Marathon Madness

By the time you are reading this, you may already be too late to sign up for the 2012 Bank of America Chicago marathon.  It's February 4th.  Training programs generally don't start until late May or early June.  The race is eight months away.  Chicago, c'mon down, you are the latest to join mega-race club!

In terms of the huge, high-quality, big race experience, Chicago has been in the club for many years already.  It is one of only 5 World Marathon Majors, whose contestants compete for points that lead to a million dollar prize.  Few of us have to worry about paying taxes on that prize, of course.  But many of us might feel like we've won something big by simply signing up for the race before it fills up!

This year race organizers stepped up their efforts to promote the start of the registration period with a special 'invitation only' event the night before.  About 300 runners who, in the past have registered on the first day, were invited to sign up early that night.  The event, at Fleet Feet Sports in Piper's Alley, also featured appearances by Marathon Director Carey Pinkowski and recent U.S. Olympic qualifier Abdi Abdirahman.

Last year, the marathon set a record for filling the 45,000 person field in 31 days.  17,000 people signed up in the first 24 hours.  It was amazing.  This year, those numbers seem quite pedestrian.  After 24 hours this year, registration was up by about 150%.  It will likely be full in less than a week, rather than a month.

I asked race director Carey Pinkowski the obvious question, "Why?".  He answered that the popularity of marathon running is an an all-time high, there is great support from the city, and the community support have a lot to do with it.  He left out the obvious.  He and Mike Nishi and the rest of the marathon staff put on a great race.  And despite the lottery system they use for the New York marathon and a number of other big races, Carey says he intends to stick with the current system in Chicago.

On this night, Carey joined Abdi and the other runners for an easy 3 miler.  Carey and I are friends, and we've talked about going for a run any number of times. Despite the fact we live in the same town, it's never happened. He has quite an impressive resume from his days of competitive running.  But this was the first time I've actually witnessed him in running shorts putting in a few miles!

But the real star was Abdi.  The former University of Arizona runner is a 3 time U.S. Olympian in the 10,000 meters.  But in Houston a couple weeks ago, he was the big surprise, finishing in 3rd place to secure the final spot on the U.S. team with Meb Keflizghe and Ryan Hall.  Ryan and Meb were the favorites.  Runner's World magazine gave Abdi 13-1 odds.

But he beat those odds, as he has his whole running career.  Before the Fleet Feet event, he spoke to a group of high school runners at the Latin school downtown. He talked about how, coming out of High School, he times were good, but not impressive enough to merit a major college scholarship.  His coach at Arizona, however, saw potential, and the rest is history.

In the trials race, Abdi held off a charging Dathan Ritzenheim, who might have had the best pure speed in the field, and was the best U.S. finisher at the 2008 Olympics.  I asked him whether he knew where Dathan was in the last mile, and he had an interesting answer.  He said he couldn't look back to see Dathan, because that would be a sign of weakness, and possibly give Ritzenheim encouragement as chased that final spot.  Instead, Abdi says he listened closely to the crowd.  When he went through the crowd they would cheer, and then get relatively quiet until Dathan passed them.  By paying attention to the time gap, he figured he had about a :20 lead, or a little more than 100 meters.  He was right, and it paid off.

Abdi ran his marathon P.R. of 2:08 in Chicago several years ago, and is a bag fan of the race.  That's why he was happy to come here to promote the beginning of registration.  I know organizers are also hopeful of getting him back to Chicago for the Shamrock Shuffle in March.  That would be early in what promises to be a great summer for him, leading up to a little 26 mile race in London!  You can see my full interview with Abdi at this link: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=8529434 

Speaking of Shamrock, registration for that 8k race is also about to fill up, so if you are on the fence about running the premier early season run in Chicago, you probably should make up your mind quickly!

See you on the roads......

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=8529434

A Great Weekend

It was near the fifth mile marker in the F3 Lake Half marathon when the guy running behind me said to noone in particular, "Tell me again, why are we doing this?"  I wanted to answer him, "because it's fun", but at the time I wasn't too sure I was having fun either.  

The idea of running a half marathon in Chicago in January sounds a little crazy.  And, well, it is.  Saturday morning in Chicago actually featured pretty mild weather for the middle of winter.  And still, it was no picnic for runners.  The path was icy, it was quite cold, and the chilling wind seemed to be in our faces no matter what direction we were headed.  In fact, I distinctly remember saying to my friend Greg that at least the wind was in our faces for the first half of the course going south.  But, of course, it shifted to hit us with a strong headwind on the way back heading north as well.

If it sounds like this is going to be a long list of complaints, however, it's definitely not.  Despite the conditions,  I enjoyed one of those days when you just start running and feel like you can keep going all day!  And I was reminded that there's no way to predict when you might have one of those days.

My friend Greg and I went to the race with the idea of simply doing an easy long weekend run.  We said at the start we would be happy to run 8:00/mile pace.  We did no warm-up or stretching, and waited until the last minute to get out of our warm car.  We managed to get there in time to watch a flash mob break out in front of us.  About 50 runners broke into a dance with music blaring over the speakers.  It was perfect for the spirit of the day.

After that, we moved to the starting line, near the front, with the 1200 other runners.  We took off and felt like we were taking it pretty easy.  But somewhere near the 2nd mile, I looked at my watch and realized we were running about 7:30/mile pace.

I told Greg it must be some weird anomaly, that we would slow down and settle into 8:00 pace soon.  But we didn't.  We continued, fighting the wind, and trying to keep our footing on the ice, through the ten mile mark.  We were still on 7:30ish pace.  Greg had been battling a cold and hadn't run all week, so he insisted I continue on while he eased up a little.  When he's feeling good, he's capable of running about 10 minutes faster than me for the whole distance.  So, while I wanted to hang with Greg and make sure he was ok, I was feeling really good, and he insisted, so.....  I kept up pace while he eased off a little.

The wind got fierce, but somehow I got to the 12 mile mark realizing I was right on pace to run 1:40, which is the mark I  consider to be a strong half marathon effort for me.  I crossed the line just and saw the time, 1:40 and change, and was satisfied.  But I also felt like I could keep going.  Why can't I get one of those days when I'm running a full marathon!  

At the post-race party at Cubby Bear, I saw a bar full of runners, still dressed from the race.  They were enjoying beer and bar food.  A just reward for braving the elements to run 13.1 miles!  There are some great pictures from the race online at this link:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/onesixtieth/sets/72157629100006097/  

Race organizers also told me that apparently a number of other runners had good days as well.  They heard several people talking about setting P.R.'s in Saturday.  Just think how well they could have run without the headwind etc.!

Normally after a good race like that, I would indulge a little that night.  And I did, a little, but the next morning brought event number two for the weekend.  As spokesperson for the public service announcements, I was committed to run the Step Up For Kids, AON stair climb.

This was the 15th annual climb, and I've been doing it for at least the last ten of those years.  This year, a couple of my friends from the Chicago Media Team joined in.  Christine Garcia, Kate Bongiovanni, and Tom Ahern all climbed the 1634 or so steps up the to the top of the 2nd tallest building in Chicago with me.

As work-outs go, this was a little more intense than the half-marathon, but it's over in a much shorter time.  I took it pretty easy (snapping pictures along the way) and managed to get to the top in a little more than 16 minutes.  

More importantly, the Children's Memorial Foundation raised a record amount of money at this year's event.  They also increased the number of climbers to more than 3,000, also a record. I caught my breath at the top in time to do a quick live shot for ABC7 (with my youngest daughter in tow).  You can see that clip, if you're interested, at this link:  http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=8523183&syndicate=syndicate&section=

Meantime, you can still donate to help Children's continue their important work improving and saving the lives of kids around Chicago.  Here's the link: http://www.heroesforlife.org/site/TR/StepUp/StepUpforKids?pg=entry&fr_id=1310

This was a pretty busy weekend for January.  I'm ready to take it easy for a couple weeks!

See you on the roads.......

Mid-winter Push!

 
When I first heard talk of a half marathon in Chicago in January, I thought they must be joking.  With the extreme cold, ice, and snow, I figured they might get a handful of crazy people like me to do a long run along the lakefront on a Saturday and call it a race.  The funny thing is, that's apparently how it started.  But now it's a sold-out race for 1,200 runners!

Kimberly Stedman came up with the idea a couple years ago, after travelling to warm weather 'destination' races in previous winter months.  So she and her friends decided to stay home and do a race right here.  The first year she planned to have a dozen or so friends run a half marathon course already established in another race.  They were going to meet at her home.  But word travelled among her friends, and she found herself with 100 people involved.  So they had to move it out of her house, and get approval from the Park District.

Last year the idea continued to grow, as did the number of people interested.  But they failed to get the blessing of the Park District, so there was no 'official' race, though they did go ahead with the 'After Party'!  So they decided to to do it legally this year, with sponsors, a real race director, and full support along the course.  Universal Sole is partnering with Kimberly and promising to make it a well-organized event.

Stedman tells me this was never about making money, just having fun.  She is a banker in real life, and that limits her ability to devote her full attention to race organization.  So the entry fee is pretty cheap, by normal race standards.  But runners get a t-shirt, and a finisher's medal (that doubles as a beer bottle opener), as well as what promises to be a rockin post-race party.  

This is the kind of 'grass-roots' race that is what running is all about.  I certainly enjoy the big event-type races.  But there is definitely a place for races like this.  You should check out the web-site to see the cool silhouette 'Blago-running' logo!  Also, the name of the race screams fun, though I can't spell out what 'F3' stands for on a family-friendly website like this.  In any case, I'm looking forward to the race!  http://runningguru.com/EventInformation.asp?eID=f3events 

But that's just the first half of the weekend.  Sunday is the annual climb to the top of the AON building, called Step Up For Kids, benefitting the Children's Memorial Hospital foundation.  ABC-7 is a proud sponsor of this event, and I have been honored to serve as the station's spokesperson for the public service announcements we run. 

I've lost track of where the AON building ranks among the city's tallest buildings.  If Trump hasn't surpassed it, then it's still the second tallest skyscraper in the city.  I know.  I should know.  Anyway, the stair climb is a fun workout, with a nice reward at the end.  The party at the top is really nice, and the view overlooking Millenium Park and the south loop is amazing.

 
There is a competitive aspect to this climb.  It is a race, after all.  Terry Purcell (pictured), is one of the professionals who runs up the entire way.  Just to be clear, no one else does that.  I try to keep a steady pace, but I would not call what I do on stair climbs anything close to running.  I've done a bunch of them over the years, and I've picked up a few tips over the years.

You'll notice Terry has his hand on the rail in the picture, and that is definitely a good idea.  Use the rail to help pull yourself up.  Breathe steadily, and keep your feet moving.  I go back and forth between taking one or two steps at a time.  There are good arguments for either approach, and I suggest doing what feels best to you.

But if you don't want to climb, you can still support a great cause by sponsoring a climber.  Please follow the link to the website: ttp://www.heroesforlife.org/site/TR/StepUp/StepUpforKids?pg=entry&fr_id=1310  

Oh, and one more thing.  The race most Chicago Runners have in mind at this time of year is still several months away.  But registration for the Shamrock Shuffle is already filling fast.  Below is part of their most recent press release:  Only weeks after launching registration, the 2012 Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K has already reached more than 17,000 registrants. As winter wears on, stay motivated to train and get fit by signing up for Chicago's annual kick-off road race. Secure your spot today by visiting the Registration page of shamrockshuffle.com.

I'll see you on the roads............

 

Trial Time

It was a little dreary along the lakefront path Sunday morning as I did a little 4 mile shake-out run.  Our extended fall weather is finally gone, and winter is upon us.  That means paying close attention to the ground to try to avoid patches of ice.  And wearing thick layers of running clothes to try to keep from freezing out there.  Ok, maybe it's not that bad.  I do actually enjoy winter running.  But it was a stark contrast to what we watched the day before in Houston!

My running friends usually get together every Saturday morning to run.  On tap last Saturday was a 16 miler in Barrinton.  But that was just the appetizer for the day.  Saturday afternoon was the highlight.  I don't normally see these guys all that often in regular clothes.  But Saturday was a special occasion that called for us to get together, have a few snacks and beverages, and sit in front of the TV.  No, not the NFL playoffs that much of the rest of the world was probably watching, but the U.S. Olympic marathon trials.

I actually had a last-minute invitation to attend the trials in person, but the airfare was a bit out of my price range, so I went with the next best option.  And it was a great way to see the whole race.  We gathered in the basement of my friend Tom's home for a couple reasons.  First, we were pretty sure the trials would not be on at any of the bars or restaurants in our neighborhoods.  Not with the 49ers and Saints playing at the same time.  Second, Tom has 3 month old twins at home, and we wanted to start getting them thinking about running early.  Ok, maybe it was actually so we could help feed them.  They are adorable, and they did seem to take a little extra interest in what was going on in front of them on the television!

And what they watched were impressive performances by some really great American runners who will make up our 2012 Olympic marathon team in London.  The men's and women's races were similar.  Both were fast, and dominated by the favorites from the early stages in what looked like ideal weather conditions in Texas.

 

I should mention off the bat, that the race was Saturday morning and we did our best to ignore reports of the results of the races all day until we watched the NBC broadcast on Saturday afternoon.  That meant staying off the computer and leaving the tv on some other channel than ESPN.

But once the we started to watch the race, it seemed to go like many would have predicted anyway.  On the men's side, Ryan Hall led an early torrid pace that took all but the serious contenders out of contention.  He seemed to recover well from his race in Chicago in October.  The big surprise, however, was how well 37 year Meb Keflezighi recovered from his P.R. effort in New York in November.  He won the race with a 2:09, with Hall just behind running easily.  Dathan Ritzenheim, the amazing 10,000m runner was closing fast on Abdi Abdirahman for the final spot, but he ran out of room, and Abdi held on. It was a fun race to watch.

The women's race was equally fun, with Shalane Flanagan and Desiree Davila leading a pack of about 8 women throught the early stages.  The two favorites were in good company, with the likes of Olympic veterans Deena Kastor and Kara Goucher in the group as well.  Unfortunately, the pride of St. Charles, Tera Moody, was not in the group.  She had to withdraw during the week because of a lingering hamstring injury.    

But Davila and Flanagan cruised to a pretty easy 1-2 finish with Goucher holding on for the final spot.  The NBC announcers proclaimed the men's and women's groups as one of the strongest US marathon teams in history.  Frank Shorter and Joan Benoit Samuelson, the honorary starters for the races, might take issue with those characterizations, but it's true that the teams both have strong runners.  On the men's side, there is a lot of experience, and talent.  On the women's side there is a lot of talent, speed and youth. 

London should be fun for the Americans this summer.  Running is all about participation, and enjoying the effort you put into it.  But was fun to watch some of the best in our sport take the spotlight for a little while on a Saturday afternoon.

See you on the roads........

 

.

Tera Moody

I was getting on the plane returning home from the Las Vegas half marathon last month, when I found my seat and a spot in the overhead bin for my bag.  I noticed the other luggage in the bin included running gear, and assumed it belonged to the woman sitting in the same row.  So I asked her about the race, and we struck up a conversation.

She told me she hadn't run, but was at the expo representing some shoe company, but it was clear she was a runner.  She seemed very curious about my running, asking a lot of questions.  Like most of us, I was happy to talk about my running.  But I am also a reporter, so I asked my share of questions.

Eventually she told me she runs a couple marathons a year, and is originally from the Chicago area, specifically St. Charles.  That should have been enough for me to realize who I was talking to.  But no.  We kept chatting and she told me she lives in Colorado Springs and does quite a bit of training there.  Yet another clue.

Then she revealed that she was injured, after feeling a pull in her hamstring at the San Antonio Rock-n-Roll race a month or so earlier.  She was bummed that it was keeping her from training for her next race, a marathon in Houston in January.  I tried to offer supportive comments about my own experience with injuries.  

Then I asked which race in January she was talking about, and she casually mentioned, it was the Olympic trials.  That led to talk about other mutual acquaintances who had qualified to run in the trials.  Believe it or not, I still didn't connect who I was speaking with, until I asked her how she hoped to do at the trials, and she replied that she was hoping to make the team.

 And to think I had her pegged as a semi-serious runner, the kind who started running after college and caught the bug.  Finally, a light went off in my head and I realized I was talking to one of the best American distance runners around. 

Many of you probably realize who I was speaking with at this point.  But for those who don't, I should add that I have met, and interviewed Tera Moody previously.  So there's really no excuse for my failure to recognize her.  The former St. Charles high school stand-out went on to run at the University of Colorado before continuing her career on the roads.  She was on the U.S. World Championship marathon team last summer, and has run very well in the Chicago Marathon several times.  I won't list her full resume, but she has been the subject of quite a bit of media coverage, and I'm a fan.  He're a link to a recent story in Runner's World:  http://olympictrials.runnersworld.com/2011/12/10/a-brief-chat-with-tera-moody/

By the time I realized who she was, we were separated by a passenger in the middle seat.  Somewhat rudely, we continued our conversation by talking around him.  I don't believe he was a runner, and he didn't appear as interested in running as either of us.  So, eventually I realized I should leave her alone, and quit bothering the guy sitting between us.

That meant I  never got to ask about her experience at the Worlds, or her take on the upcoming trials.  Nor did I get to question her about her well-documented insomnia.  We did chat briefly about a mutual friend of ours who is shooting a documentary on the efforts of several Chicago area women who trained to qualify and who are running in Houston this weekend.  Wendy Shulik's film is called 'Miles and Trials'.  Here is a link to her blog.  ttp://milesandtrialsfilm.blogspot.com/

The trials are always one of the most exciting televised marathons.  It's competitive, and there's lots of drama.  There are no rabbits, and it's all or nothing for the top three spots.  It's not about cash prizes, or time.  You either have a good day, or you go home.  It's all about making the Olympics.  Both the men and women race this Saturday morning in Houston.  NBC has a 2 hour broadcast of the races later that afternoon, and I believe you might be able to find a webcast of it somewhere.

The men's race will be extremely competitive with eight or ten guys capable of making the team.  The women's race could be even better.  The United States is blessed with the best crop of marathon runners we've had in quite a while.  I plan to be watching.  And rooting for a really nice lady who grew up in St. Charles.

See you on the roads......

 

 

 

Out With the Old!

It didn't feel like New Year's eve.  It certainly didn't look like it!  The temperature was in the 40's, the trail around Waterfall Glen was somewhat crowded, and there was no snow in sight. It was more like a typical Saturday morning run rather than a holiday weekend.  Except that the calendar really read December 31st, which is definitely New Year's eve, the final day of the year.

And I can't think of a better way to observe the occasion than a nice run around Waterfall Glen with they guys I've been running with for so many years.  

Normally during the holidays it's hard for our group to get together.  Many of us travel or have family responsibilities that keep us from running as a group during the holidays. For some reason, that wasn't the case this year.  Two of our best turnouts of the year among the regular, or semi-regular members of our group, were Christmas eve and New Year's eve. 

I'm not sure whether that's significant, but our conversation during the run was.  As was fitting for the end of one year and the beginning of another, we talked about our best races of 2011, and our goals for 2012.  I have to admit my goals are still unclear at this point.  I know I don't want to stay stagnant, and want new experiences, but I'm not sure what I want to pursue at this point.  It's fun to go faster at shorter distances, but it's also satisfying to run well in longer races, like the marathon.  I guess I need a few more weeks to figure it out.

My friend Rick observed that the mild winter so far might very well translate into faster early season times next spring for many runners, because we are able to better train outdoors so far.  That makes sense.  But I have to imagine there is still some winter wrath to face in the next couple months.  

Since moving to the burbs and joining the Elmhurst Running Club a few years ago, I have generally started my new year with the club's new year's day run.  Stranded with no babysitter this year, I was dissapointed to have to miss it this year.  Instead I found myself on a treadmill grinding out a few miles later on Sunday afternoon.  It wasn't fun.  But the run the day before was so enjoyable, I feel like I have no right to complain.  

And if there is a message in that for the coming year, I guess it's a reminder that sometimes you have to grind out a mundane run in order to appreciate the extraordinary ones.  This is starting to feel more like Thanksgiving than New Years, but I am truly thankful for all that running has given me, and I look forward to much more in the year ahead.

Happy New Year!  See you on the trails......

 

What a Year!

 


(photo: Las Vegas Sun)
There were more than 40,000 runners along the Las Vegas strip a few weeks ago.  But I was running alone, lost in thought.  I often find myself thinking about what I might write in this space while I'm out on a training run or a race. 

On that evening, I was thinking about what a great year of running I've enjoyed, with so many memorable races and experiences.  As it is with so many of you, running is such an integral part of my life that it's often difficult to appreciate great experiences as they happen.  That's one of the reasons I got in the habit a few years ago of writing this 'year-end' blog entry.  I like to remember some of my personal highlights for the year, and hear about some of yours as well.

Running in the evening on the Las Vegas strip, after a concert by Cheap Trick was definitely one of the most memorable experiences of the year.  But there have been so many, I hardly know where to start.

How about at the beginning? The 2011 running season actually began last year year on December 31st, when I got involved in a race of a different kind.  It was a race to sign up for the annual March Madness half marathon in Cary.  I lost.  Logging onto the website about an hour after registration opened at 6am, the race was already full by the time I tried to sign up.

Fortunately, a friend offered me his number, and race officials were helpful, so I was able to run it legally.  That turned out to be a good thing, because I enjoyed a really good run.  In fact, it was my fastest time in 4 or 5 years running the hilly course out in the sticks!

In 2010 I was concentrating on running 5k's under 20 minutes.  That was my benchmark, and I hit it several times.  This year, I found myself entered in a lot of half marathons, so my goal was to run them under 1:40. March Madness half was a great way to get started.  I ran about 1:39:40 there, then a few weeks later ran my best half of the year at the Great Western 1:38:20. 

Another of my goals this year was to try some different races.  Great Western is one that's been around a while, but I've never managed to get to.  They run on the trails in St. Charles, and keep it to about 1000 runners.  It was really enjoyable.

A few weeks later, I got to run another new race for me.  This was the 13.1 race on the city's southside.  They run it along the lakefront path.  Unfortunately, it was a very hot day, and they kept the paramedics busy before they cancelled the race right about the time I crossed the finish line. 

Amidst all the new races I tried this year, however, was one of my favorites.  I've run the Fleet Feet Sports Soldier Field Ten mile race every year since it's inception.  I always try to run well there, and this year was no exception.  I didn't manage a p.r., but at least I kept up with some of my faster friends for the first half of the race!

The spring seemed to be centered around running the south portion of the Lakefront path this year.  13.1, Soldier Field, and the Cinco de Miler all used the same portions of that path for their races.  And the five mile Cinco race ended up being my best race of the year.  This is a great concept for a race, and I look forward to seeing it grow next year.

After the spring season, things slowed down a little through the summer, though there were a few notable races that stick out in my mind.  The Rock-n-Roll folks added a 5k preview race leading up to their big half marathon in August.  My friend Greg and I ran together and won our age group, though with a pretty pedestrian time. 

I've run the Madison to Chicago 12 person relay a number of times with a variety of teams ranging from competitive to fun.  This June I ran it as part of a fairly serious group of masters runners who have a pretty good record of performances.  Many of ran the Hood to Coast relay last fall, and had such a good time, we decided to do it again.  This year, under the ownership of the Ragnar series it was better organized and even more fun than ever.  We didn't win, but we gave it a good run.  If you have never run one of these relays, I strongly suggest giving it a try.

I'm not much for running fast in the summer heat.  So, while I enjoyed races like the inaugural Disco Dash in Lincoln Park, I did not run very well.  The weather for this year's Rock-n-Roll half marathon was actually much cooler than normal, but I didn't take advantage.  Instead, I ran with friends and enjoyed the music along the way.

It was the same story for the inaugural Fort to Base run this year.  It was a really unique race, and a rare opportunity to run on the grounds at Great Lakes Air base.  I enjoyed running with a friend and got a good training effort in, rather than racing it. 

There seemed to be a race almost every weekend for much of the year.  It's just not a good idea to race each of them.  I tried to peak for some of the ones I had targetted.  As I looked ahead to the calendar, the race I wanted to run well in for the fall was Las Vegas.  But then I jumped in the Schaumburg Turkey Trot half marathon the week before, and managed to break 1:40 again. 

So by the time I got to Vegas the next week, I decided to take it easy and enjoy it. As it turns out, it was a nice way to celebrate (over 13.1 miles) what was truly another year of great running experiences. 

So let's put this one in the books and look forward to another great year in 2012!  Happy New Year. 

I'll see you on the roads........

Running in a Winter Wonderland

Friday night one of my running partners sent me a message saying he was going to have to bail on our long run the next morning.  He followed it up with, "have fun in the snow".  I assumed he was mistaken.  Or watching some other station's meteorologist!  Friday, like much of the previous week, had mild temperatures, and no moisture in sight.

But I woke up Saturday morning to find out he was right.  I was wrong.  The ground was covered with white stuff, and the flakes were continuing to fall pretty steadily.  I slipped several times walking to the car to load my stuff, and I realized I probably ought to go back and grab my Yax-Trax.  

Good idea.

When we got out to Waterfall Glen, the snow was already about an inch thick on the ground.  My friend Rick put on the Trax, and I followed suit.  There was no point in being in denial about the conditions.  Winter made it's regularly scheduled arrival, and there was no use fighting it.

It's gotta happen every year, that first real winter run.  If you live in Chicago, you have to learn to at least have a relationship with winter.  You don't have to like it, but you will have to deal with it.  And now's the time.

And that's ok.  I always appreciate a little snow before the holidays.  You know, the whole 'White Christmas' thing and all.  It's festive, and makes for beautiful surroundings when you run in nature.

Footing, of course, is another issue.  So is warmth!  But I'm not complaining.  It was actually a really pleasant run.  Despite the snow, the temperatures were pretty nice.  And the crowds that fill the parking lot and the paths in the summer are apparently sleeping in.

But there are plenty of hearty souls out there.  One of the charity teams, Team World Vision, training for a spring marathon was out there with a campfire.  They were making s'mores for the post-run snack.  They looked warm. Nice.

So, I guess winter is here, and it won't be long before we'll be dressing in layers and braving much more extreme conditions than this.  Or staying inside on the treadmill.  But the winter builds character and makes us stronger right?

Let's just go with that for now.  What choice do we have? In the meantime, Have a great holiday.  Next week I plan to look back at the year and some of the more memorable races.  If you have any favorites to share, please leave a comment!

See you on the roads.....

 

So You Wanna be a Race Director?

It may have started with the Chicago marathon in 2007, when organizers had to cancel the race after about three and a half hours because of the extreme heat.  The complaints came pouring in.  They ran out of water.  They failed to have enough medical personnel available.  They should have let all the runners finish.  Many of the complaints were valid.  Some were not.  And some were out of anyone's control.

My friend, Carey Pinkowski, is one of the best race directors in the country, and he and his staff have made Chicago one of the best races in the world.  But he was not immune to extreme criticism in the aftermath of that race.

I ran the marathon that year, and dropped out on my own before they stopped the race.  It was obvious to me the heat was not going to allow me to hit my goal time, so I decided to try to find another race in the next week or two instead.  I figured if it was anyone's fault, it was mother nature's.  That's the risk you take in marathon running.

But this is not about Carey or Chicago.  In fact, the races I'm writing about were all in other parts of the country last weekend, though they attracted plenty of Chicago area runners.  Three big races I'm aware of were run in Washington D.C., Las Vegas, and Dallas.  Each of them was run under challenging conditions, and to varying degrees, runners complained loudly in each of them.

First, RAM Racing has expanded the popular Hot Chocolate series beyond Chicago this year.  They are putting on the popular race in a number of cities all over the country.  They had nearly 40,000 runners in Chicago last month, and, amazingly got about 20,000 for the first year of the race in Washington D.C. last Saturday.

Unfortunately, many of them were less than satisfied customers.  The internet has been burning up with complaints from runners who say they couldn't even make it to the starting line because traffic and parking were so bad.  And, some say, the course was so narrow, there was no room to run.  There were a whole slew of organizational complaints.  Rather than list them here, you can read more at the following link:   http://dcist.com/2011/12/hot_chocolate_15k_5k_race_called_ep.php.

RAM took the relatively unprecedented step of apologizing in a letter to runners via Facebook:

On behalf of RAM Racing, I want to offer a heartfelt apology to everyone associated with the Hot Chocolate Race that took place on Saturday, Dec. 3.

We are especially sorry to all the runners for any frustration, unease and inconvenience our race may have caused, and empathize with each of you. Your comments and concerns have been noted. They will be used to help ensure this does not happen again at any of our race sites—and that next year’s race is even better.

 We have successfully produced more than 100 races within 10 years and pride ourselves on creating a fun and rewarding atmosphere for race participants. Fun and rewarding is exactly why we created the Hot Chocolate 5K and 15K. Unfortunately, what took place did not reflect our proven experience as race operators.

It is our sincere hope that you will afford us the opportunity to come back next year and demonstrate our ability to put on a safe, enjoyable and well-organized event.

We'll see how it goes next year.  If they are invited back next year.

Even the industry giant, Competitor group (which owns the Rock-n-Roll race series), is not immune to complaints.  The Rock-n-Roll Las Vegas race last weekend was subject to another slew of complaints about organization, water that made people sick, and a crowded course.  There's more.  One comment I read summed up the feelings of many of those who were unhappy:  "This event was so poorly organized that it was borderline dangerous, and overall extremely stressful and frustrating."

I ran this race, and had a great experience.  Apparently, either I failed to notice the problems, or didn't think they were a big deal.  My friends and I also had the advantage of finishing earlier than some of the folks who found it more crowded further back in the pack. We finished when it wasn't as crowded at the finish area, and food, blankets, and medals were still in good supply. 

Finally, about 22,000 runners also ran the Dallas White Rock marathon last weekend in cold, rainy, and windy conditions.  It was a less than ideal day to run.  A lot of runners were miserable, but their family and friends who came out to support them probably had it  worse.  Many of the comments I read suggested people understood the weather is not something anyone can control, but they still had plenty of other negative comments about the race organization.

I ran this marathon a few years ago, and had a great experience.  I didn't hit my goal time, and battled unseasonably cold temperatures the whole way.  I chalked it up to marathon running, with noone to blame for my missed time than myself. 

The complaints are probably, in part, a by-product of the dramatic growth of the running industry.  There are more races these days than ever before.  Many are now big 'events', with big entry fees attached.  When you pay a hundred bucks or so to enter a race, you tend to have high expectations.  It's no longer enough to simply measure the course, get some volunteers to hand out water, and make sure you have enough cops to close the streets.

The races are more fun now than ever before, but they're also bigger, and more challenging to organize.  Sometimes things go wrong, and sometimes things happen that you can't plan for.  That may argue in favor of managing the growth of your races  My friend from Fleet Feet Sports, Dave Zimmer, has done a good job of that with the Soldier Field Ten Miler, and other races.  But it's not an easy thing to do.  I'm glad it's someone elses job.

See you on the roads.......

 



 

Vegas Baby!

Saturday night I fought my way through through massive crowds on the sidewalk near the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, and looked at the cars backed up on the streets, and thought I was probably making better time on my feet.  Vegas is crowded.  But  fortunately, last weekend, much of the crowd in town was there to run!

The next night, I was running down the strip, with not a car to be found on the street!  Fans lined the sidewalks, along with bands playing every mile or so, to support the huge throng of runners.  The Rock-n-Roll Vegas marathon attracted 44,000 runners, and the vast majority came from out of town, excited about the chance to run on the famous Vegas strip at night!

Now, I'm not really a 'Vegas person'.  I don't really gamble, and am not really into the 'club scene' in Sin City.  But when the folks from the race invited me to come out and run a few months ago, I jumped at the chance.  I'm told this is the only time of the year, other than New year's eve, when they close the strip to traffic.  And coincidently, a couple of my regular running friends,had already signed up.  How could I refuse?

And it was an incredible experience  even before the race began!  The night before, organizers set up a pretty unique race through the Lobby of the Palazzo Hotel on the strip.  They called it the 'Stiletto Dash', and it attracted a pretty good crowd to see women try to race in 4 inch stilleto heels.  Amazingly, some of the women were pretty fast.  The fastest, however, was a ringer!  Suzy Favor Hamilton, former olympic 1500 meter runner, won the celebrity division of the race pretty easily.  I have to admit to being a huge fan of hers, and was a little tongue-tied when I got to meet her after her race!

Many of the elite runners in town were not racing, but there to meet and greet fans, which gave me a chance to meet folks like Suzy Hamilton, Rod Dixon, and Meb Keflezighi.  It was a pretty great experience for fans of our sport.

 And because it was a Rock-n-Roll race, it was also a great experience for music fans.  Most races in the Rock-n-Roll series feature a post race concert with a big name headliner.  But most of the races also start in the morning.  This race starts in the evening, so the concert was before the race.  It was a little unusual watching a band while stretching and trying to focus on strategy for the race ahead.  But since the band was Cheap Trick, and I'm a big fan, I got over it!

My friends Mark and Mark and I posed before the race with the band playing in the background.  We were all planning on trying to run a good race, but we weren't going to miss the fun!  It was probably a little strange for the band.  Their fans at concerts normally are probably sitting back enjoying a cold one focusing on the show.  Folks were having a good time at this show, but noone was drinking!

Once the concert ended, we quickly tried to make our way through the crowd to our starting corral.  That was a bit of a challenge, but we made it in time to hear Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready play a stirring rendition of the National Anthem. 

And then we were off!  We started in front of the Mandalay Bay hotel, and headed down the strip.  There was so much to see and hear, it bordered on sensory overload.  I quickly realized this was just going to be a run I wanted to enjoy, and not really race.  I wanted to take it all in!  This was the 6th half marathon I've done this year, along with countless other races, but it was the only one on the Las Vegas strip!

So I settled into 8 minute/mile pace and ran easily, with my head swivelling back and forth absorbing the people, lights and sounds in every direction.  And then the there were the bands, which sounded great, but almost seemed unnecessary with everything else going on.  It was awesome!  After about 4 miles we left the main portion of the strip and wound through neighborhoods for a few miles, but then we were back on the strip headed the opposite direction to the start/finish area.  And it was more of the same.

I don't think I ever wiped the smile off my face the entire time.

Race organizers provided all the runners with headlamps, but they were hardly necessary.  The lights of Las Vegas kept things pretty bright the whole route. 

As for the race, I ran my goal time in a half marathon last weekend.  This race was about the experience, and it's one I'd recommend you try!

See you on the roads.......