleys have been involved in the

running community for more than threedecades. They came to volunteer in one, two,three -- sometimes even more -- races practi-cally every weekend and were longtime direc-tors of August’s infamous Run Thru Hell.Both Dolores, in 1994, and Harrison, in2008, have been recognized as MichiganRunner magazine’s Contributors of the Year.

Runners have missed Dolores’s post-racegreetings and hugs, sweat and all, for the last

two years asshe has recu-perated from adebilitatingstroke. WithHarrison car-ing for her,they have beenunable to getto races.

Chuck Blockof theMichiganRunningFoundationand friends dis-cussed ways tohelp them,looked at thisyear’s race cal-endar and sawnothing slatedfor Halloween.

Their one-timeHalloweenRun Thru Helldrew 3,400entrants, sup-port from run-ning interestsstatewide andraised enoughmoney to buythe Hensleys anew, full-sizewheelchair-accessible van(see relatedstories). “Themain thing,”Block said, “isto get them togo to racesagain.”

“Icalled

Harrison beforehand,” Block said. “I wasworried (he might say no), but I told him wereally wanted to see them at races. Harrisonsaid, ‘Go ahead, whatever you want do do.’”

“I can’t believe so many people cared!”said Dolores afterward.

“How many runners did you cheer for andhug during all the years?” Block asked her.

With the costumes and smiles of all thosepeople, and knowing the purpose of the race,the atmosphere was festive. This was a hap-pening not to miss. - MR -

3,400 runners and walkers came to the Run Thru Hell on Halloween forDolores and Harrison Hensley.

Run Thru Hell on Halloween, Pinckney/Hell

Michigan Runner TVhttp://michiganrunner.tv/2010runthruhell/

Pho

toby

John

Bra

bbs

/ru

nmic

higa

n.co

m


By Tracey Cohen

HELL (10/31/10) — “A sea ofhumanity,” is how 10K finisherBill Fuchs of Kimball Townshipdescribed thescene as hecleared thetop of hillNo. 1 at thefirst and onlyRun ThruHell onHalloween10K and 5KRun/Walk.

Morethan 3,000men, women,children andeven somehounds cametogether on acrisp, partly-sunny morn-ing in supportof two peoplemissed by therunning com-munity fortwo years.

The goal was to raise enoughmoney to buy a wheelchair-acces-sible minivan so that DoloresHensley, who suffered a stroketwo years ago, could return to theraces with Harrison, her husbandof nearly six decades.

“They never asked for any-thing,” race director and ring-leader Chuck Block said. “Theyare our Michigan running coupleand we, the running community,miss seeing them at the races.”

The intent was to raiseenough money to buy a usedvehicle. Due to the generosity andsupport of the running communi-ty, a brand-new, full-size van,with lift installed, will be bought.

A rousing rendition of“Happy Birthday” preceded the

start of the race in honor ofDolores’s 80th birthday. Shecountered with sentiments of herown.

“It has beenmany years toolong,” she pro-nounced, “butI remember allof you!”

Fast timesand PRs wereachieved bymany, even onan incredibly-hilly, out-and-back course.AndrewPorinsky ofDexter wonthe 10K in34:32, whileNicole Blaesserof RochesterHills blazedthe way forthe women in37:46.

JasonMahakian of Farmington Hillsand Mercyh Ray of Jacksonvillewere the men’s and women’s 5Kwinners in 16:52 and 19:01respectively.

Keeping in spirit with the hol-iday, many ran in costumesembodying robots, witches,Siamese twins and more. JedHummel of Clarkston ran the 5Kfull bore in a stifling Mr. Peanutbody suit contraption.

The chance to Run Thru Hellon Halloween has passed, but theopportunity to once again receivehugs, kisses and smiles fromDolores on race day has resumed.

For complete results, visitrunningfounda-tion.com/Run_Thru_Hell_Halloween.html.

- MR -

Joe Burns, representingMedals 4 Mettle, presentsDolores Hensley with herheart-shaped medal.

Thousands Run Thru Hellon Halloween,Goal Reached

Beer-Running LinkProbed by GrandRapids Pioneers

By Scott Sullivan

There is something hallucinatory about running your firstmarathon. You see things you haven’t before. At GrandRapids this year, some swore they saw beer pouring out of

a life-sized Elvis.

This in fact was true. Near the finish were two stops forneeded fluids: the med tent for water, electrolytes, blood and soon; and New Holland Brewing Co.’s fenced area with an Elvistap. Finishers could rehydrate with:

• Sundog, an amber ale said to emulate a Lake Michigan sunset’sglow.• The Poet, with a a rich, smooth malt character enveloped intones of chocolate.• Full Circle, a kölsch-style beer with a light hop profile.• Ichabod Full, which combines malted barley and real pumpkin.

To understand the link between beer and the GR Marathon,you must first grasp the latter’s origins. Adventurer Don Kern

What’s a finish line without the beer?

Pho

toby

Trac

eyC

ohen

Pho

toby

Sco

ttS

ulliv

an


and then-microbrewery owner Shawn Sweetdrew up the event helped by beers ... er, peersafter putting on trial races.

One such trial, the Gatecrasher 5K,involved runners shinnying under or scalinggates to the not-yet-open Millennium Parknear Grand Rapids. Here’s my account ofanother:

***

Frogger 5.5K: Shock and Awe

GRAND RAPIDS (4/4/03) -- While U.S.troops stormed Baghdad and I trained for arace at The Hair of the Frog microbrewery,my emergency-room-nurse wife witnessed“Shock and Awe.”

As she drove to work April Fool’s Day,she heard a radio station broadcasting a con-test in which participants held their tonguesto a nine-volt battery. “The drool’s reachedher shoulder!” she remembers one commen-tator exclaiming. The winner of this “Shockand Awe” competition received $100 worthof beer.

Among my wife’s first patients that day?You guessed it: a woman with tongue burns,joined by a worried station executive scan-ning the waivers she’d signed for loopholes.

“You the drooler?” my wife asked.

“Yup.”

“You win?”

“I got beer.”

“The anesthetic may come in handy.”

My wife recounted this after we’ddropped off our daughter, Flannery, 3, atGrandma’s en route to the Frogger 5.5K.Dangerous Dan, who was with us, seemedperturbed at the ice storm forming.

“It’s scary what Flannery picks up listen-ing,” my wife said. “I call her ‘knucklehead’and she repeats it. But she says ‘buckle-head.’”

‘We’re all buckleheads for runningtonight,” said Dangerous.

“We get tickets for two beers when we’redone,” I reminded him.

“... as part of our entry fee,” heanswered. “The ‘Shock and Awe’ people did-n’t pay anything, didn’t have to run throughan ice storm and got more beer for it.”

“Look,” I said. “FOX-TV is here.”FOX is always here; its studios are next to

“The Frog,” which in turn shares a building with

Hubba Tubba hot tubs, where people pay by thehour to soak themselves. What effect this mighthave on programming, I can’t say. With roads turn-ing nasty and local news slashed in deference towar footage, why not stay home and shoot run-ning crazies?

WEATHERMAN (bantering with Anchor):T’ain’t a fit night for man nor beast.

ANCHOR: Except for 140 running nuts tak-ing part in the Frogger 5.5K ... (cut to filmshot through picture window).

Inside The Frog, owner Shawn Sweet wasecstatic. “We’ve more than doubled lastyear's entries!”

“We had good weather last year,” Ireminded him.

“Runners do tend to be off-center,”Sweet confessed.

Sex is always a question at this eccentricevent, whose entry forms list four options:

* Male* Female* Maybe after the race* But we hardly know each other

Rules are deviant in other ways as well.Going out too fast is a good idea; after 100yards, the course narrows into a pathbetween brush where passing is impossible.Though the costumed crocodiles slated tolurk here were put on ice, it remained surreal:runners sprinting into a tunnel of low-hang-ing, crusted branches that whipped our facesand clicked like teeth against one another.

Treachery served me only so far in theface of a stronger enemy. I’d meant to ease upon the path, but studs trapped behind staredbullet holes in my back. Feet winged by guilt,I resumed running fast, so that when Iescaped the woods even the crocodiles, jog-ging, passed me. My saving grace was myglasses were too steamed by now to see.

Lightning transformed buds, iced, intophoto negatives. The heavens spat sleet likemeteor showers ... media showers too: cam-eras caught me running behind the crocks. Iwanted to go home and be embedded.

I climbed a gravel hill, leapt a chain gateand ran onto asphalt where the footing wasnonexistent. My wife turned onto a dead endand spent an extra five minutes fighting theSno-cone frenzy.

“I had the time of my life,” she said.

Dangerous, facing a long drive home, didnot want to stay for beer.

“Makes sense,” I said, mourning.

Roads were a nightmare of cars in ditch-es, flashing strobes, broken limbs andbranches. I punched buttons randomly: warin Baghdad on every station.

We three buckleheads sloshed toGrandma’s to fetch a girl, who, with shockand awe, I’ll tell, “Someday all of this will beyours.”

***

A Be(tt)er Tomorrow

In the beers ... er, years since then, mydaughter has grown up in a world wherewar’s no less prevalent. Mom and Dad moveslower and data faster: most of it still is junk,but accelerated.

“Dangerous” Dan Kelsey has devolvedinto a regular (I use the term loosely) MRwriter, while Flannery’s words to describerunners transcended “bucklehead” long ago.

Once Millennium Park opened Kern wentmainstream, using it legally to host the firstGR Marathon on Halloween seven years ago.The park’s wooded trails remain a key sec-tion of the race course.

Diehards who miss crashing gates havebeen mollified by:

• Reality. Having 4,000 runners shinny-ing under or scaling gates during a daytimemarathon might create bottlenecks noticed byauthorities.

• Jail time and/or becoming a race boardmember.

The quest for truth behind the nexus ofbeer and running remains unquenchable. Theboard cites seminal work performed by theHash House Harriers, but conducts studiesless constrained by decorum.

Research partner New Holland Brewingjoined staff presenting first-Tuesday beer runseach month leading up to this year’smarathon. Aerobic and anaerobic capacities,lactate thresholds, VO2 max and more weretapped. Though results were distinct to eachindividual, general findings were:

• Finish-line beer is a motivator.• Little ails us ale can’t solve.• Continued research is needed.

Suds flowing from Elvis is just the start.In times of discord, the bond between run-ning and beer grows stronger. Christian, Jew,Muslim ... we are one in the trial of miles,then washing away mud and blood with beer.

We turn our worlds upside down andleave better lives for our children when weshare the cup of our quests through the milesand years. Bottoms up! - MR -


Wildlife Marathon, Concord, October 10, 2010

Justin Gillette of Goshen, Indiana,won the marathon with a 2:41:42.

Jara Breake of Ann Arbor, Kate Bellows ofWaterford, Melissa Lamb of Metamora, andMarybeth Riblett of Waterford are all about havinga good time at the Headless Horseman.

Headless HorsemanHowell, Oct. 23

Victor Brown of Canton, won thehalf-marathon in 1:23:43.

Laura Waldo of Ludington tookfirst in the marathon with 3:28:06.

Playmakers was named the 2010 Running SpecialtyStore of the Year at the 2010 Running Event trade showin Austin, Texas. Curt Munson and Brian Jones ofPlaymakers show the award.

Playmakers Named RunningSpecialty Store of the Year

Pho

toby

Art

McC

affe

rty

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios


Speed Thrills at State Final XC MeetBy Scott Sullivan

BROOKLYN (11/6/10) — Runners wereexpected to treat frozen ground to ascorched-earth policy during the LowerPeninsula high school cross country finals atMichigan International Speedway. Instead,the opposite took place.

As the sun rose and turf thawed, timesgrew faster — due in part to small schoolsracing before noon and large schools after.But the eighth and last race of the daymay have been its best ... because thefastest girl in state history wasn’t there.

Megan Goethals, whose 17:10 run asa junior in 2008 broke Katie Boyles’ 17:17mark set eight years earlier, topped thatduring her Foot Locker national championsenior season. The Rochester rocket ran16:54.8 last year at state, compared to herrunner-up’s 18:10.3. It seemed no girlwould go-go like Goethals again for years.

How, then, do you explain this year’sD1 girls race, won by Goethals’ ex-Rochester teammate Brook Handler in17:00.2, followed closely by Grand Blancsenior Gabrielle Anzalone in 17:01.7, thesecond- and third-fastest girls times instate meet history?

How do you explain nine girls runningfaster than 18 minutes? Last year’s runner-up,sophomore Avery Evenson of Hartland, raneight seconds faster in 2010 yet placed just11th. Shannon Osika, a Waterford Mott sen-ior who was state champ as a freshman and aFoot Locker national finalist in 2009, ran17:38 this year yet placed only fifth.

Maybe having Goethals gone took a lidoff. Handler described her ex-teammate as an

example and inspiration. Anzalone too wasgracious, noting running shoulder-to-shoulderwith Handler from start to finish pushedboth to their best times ever.

The team race was fast as well, withGrand Haven’s top-five finishers averaging18:44.5. The Buccaneers, ranked No. 4 goinginto the D1 girls finals, edged No. 3 TraverseCity 135 points to 154.

So much for the last final. Let’s revert tothe first.

Tait Wins State

The day’s fun began on slightly-iced turfwith Big Rapids Crossroads senior KyleTait leading wire-to-wire to claim theDivision 4 boys individual title in 15:25.4.Concord junior Spencer Nousain, secondlast year to now-graduated teammate KyleStacks, was again runner-up in 15:51.7.

North Muskegon, top-ranked all yearafter finishing third in the state last season,showed it deserved that ranking, bringingin its top five runners between 16:28 and17:11. The Norse tallied 89 team points.Next came Bridgman with 121.

Caleb, Cal Christian Kings

Senior Caleb Rhynard of D3 Shepherdrolled into MIS viewed as the fastest boyin the state, boasting wins in the SpartanInvitational Elite race Sept. 17 and theday’s best time (15:14.7) Oct. 9 at thegiant Portage Invitational. (AlexStandiford was second, Scott Albaughthird and Tait fourth in the Spartan Eliterace, all worth noting.)

Rhynard romped unchallenged at MIS,claiming the D3 individual crown in15:26.9. Almont senior Dylan Creger, only

33rd here last season, placed second in15:48.5.

Top-ranked Grandville Calvin Christian,second with a young team last year and bol-stered by Zac Nowicki — a sophomore trans-fer from Grand Rapids West Catholic, whichsuspended its boys team this year as result of2009 hazing complaints — won team honorswith 107 points, far ahead of runner-upLansing Catholic’s 192.

MHSAA Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals, Brooklyn

D1 Boys champion Scott Albaugh leadsrunner-up Austin Whitlaw.

Kyle Tait,D4 Boys Champion

Caleb Rhynard,D3 Boys Champion,

Alex Standiford,D2 Boys Champion

Pho

toby

Sco

ttS

ulliv

an

Pho

toby

Sco

ttS

ulliv

an

Pho

toby

Sco

ttS

ulliv

an

Pho

toby

Sco

ttS

ulliv

an


Fast Frosh

At least one freshman amazes at eachyear’s state meet; in 2010 it was KirstenOlling. The Breckenridge ninth-grader took itout in the D4 girls race and never lookedback, crossing first in 18:09.8. Next cameNorth Muskegon senior Lindsay Neal, her-self a state champion as a freshman, in18:23.3.

Second-ranked Hesperia nipped top-ranked Harbor Springs for the team title, 107points to 111. All seven of the champs’ toprunners return next year.

H-H, Falcon Runners Rule

Like dominance? Check out D3 girls,where defending state champ and top-ratedHanover-Horton had six individuals place inthe top 30. How often do cross teams, whichadd the places of their top five, not count thescore of an all-state finisher?

Meanwhile Allendale’s Ali Wiersma, whosaw now-graduated teammate Devan Johncapture individual titles the last three years,made it four straight for the Falcons, coachedby Michigan Runner contributor GrantLofdahl, bagging first in 18:00.6.

Bulldogs Bit

“Stuff” happens. Ask top-ranked,defending D2 boys champion Ionia, whichvied in the first final after lunchtime. TheBulldogs saw top runners ConnorMontgomery and Nick Wharry finish in themedical tent as Grand Rapids Forest HillsNorthern romped to the team title, tallying108 points to runner-up Mason’s 163.

Mattawan senior Standiford bagged theindividual crown in 15:19.6. Next came jun-iors Bryce Bradley of Chelsea in 15:27.0 andNicholas Soter of Dearborn Divine Child,who improved from 106th last season, in15:27.8.

D1 Boys Deep Too

Speed in this year’s D1 boys race raneven deeper than it did for the large-schoolgirls. Thirty-nine individuals ran faster than16 minutes, compared to just four last year.

Monroe senior Austin Whitelaw, whowon his regional in 15:05.2, the fastest timerun by a Michigan boy all year; and OmarKaddurah, a Grand Blanc senior whoclaimed the state 1600 meters last spring in4:07.67; were favored slightly.

When Waterford Mott senior Albaughbolted hard from the start, some viewerswondered how long he would last. Only

Whitelaw went with him.

Both continued to press through thehomestretch, where Whitelaw took a brieflead — to learn his foe still had gas left.Albaugh finished in 15:13.9, the fastest timeof the day; Whitelaw grimaced home 1.6 sec-onds later. Kaddurah used his miler’s speed tooutfinish the chase pack and place third in15:30.9.

Detroit Catholic Central repeated asteam champ with help from its top three sen-iors — Austin and John-Paul Zebrowski andAndre Garcia-Garrison — placing 8-9-10individually. Dexter, D2 team runner-up lastyear, stepped up to D1 and placed secondwith 114 team points to DCC’s 103.

Thrive with Five

How important are teams’ fifth runners?Look no further than the D2 girls race. Here,No. 2-ranked Hamilton saw its first fourindividuals place 2-3-9-11 in the team racefor 35 points, compared to No. 1 GrandRapids Christian’s 1-12-29-34 for 76 points.Should the Hawkeyes’ next girl cross within40 places behind Christian’s fifth girl, theywould win.

Didn’t happen. Not only did the Eagles’fifth finish 35th, their sixth crossed in 38th,whereas Hamilton’s next finished 91st. HenceGRC won the day’s closest team race 111points to 116.

Zeeland West junior Rachele Schulistoutran Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg sen-ior Allyson Winchester for the individualtitle, 17:29.7 to 17:42.4.

So a season that started in August heatended in near-freezing November weather.What could be more Michigan? Teens, intheir many-colored jackets, lingered forcheers and awards as the sun dropped andshadows lengthened to swallow another crosscountry year. - MR -

Rachele Schulist,D2 Girls Champion

D1 Girls Champion, BrookHandler, edges Gabrielle Anzaloneat the finish line.

Kirsten Olling,D4 Girls Champion

Ali Wiersma,D3 Girls Champion

Pho

toby

Sco

ttS

ulliv

an

Pho

toby

Sco

ttS

ulliv

anP

hoto

byC

arte

rS

herli

ne/

Frog

Prin

ceS

tudi

osP

hoto

byC

arte

rS

herli

ne/

Frog

Prin

ceS

tudi

os


VibrantNotes on the Run:

By Daniel G. Kelsey

Oneof two men running together downthe long, weaving slope of BronsonBoulevard, among hundreds of people

toiling in the Kalamazoo Klassic 5K last June,caught my eye with his footwear. So far in 2.5miles I’d passed 1,000 runners and walkers, itseemed, without a thought of talking to any oneof them, but as I came abreast of these twomen, a question tripped off my tongue.

“How do you like your Vibrams?”

Only once before had I noticed a racer ina pair of these shoes with the digits wagglingout in front. This man in the Klassic, a recenttransplant to Kalamazoo from Chicago, wasfull of praise for the FiveFinger. Even thoughthe breakthrough design exposed his feet to atad too much cold in winter, he’d never goback to conventional footwear. The minimal-ist shoes were light and gentle on his feet,and yes, he thought he landed more towardhis toes than he used to.

That’s the natural gait for an animalevolved to run upright from sunup to sun-down without pounding his heels to mush.

Even as we talked together, I felt at everystride a shock to my right plantar fascia. I let thetwo men know that because I was running injuredand unregistered, I intended to peel off when thecourse left the street for a field at the finish. Beforesaying goodbye I wanted to know where the manhad got his FiveFingers (an odd name for shoeswith toe-sleeves.)

He’d bought them at a well-known outletin Kalamazoo. A salesman at my favoriteoutfitter in Grand Rapids had told me they’dbeen denied a supply because the producercouldn’t keep up with demand.

I coveted a pair before it was too late.Something innovative in footwear, somethingon the cutting edge, something borrowedfrom the future, might be my last chance tostay vibrant.

The harvest of aches and pains that hadme limping from behind in the Klassicmatured from seeds planted three monthsearlier. During my last couple tune-ups beforethe Kent City Ridge Run in March I sprouteda lame spot in my left groin. It lay dormantduring the race until a little climb at threemiles, whereupon it sprang up anew andgrew over the last six miles of hills like wildraspberries, bristling with thorns. If I favoredthat leg, I didn’t guess it until two days later,with my next training run, when my rightheel began to hurt like the dickens.

A lame groin proved biodegradable; plan-tar fasciitis proved as indestructible as stain-less steel.

For three months it had me trying mydarnedest not to limp for fear of inflictingnew injuries on myself. My running partneron Wednesday nights made no sense of mylikening every step to a spike in my heel,maybe thinking of spiked heels, when mythought was for railroad spikes, the kind thatcrop out of the dirt of a trail, long ago a trainline, where I run at home.

Paradoxically, the faster I ran the lesspain I felt, as if speed kept me off the heels ofmy conventional shoes. An almost pain-freeouting one day might follow an exercise intorture the day before. On one occasion Itried going from Wednesday to Wednesdaywithout running, only to hurt more than everfrom first step to last with my partner.

Biking instead of running gave my plan-tar a chance of recovery. Ice to reduce inflam-mation, heat to promote blood flow and abrace to prevent drooping of my foot in bedat night gave it a chance of healing.

By June I sensed improvement. But notenough to race the Brian Diemer Amerikam5K, only to run it without a bib, excusingmyself to people by saying I had to make sureI had a magazine story before registering,when really in great part it was about duck-ing an official time. To my surprise the spikewas dull that day and the clock at the finishline hadn’t quite ticked over on 22 minuteswhen I veered away to the sidewalk toretrieve my notebook.

My encouragement was such that I decid-ed to ease back to my former mileage. Twodays later, on June 14, a date seared in mymemory, I set out on a 7.5-mile jaunt, cau-tiously, thinking in terms of a coasting paceof 8:30 per mile. My watch read 16:02 attwo miles and 23:55 at three. This isn’t bad, Ithought; I’m running like my old self and nothurting one bit. At the end of the loop mypace calculated out to 7:57 a mile.

My darnedest turned out darned futile,though, because in the last mile my left kneeblew out like a hyper-inflated tire.

Right heel; left knee. Who could doubtthe one tripped up the other.

If my plantar fascia was the victim of aspike, that joint of bone and cartilage andsinew midway up my leg was the victim of anax. As I quizzed the man in the Klassic abouthis Vibrams, ax alternated with spike.

Over time my knee pain migrated fromupper outside to lower inside. Tendonitis?Neither ice nor heat nor ibuprofen took theedge off. A few minutes of sitting in an officechair or standing at a stove and kitchen sinkmade my left knee puff up like a herniatedinner tube.

Paradoxically, an hour of walking seemedto take down the swelling. My bike stoodabandoned in my garage because of my suspi-cion that my over-zealous peddling had con-tributed to my injury. Running four times oneweek was merely uncomfortable; running onetime the next week, on a course with a steepdownhill, was excruciating.

It got so crippling under the ax that ondays after runs I climbed up and down stairslike a nonagenarian.

It got so discouraging, after I bailed outin the fifth lap of a 3200 on the track July14, that I made up my mind to consult aphysician. That’s pretty telling for a guy inthe habit of ignoring aches, pains, cuts andbruises after five years without insurance.

A voice in my head, speaking to thoughtsof my sister’s chronic fatigue syndrome andmy brother’s Raynaud’s disease, a circulatorydisorder that compromises feet and hands,murmured that maybe the problem with myknee was rheumatoid, or cardiovascular, orneurological. Maybe it was progressive.Today’s pain might be tomorrow’s disability.

All the more bothersome was the factthat my Wednesday running partner didn’tbat an eyelash, like she’d seen it coming,when I told her I was worried that my run-ning days were over.

If my last run was at hand, let it end atthe nearest outlet for Vibrams. Before somemedico confirmed my worst fears, beforesome doctor in a free clinic sealed my fate, letsome eager salesman seal my ten toes inFiveFingers.

On the threshold of retirement, let myfeet know the feel of my birthright, runningupright, forward on their toes rather thanbackward on their heels.

This hankering after an innovativedesign, the same yen that had me driving aPrius the past six years, wouldn’t let me go.This need to taste the future nagged at me,long past my limber youth, like a jointswollen with arthritis. It was a disorder. Itwas progressive.

- MR -


Oakland University hosted the NCAA DI Great Lakes Regionals onNovember 13. University of Michigan and Michigan State womenearned automatic bids to the NCAA D1 Cross Country Championships.

Landon Peacock (left) & MaverickDarling were 2nd & 3rd runners onWisconson’s 3rd place team.

Grand Vally State University cross country fans are as tough as the school’s run-ners. Katherine McCarthy (right) led Grand Valley State women to the DivisionII national championship. Grand Valley men took third.

NCAA D1 XC Great Lakes RegionalsOakland University, Rochester, Nov. 13

NCAA D1 XC FinalsTerre Haute, IN, Nov. 22

NCAA DII Cross Country ChampionshipsLouisville, KY, Dec. 4

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios


Totally into Ski Walking

By Jim Neff

“Hey, you forgot your skis!”

I get this line directed my way about azillion times a year. Every person who deliv-ers the “joke” is convinced they’re the firstperson who has ever thought up the quip.

I always chuckle to be polite, but thetruth is that I ski walk with fitness polesevery day and that smile on my face isbecause I’m enjoying my exercise like neverbefore.

I was a runner for many years (and evena co-owner of Michigan Runner magazine) soI know all about the benefits of running.Many years ago, an injury unrelated to thesport forced me to give up running.

I continued to ski, golf and bike, butuntil a few years ago something was missingin my overall fitness program. Nothing couldquite replace running. Then I discovered skiwalking.

Pete Edwards and I had been friends fora long time. I was the editor of MichiganSkier magazine and Pete was one ofMichigan’s top ski coaches. He clued me in toa new company he had formed,SkiWalking.com, and a new product he waspromoting — fitness poles.

We connected at a ski walking clinic Peteheld and I was hooked after the first hundredfeet. Upon getting a few minutes of coachingfrom Pete, I could already see how myapproach to walking had changed in terms ofposture and tempo. I could only imagine, atthat point, what the cardio-vascular andstrength training benefits would be.

You can find all the factual informationabout the benefits of ski walking athttp://skiwalking.com, but let me tell youwhat I’ve found.

First of all, the stats tell you that youburn 40-percent more calories walking withfitness poles than you do walking withoutthem. I’ve found this to be absolutely true,maybe even a low estimate.

The fact is that when you use the poles,you generate a walking tempo that is just nat-urally faster than usual. I think this is becausea properly-fitted pole forces you to standmore upright and that leads to a lengthenedstride.

Add in the fact that moving your arms ina rhythmical conjunction with your strideleads to a more uniform gait and you natural-ly have better form.

I coached football for many years atCadillac High School. We had our playerspractice what we called “form running” everyday. Basically, we’d have them pay attentionto stride, arm movement and consistency in

their forward path.

They say you can’t teach speed, but weactually did. Players who ran with the correctform just naturally moved faster.

The same is true when you walk with fit-ness poles. A consistent tempo in a straightline means you go faster and hence have abetter workout.

The second point of emphasis, thatworks hand-in-hand with tempo, is posture.Walking with poles of the proper lengthmakes you stand upright with your shouldersback. Your balance is enhanced becauseyou’re centered as you walk.

I’ve attended clinics where Pete has hadelderly seniors and even Parkinson’s patients“see the light” after a few minutes usingpoles. People who have been walking bentover canes and walkers are suddenly uprightwith four points of balance and the result isamazing. Seeing this makes you realize howimportant proper posture can be.

While my tempo and posture improveddramatically with fitness poles, I wasn’t expect-ing a third benefit — upper body strength.Now, no one will accuse me of having aweightlifter’s body, but my overall body tonehas been affected by the use of my poles.

Think about it. If you walk an hour usingfitness walking poles your arms/shoulders/absget a tremendous repetitive workout. This does

Ski walkers use poles on Sleeping Bear Bay.

Pho

toC

ourte

syof

Pet

eEd

war

ds


not happen when you’re biking or when youwalk without poles. Of course, the assumptionis that there will be an obvious training correla-tion to cross country skiing and there is. Whenwinter comes around, poling on an XC trail iseasier.

However, I was amazed at the impactusing fitness poles had on my golf game.Imagine how many times you “swing” polesduring a one-hour walk. For me, the upshothas been that I’m no longer tired on the backnine because I’m used to the repetition of“swinging.” I’m also convinced that the bet-ter upper body toning has increased my hit-ting distances by 10 to 15 yards for everyclub.

With all of this said, it’s pretty obviousthat I’m a fan of ski walking and fitnesspoles. In our little town of Cadillac, I’mhappy to report that dozens of people havetaken the hint and we now have a dedicatedcrew of ski walkers. It’s great fun to seegroups of people walking with poles.

Now, here are some suggestions if youwant to experience ski walking.

The number one thing you want to do isget a top-quality pole that is properly fitted.Do not (I repeat, do not) get snookered intobuying some cheapo pole at a big box store.If you want to enjoy ski walking, you needpoles that are properly balanced and the rightlength. If you walk any distance at all, goodpoles make a huge difference.

I’ve encountered people trying to get col-lapsible poles to stay locked; I’ve seen peoplestruggle with poles that are so unbalancedthey actually shudder when planted; I’ve evenseen a guy who stuck tennis balls on the endsof downhill ski poles in an attempt to save afew bucks. Take my advice and get goodpoles.

I have two pairs of ski walking polesfrom SkiWalking.com. I have a set of theSWIX Nordic Walking VIP poles which arethe best-selling poles in the U.S. I also have aset of the EXEL Urban Skier Nordic Walkingpoles. Both are the specific length suited tome, have specially-designed hand straps, andcome with rubber tips for walking on pave-ment or hard surfaces. They are light, perfect-ly balanced, and a joy to use.

Now, my wife and I walk with our polesyear-round. We find fitness walking is a goodoption when we’re not skiing. If you do this,my advice is to augment your walking gearwith a pair of ice spikes. You can find theseonline at places like campmor.com and atoutdoors stores (look in the ice fishingdepartment).

These stretch along the bottom of yourrunning shoes. Get the kind with tungstenspikes, not the ones with springs on the bot-

AA Turkey Trot Thankful forRecord Numbers, More

By Tracey Cohen

ANN ARBOR (11/25/10) — Rain fell inbuckets during pre-dawn hours but failedto dishearten the record-breaking field ofnearly 1,300 runners and walkers whogathered at the University of Michigan’sNorth Campus for this city’s fifth annualThanksgiving Day Turkey Trot.

Carol Willis, along with her five sib-lings and their families, return to AnnArbor each year to celebrate the holidaywith their mother. Fifteen kin from fivedifferent states including Alaska ran the5K, hounds in tow.

Co-race director Jeff Suffolk of GoodBoy Events noticed, “There were moredogs and strollers this year — always agood thing.”

However, two legs proved faster thanfour, as Colin Vance of Indiana dominatedthe field to finish in 15:40, three secondsshy of setting a course record.

Charging ahead for the women washometown hero Margaret Schick, whocrossed first in 20:10.

Whitmore Lake High School mates

Joe Gacioch and Katie Anderson describedthe route as “a hilly, challenging course.”Joe returned for his third year; Katie wasrunning her first race ever.

“I generally run on a treadmill,” shesaid. “I can really tell a difference.”

Athletes, ranging from four years to78, enjoyed a visit from Santa, high fivesfrom a decked-out turkey and finish-linefeast complete with cookies, fruit, mini-Clif bars, hot cocoa and more.

Senior race director Ron Suffolk wasthankful for the support given by the uni-versity, volunteers and runners, many ofwhom donated to the annual canned-foodand used-clothing drive that benefits theSalvation Army and Active Faith of SouthLyon.

He confirmed rumors that next year’ssixth annual event might see the sights ofdowntown Ann Arbor followed by aparade.

For complete results and updates onnext year’s race, visithttp://www.goodboyevents.com.

- MR -

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot, Ann Arbor

1300 runners and walkers start the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot.

Pho

toby

Sha

ron

Suf

folk

/G

ood

Boy

Even

ts

tom. Take the rubber tips off your poles andyou have a rock-solid combination — polesthat bite into ice and snow and spikes thatprevent slipping. (We just put the spikes onan older set of running shoes and leave themon all winter.)

Ski walking with fitness poles has

become a way of life for me. I never head outon a walk without them. Support a Michiganbusiness by visiting www.skiwalking.com orcalling 877-SKIWALKING (754-9255) formore information, testimonials, lessons and aselection of the finest ski walking poles.

- MR -

38 Michigan Runner - November / December 2010

Book Review: ‘Again to Carthage’By Ron Marinucci

“Again to Carthage”by John L. Parker. 2007, 2010(first paperback release).$16. 359 pp. Scribner.

“Quenton Cassidy had once beena runner. Now he was some-thing else.” Indeed he had, as

readers of John Parker’s classic (I don’t throwout that word as casually as many) “Once aRunner” no doubt remember. “Again toCarthage” (what a great title) resumesCassidy’s story.

The Olympic silver medal miler hasgraduated from law school and become asuccessful Palm Beach attorney. He has acadre of close friends and seems to takeadvantage of all that living in south Floridahas to offer. Life is good, as Cassidy readilyadmits. But …

After facing the deaths of several closefriends and family members, he writes anintrospective letter to his love interest,Andrea. He tries to explain what that“but” is. “(It was) not that something waswrong, but that something was missing.”

Of course, that “something” was run-ning. Oh, Cassidy still ran, more days thannot, five and seven and 10 miles, still atpaces that left mortals gasping. But to himthis was casual running. Further explain-ing, he realizes, “… what gave him greatcontentment now and probably wouldfrom now on was the simple knowledgethat he had once been a runner.”

From this self-examination, Cassidymakes a life-changing decision. He is goingto train for the Olympics again; this time thetarget is the marathon.

He seeks out his old friend and coach,Bruce Denton, who tries to dissuade him. “…there have only been three guys in historywho have ever run under four minutes in themile and under 2:10 in the marathon. Theyare Rod Dixon, Ken Martin and GeoffSmith,” Denton writes to Cassidy. Is he reallysure he wants this? Denton cites other draw-backs and the dubious opinions of others inthe running world.

Of course, Denton doesn’t try too hardand readily agrees to map out a training planto prepare Cassidy for the Olympic TrialsMarathon to be held in Buffalo, N.Y. And,Cassidy once again retreats to an almostmonastic life in an isolated cabin and houseto live, train and think.

Readers follow Cassidy’s training,although perhaps not as closely as in “Once aRunner.” There are long runs, fartleks andtrack sessions, along with discussions andthoughts about training philosophies withDenton. And it’s all good!

But there is more, much more. Runnersare reminded of the elite levels of runningwhen Denton, himself an Olympic goldmedalist, reminisces, “I’ll never forget thetime it took me more than 32 minutes to fin-

ish a 10K.” Cassidy recalls his running life as“living for years in a state of constant better-ment,” which, he concludes, is akin to “aspiritual state.”

Parker throws in some philosophy andnot a little humor. “Is it possible,” Cassidythinks, “that getting older is a process of los-ing pieces of yourself along the way, and thatit just goes on until there isn’t anything left?”He also muses, “Am I old or just out ofshape? And if you were never in shape, isthere any difference?”

His days consist of waking, running, eat-ing, running and sleeping. “How did I do thisall those years without going crazy? Or am Ipresuming too much?”

Cassidy, Denton, and other runners recallstories of pet-eating alligators that haunt pastrunning routes, of drinking cheap beer (“fer-mented bobcat urine”) after workouts, of

what it was like to be the most elite of run-ners, Olympic medalists.

Before embarking on his improbablequest, Cassidy takes us deep-sea fishing andsnorkeling. He knows what kind of fish arewhere, what bait to use and how to cookand, certainly, eat them.

We are introduced or reintroduced tofriends, family members and Andrea, who hascome to evoke as much emotion in Cassidy ashis running. And just before the marathon,there is a hilarious hearing, perhaps more thana little snipe at running’s governing elites, thatthreatens Cassidy’s goal.

But, of course, the theme is running, eliterunning and Cassidy’s goal of qualifying forone of the three spots on the U.S. OlympicMarathon team. He discovers what mostmarathoners have discovered about train-ing, pain, euphoria and the marathon itself.

The climax, naturally, is the trials race inBuffalo — from downtown, across the PeaceBridge into Canada and on to the finish, oftenwith the familiar cooling breezes blowing offthe river and lake. The conclusion may or maynot be what the reader expects, but theCassidy’s marathon is riveting.

Cassidy’s story in “Again to Carthage”is, like that in “Once a Runner,” com-pelling. Runners will find much with whichto identify, along with some new things.Non-runners will also enjoy the novel, itscharacters, the twists, turns and story itself.

And Parker has once again proven himselfto be a masterful wordsmith. The plot is tight-ly woven, not straying to unconnected tan-gents. The characters, their lives and thoughts

are interesting and, mostly in Cassidy’s case,detailed. It’s not hard to imagine being on adeep-sea fishing expedition with Cassidy or ona long run through the woods of the Blue RidgeMountains with him.

And, throughout, Parker clearly demon-strates what it’s like and what it takes to be aworld-class runner like Cassidy.

In the end, after the trials, Cassidyexplains why he returned. “I wanted to beable to remember what it was like when Iwas once a runner.”

“Once a Runner” remains one of myfavorite novels. I read and reread it morethan 20 years ago and have often thought, “Iwant more!”

In “Again to Carthage,” Parker has final-ly given us more. Yet I find myself thinkingagain, “I want more.” - MR -


JanuarySat., January 1

Gazelle Sports’ JohnDaley Memorial OneOne RunKalamazoo 1:00 pmSpring Valley Park4.4MR/W, 2.2MR/W(269) [email protected]

Jazz Running NewYear’s ResolutionRun/WalkDexter 10:00 amHudson Mills Metro Park10KR, 5KWKatie & Bob Jazwinski(734) [email protected]

New Year’s Day HalfMarathonJackson 10:00 amFalling Waters Trail13.1MRElody [email protected]/Jackson-Area-Outdoor-Meetup-Group/calendar/15301695/

New Year’s ResolutionRunLake Orion 10:00 amDowntown Lake Orion5KR/W, 1MFR

Suzanne Perreault(248) [email protected]

Reese Winter RoadRace SeriesReese 10:00 amReese High School10KR, 5KR/W(989) [email protected]

Resolution 5KLansing 10:00 amCorner of St. Joe Highwayand Broadbent 5KR(517) 882-3550jlandskroener@ oursav-iorchurch.orgrunningfoundation.com/Resolution5k.html

Sergeant Preston,Yukon King RunMuskegon 11:11 amMuskegon State ParkWinter Sports Complex6MR, 5KR/FWJeep Osborn(231) [email protected]

Sunday, January 2

Boyne HighlandsClassicHarbor Springs 10:00 amBoyne Valley Lodge,Walloon Lake5K/ 11K classic XC ski(231) 526-3029www.boynehighlands.com

Tuesday, January 4

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesMt. Pleasant 5:00 pmCentral Michigan Univ.hs track & fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Wed., January 5

Hanson’s CoachingServices Half MarathonTraining ProgramRoyal Oak 7:00 pmHansons Running ShoptrainingLuke Humphrey(248) [email protected]

Hanson’s CoachingServices MarathonTraining ProgramRoyal Oak 7:00 pmHansons Running ShoptrainingLuke Humphrey(248) [email protected]

Thurs., January 6

Hanson’s CoachingServices BeginningRunner 1 ProgramRoyal Oak7:00 pmHansons Running Shoptraining

Luke Humphrey(248) [email protected]

Hanson’s CoachingServices BeginningRunner 2 ProgramRoyal Oak7:00 pmHansons Running ShoptrainingLuke Humphrey(248) [email protected]

Friday, January 7

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesAnn Arbor 6:00 pmUniversity of Michiganhs track & fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Michigan Indoor TrackSeries - tentativeWarren 4:30 pmMacomb CChs track & fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Sat., January 8

1st EvangelicalCovenant Church RunGrand Rapids 10:00 am1933 Tremont NW10KR, 5KR, 1.5MR

Dennis Scully(616) 453-8600 / (616)[email protected]

Cross Country WinterTrail DaysThompsonville 1:00 pmCrystal MountainXC Ski Cinic(800) 968-7686, x 4000crystalmountain.com

Eastern MichiganInvitationalYpsilantiBowen Field House,Eastern MichiganUniversitytrack & fieldJohn Goodridge(734) [email protected]

EMU Winter Eagle HSInvitationalYpsilanti 3:00 pmBowen Field House,Eastern MichiganUniversityhs track & field(734) [email protected]

Great Lakes IndoorSeriesYpsilanti 5:00 pmEastern MichiganUniversitytrack & field meetBill Walters(810) 449-5683

January - April 2011 Event Calendar


[email protected]/greatlakesindoorseries

IDADARUNLinden 6:30 pmLinden Community Ed.,7201 Silver Lake Raod8MR, 8M relay(810) [email protected]

Michigan Cup TrainingDay Team Time TrialsGrayling 10:00 amHanson Hills5K Time Trial / 3 personteams - freestyle or classic(989)[email protected]

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesAllendale NoonGrand Valley StateUniversityhs track & fieldMike [email protected]

Valley Spur Ski BashWetmore 10:00 amValley Spur Ski Lodge24K, 12K, classic and skateXC skiArlene Swanberg(906) [email protected]

Walt DisneyWorld HalfMarathonLake Buena Vista6:30 am13.1MRJon Hughesdisneyworld-sports.disney.go.com

Sunday, January 9

Dave’s 10 Mile ShoeRunDelta 2:00 pmDelta Park 10 MRJeff Taylor(419) [email protected]

GRNST LanglaufGrayling 10:00 amHanson Hills15K/ 5K XC Ski FreestyleGrand Rapids Nordic SkiTeam(231) [email protected]

Walt DisneyWorld®MarathonLake Buena Vista6:00 am13.1MRJon Hughesdisneyworld-sports.disney.go.com

Friday, January 14

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesWarren 4:30 pmMacomb CommunityCollegehs track & fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Sat., January 15

Freeze Your Fanny 5KRun/WalkBay City 10:00 amBay County CommunityCenter 5KR/WJohn Metevia(989) [email protected]

Frosty 15K FreestyleCross Country SkiRaceBrighton 10:30 amHuron MeadowsMetropark15K X-C Ski;5K X-C Ski(248) [email protected]

IPC Indoor TriathlonRochester Noon650 Letica DrivetriathlonBecky Ridky(248) [email protected]/

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesAllendale NoonGrand Valley StateUniversityhs track & fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesSaginaw time tbdSaginaw Valley StateUniversityhs track & field

Mike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Portland Winter RunPortland 10:00 amPortland HS 5KR/WMaryellen Stornant(517) 526-2210coachstornant@ hot-mail.comrunningfoundation.com/Portland_Winter_Run.htmlPreregistration only.

SISU Ski FestivalIronwood tbdABR Ski Trails42K/ 21K/ XC ski classic& skate, 10K ski tour(715) 254-4104sisuskifest.com

Snowflake Run andWalkFlushing 10:00 amFlushing CentralElementary School10KR, 5K R/W,(810) [email protected]

Snowmans HalfMarathonMt. Pleasant 10:00 amRunners Performance Store13.1MR, 10KR, 5KRRyan Hackett(989) [email protected]

Sunday, January 16

Copper Island ClassicHoughton 1:00 pmMichigan Tech Trails10K, 5K, 2K XC Ski classic(906) [email protected]

Lansing for Haiti 5KLansing 2:30 pmGreat Lakes ChristianCollege 5KRLansing for Haiti(517) [email protected]

Mon., January 17

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesEast Lansing time tbaMichigan State Universityhs track & fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Tues., January 18

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesMt. Pleasant 5:00 pmCentral MichiganUniversityhs track & fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Thurs., January 20

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesAnn Arbor6:00 pmUniversity of Michiganhs track & fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Friday, January 21

Cote Dame MarieLoppet Kids RaceGrayling 7:00 pmHanson Hills Ski Trailskids XC races(989) [email protected]


Sat., January 22

BigfootSnowshoe RaceTraverse City 9:00 amTimber RidgeCampground10K, 5K snowshoeracesJeff Gaft(231) [email protected]

Cote Dame MarieLoppetGraylingHanson Hills RecreationArea30K XC Ski freestyle, 15KXC Ski freestyle or classic(888) [email protected]

Frozen Watters TrailRunRochester Hills 9:00 amBloomer Park, StoneShelter 3MR(248) [email protected]/frozen_watters.html

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesAllendale NoonGrand Valleyhs track & fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesAlbion time tbdAlbion CollegeMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Nordic Flurry Cross-Country Ski RaceKirtland, OH 9:00 amPine Lodge Ski Center5K classic xc ski, 10K/ 2Kfreestyle xc skiOhio Nordic Ski Team(440) 256-3810www.lakemetroparks.com/programs/LakeMetroparks-2011Events.shtml

Winter Wolf RunOmer 6:30 pmOld Courthouse 25KRChuck Hilyard(989) [email protected]

Wed, January 26

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesSaline 6:30 pmSaline Middle Schoolhs track & [email protected]

Friday, January 28

Great Lakes IndoorSeriesSaginaw 5:00 pmSaginaw Valley State Univ.hw track & field meetBill Walters(810) [email protected]/greatlakesindoorseries

Junior NoqueMarquette 4:00 pmForestville Trailhead


51K, 25K XC Ski(888) [email protected]/junior-noque/

Sat., January 29

Freeze Your Fanny 5KRun/WalkShelby Twp. 11:00 amStoney Creek MetroPark -Boat Launch 5KR/WNancy Smith(586) [email protected]

MGH Noquemanon SkiMarathonMarquette 8:20 amNoquemanon Trail -Ishpenming to Marquettte51K, 25K XC Ski(888) [email protected]

Michigan indoor TrackSeriesAlbion 10:00 amAlbion Collegehs track and fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesSaginaw time tbdSaginaw Valley StateUniversityhs track & fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Muskegon FamilyYMCA Indoor TriathlonMuskegon 12:00 pmMuskegon Family YMCA900 W. Western Ave.Triathlon: 15 minutesS/bike/RDon Correll(231) [email protected]

Snowshoe Race &Winter FestivalBattle Creek 10:00 amBinder Park Golf Course5K snowshoeRod Layne(269) [email protected]

Sunday, January 30

ChevronHoustonMarathonHouston 7:45 am26.2 MR, 13.1 MR, 5K,kids run(713) [email protected]

Meridian TownshipParks and RecreationPolar Bear 5KOkemos 10:00 amMeridian MunicipalComplex 5KR/WGreg Grothous(517) [email protected]

FebruaryFriday, February 4


Sat., February 5

Dragon GAP CharityWinter Mountain BikeRace & Running RaceLake Orion 9:00 amLake Orion HS5KR and/or 5KMB,10KMB, 15KMB, 20KMBSteve Kinley(248) [email protected]/lohs/intramural/index.html

Maple Syrup StampedeSt. Joseph Island, ON10:30 amJocelyn Township Trails20K XC Ski-skating; 7KXC Ski-classic(705) [email protected]

Reese Winter RoadRace SeriesReese 10:00 amReese High School

10KR, 5KR/W(989) [email protected]

Rotary SnowmeltShuffle 5K Run / WalkHolland 8:30 amHolland Civic Center, 8th& Pine 5KR, 1MWLarry Erlandson(616) [email protected]/110066/

SnowBustersBorgess RunCampKalamazoo 7:30 amBorgess Health andFitness Centermarathon, half-marathon, 5K trainingBorgess Health andFitness Center(269) [email protected] April 28

The FrostbiteFremont 10:00 amFremont High School, 204East Main10KR, 5KRCliff [email protected] Triple Crown

USA Cross CountryChampionshipsSan Diego 9:00 amMission Bay Park6KR, 8KR, 12KRUSATFusatf.org/events/2011/USAXCChampionships/World Cross Country TeamTrials

White Pine StampedeMancelona 9:00 amMancelona High School /Shanty Creek10K / 20K / 50K ski classic& freestyle(231) [email protected]

Winterfest RunAlpena 9:00 amNorthern Lights Arena4 MRJeremy Winterstein(989) [email protected]

WinterlaufeFrankenmuth10:00 amFischer Hall8KR/WLucas Hart(989) 860-3388 or(800) [email protected]

Sunday, February 6

Groundhog GallopJackson 12:00 PMParkside Fieldhouse5KR/W, Kid’s Run(517) 784-3950centerforfamilyhealth.org/gallop/5krun.htm

Kahtoola MichiganMountain RunClarkston 8:30 amPine Knob Ski Area8KR, 4KRZac Chisholm(231) [email protected]/

Michigan Cup Sprintslocation tbd12K xc ski, 6K junior xcskiVasa Ski Club(989)348-9266vasaskiclub.com

Super 5KNovi 9:00 amNovi Town Center5KRRunning Fit(734) [email protected]

Super Bowl 5KOkemos 10:00 am1900 Kinawa Dr. 5KRChuck Block(517) [email protected]

Thurs., Feb. 10

Howell Splash n’ DashIndoor TriHowell 9:00 amHowell Area AquaticCentertriathlon: 20 minS/ 20minB/ 20 minRMichael Powers(517) [email protected]/aquatic_special_events.html

TahquamenonSnowshoe RaceParadiseUpper Tahquamenon Falls20K, 10K, 5K, kids snow-shoeJeff Crumbaugh(715) 460-0426info@greatlakesendurance.comgreatlakesendurance.comactive.com

Friday, February 11

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesWarren 4:30 pmMacomb CommunityCollegehs track and fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesAlbion time tbdAlbion Collegehs track & fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesSaginaw time tbdSaginaw Valley StateUniversityhs track & field - distancefestMike Jurasek(616) [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Midwest TelefestOntonagonMt. Bohmia & PorcupineMountain State ParkXC ski clinic, races(906) [email protected] day event to 2/13/11

Sat., February 12

Bon Soo Lantern SkiSault St. Marie 5:00 pmLookout Trailski tour(705) 759-0626contactus@ soofinnish-nordic.comsoofinnishnordic.com

Chilly Willy IndoorTriathlonMarquette 8:00 amNorthern MichiganUniversity - PEIF Building -Rec Center


tri: 30minuteS/ 30minuteB/30minuteRKatrina Theut(906) [email protected]/recreation

Dances withDirt - GreenSwampDade City, FL50MR, 50KR, 26.2MR,13.1MR, relayRunning Fit(734) [email protected]

Frosty Five Trail RunAdrian 8:30 amHeritage Park, 3241 N.Adrian Hwy. 5MRRunning with E’s(517) [email protected]

Great Lakes IndoorSeriesAllendale 5:00 pmGrand Valley StateUniversitytrack & field meetBill Walters(810) [email protected]/greatlakesindoorseries/

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesSaginaw time tbdSaginaw Valley StateUniversityhs track & fieldMike Jurasek(616) [email protected]/Schedule.asp

North American VASATraverse City 8:30 amTimber Ridge Resort50K ski, 27K ski, 12K ski,freestyle & classic, 3K and12K tour, 1K, 3K kidsBryce Dreeszen(231) [email protected]

Sweetheart Run &Team CompetitionFlushing 10:00 amFlushing CentralElementary School10KR, 5KR/W, CoupleTeams(810) [email protected]

Winter Witch’s Hat RunSouth Lyon 9:00 amSouth Lyon High School5KR/W, 1 MFRScott Smith(248) [email protected]/witch

Sun., February 13

Hagerty Insurance GranTravers Cross CountryClassicTraverse City 9:00 amTimber Ridge Resort12K / 6K XC Ski classicPete LaPlaca(231) [email protected]

Heart Throb 5KEast Lansing NoonBessey Hall, MichiganState, Corner of Farm Lane& Auditorium Road5KR/WJennifer Cooke(248) [email protected]

Nordica Winter RallyThompsonvilleCrystal Mountainxc ski racesAndrew Call(231) 378-2000, ext. [email protected]

Riverview WinterfestBreakfast and 4 MileRunRiverview 10:00 amSeitz Jr. High School4 MR, 4x1M relayGary Olsen(734) [email protected]

Valentine’s Day Sale &Fun RunAnn Arbor 9:00 amTortoise and Hare,Plymouth Road 11 MR(734) [email protected]

Tues., February 15

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesMt. Pleasant St. 5:00 pmCentral MichiganUniversityhs track and fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

Thurs., February 17


Friday, February 18

Great Lakes IndoorSeriesMt. Pleasant 5:00 pmCentral Michigan Univ.track & field meetBill Walters(810) [email protected]/greatlakesindoorseries


Sat., February 19

Black Mountain Nordic30K ClassicOnaway 10:00 amBlack Mountain ForestPathway30K XC Ski, classic, 10KXC Ski tour(888) [email protected]

Frosty 5KLansing 9:00 amdowntown Lansing5K/WChrysovalantou [email protected]

Icecube Half MarathonMt. Pleasant 10:00 am2316 S. Mission13.1MR, 10KR. 5KRRyan Hackett(989) [email protected]

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesAllendale 10:30 amGrand Valley StateUniversityhs track & fieldMike Jurasek

[email protected]/Schedule.asp

Michigan Indoor TrackSeriesSaginaw time tbdSaginaw Valley State Univ.hs track & fieldMike [email protected]/Schedule.asp

NCAA Central RegionChampionships -Nordic SkiingHoughtonMichigan Tech NordicTraining Centerwww.ncaa.com/sports/2/18/11 - 2/19/11

Spirit of Winter 5KRun/WalkBay City 10:00 amBay County CommunityCenter5KR/W(989) [email protected]

Winter Blast 5KGrandville 10:00 amCalvin Christian HighSchool 5KR/WLaurens TenKate(616) [email protected]

Sun., February 20

Frosty 5KAcme9:00 amGrand Traverse Resort &Spa 5KRCherry Capital [email protected]

Hanson Hills ClassicGrayling 10:00 amHanson Hills RecreationArea12K, 6K XC Ski(989) [email protected]

Thurs., February 24

Birkie Elite SprintsHayward, WI 2:30 pmMain Streetxc ski sprints(715) [email protected]

Friday, February 25

Junior BirkieCable, WI 9:00 amTelemark Resortxc ski sprints(715) [email protected]

Mid AmericanConference IndoorChampionships - Track& FieldBowling Green, OHBowling Green Universitytrack & field meetmac-sports.com2/25/10 - 2/26/11

Sat., February 26

American BirkebeinerHayward, WI 8:20 amCable to Hayward57K, 23 K XC Ski, 8K XCSki Tour(715) [email protected]

Big Ten IndoorChampionships - MenChampaign, ILUniversity of Illinoistrack & field meetbigten.cstv.com2/26/11 - 2/27/11

Big Ten IndoorChampionships -WomenWest Lafayette, INPurdue Universitytrack & field meetbigten.cstv.com2/26/11 - 2/27/11

Disney’s RoyalFamily 5KLake Buena Vista, FL7:00 amWalt Disney WorldEpcot® Center;kids at Wide Worldof Sports10 am5KR, kids runsrundisney.comDisney’s Princes HalfMarathonWeekend:February 25-27, 2011

Michigan Indoor TrackSeries - StateChampionshipYpsilanti tbaEastern Michigan Univ.hs track & fieldMike Jurasek


[email protected]/Schedule.asp

USA Indoor Track &Field ChampionshipsAlbuquerque, NMtrack & field meetusatf.org/calendars/2/26/11 - 2/27/11

Sun., February 27

Disney’sPrincess HalfMarathonLake Buena Vista, FL6:00 amWalt Disney WorldEpcot® Center13.1MR, 5KR, kidsrunsrundisney.comDisney’s Princes HalfMarathonWeekend:February 25-27, 2011

Junior Muffin RaceSkiathlon Classic /FreestyleHiggins Lake 11:00 amXC Ski Headquarters8K xc ski, classic &freestyle, kids 6-12 racesnordicskiracer.com

Sun., February 27

Last Chance for BostonMarathonDublin, OH 8:00 amWyndam Hote26.2MR, 13.1MR, 10KR,5KR, relay(614) [email protected]

MarchSaturday, March 5

Boyne Highlands 15KFreestyleHarbor Springs time tbdBoyne Highlands15K/5K freestyle XC skiNick Baic(231) 526-3029nordicskiracer.com

Hospice Holiday5KRun/Walk & Kids SprintBrooklyn 10:00 am8500 Jefferson Rd.5KR/W, kids runAnnette Padley(517) [email protected]

Reese Winter RoadRace SeriesReese 10:00 amReese High School10KR, 5KR/WRick Houghtaling(989) [email protected]

Tog e’ Go Bogt e’ 5KOvid NoonLeonard Elementary School5KR/WNick [email protected]

Wabos WildernessLoppetGoulais River, ONStokely Creek Lodge26K XC ski(866) [email protected]

Sunday, March 6

Arnold 5K Pump andRunColumbus, OH 9:30 amGreater ColumbusConvention Center5KR, Weight LiftingMatt McGowan(740) [email protected]

Fight for Air ClimbDetroitDetroit 10:00 amRenaissance Center70 or 40 floors, kids raceJessica Jimenez(248) [email protected]/donate/events/fight-for-air-climb/

Tortoise and HareMarathon Training RunAnn Arbor 9:00 amTortoise and Hare,Plymouth Road11 mile loop repeats for 22mile run(734) [email protected]

Thurs., March 10

Gazoom 5K TrainingProgramHolland 6:30 pmGazelle Sports10KR, 5KR(616) 391-2282kklooster@ gazelle-sports.comgazellesports.com

Friday, March 11

Junior Bear ChaseHoughton 5:00 pmSwedetown Trails2.1K, 1K, 1/2K XC ski kids- classic & freestyle(906) 482-1308www.bearchase.org

NCAA Division I IndoorTrack and FieldChampionshipsCollege Station, TXTexas A & Mtrack and field(800) 982-4647ncaasports.com/track-and-field/schedules3/11/11 - 3/12/11

Saturday, March 12

Black River PublicSchool Rat Race 5KRun/WalkHolland 10:00 amBlack River Public Schools,491 Columbia Ave.5KR/W, kids raceJohn K. Donnelly(616) 928-7666donnellyj@brpsk12.orgblackriverpublicschool.orgsnapregistration.com

Great Bear ChaseCalumet 9:00 am EDTSwedetown Ski Trails50K freestyle, 26Kfreestyle/ classic XC Ski(906) [email protected]

Run for the GoldPinckney 10:00 am5KR/W, kids run(248) 627 5108goracego.com

Saturday, March 12

Mud-Dogs HalfMarathon / 10KMt. Pleasant 10:00 am2316 S. Mission13.1MR, 10KRRyan Hackett(989) [email protected]

Shillelagh FourMile Flushing

NoonEarly ChildhoodCenter, 409Chamberlain St.4 MR/W, kids runRiverbend Striders

(810) [email protected]

Sunday, March 13

St. Patrick’sParadeCorktown RaceDetroit 12:00 pm5KR/WDoug Kurtis(248) [email protected]

Shamrocks andShenanigansAnn Arbor10:45 amConor O’Neill’s,downtown Ann Arbor5KR/W, kids’ runRunning Fit Events(734) [email protected]

Thurs., March 17

St. Patty’s Pacer 5KHolland 5:00 pmCentennial Park5KR/WVicki Kavanaugh(616) 392-2282vkavanaugh@ gazelle-sports.comgazellesports.com

St. Patrick’sDay Pot O’ GoldShuffleFlint 5:30 pmKearsley St.,Downtown Flint4 MR/W, kids runCurtis Thompson(810) 233-8851raceservices.comthecompleterunner.com

Saturday, March 19

Boyne Highlands KrazyDazeHarbor Springs 10:00 amBoyne Highlandsxc, downhill ski races(800) GO-BOYNEboynehighlands.com

No Frills, All Thrills,Trail RunBrighton 10:00 am

Huron Meadows MetroPark5 MRDon Rose(989) 634-5976info@nofrillsallthrillsrace.comnofrillsallthrillsrace.com

St. Patrick’sDay RacesFitness ExpoBay City 9am - 4pmBay CountyCommunity CenterAnn Gasta(989) [email protected]

St. Patrick’sDayLeprechaunRacesBay City 2:00 pmBay CountyCommunity Centerkids runsAnn Gasta(989) [email protected]

The ShamrockKalamazoo 9:00 amHackett Catholic Central HS5KR/WBrian Molony(269) [email protected]

Shamrock 5K Run,Walk, and RollEast Lansing 11:00 amMSU Campus, Conrad Hall5KR/WAlex Tallman(810) [email protected]/Shamrock_5k.html

Spectrum Health IrishJig 5kEast Grand Rapids 9 amEast Grand Rapids HighSchool 5KRSpectrum Health(616) [email protected]

St. Patrick’s DayCharity RunClare 9:00 amDoherty Hotel10KR, 5KR, 1/4 M kidsrun


Tom Kunse(989) 205-4133northern@ glccomput-ers.comirish.claremichigan.com

Sunday, March 20

Ambulance Chase 5KRun/WalkEast Lansing 1:00 pmMSU College of Law5KR/Wmcdon320@@msu.edurunningfoundation.com/MSU_Law_5k.html

Rock CF Rivers HalfMarathon & 5KRun/WalkGrosse Ile 7:30 amGrosse Ile HS13.1MR, 5KR/WEmily Schaller(734) [email protected]/

St. Patrick’sDay RacesBay City 12:00 pmDowntown Bay City8KR, 5KR/WAnn Gasta(989) [email protected]

Saturday, March 26

Flushing Township 1/2Marathon & 5kRun/WalkFlushing 9:30 amFlushing HIgh School13.1 MR, 5KR/W(810) [email protected]

Kal-Haven Trail RunKalamazoo 9:00 am10th Street, Kal-HavenTrailhead 33.6 MR , 2 or6 person relay teamsTerry Hutchins(269) [email protected]

Kent City Ridge RunKent City 9:30 amKent City High School, 351N. Main St.15KR, 5KR/WJill Evers(616) 678-4210, ext. [email protected]

Walker Pump & RunWalker 9:00 amWalker Ice and FitnessCenterWeight lifting / 5KRMegan Bozek(616) [email protected]

Sunday, March 27

Around the Bay 30KHamilton, ON 9:30 amHamilton, Ontario30KR, 5K, 2 & 3 personrelays(905) [email protected]

Mountain Man Trail Runand HikeLake Orion 10:00 amBald Mountain RecreationArea5.6MR, 2.1MWKarl Lopata(248) [email protected]

AprilSaturday, April 2

Harry’s Spring Run OffToronto, ON 10:00 amHigh Park 8KR, 5KRCanada Running Series(416) [email protected]

MartianInvasion ofRacesDearborn 7:30 amFord Field26.2MR, 13.1MR,10KR,5KR, kids runRunning Fit Events(734) [email protected]

Ringing in SpringValparaiso, IN 9 am CDTYMCA, 55 Chicago St.5KR/W, Kids RunValparaiso Family YMCA,1201 CumbefrlandCrossing(219) [email protected]

Run for ReadingLansing 9:00 amDelta Township DistrictLibrary, 4538 ElizabethRoad5KR/W, kids runCherry Hamrick(517) [email protected]

Trailbreaker MarathonWaukesha, WI 8:00 amSchuetze Recreation Center,1120 Baxter St.26.2MR, 13.1MR, 5KRPat Grulke(262) [email protected]

Sunday, April 3

Ohio River RoadRunners ClubMarathon and HalfMarathonDayton, OH 8:30 amXenia YMCA26.2 MR,13.1 MR, relayOhio River Road RunnerClub(937) [email protected]

“Run Like Mike” Rutka5KAnn Arbor 9:00 amGallup Park5KR, 2MW, kids’ dashKathleen Gina(734) [email protected]

Tortoise and HareMarathon Training RunAnn Arbor 9:00 amTortoise and Hare,Plymouth Road10-11 mile loop repeats for20-22 mile run(734) [email protected]

Sunday, April 10

Dooby DuBikesportDuathlonToledo/ Berkey, OH8:30 amSecor Metropark2MR/ 6.5MB/ 2MR/6.5MB/ 2MRJim / Joyce Donaldson(419) 829-2398

[email protected]

MSUFCU Race for thePlace 5KEast Lansing 1:00 pmJenison Fieldhouse, MSUCampus 5KR/WApril Clobes(517) [email protected]/p_safeplace.html?mnuccid=65&rd=1

Saturday, April 16

Bangor Schools RaceBay City 9:00 amBay County CommunityCenter 5KR/WTina Rogers(989) 684-8121, ext. [email protected]

Clarkston RiverdawgsSpring Training 5KClarkston 10:00 amClintonwood Park5KR/WLaura Kuczmanski(248) [email protected]

Race for a Reason(R4R)Mt. Pleasant 9:00 amCentral Michigan IndoorAthletic Complex15KR/ 20MB/ 1MR/W,5KR(989) 775-7101, ext. [email protected]

Road Ends 5MilePinckney 9:00 amSilver Lake, PinckneyRecreation Area5 MRRunning Fit(734) [email protected]

Tax TrotFlushing 10:00 amFlushing High School15KR, 10KR, 5KR/W(810) [email protected]

TGIS Spring 5K RunGaylord 11:00 amDowntown Gaylord,Pavillion 5KRJeff Kalember

(989) 370-0934kalemberj@ gay-lord.k12.mi.usgaylordxc.blogspot.com/

Sunday, April 17

Gazelle Sports IndoorTriathlonKalamazoo 7:30 amGreater Kalamazoo FamilyYMCA20minS/ 20minB/ 20minRAlycia Vince(269) [email protected]

Glass City Marathon &Team RelayToledo, OH 8:00 amPark Inn26.2 MR, 13.1 MR, 5 per-son relay, 5KREdward O’Reilly(419) [email protected]

Go the Extra Mile forCovenant KidsSaginaw 10:00 am2316 S. Mission13.1MR, 10KR. 5KRRyan Hackett(989) [email protected]

Mid-Michigan Race forthe Cure®Lansing 1:00 p.m.Lansing State Capitol5KR/W(517) [email protected]

Running FitTrail Marathonand HalfMarathonPinckney 7:30 amSilver Lake, PinckneyRecreation Area26.2 MR, 13.1 MR(734) [email protected]

Running the RaceAlbion 1:00 pmVictory Park5KR, 1MWCharlie [email protected]/ ath-letesinaction/


Scotiabank Montreal21K & 5KMontreal, QC 8:30 amParc Jean-Drapeau21KR, 5KRCanada Running Series(416) [email protected]

Yellow JacketChallenge 5KGreenville 2:00 pmGreenville HS, 111 NorthHillcrest5KR, 1MR/W, kids runsCaroline L. Cook(616) [email protected]

Monday, April 18

B.A.A. BostonMarathonBoston, MA26.2 MRB.A.A(508) 435-6905www.baa.org

Wed., April 20

Run Fit 5KNovi 6:30 pmNovi Town Center5KR, 1MR, kids run(734) [email protected]

Saturday, April 23

Eagle by the Bay 5KRun & WalkEssexville 9:00 amFinn Road Park 5KR/WRich VanTol(989) [email protected]

Run With The Cops Notfrom ThemDetroit 10:00 amBelle Isle5KR/W, 1MR/WCarol Almeranti(313) [email protected]

Striders SaturdayClassicGrandville 8:00 amCovenant Christian HighSchool 10 MRSteve Webster(616) [email protected]

Sunday, April 24

Steelcase GrandDuathlonKentwood 10:00 amSteelcase Kentwood5KR/ 30 KB/ 5KRKenny Krell(231) [email protected]

Thursday, April 28

Hillsdale “Gina”RelaysHillsdale 3:00 pmHillsdale Collegetracktrack and field meetBill Lundberg(517) [email protected]/ athlet-ics/mens_track/ginarelays.asp4/28/11 - 4/30/11

Friday, April 29

Hillsdale “Gina”RelaysHillsdale 10:00 amHillsdale Collegetracktrack meetBill Lundberg(517) [email protected]/ athlet-ics/mens_track/ginarelays.asp4/28/11 - 4/30/11

Saturday, April 30

Calvin Spring ClassicGrand Rapids 8:30 amCalvin College Field House5KR/W, 1KFR(616) [email protected]/classic/

Carrollton Lions ClubWalk/Run for the Blind5KCarrollton 8:15 amCarrolton High School,1235 Mapleridge Road5KR/W

Craig Douglas(989) 399-8860cdouglas@ carroll-ton.k12.mi.usleaderdog.org

Hillsdale “Gina”RelaysHillsdale 10:00 amHillsdale Collegetracktrack meetBill Lundberg(517) [email protected] hill-dale.edu/athletics/mens_track/ginarelays.asp4/28/11 - 4/30/11

Interact 5K Run/WalkHowell 9:00 amHowell HS 5K R/WPeter Bowen(517) [email protected]

Kentucky DerbyFestival Marathon,MiniMarathon andRelays

Louisville, KY 7:30 am26.2MR, 13.1MR, relays(502) [email protected]

Let’s MoveFestival ofRacesMount Clemens9:00 am13.1MR/ Relay,5KR/W, 1MR/WThomas Gray(586) [email protected]

WYLD Bill 5KHillsdale10:00 amHillsdale Collegetrack5KR/WBill Lundberg(517) [email protected]/chargers/mens/track

- MR -

Great news, all the people who showedup and all the money raised forDolores and Harrison Hensley during

the Run Thru Hell 5K on Halloween. Morethan 3,400 came out for one of the best caus-es the running community will ever have --raising money for a wheelchair-accessible vanfor the Hensleys.

Has any sport ever had better ambassadorsthan those two? For years, they’ve showed upat races around the state, Harrison setting outrace flyers for dozens of upcoming races, thenrunning the race. Dolores, not a runner herself,but a hugger and greeter of all her friends, hasbeen an eager volunteer to do whatever needsto be done from two hours before an event totwo hours after.

The setting for this race was perfect ofcourse, the Hensleys having put on the RunThru Hell near Pinckney each August foryears until Dolores suffered a stroke in 2008.

Which reminds me: Back when I wasgrumpier in my Michigan Runner columnthan I’ve gotten in my mellow old age,Harrison -- a bit of a grump master himself --

would congratulate me on stirring stuff upand ticking people off. He loved that stuff.

I remember one hot summer night afterthe Zanglin 8K in Trenton, Harrison bitchingme out for not having written any angrycolumns, or angry parts of columns, formonths. I was going soft, he said. Turninginto a wimp. What was I? A scaredy-cat?

So, in honor of you, Harrison, on a gray,rainy, depressing day, a grumpy day, indeed,this is for you:

Why are so many road bikers such arses?I’ve been riding road and mountain bikes foryears. Back in the 1970s, before long bikerides to work were popular, I rode my relic ofa Schwinn 10-speed from my house in St.Clair Shores to the Free Press building indowntown Detroit.

I’ve got more gears on my road bike now,and I’ve worn out a couple mountain bikeson the trails around my cabin up north andin the Sand Lakes Quiet Area. So this isn’tcoming from a non-biker.

I can’t figure out why when road bikersget together, they insist on taking up entirelanes of traffic on busy roads. Yes, I knowthere’s a right to be in the road. But exercis-ing a right doesn’t make it right.

I’ll be running on the grass along LakeShore Drive in Grosse Pointe and here come24 to 30 bikers, riding two abreast, going 15mph at 6 p.m., basically rush hour for east-siders driving home from downtown, and thebikers are ambling along, a long processionof angry drivers behind them, looking for achance to pass.

First of all, I don’t know why anyonewould ever ride a bike on Lake Shore. Sure,the view of the lake is nice, but the traffic isheavy, the car lanes are narrow and there’s nobike lane. And there are other roads a blockor two inland that will get you where youwant to go without any danger of being hit.

But if I was going to ride a bike on LakeShore, I’d be hugging the curb, praying I did-n’t get clipped by some rear-view mirror orswerved into by some dork on a cell phone. Iwouldn’t be riding in the middle of the lane,my brightly-colored bike jersey serving as ared cape to a bull-headed driver getting mad-der and madder about my putzing along at15 mph after a long day at work.

Or you see a phalanx of riders flyingthrough stop signs and even red lights. Thephilosophy seems to be that if the lead ridermakes it through on a green or yellow, allriders in the peloton are entitled to keepgoing through the red.

I spend a lot of time up north, and thereare various long-distance bike tours all sum-mer long that attract hundreds of bikers, ofall capabilities, on all sorts of bikes, fromsleek and aerodynamic to clunky and rusty.

They’ll be on Elk Lake or Torch Lakeroads -- narrow, two-lane roads with 45-mphor 55-mph speed limits and lots of blindturns, and coming around a turn, there’ssome old codger riding no-handed about 6mph smack dab in the middle of the lanenext to his buddy.

And don’t get me talking about theIceman Cometh mountain bike races. It’s agreat event, the largest one-day mountainbike event in the U.S., with thousands of bik-ers doing the 27-mile deep-woods trek fromKalkaska to Traverse City. The course runspast my old schoolhouse in the woods, on myfavorite mountain biking trail.

And what a mess that trail is the dayafter the race, tin-foil GU packs lining everymile of the route. Race officials say they cleanup the trail, but 10 months later it’s no prob-lem filling a pouch with foil that’s still gleam-ing, having survived the winter, spring andsummer.

You go through a water stop and, sure, Iunderstand, you toss a paper cup aside afteryou’ve finished drinking. You expect the volun-teers at the aid station to pick them up. But GUpacks along the way? You can’t find a place onyour body to put them? No pockets? Nowhereon the bike to collect them? Just toss them intothe woods on that beautiful 27-mile route thatattracts bikers from around the country.

Notes on the Run: DogsRunning with Tom Henderson

Pho

toby

Car

ter

She

rline

/Fr

ogP

rince

Stu

dios

Tom Henderson


~~And what’s with running courses that

end up being half-mile short or way long? Idon’t expect some small race put on by non-runners trying to raise a few bucks for afavorite charity to go through the trouble ofgetting a course certified.

But with all the GPS technology availablethese days, can’t you at least make an effortto get a course to within some semblance ofaccuracy?

We -- me, my dog Maddie and wifeKathleen -- all did the Blair SchoolElementary run near Traverse City in May.Great trail course, with just one tiny prob-lem. I finished in 19:30, about four minutesquicker than usual for being this old and fat.It was more than half- mile short.

Or the Turkey Trot in Traverse City onThanksgiving Day. About 1,200 entered. TheWeb site said the course wasn’t certified butwas 5 kilometers. It had a link to a coursemap. When you clicked on it, you got a nicemap and a distance printed on top: 3.23miles. Which isn’t, by theway, 5K.

A big clue that a raceisn’t accurate is when thestarting and finish lines areidentical. What are thechances that a route justhappens to be 6.2 miles or3.1 miles, and there’s noneed to position the start atleast some modest distancefrom the finish?

In the case of theTurkey Trot, which startedon a bike path, all organiz-ers had to do was move thestarting line west .13 mile.No biggie, right?

I did a trail run inRoscommon in 2009. Avery easy trail run, just agradual short hill or two. Ifigured I’d finish in about26 minutes or so. Instead, itwas about 36. The racestarted and finished at thesame spot, adjacent to a pic-nic area right next to thetrailhead.

It was a very convenientplace to start and finish. Butwhy call it a 5K? It wasevery bit of four miles.

~~

While I’m grumping, ifyou’re going to put on a runwith trails that crisscross in

the woods, how about putting a volunteer atthe intersection points?

The Garden Club in Traverse City had agreat idea this past summer: put on a 5K and10K on the trails and roads near the oldbarns south of Munson Hospital. Raise somemoney for a good cause, treat runners tosome wonderful urban running.

They even set things up so you could dothe 10K first, then the 5K if you were sominded. They had a short fun run, too.

Trouble was, they didn’t have volunteersat key intersections in the woods. They hadtiny arrows on small poles, but on the run itwas hard -- nay, impossible -- to distinguishbetween 10K and 5K markers. They hadsome arrows painted on the ground too, butthe 10K was two separate loops that over-lapped and you couldn’t tell which arrow wasfor which loop.

At the finish line, runners were coming infrom every direction. They had run short andthey’d run long. I went astray about the 5.5-

mile mark and ended up going from secondto about fifth -- a nice feeling coming to thefinish line and seeing the guy I’d passed witha surge at four miles drinking water. He’dflipped a mental coin when he got to theplace where I’d flipped mine, but his coincame up heads and he ran the correct routeto the finish line, while I ended up touringaround meadow.

Truth be told, though, the volunteerswere all so nice and well-meaning, I justthanked them for putting on such a niceevent and suggested that next time, at thetwo or three really crucial intersections, theymight send out volunteers next year.

Harrison, I know, it’s not really a grumpycolumn if I finish with the words “so nice”and “so well-meaning” and “such a niceevent.” But it’s the best I can do. See you andDolores at the races.

Oh, and a belated happy birthday,Dolores. She turned the big 8-0 on Nov. 10.

- MR -


michigan runner january / february 2011

Documents

female runner

senior runner

tvmichigan runner

ron marinucci

female masters runner

scott sullivan

charles douglas mcewenright

wildlife marathon photo