Michigan Runner, November / December 2012 by Great Lakes Sports Publications, Inc.

43rd Annual

Belle Isle New Year’s Eve Family Fun Run

Monday, December 31, 2012 3:30 pm, Belle Isle Casino, Belle Isle Park

Events

3:30 pm - Children’s Fun Run / Walk All children 12 & under receive a trophy All Cub/Boy and Girl Scouts receive participation patches 4:00 pm - 5K Run - USAT&F Certified Course 4:00 pm- Fitness Walk/ Race Walk

Early Packet Pick-up •

Saturday, Dec. 29, 12 Noon - 3 pm, Belle Isle Casino

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Monday, Dec. 31, 12 Noon - 3:20 pm, Belle Isle Casino

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Belle Isle Casino

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Belle Isle Park (except on designated race course)

Late Registration and Packet Pick-up Start, Finish, Refreshments Free Parking

Race Entry and Online Registration: http://www.belleislefunrun.com

Race Entry Includes • • • • • • • •

Long-sleeve tech shirt Children 12 & under receive a trophy Food & beverage Register early to guarantee your long-sleeved shirt First 1500 entrants will receive commorative awards NYE Toast and Festivities B-Tag timing by Everal Race Management 5K results will be posted: http://everalracemgt.com

Children (12 and under) Race Entry

All Others (13 and older) Race entry by November 30 Race entry by December 22 Race entry after Dec. 22 & on race day

Featured on Michigan Runner TV: http://glsp.com/53newyearseve/

Waligorski Roofing

$15 $25 $30 $35

November / December 2012

November - December 2012 Featured Future Events

Event Calendar

Vol. 34, No. 5

Features and Departments

Editor’s Notes: Shattered By Scott Sullivan

p. 24-27 p. 27

p. 6

We Could All Use a Little More Common Dense By Bob Schwartz

p. 7

Beyond the Chip: Lucky Penny By Laurel Park

p. 10

Panic in Detroit By James Aren

p.12

Running Shorts with Scott Hubbard

p. 14

Doug Goodhue: Age Group Ace Shares Tips By Ron Marinucci

p. 16

Running with Tom Henderson

p. 28

At the Races Kogo A-Go_Go Three-Peats at 36th Crim By Scott Sullivan

p. 8

Paradise Found in Tahqua Runs By Tom Henderson

p. 9

Record Turnout Blows in for Red October Run By Charles Douglas McEwen

p. 11

Beautiful, Brutal Mt. Baldhead Course Proves Test By Scott Sullivan

p. 15

Storm Parks Park 2 Park’s Record Field By Scott Sullivan

p. 17

Foley, Logan Fly to Brooksie Wins By Charles Douglas McEwen

p. 18

Nemeh Rocks Boat, Rolls to Grosse Pointe Win By Charles Douglas McEwen

p. 19

Newlyweds Sweep Detroit Prostate Cancer Challenge By Charles Douglas McEwen

p. 20

Kinder, Gentler Temperatures at Run Thru Hell By Tracey Cohen

p. 20

Folk, Mantel Outwork Labor Day Foes By Charles Douglas McEwen

p. 21

Rook, Voronko Dominate Somerset Stampede By Tracey Cohen

p. 21

Rolling Out the Red Carpet: Glamour, Glitz and Kitsch By Anthony Targan

p. 22

Run for Hills is Time of Life By Ron Marinucci

p. 22

4,000+ Run Wild for Zoo By Charles Douglas McEwen

p. 23

Online: Michigan Runner Photo Gallery Betsie Valley Run, Thompsonville

Run for Ribbons, Plymouth

Bruckelaufe, Frankenmuth

Run Woodstock, Pinckney

Dances with Dirt, Hell / Pinckney

Spartan Invitational, East Lansing

Dig ‘em Dash, Battle Creek

Sylvania Triathlon, Sylvania, Ohio

Kensington Challenge, Milford Melon Run, Howell

Photography by Scott Sullivan, Carter Sherline, Pete

National Cherry Festival, Traverse City

Draugalis, Greg Sadler, Dave Parham, & Victah Sailor

http://issuu.com/michiganrunner/docs/mr1112_photos

Cover: Runners start the Fifth Third Turkey Trot in Santa Clause conditions on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit, November 24, 2005. Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

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Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

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Editor’s Notes

Shattered

Scott Sullivan scott@glsp.com Editor

Jennie McCafferty jennie@glsp.com Associate Publisher

Dave Foley Mike Duff

Editors Emeritus

Jamie Fallon Composer

Rose Zylstra

Social Media Editor

Carter Sherline

Senior Photographer

Paul Aufdemberge Desiree Davila Ian Forsyth Tom Henderson Scott Hubbard Herb Lindsay Laurel Park Robin Sarris Hallop Columnists

James Aren Tracey Cohen M.B. Dillon Brianne Feldpausch Heather Dyc Hanks Jeff Hollobaugh Bill Kahn William Kalmar Dr. Edward H. Kozloff Doug Kurtis Grant Lofdahl Ron Marinucci Riley McLincha

Pat Davies Peter Draugalis Don Kern Larry Maas Gary Morgan Davd Parham Greg Sadler Victah Sailer Flannery Sullivan Photo / Video

Cheryl Clark

Chief Financial Officer

Contributors

Great Lakes Sports Publications, Inc. 4007 Carpenter Rd, #366 Ypsilanti, MI 48197 (734)507-0241 (734)434-4765 FAX info@glsp.com

a member of

Michigan Runner © is published six times yearly for $17.00 per year by Great Lakes Sports Publications, Inc., 4007 Carpenter Rd., #366, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. Third Class Postage paid at Dearborn, MI and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send Address changes to Michigan Runner,4007 Carpenter Rd., #366, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. All contents of this publication are copyrighted all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. All unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, and illustrations will not be returned unless accompanied by a properly addressed envelope, bearing sufficient postage; publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited materials. The views and opinions of the writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect endorsement and/or views of the Michigan Runner. Address all editorial correspondence, subscriptions, and race information to: Michigan Runner, 4007 Carpenter Rd., #366, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, (734) 5070241, FAX (734) 434-4765, info@glsp.com, www.glsp.com. Subscription rates: Continental U.S. $17.00 per year: Payable in U.S. funds. Single issue $3.00, back issues $5.00. Change of address: Send your magazine label and your new address to Michigan Runner, 4007 Carpenter Rd., #366, Ypsilanti, MI 48197.

an’t get a break? Do I have one for you. Surgeons opened my left wrist to mashed potatoes of bones and ligaments thanks to my basketball heroics. “Dunking over Lebron,” I told people who knew me better. “It’s the worst break possible,” said the doctor. I’m No. 1. What else? “When the nerve block wears off, it will hurt — a lot. I’ve prescribed strong painkillers; use them and rest. No driving to work. Check back in 10 days,” he said. I’d planned to drive to work later that afternoon. “How soon can I play hoops again?” He did not laugh at that one either. “What about ‘House’ (the Vicodin-addict TV doctor no one can fire because he’s a genius)?” I wanted to ask; it would not be the first time that TV inspired idiocy. But that would be disrespectful.

for one-handed typing, people often say I am at least half a hunt-and-pecker. What really hurt — until the nerve block wore off, at least — was the thought I could not go running. Ten weeks in a cast, as the doctor forecast, would take me almost till winter. “Your left wrist will never be the same,” he said. One thing’s the same: Runners — who supposedly know their bodies — are the least-patient patients ever. When life gives us lemons, there’s only one thing to do: whine and make others near us miserable. Stop and smell the roses? Grab the thorns and squeeze hard, I say. Down time cracks me up, so it must be the discipline I need. I’m trying to focus on what I can do. Neighborhood walks (instead of runs) turn lives I normally view as abstract into concrete. I see how kids socialize, play and hide; pecking orders of cats, people doing housework and other oddities I have heretofore barely heeded. I’m newly patient with slow-moving old people and the handicapped now I am one. Obstacles are vehicles for discovery. I’m so benign you can almost anoint me a saint. Geez, I do need to get well soon …

The good news: I can use my home computer; muddled thinking never stops me from writing. As

Letter: Remembering Red To the editor,

want to compliment your wisdom in juxtaposing the article about High School Runner of the Year Erin Finn with the tribute to the late Coach Red Simmons in the September/October issue. What a terrific way to highlight where women’s running is today with where it was not that long ago, and the person who played such a crucial role in advancing that journey. I have a Red Simmons story myself. In early September of 1983, I jogged down to the University of Michigan track for the annual intramural track meet. I signed up for the mile —the only girl in the field. Red Simmons was the timer. His eyes lit up when he saw me. “Good for you!” he said. “I bet you end up beating some of those boys!” As it turns out, I did beat some of those boys and ran a new PR in the process. After the race, Red strode up to me. “Why aren’t you on the cross-country team?” he demanded, which was a little like asking me why I wasn’t majoring in astrophysics. I just looked at him. “You show up to practice tomor-

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

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- MR© C. Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Art McCafferty artmccaf@glsp.com

Charles D. McEwen Gary Morgan Jim Neff Bob Schwartz Bob Seif Rachael Steil Tamara Steil Nick Stanko Anthony Targan Cregg Weinmann Amanda Weaver

Publisher and Chief Executive Officer

By Scott Sullivan

Laurel Park remembers Coach Simmons at his memorial service.

row,” he said. I did show up, and Coach Francie Goodridge and the team welcomed me. Thus began one of the most valuable experiences of my life. The privilege of wearing the Block “M” is something that I treasure to this day. A life-changing encounter for me, but apparently just a typical day for Red. Laurel Park Ann Arbor

We Could All Use a Little More Common Dense By Bob Schwartz

aving lived for five years in Boulder, I often experienced what others had told me about Colorado: If you don’t like the weather, just wait 10 minutes.

Cross-training has little impact on my running? I’ll supplement my miles with the elliptical even if the people with high IQs in white coats tell me it won’t prevent running injury or make me faster. Spot training doesn’t work and core training may be completely unnecessary? I’ll keep believing and work the abs to avoid the flab, thank you very much. It’s all common dense.

I went on long runs where I’d begin layered with clothing under overcast skies with wind and frigid temperatures. I’d finish the run wearing shorts and a singlet in warm temps under calm blue skies. My waist seemed to have more layers of excess clothing tied around it than there are energy gel packets strewn on the ground just past mile 20 of a marathon.

Along these lines, a time-honored tenet of running has been challenged, sending a ripple through the running community. An article by Gina Kolata

Training advice can also change very quickly. As more studies arise and expert opinions emerge, it becomes easier to adopt the advice, “If you don’t like the conclusion, then just wait a little. It’ll change.” Some of the earlier pearls of training wisdom are now labeled myths, half-truths or simply misleading.

I readily admit I’m no scientist as my school science fair projects weren’t much more scholarly than “Does a basketball bounce higher when fully aired or deflated?” Or “Does ice melt if left out of the freezer and, if so, why?” Thus, I relied on the exercise physiologists, scientists and medical researchers to provide their advice regarding training methods and running. But as I kept up to date on the latest literature and studies, I couldn’t help but think of singer-songwriter Don Henley’s lyric “The more I know, the less I understand.” Time-honored training methods were often refuted by new studies or discovered to be unsupported by medical science. Even new studies on the same issues often yielded different conclusions. This was initially disconcerting until I concluded that other runners share my approach, known as “common dense.” Call us crazy, stupid, unorthodox or unconventional, but if we feel better doing something unsupported or refuted by medical science, we’ll keep doing it! It may not make scientific sense and others may feel we’re acting dense, but so be it. A full cool-down after a workout? Count me in despite the current belief that the simple act of breathing after a run may be a more-than-adequate cool-down. The old static-stretching toe touch before a run is useless and may even be counterproductive? I’ll keep on truckin’ and touchin’! I may not have a physiology Ph.D. or an orthopedic M.D., but I can offer a common dense ID!

Similarly, the act of stretching has undergone changes over time and challenges to its effectiveness. There’s the classic static stretching that begat active stretching, and there are proponents of ballistic stretching, passive stretching and dynamic stretching. One school of thought is to stretch only after working out, and there’s the belief that stretching may not be at all necessary to prevent injury. Common dense says otherwise. Go ahead and tell me I’m crazy, and that scientifically it’s really not worth it do classic stretches before a run. I’ll tell you after 40 years of doing them and that with leg and back muscles in the early morning wound tighter than a violin’s E string, that first mile would otherwise have me resembling someone moving on stilts. In deep sand. I know it may be an antiquated approach, but that’s what good old common dense tells me as ingrained habits die hard. I’m fully aware of the current thought that a warm-up approach consisting of dynamic stretching (stretching muscles while moving them) may be useful. But the idea of doing lively hamstring lunges, butt kicks and high knees at 5 a.m. while half asleep in the dead of winter on my snowy street isn’t something I’d be itching to get outside to do. I know my personal limitations, which common dense has taught me.

Iillustrations by B.K. Taylor

In my running career I’ve seen more than waffle shoe soles, extra-short shorts and cotton socks go out of fashion. Stretching, long slow distance runs, the 10-percent rule (increase in miles per week to prevent injury), the causes of muscle soreness and core training have all been modified over time. Heck, the old daily training philosophy of “no pain, no gain” is now the more-temperate approach to training of “no pain, no strain, all gain.”

tial debate, “I’ve run on soft dirt. I know soft dirt. Soft dirt is a friend of mine. Concrete, you’re no soft dirt.” Common dense!

Abdominal crunches don’t really work? Been to a gym lately? Right or wrong, common dense abounds!

in the July 18, 2011, issue of the New York Times refuted the view that soft running surfaces are better for the overall health of runners. Through interviewing various exercise researchers, Kolata noted that no scientific studies provide concrete evidence that running on soft terrain is better for a runner than running on asphalt or other hard surfaces. In essence, there were no grounds for soft ground. This is where common dense comes in. Call me a dunce if the experts say otherwise, but I’m going with a not-so-giant leap of logic here and concluding that soft feels better. I’m sticking with gentle terrain whenever possible until treadmill manufacturers begin advertising the benefits of their machine’s complete absence of a deck cushioning system and promoting that their belt is harder than rocks. Feel free to tell me my head is full of rocks, but it’s all common dense. I know how my legs feel after gentle trail running and how they feel after a long run on hard streets. In the manner of the famous quote of Lloyd Bentsen to Dan Quayle in their 1988 vice presiden-

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Also, recent studies, such as the one reported in Kelly Bastone’s article “Running on Empty” in the May 2010 issue of Running Times, have concluded that forgoing carbohydrates before and during a long run can have beneficial effects. Now we runners do a lot of masochistic things like hill training, repeat 800s, and miles and miles in a single bout. But don’t ever, ever try to come between runners and their bagels! Pasta lovers, unite! Call us crazy, but no matter what the potential benefits of training in a glycogen-depleted condition may be, the choice of a pre-run PBJ over, say, half a celery stalk isn’t going to be debated long. Common dense! Hand me that Pop-Tart, please. We’re a movement whose time has come. My two cents says when in doubt, just use good oldfashioned common dense.

Michigan runner Bob Scwartz is author of the best-selling humor book “I Run, Therefore I Am — NUTS!” and sequel coming out this November. Check out www.runninglaughsblog.com. - MR -

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

Crim Festival of Races, Flint

Kogo A-Go-Go Three-Peats at 36th Crim By Scott Sullivan FLINT (8/25/12) — It was Julius Kogo a-go-go for the third straight year at the Crim Festival of Races.

Serena Kessler, 40, of Ann Arbor paced the Michigan masters women in 1:00:52.

Kogo, 27, of Kenya three-peated as men’s champion in Crim’s marquee 10-miler, besting 8,956 finishers in 46:45, 40 seconds faster than countryman and runner-up Mourad Marofit. Kogo, whose 4:41-per-mile pace was his best here yet, earned $5,000 for his efforts.

Easy 8K winners were another Hansons-Brooks ace, David Laney, 23, in 25:34, and Amanda George, 15, of Davison in 34:11.

Hansons-Brooks Distance Project runner Mike Morgan, 32, was 12th overall and the fastest Michigan finisher, crossing in 49:45. Next came Boaz Cheboiywo, 34, of Ypsilanti in 50:07 and Morgan’s Hansons-Brooks teammate Brendan Martin, 23, in 50:22.

Sean Rosalez of Davison edged Olympian Geena Gall in Crim’s first-ever Michigan Mile, 5:17 to 5:22. Gall, a Grand Blanc native and former University of Michigan star, continues recovering from a calf injury that plagued her this summer in London, but said she enjoyed taking part in a road race and gave her best.

Michigan Runner magazine columnist Ian Forsyth, 40, of Ann Arbor was top open and state masters finisher, crossing 19th overall in 51:54.

Tom Davis, 35, of Fremont, Ind., who lost the bottom half of his left leg to a bomb while serving the U.S. Army in Iraq, was the men’s handcyle winner in 28:13, a new Crim record by almost a minute.

Caroline Rotich, 28, claimed the $5,000 women’s title with similar ease on this sunny morning with temperatures rising from the 60s into the 70s, finishing in 53:43. Fellow Kenyan Risper Gesabwa, 23, placed second in 54:21.

Close to 16,000 runners and walkers registered for the bevy of 36th annual festival events, which also included a Teddy Bear Trot. For complete results and more about Crim Foundation activities, visit http://crim.org. - MR -

Ian Forsyth runs the Bradley Hills on his way to the masters win. 8

Julius Kogo wins Crim 10 Mile for the third straight year.

Best among Michigan women were HansonsBrooks veteran Dot McMahan, 35, eighth overall in 56:29 and Sarah Boyle, 26, of Brighton, 14th in 58:57.

Michael McCarty Jr., 19, of Davisburg and Addie May, 16, of Flushing claimed the men’s and women’s 5K titles in 17:04 and 21:51 respectively.

6 time Crim winner, Catherine Ndereba, won the women’s masters title.

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

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Caroline Rotich won the women’s 10 mile race in 53.43.

Tahqua Trail Run, Paradise

Paradise Found in Tahqua Runs By Tom Henderson PARADISE (8/11/12) — Yes, there really is a Paradise, a small town in the Upper Peninsula just a few miles east of another paradise. Or east of a pair of paradises.

ners from the legendary Rockford High School running program. Tyler Harney, 18, destroyed the field of 111, his 42:32 good for nearly a four-minute win over Lee Kanitz, 38, a Yooper from Hessel.

Where’s a grammarian when you need one?

Michael Keating, 55, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, was top master and fourth overall in 48:19, with Ron Hayes, 47, of Oshkosh, Wisc., runner-up for the masters and sixth overall in 49:28.

The one, as I said, is a small town, nestled up against Lake Superior in the eastern UP. The other, or other pair? The two components of the Tahqua Trail Run, the glorious, amazing, ridiculously cool, ridiculously tough runs along the Tahquamenon River put on each August by Jeff Crumbaugh. Crumbaugh, you may recall, was named 2009 Contributor of the Year by Michigan Runner for the snowshoe and running races he and his Great Lakes Endurance Sports LLC put on over some of the toughest, prettiest trails in the UP and Wisconsin.

Tyler’s sister, Morgan, 16, had an even more convincing victory for the women, her 50:28 good for a seven-minute-and-13-second win over runnerup and top master Adriane Agria, 45, of Cheboygan. Muffie McCauley, 52, of Wolverine was second master and third overall in 59:17. Jason Schatz, 30, of Madison, Wisc., led the field of 79 in the 25K, his 1:53:22 good for a margin of more than four minutes against Alex Feravich, 21, of Sault St. Marie, Mich. The top master was Darrin Clark, 41, fourth overall in 2:01:01, with Phil Noble, 44, of Xenia, Ohio, second master and

fifth overall in 2:01:99. Gail Dewey, 34, of Grand Rapids, led the women in 2:19:51, with Ashley Voeks, 24, of Detroit second in 2:26:18. Linda Walsh, 45, of Sault Ste. Marie., Ontario, was top master and third overall in 2:27:32. Tami Stiller 50, of Menasha, Wisc., was second master and 15th for the women in 2:55:51. Both races filled up a month ahead of time, with field limits set by the folks at the state parks. So you if you want to run next year, get on the website early, www.greatlakesendurance.com. There was also a 2K for kids the night before. Fiona Keating, 13, led the girls in 9:31, with Hannah Beelen, 12, second in 10:16. Robert Burger, 10, led the boys and was second overall, also timed in 9:31, with Andrew Burger, 12, second in 9:34.

The Tahqua 25K and 10K are each as good as trail running gets, with the 15.5-miler finishing over the last five miles of the 10K course, most of which is on a single-track along the river. That stretch includes tall wildflowers and grasses blowing in third square template_third square 10/12/12 6:51 PM Page 1 the wind, roots and shale rock made slippery by river water condensing in the morning or little rivulets running down the cliffs that line the river.

- MR -

Four or five times along the way, the trail along the river runs into a dead end because of a creek, bog or some other natural impediment, and heads, instead, just about straight up the cliff side, with gut-churning, thigh-burning climbs that reduce most to walking. “That was associative running,” said Brent Cook, 62, of Petoskey, having just finished his first Tahqua and using the term for running that requires you to stay completely and utterly focused. Glance over at the beauty of the sun reflected on the river and … FACE SPLAT! “I run hills around Petoskey, but nothing prepared me for that,” he said. “I don’t know; I think I needed to go out a lot slower on that first hill.” That first hill? It begins a few yards after the start, and is a steep, sandy, loose-footing long, steep climb that leads to … more climbing. You hit a turn, thinking you’ve crested only to find out: not yet, bub. The course was, Cook said, cooler than he imagined, tougher than imaginable and a lot of fun. Then, again, finishing second in your age group, as he did in 60-69, always adds a little bit of pleasure. If the courses were the stars of the day, they shared billing this year with a pair of teen run-

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Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

Beyond the Chip

Lucky Penny By Laurel Park On the morning of the race I rose early, planning to get downtown before the masses descended. I gathered my gear, hopped in the car and headed out. My brain was in overdrive, acutely aware of every twinge, knot and ache. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel all that bad, although “not all that bad” was a far cry from “ready to kick butt.” I had already decided that I would drop at the mile if anything hurt too much. Neither my body nor my self-esteem needed the abuse. As frustrating as the Williamsburg race had been, I didn’t care to prolong that experience for an additional 1.23 miles.

“Find a penny, pick it up, and all day long you’ll have good luck.”

Over time, I’ve learned that recovering from injuries is not a straightforward process. Everyone wants to go to the doctor, find out what’s wrong, get the treatment or exercises to fix it and be back on the roads the next day. It doesn’t work that way. Your body is clever and in its quest to do your bidding, it will go to great lengths to make the impossible possible, even if that means sacrificing itself. The fundamental law of physics applies: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the 13 years since my own back problems were diagnosed, I’ve learned that it’s usually a “two steps forward, one step back” process. In my case, my body had done such a good job of figuring out how to let me run that teaching it how to work properly again has been equally challenging. Every change to the system — even “good” changes — triggers that equal and opposite reaction. Increased range of motion in my previously-locked hip joint? Excellent — except that my hip rotator muscles haven’t been used correctly (if at all) in about 15 years. Guess what. After a very solid 2010 racing season, 2011 was a disaster. Actually, the first two miles of the season were terrific, then it was a disaster. It was at mile two of the 2011 Irish Jig 5K that my periformis muscles decided to go on strike; suddenly, definitively and in unison. Of course, I went to my doctor — what the heck had happened? No obvious cause; everything looked good. Really, really good, in fact; better than ever. He was extremely pleased. Nothing to do but be patient and let your body adapt. Maybe try some cross-training. So, given the option of dealing with it or not, and figuring that I had nothing to gain by not dealing with it, I sat back and waited for my body to respond. And eventually, it did. Not overnight, as I’d hoped, but slowly, step by step, day 10

f you are a runner, at some point you’re going to get injured. If you are a competitive runner and you stay in the game long enough, you’ll probably deal with a variety of injuries that will enlighten you about body parts you’d never heard of and the intricacies of kinesiology to a degree you never cared to know. Injuries are inconvenient, frustrating and a part of life for most athletes. But injuries are also exhausting, and after a while they take their cumulative toll. After your “nth” visit to physical therapy, when the receptionist can fill out your intake sheet herself, you start to wonder whether it’s worth it. Is it worth dragging yourself through yet another set of strengthening exercises, or taking another month off to let the latest round of inflammation subside, only to gain another few months, weeks or days before something else goes out of whack — because you know it will. It’s just a matter of time. But all it takes is that one good race where you feel like you’re flying, or that one good training run where the miles clip by effortlessly, and you realize that yes, it is. It most definitely is. Those are the days that keep you going.

Laurel Park competes in the USATF Master’s 10K championship at the Dexter Ann Arbor Run. by day. Right around Thanksgiving I realized that running was enjoyable again and I didn’t feel like I was hauling a bag of wet cement in my butt. In the interim months, however, and after a few truly miserable races, all the familiar doubts came back. Maybe it was time to call it a career and stop beating my head against the wall. Why am I doing this? 2012 started with a bang. At the Bill Roney 5K, I had one of those races that keep you in the game. I felt strong and fast — racing the way I remembered it, the way it used to be, the way it should be. Two similarly good races followed. Then everything fell apart. Glute trouble, hip trouble — another turn on the injury merry-go-round. Of course, my key races for the season were yet to come. The timing, as always, was impeccable. June 3 was the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run, which was also the USATF Master’s 10K championship. My hometown race and one which would draw some of the top master’s runners in the country. At the beginning of May, I had expected to contend for a national title. By the first week of June, I just hoped to finish the race and be able to walk afterward. Two weeks prior, at the 8K master’s championships in Williamsburg, Va., the periformis twins made a surprise repeat appearance. The race was a frustrating flashback to 2011. The fact that it was completely unexpected made it all the worse. After the race I took two easy weeks, with little running and much stretching, hoping I could bank enough recovery to avoid embarrassment. I knew better, however. This was not going to be pretty.

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

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I parked along a still-deserted side street and stepped out. The air was cool and the humidity was reasonable. As I made my way toward Main Street I looked down and saw a penny lying along the sidewalk. It was heads down, its surface dark and dull. I have a habit of picking up stray coins that I find on sidewalks or around parking meters. I toss them in a little plastic piggy bank at home, and once a year or so take them to CoinStar and splurge on a bottle of wine. My husband considers this an odd hobby for an admitted germaphobe who considers Purell hand sanitizer to be the greatest invention of the 20th century. But, it’s kind of fun — the thrill of discovery on a very small scale. And this time, I couldn’t help but wonder whether this was some kind of good omen; my lucky penny, even though it was kind of grubby and Abe was doing a face plant. Usually I’m not much for charms or stuff like that. I’ve always thought that hard work was more dependable than luck. But at this point I was willing to take all the help I could get. I grabbed the penny, tossed it in my backpack, sanitized my hands and continued downtown. I love the atmosphere of a race; the anticipation, the nervous energy, the electricity in the air. This morning was no different, although my excitement was tinged with a touch of panic. I jogged an easy warmup, which surprisingly felt OK. I could tell that something in my hip wasn’t quite right, but I was able to run and feel pretty good about it, which gave me hope. Maybe I could get through this thing after all. Maybe the penny was doing its job. After two misfires, the starting gun sounded and we were off. I can usually tell how a race will go within the first quarter mile; if my brain clicks to autopilot and I’m focused on tactics and strategy, I’m good. If I’m admiring the brightly-colored socks on the runner in front of me — not so good. This time the autopilot snapped on and the first mile went by quickly. Not as fast as I’d hoped, especially given the downhill start, but certainly acceptable. My eyes were fixed on the women ahead of me. My hip hurt with every step and I knew I’d be paying mightily the next day, but I also knew that I would finish and even do reasonably well. I just had to keep my head in it. By the time I started the final uphill toward the finish, my hip was screaming. The women ahead of me were long gone and I didn’t care who was behind

third vertical template_third vertical 10/12/12 4:25 PM Pa

Red October Run, Wayne

Record Turnout Blows in for Red October Run By Charles Douglas McEwen WAYNE (10/6/12) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Attendance soared at the 22nd annual Red October Run, presented by Oakwood Annapolis Hospital. Some 1,503 runners and walkers braved cold and blustery weather to compete in the 5K and 10K, shattering last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s record of 1,286. (The run also included a kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Junior October Mile.) â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re really happy that we had a lot of youth and families,â&#x20AC;? said race director Cynthia Cook. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The run is part of our Youth and Family Fitness Initiative (at the hospital).

under 17:10, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not quite used to the cold, I guess.â&#x20AC;? Erichsen timed 17:22, while Larsen won the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 5K in 17:26. Next came Shane Beauchamp, 38, of Dearborn (18:01), Abraham Mendez, 21, of Wayne (19:39) and top masters runner Joshua Donnelly, 41, of Jackson (20:10).

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s getting really windy,â&#x20AC;? she noted as a gust blew over the clock at the finish line.

Brittany Lowe, 22, of Auburn Hills finished womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s runner-up in 20:19. Layne Marinski, 18, of Canton snagged third in 21:45. Karen Bears, 40, of Wayne took fourth overall and topped the masters in 22:50.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been several years since weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had a great weather day,â&#x20AC;? Cook continued. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But we made it OK today. No lightning bolts. No sideways rain. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking forward to October 2013.â&#x20AC;?

Masters runners dominated the 10K. John Trojansek, 42, of Windsor won easily in 32:58. Next came Josh Sprunger, 27, of Westland (34:46) and Claudio Salas, 42, of Allen Park (35:36).

Battling the wind and each other, Keith Erichsen, 15, of Farmington Hills and Suzanne Larsen, 35, of Fenton triumphed in the 5K.

Trojansek, who has a PR of 32:16, ran his second-fastest 10K and wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t far off Carl Rundellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2001 course record of 32:11.

Erichsen, a sophomore at North Farmington High School, led for much of the race with Larsen behind him. Then she crept up on him. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were right together the last mile,â&#x20AC;? Larsen said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Then, on last straightaway, he got me.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going to let her beat me,â&#x20AC;? Erichsen said. In 2007 Larsen set the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s course record at 17:08. She had an inkling she might better that time today. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had a really good warm-up,â&#x20AC;? Larsen said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I thought I was on track to break 17:00 or at least be

me. I just needed to cross that line. I grit my teeth, focused on the finish banner and took it one step at a time. Closer â&#x20AC;Ś closer â&#x20AC;Ś closer. My foot skimmed the chip map and I let out a gasp of relief. It was over. Thank goodness. If the race had been 6.3 miles rather than 6.2, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not sure I would have made it. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see my time and frankly, it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter. All things considered, the race had gone far better than I expected, and that was enough. After catching my breath and getting something to drink, I grabbed my gear and headed back toward the car. I had a plane to catch, so no time to hang around and socialize. Free from endorphins, my hip was painfully raw. By the end of the day, I would have trouble walking.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m in my best shape ever,â&#x20AC;? Trojansek said. Deborah Abrams, 43, of Clermont, Fla., led the women in 42:10, edging Elisabeth Deller, 33, of Northville (42:24). Lisa Robertson, 42, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, took third in 43:46. Rick and Shelly Huber of Montrose won the competitive 5K walk. Rick, 56, timed 28:23 while Shelly, 52, finished in 32:44. For complete results, visit http://gaultracemanagement.com. For more about the Red October Run, go to www.oakwood.org/redoctoberrun. - MR -

As I limped down Miller Street, a small flash caught my eye. I hobbled over and looked closer. There, laying along the curb, was a penny. Its surface was shiny copper and Lincolnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s profile was clearly visible. My second lucky penny, this one as bright as the first one had been dull. Another omen. You survived, it seemed to say. And youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be back. I gave a brief smile. Bending painfully, I grabbed the penny, tossed it in my backpack, sanitized my hands and continued to the car. Yes, I thought, I would be back. Despite the frustrations that I knew lay ahead, I would be back.

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Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

Panic in Detroit By James Aren Some runners hold time-burnished memories of their first marathons. James Arens remembers his debut at last year’s Detroit Free Press event more in terms like this:

Mile 0, 26.2 to go. Speakers surrounding the Fort Street starting/finish line pump out Motown, then Eminem: Nen, nen, nen nen nen nen-nen … Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity … one moment, would you capture it or let it slip? Why are we doing this? It’s too late for those kinds of questions now. This started a year ago: lose a couple pounds, get healthier, just something we thought we should do. Then last year, they gave me that shirt that said Detroit Half Marathon. It was a call to action. I couldn’t live with half of anything. But now, surveying the crowd around me stretching in every conceivable manner, wearing every conceivable combination of running gear and gadgets, makes me want to run — right away from this mess. Nervous already. Mom’s spaghetti. Some serious runners doing serious stretches and wearing serious running gear, saying serious running things; Dave and I are not serious runners. We’re not serious anything, really. Forget what they tell you; there is no way to prepare for this. We ran more than 400 miles in the weeks leading to this day. It might help to start when you’re less than 41 years old. No one thought Dave and I would to this. Some people thought we should not do this. Those are the people we should have listened to. With my “SuperCharged” playlist loaded on my shuffle featuring Zeppelin, Minute Men, James Brown, The Rocky Balboa collection, Braveheart, The Who … for a total of 7.7 hours and 133 songs … musically, at least, I am ready for this odyssey. Mile 1: We’re still on Fort Street; I’m not feeling great. I’ve struggled on my first mile a lot lately. It’ll get better. Stay slow. Keep the pace. The first days are the hardest days, don’t you worry anymore. Mile 2: It’s cold and my lungs hurt the way they used to when I was a kid. I can’t catch my breath — not a good sign this early in the run. I’ve always hated sweating with cold air in my lungs. I did almost nothing yesterday. I went to bed at 8 p.m. At 10 I got up to pee, tried to avoid something in the hallway and kicked the wall, stubbing my smallest 12

toe. It hurts. Dave feels fine. Mile 3: We cross the bridge looking down at the river. The sun rises over Detroit. Most of us runners, 20,167 or so, feel good now. We run in Canada, where the miles are shorter because of the exchange rate. I don’t feel as good as last year. Dave feels great; he’s Canadian. Suddenly, he’s wearing a red and white flannel shirt and a touk. The crisp Canadian air powers him like the earth’s yellow sun powers Superman. I am a stranger in this land and pine for the comfort of my homeland. As we run along Riverside Street in Windsor, our city across the water looks pretty good. It’s a good time in the D. Our home teams are surging. The Lions are winning games; the Tigers are deep into the playoffs.

smart move. Of course, today proves we are not smart people. I’m a street-walking cheetah with a hide full of napalm. No, I’m not. Thanks for the thought, Iggy. Somebody better save my soul. Yep, that’s about right. Mile 13.5: Pain stabs my right foot every time it hits the mean pavement of Randolph Street. I can only put up with this for a couple minutes, tops. Not even a half-mile past the turnoff, I feel like I might have to shut it down. Mile 15: That pain is gone. I’m getting tired. Here comes one of our cheering sections: Pete, Rebecca and damn Heather whose idea this was in the first place. Jumping up and down, holding signs trying to encourage us.

The most important of the home teams are making yet another comeback: The Big Three automakers are off life-support. Root, root, root for the home teams, all of them. I feel a connection to all of it today.

Pete’s sign says: “Are you wearing underwear?” He draws a wide variety of answers. Heather has run two marathons and had two babies. She said the marathons were worse. I wouldn’t mind an epidural. I wouldn’t mind going numb from the neck down at this point.

Mile 7: We hit the tunnel and run one mile underwater. It smells like a seventh-grade locker room mixed with diesel exhaust. Halfway through, it gets worse. The air gets thick.

Mile 16: E. Lafayette and Mt. Elliot; according to the race map, there should be a huge roll of toilet paper around here. Normally that kind of thing wouldn’t interest me.

Leaving his primordial homeland weakens Dave. He needs to stretch his knee. His I.T. band tightens. Apparently we all have I.T. bands and they start to hurt when you do stupid things. Cold air hits us as the border patrol police wave at us.

Now the music of Rocky Balboa pumps into my head. Trumpets and trombones, French horns and violins, the finest musical achievement since the invention of Velveeta cheese. It’s almost impossible to give up with this music propping you up.

Mile 11: Bagley and 18th Street, a big right turn, now we’re heading back to Woodward.

You’re gonna eat lightning and crap thunder … He’ll murder ya do death, Rock. You’re a wreckin’ machine.

Valhalla I am coming. We are your overlords … Our only goal must be the western shore. It’s not quite convincing. I’m not anyone’s overlord today. I like to hear that music coursing through the earbuds while I run fast, but today it’s not quite the same. I’m not sure if it’s Zeppelin or me, but one of us is not showing great effort. Today the hammer of the gods is hitting me in the chest. Mile 12: Running down Michigan Avenue a mile until the half-marathon finish line turnoff. Why not? We could sprint it out and finish strong. I’d be eating French toast in 20 minutes. Slackers: it’s who we are. It would surprise no one; they’d probably expect it. We look at each other and laugh. It would make people mad. We like that. Mile 13.1: “You signed on for this, I think,” says the voice in my head. “Buy the ticket, take the ride.” The wife, the kids, the parents, the so-called friends who encouraged us to do this are waiting somewhere down the line.

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Mile 17: I’ve always wanted to visit Indian Village. People are playing music and passing out water, Gatorade, Vaseline, beer. They are having a great time. It’s beautiful here. Just like Grosse Pointe, houses take up wide tracks of land and are set far back from the road. John and Horace Dodge, of the famed auto company lived in houses like this. This seems like a good place to die. We see Dave’s wife and kids. They are happy and proud of Dave. He looks great. Dave’s wife, a nurse, looks at me and concern sweeps over her face. “Are you OK?” Nope. Not at all. Dehydration sets in. I’m shriveling. There’s no water left in me. I can’t stand straight as I halt through the streets, my shoulders round over and stomach caves in. I feel my temples collapse. I drink water and Gatorade. I eat whatever people hand me. It doesn’t help. This too shall pass … Abandon all hope … This too shall pass … Abandon … this …

Mile 18: We’re plodding back to Jefferson now, getting closer to the dreaded Belle Isle. Somebody gave Dave a new mantra. We think it’s stupid, but stupid times call for stupid measures:

We walk for a couple minutes. Dave says it doesn’t hurt any less to walk now, and it feels worse to start again. It’s time to make a move, he said. It’s not, maybe later.

can’t keep it up, but I don’t want to stop. Some fat guy in a white t-shirt is ahead of us. We will reel him in. We keep moving. The top of my pelvis hurts. We pass him. He looks like I feel.

Light, quick, smooth. Light, quick, smooth, Light, quick, smooth, Light, quick, light, quit, quit, quit, quit.

We try. I tell Dave he can go on without me. He says “No way.” I’m not sure if I appreciate or resent that. He says he doesn’t have anything more than I do. Nothing to kick with.

Mile 26.2: No guts, no glory, no nothing. I barely cross the line when the retching starts; my stomach and left foot attempt to come up through my mouth but get stuck in my throat. I end up sitting on the finish line. People yell at me and put me in a wheelchair. I see the clock and shame sweeps over me.

We pick up a co-runner of sorts. He runs ahead and then falls behind. He’s 6’4”, wrapped in blue spandex with the Captain America symbol on his ripped chest. His presence assures us that we are still in the land of the living. If a real man like that is back here with us, we must be doing OK. At some point, we hope for a surge, the “runner’s high” or some other bullshit. Then we will make our move and blaze ahead. There is no sign of that happening soon. Right now, we wait and keep moving. For the first time in my life, I decide to think about sex. Usually it just happens. Today I thought I could kill a couple miles thinking about it. I couldn’t. The will to live is gone. Mile 19: Every step sends pain shooting through my hips, back and shoulders. My feet caught on fire four miles ago. Seven miles left to go. On a good day that could be an hour. This is not a good day.

I don’t live today. Maybe tomorrow. Just can’t say ... Ain’t no life nowhere. Mile 21: Can’t listen to Zeppelin anymore. Not even Rocky mother-scratching Balboa can help us now. If I wasn’t so tired I would throw my iPod into the Detroit River. I can’t lift my arms now. No extra movements. Every step is a question: got any more? Other days, miles disappear without much notice; not today. It’s gone on too long now. Too long to stop. Too long to continue. Too long. I have to do it once. If I stop now, I would have to do it again. Forget that. I will never do this again — which means I have to do it now. Last year two guys died running this race. Will I die? At this point I might welcome the sweet release of death.

If I don’t find some shelter, ooh yeah, I’m gonna fade away. I see my eight-year-old daughter worrying on the sideline. I get to my feet. The quest is over, the passion and the pain, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, lived out by a sweaty, dehydrated idiot. People say I should be proud of myself. Maybe I should be, but I’m not. I set out to do something and spent a long, long time doing it poorly. Don’t dare ask how long. I know the time; that’s bad enough. The best I can say about the whole thing is: it’s over. Don’t have to do that again. Now I look at people wearing half marathon shirts and think one word: smart. - MR -

Last spring my back attacked me. It was the worst pain of my life. I was talking to my son at Taco Bell when something grabbed me. I could barely make it to the car. I spent the next three days crawling and yelling. My mother took me to the chiropractor. After three trips, I could walk again. It took another eight trips to dig out of the pain. I used a walker for a day or two, then a cane. The pain was unbelievable. My ever-cautious father-in-law advised me to take it easy, code for “start acting my age.” I told him I wasn’t ready to accept any limits.

If you find yourself running in a field by yourself, have no fear. You are in Elysium and you are already dead. I try to make funny, but it’s a thought. You’re supposed to visit a doctor before you start running, right? I never did that. So which mind-searing pains are the bad ones? I don’t think my chest hurts that way. My left arm doesn’t hurt now.

A man has got to know his limitations. Shut it, Clint.

Mile 22: Just up to that next fire hydrant, up to the side street, up to the gas station; it’s an old runner’s trick — pick a spot and run to it, then pick another spot. I step into a pothole and twist my ankle. Everything hurts so much, the new pain doesn’t even register.

Mile 22, Helle Isle: Yea, though I run through the valley of death.

Holy Mother, pray for us sinners now and at the time of death.

No cheering crowds now. We’re on our own here.

Mile 23: There is no god.

Run Like the Dickens 2012_Run Like the Dickens 10/9/

10th Anniversary

Sat, December 8 9:00 am 10K Run • 5K Run • 5K Walk • Tiny Tim Trot

Mile 24: Sweet Jesus, help me. I came here with my grandparents once. I drove a girl here in a ‘67 Mustang convertible a long, long time ago. I wanted that night to last as long as possible. Now I hate this place. It’s so far from the line. We run to the corner, a big left turn. From here on out, we are running toward the line. Not much more looping around or moving away. We meet some old freak who said he runs one marathon every month or something. He told us to get in a bathtub of cold water afterward. He said a whole lot. Thankfully, we left him behind us. This is not running. It’s not athletic. It’s barely moving. It’s just stubborn. If I just lay down, would somebody pick me up? How long would it take me to die?

Mile 25: I can do this for another mile. Mile 25.5: Where is that goddamn line? I can’t keep moving. A trickle of strangers were all that were left alive … He wanted to stay home … I wish someone would phone … Panic in Detroit. Mile 26: Why does there have to be a point-two? Some dumb Roman terd-wagon did what? I look at Dave and ask if he wants to “sprint” it out. He shrugs and we speed up imperceptibly. Here we go — coughing and wheezing, kind of like drowning on dry land. We start passing people. I

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Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

Running Shorts with Scott Hubbard By Scott Hubbard

Trivia: What was the first year for the five-borough New York City Marathon?

OOD READS. I don’t often review books in this space, but when I do I’m pleased to recommend Michigan authors, in this case Jeff Hollobaugh and Dave Wood. Both take longrange looks at track and field, Hollobaugh in “The 100 Greatest Track & Field Battles of the 20th Century” and Wood in ”A History of Grand Rapids City League Track and Field.” Jeff teaches English in the Pinckney school system, owns the michtrack.org website and in a prior life was a staff writer for Track & Field News. He observes the Michigan prep cross country and track and field scene with a keen eye and serves as stadium announcer at the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway. He is also is the voice for the MHSAA.tv broadcast of the meet. Jeff has written other books, including the novel “Fire, Barbed Wire & Tacks,” writes for Michigan Runner magazine, ESPN.com and has covered Olympic and world track and field championships. From this deep and abiding love and feel for the sport, Jeff has sorted through thousands of track and field contests, whittling down the rich list to those he felt were the most exciting and historically significant. I’ll guess Kenyan David Rudisha’s wire-to-wire 2012 Olympic Games 800 meters world record 1:40.91 would be included in an update. On the cover of “Battles” is Billy Mills winning the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games 10,000 meters. Think you can guess where Jeff ranked that race? You can get it at Jeff Hollobaugh, 3130 Kensington, Dexter MI 48130 for $12 (including shipping) or on Amazon.com for a little more (go to michtrack.org for info). Aquinas College’s longtime cross country and track and field head coach Dave Wood devoted three years to compiling his exemplary history of Grand Rapids City League track and field. He spent countless hours in the library looking through old yearbooks, the Grand Rapids Herald and Press newspapers, poring over school board minutes and other library materials. Dave received invaluable help from other resources for his research. The first 14

field day sponsored by the Athletic Association of Grand Rapids High School (now Central High) was held Oct. 4, 1890. Yes, 122 years ago. The 411-page book details events from 1890 to 2008. Entries track the evolution of the sport in Grand Rapids and across the state. There are terrific pictures of individuals, teams, competition sites and track-specific items. Although girls weren’t granted MHSAA sanctioning until 1974, they first competed in Grand Rapids two years earlier. An entire chapter chronicles the introduction and rise of girls programs. The last 76 pages are given to a look at the records produced over 100-plus years of competition. It’s an exhaustive, thorough work that will please any track fan. Wood gives more than 200 pages to the years 1953 to 2008. There are many names with which readers will be familiar, including Greg Meyer, who wrote book’s foreword and excelled at West Catholic High School, and Wood himself, who won the 1972 Class A state mile title for Grand Rapids Union in 4:13.9. Fans interested can buy the book at grlcpublications@aolcom.

not surprisingly, the Pictured Rocks Road Race 11mile won the first year. For an event so far from so many, it drew runners from all over the Midwest to tackle its unique, tough course and handed out terrific awards and finisher-vs.-participant apparel. The club also gives awards for top open men and women, youth, volunteers and hall-of-fame honorees. Nice to see the U.P. taking care of its own! 6) I turned 60 on Oct. 27 and was up to my eyeballs with things to do helping at the Great Turtle halfmarathon and 5.7-mile races on Mackinac Island. As I write this five weeks away, I’m thankful for all that has come my way and file regrets under “experiences that have shaped me or remain to be visited.” Staying active has been a great way to lend life to my years! 7) Watching cross country runners strain over the final couple hundred meters of a race remains exciting. 8) Getting in a satisfactory workout while traveling is still a bonus. 9) Running from Detroit into the Grosse Pointes, then back into Detroit in the first years of the Free Press Marathon. 10) Wrinkles to my routine, such as startling a pasture of horses that gallop off or passing 10-year-old girls selling lemonade.

THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT: 11) Running in winter — it’s for everyone. 1) After 10 years of seeing him run in my Fenton neighborhood, I finally stopped 1984 Detroit Free Press Marathon winner Loren Bandt to chat. He always dresses in old-school cotton tees and baggy shorts, now runs for fitness and “never races.” It was fun to literally catch up with him as ‘84 was my second year announcing the Free Press Marathon and this year will be my 30th. 2) After 42 years, I caught up with old Ann Arbor Huron High School cross country and track and field teammate Andy Campbell at a cross country meet in Brighton. He has a son running for our old track coach at AAH, Kent Overbey, now in his 44th year at the school. Andy and I were on a Class A state champion cross country team in 1969, the first state title for our then-three-year-old school. 3) Calumet High hosted an invitational cross country meet at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Golf Course 0.2 miles from Copper Harbor in mid-September. The idyllic site 38 miles from Calumet is much further away from competing teams who frequently travel far to meets in the Upper Peninsula. 4) With the advent and overwhelming popularity of the Warrior Dash, watch for more edgy running events to follow. 5) The Upper Peninsula Road Runners Club holds officer elections and gives awards every year. Since 1988, voters have also elected an Event of the Year;

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

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12) Mentoring novice runners. 13) A successful return to running from a plantar fasciitis injury. 14) Running past a window full of treadmill runners in a gym. 15) The last two American Boston Marathon winners, Greg Meyer in 1983 and Lisa Rainsberger in 1985, are from Michigan. Each was a University of Michigan All-American and are Road Runners Club of America Hall of Famers. 16) There are Michigan races in Hell and Paradise. 17) Grand Valley State University women’s teams won their second straight indoor and outdoor track and field NCAA Division 2 championships in 2012. 18) Mild weather allowed me to rack up record January, February and March monthly cycling totals. It also enabled me to measure The Qualifier Marathon between Midland and Bay City in January, unheard of based on past winter conditions. I bought a new road bike in early March, a Blue 1.2, and am happy with both its price and performance. It allows me retire my older bike to winter months. Answer: 1976 with winners Bill Rodgers and Miki Gorman. Gorman also won in ‘77 also and remains the last American woman to do so. - MR -

Roseville Big Bird 0912_Roseville Big Bird 8/11/12 6:5

34th Annual

Mt. Baldhead Challenge, Saugatuck/Douglas

Beautiful, Brutal Mt. Baldhead Course Proves Test By Scott Sullivan

Nov. 11, 2012

SAUGATUCK-DOUGLAS (9/8/12) — To the winners went some — but not all — of the Mt. Baldhead Challenge spoils. The 13th annual road and trail races saw more than 300 runners and walkers leave from and return to Beery Field in downtown Douglas to prizes, refreshments and camaraderie, having tested themselves on one of the state’s most difficult, lovely courses.

Reg. Fees: $25 by 4pm Nov. 7 $30 on race day

“I spooked deer on the dunes,” said Saugatuck boys cross country coach Rick Bauer, who won the men’s 15K in 57 minutes, 27 seconds. “The trails were up-and-down, up-and down and the views were so beautiful it was easy to be distracted. There is no other course quite like it,” Bauer said.

Joining Bauer, 32, and Kuipers, 47, of Holland (who finished in 1:12:57) earning 15K trophies were overall women’s winner Mary Mendoza, 14, of Fennville (1:07:09) and men’s masters champ Jim Springer, 47, of Saugatuck, also overall runner-up in 1:02:10. Bauer’s wife, Saugatuck girls cross country coach Angelina Bauer, 31, was second overall among women in 1:08:45. Saugatuck High School senior and track state champion Sean Kelly, 17, claimed the men’s 5K in 16:57, besting several teammates. Renea Walkotten, 38, of Holland won the women’s 5K in 20:02, topping SHS runner Lauren Jenkins, 16, runner-up in 20:59. Masters titlists were Jerry Schippa, 47, of Wyoming (19:32) and Carol Springer, 47, of

Photo by Scott Sullivan

Others echoed his sentiments. “It hurts but it’s good,” women’s masters champ Gayle Kuipers said.

Entry form & information: Recreational Authority of Roseville & Eastpointe 18185 Sycamore Roseville, MI 48066 (586) 445-5480 www.roseville-mi.gov Register online: active.com

MRSub0311_Sixth Vertical 2/6/11 9:52 PM Page 1

Runner-up Angela Bauer climbs the Mt. Baldhead steps. Saugatuck (24:18). The new Saugatuck-Douglas Chapter of Rotary International, new race sponsor, also gave gift certificates to oldest 5K finisher David Marckini, 77, of Holland and youngest 15K finisher Angel Mendoza, 8, of Fennville, who couldn’t stay to be honored for completing 9.3 tough miles because she played afterwards in a soccer game. Rotary also awarded certificates to the six men who most resembled Mt. Baldhead, several of whom gave credit for speed to their aerodynamic heads.

Photo by Scott Sullivan

Women and men were invited to ready razors for next year’s race. “We are grateful to our sponsors and volunteers, said Jackie Jacobson-Beland, co-race director with Aaron Sheridan. “We couldn?t have done this without help from all our community,” she said.

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Angel Mendoza, age 8, finished the 15K and then played in a soccer game.

For complete results, visit www.mtbaldheadchallenge.com. - MR -

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Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

Doug Goodhue: Age Group Ace Shares Tips

Over the years, Goodhue has directed or helped organize the National Masters Championship 10K at the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run, the Kensington Challenge, the Ann Arbor Track Club Senior Cross Country Team that recently won the USATF Grand Prix title and other efforts. Since 2008 he has also coached and taught running classes. “I retired from the wholesale cabinet business that January,” Goodhue remembered. “That spring, Kathleen (Gina) of the Running Fit stores, which were looking to expand their running classes from Ann Arbor, invited me to a coaches’ orientation meeting. “I met Suzi Stock there and we decided to combine our coaching skills and the Running Fit 501 programs (for runners preparing to run a half or full marathon) for the Novi and Northville stores. “The motivation to coach came easily,” Goodhue continued. “With the confidence I had gained from my personal successes and passion I have for the sport, it only made sense for me to try to help others.” Goodhue and Stock completed their fourth year of winter/spring sessions in June and began their fifth year of summer/fall courses. The winter/spring course regularly attracts about 60 runners, while the summer/fall sessions average 100 students. Goodhue was invited in 2009 to coach a “Running 101 & 102: From Couch Potato to 5K” course for the Huron Valley Recreation and Community Education program. Its students are generally beginners looking to complete their first 5Ks and 10Ks. Goodhue started the first class that September and since then has taught four seven-week sessions each year to 15 to 18 students per class. He is quick to share the credit with Stock as “co-head coach” in the 501 class, and his wife, Cindy, also an accomplished runner, who helps with both classes. “Suzi, Cindy and I all run with our students,” said Goodhue. He also cited the help of 501 assistant coach Lee Mamola. Training schedules for the 101 students max out at three to six miles a run. Coaches meet with them Mondays for 60 to 90 minutes on either the Milford High School indoor or outdoor track. Goodhue prepares a work manual for each runner that includes a training schedule, information sheets on getting started, goal-setting, shoes and gear, and a race-day checklist. “The 501 program is much more structured, given its loftier goals,” he said. “Seventy-five percent of the runners are repeats. We help them pick and

design plans that are achievable for their future longdistance destinations.” Goodhue and Stock have created a social media team page site, posting updated calendar dates, educational information, training schedules, race results and more. “The 501ers want to either finish their first half or full marathon or improve from their last races,” Goodhue said. “To join the program, we ask each new runner be able to run at least three miles without stopping and be running at least 15 to 20 miles per week. Our half marathon schedules usually max out at 40 miles per week and the marathon schedules at 52 miles per week. “All runners are asked to own a runner’s watch, not necessarily a GPS, to help them learn and understand pacing,” he continued. “I have access to a large digital clock that we use for many of our track workouts.” This class meets twice weekly – for speed work, hill repeats and education Wednesdays at the Novi or Northville Running Fit stores, and for long runs Saturdays at Kensington Metropark.

as benchmarks to see how they measure up. “When I’m running with some of my younger, faster runners, I like to remind them to continue to work hard because, ‘You don’t want to have to go home and tell your kids you got beat at your next race by your 70-year-old coach!’ That usually gets lots of laughs, but I also notice the pace picks up after that.” Goodhue enjoys this new chapter of his running life. “The smiles, the hugs, the new friendships, the camaraderie, the personal records and Boston qualifiers are just part of the joy of coaching,” he said. He also relishes im-

Doug Goodhue

Goodhue handles all the educational topics for the 101/102 course. The 501 class has employed guest speakers including personal trainer Kirk Vickers, Running Fit Northville store manager Rachel Ingle, Running Fit chief operating officer Steve Angerman and massage therapist/ trainer Jeffrey Kong.

oug Goodhue, 70, of Milford holds national age-group records, with still more pending. But there’s more to his running than eye-popping times and titles.

By Ron Marinucci

“One of my biggest challenge is to hang onto and inspire new runners to stay with the beginner class,” Goodhue noted. The graduation rate in the 101/102 program is 70 percent as compared to 90 percent for the 501 program. “The 10 percent Suzi Stock (l) and Doug Goodhue volunteer at the Milford we lose with the 501ers is Labor Day races. usually because of injuries,” Goodhue said. “If it’s a long-term setback, we usually comp them into the parting the wisdom he’s accumulated over the years, next session.” among them favorite sayings such as, “Regular physical activity might be the cheapest and most effective Both classes are about more than training. Fun preventative medicine yet discovered” and “When is planned as well. “We all work on special projects you find that you’re disappointed with your latest and events for the group, such as an ‘after-glow’ endsuccess, you probably can look to the fact that you of-the-session party, a Tiger baseball game bus trip, have lost your passion to prepare.” Crim teams and more,” said Goodhue. Spoken like, well, a national champion and Some students like to use Goodhue’s past times record-holder turned teacher. - MR -

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

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Nov. / Dec. 2012

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November / December 2012

Publisher and Chief Executive Officer

Art McCafferty artmccaf@glsp.com Scott Sullivan scott@glsp.com Editor

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A member of the Bobcats runs the relay at the Dances with Dirt. Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios.

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Kensington Challenge, Milford, Photos by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -p. 12 Run for Ribbons, Plymouth, Photos by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -p. 13 Run Woodstock, Pinckney, Photos by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -p. 14 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Photos by Victah Sailer / photorun.net - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -p. 15

Cover: Kids Melon Roll, Howell, Melon Run, August 17, 2012. Photo by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Howell Melon Run, Howell, August 17, 2012 Photos by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

The Melon Roll for kids is a tradition at the Melon Run.

Nina Kelly, age 9, wins the 1 Mile Run overall in 6:00.9.

Karen Whitaker (bib no. 339) and Haley Whitaker, age 9 (bib no. 338), of Brighton, begin the 5K Run.

Jennifer, Jodi, and Tim Howard of Howell, make the 5K a family affair.

Josh Partridge of Brighton won the 5K in 16:16.

Isabell Stempien, age 4, and Kristen Stempien of Livonia finish the 1 Mile.

Runners start the 10K Run.

Julia Demko of Birmingham runs 19:09 for the win.

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David Laney wins the 10K by 3 minutes in 31:48.

Audrey Belf, age 15, is 1st woman, 4th overall for the 10K in 38:46

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

Bruckelaufe, Frankenmuth, October 6, 2012 Photos by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Marybeth Reader took the half marathon win easily in 1:33:45.

Joe Lasceski of Saginaw won the 5K in 19:03.

Natalie Wellman of Fairhaven won the 5K in 21:17, the same time as her dad, Ric Wellman, who placed fourth.

ÂŠ Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

David Chomet (bib no. 74) and Paul Aufdemberge (bib no. 16) ran side by side until Aufdemberge edged Chomet by 10 seconds at the finish: 1:14:53 to 1:14:43.

Michigan Runner Photo Gallery - November / December 2012

Dances with Dirt, Hell / Pinckney, September 22, 2012 Photos by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

A member of the Die Schmutzigen Madchen relay team wades through a traditional feature of the course. This team was first place in the team theme awards.

The Swamp Angels were among almost 400 teams competing in the relay.

Stephanie Kapanowski, David Zambo, and Steven Edwards finish the 50K in 6 hours and just under 21 minutes.

A member of Team Charlie Foxtrot competes in style. Michigan Runner Photo Gallery - November / December 2012

Betsie Valley Run, Thompsonville, October 7, 2012 Photos by Dave Parham

A 10K runner takes on the hills.

Klaudia O'Malley of McBain, 1st in the 5K, 21:59 and Keegan Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Malley, 5th, 10:57 pose with Kyle Pylkas of Cadillac.

Vivid fall colors greet 5K runners.

Brian Hochstetler and Jenna Sowash are enjoying the 10K.

Michigan Runner Photo Gallery - November / December 2012

Above: A birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye view of the Betsie River; below: Kelly Malmborg competes in the 10K; right: a lone runner approaches a long hill.

Auto Owners Spartan Invitational, East Lansing, September 14, 2012

Photo by Pete Draugalis / draugalisphotography.com

Auto Owners Spartan Invitational, East Lansing, September 14, 2012 Photos by Pete Draugalis / draugalisphotography.com

Defending Elite Girls Champion, Erin Finn (bib 3005) sees Julia Bos coming on strong.

Julia Bos, Grand Rapids Christian, upset Erin Finn for the Elite Girls win, 17:20.

Start of the College Women’s 6K.

Start of the College Men’s 8K.

Nathan Burnand of Waterford Mott is the ELite Boys champion, 15:21. 10

Eastern Michigan’s Terefe Ejigu repeated as champion with a 24:28 8K.

Michigan Runner Photo Gallery - November / December 2012

Sara Kroll, an MSU student running the 6K unattached, won over a deep field with a 21:10.

Dig ‘em Dash, Battle Creek, September 29, 2012 Photos by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Melissa Casarez, Lowell, 1st, 21:32

Caity Hines, Marshall, 2nd, 22:05

Joel Vanderkooi, Kalamazoo, 1st, 18:23

Brittany Hayes, Battle Creek, 3rd, 22:12

Brittany Hayes, Melissa Casarez and Caity Hines celebrate their podium finishes.

Luke Browne, age 15, Burlington, 2nd, 18:36

Derrick O’Brien, Jackson, 3rd, 19:02

Madeline and Deanna Piper of Battle Creek enjoy this 5K.

Derrick O’Brien congratulates Luke Browne.

Volunteer get ready for racers. Michigan Runner Photo Gallery - November / December 2012

John Rogucki Memorial Kensington Challenge, Milford, September 15, 2012 Photos by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

15K masters winner Eric Green, 54:57.

15K open & masters winner, Serena Kessler, 56:13.

David Desposito and Lauren Piontkowski enjoy the 15K.

Running the 15K is fun for Pam and Audrey Fisher of Milford.

The Kensington Challenge 15K served as the RRCA State Championship. Masters, Grand Masters, and Senior Grand Masters winners show off their awards with Race Director, Doug Goodhue (left). 12

Michigan Runner Photo Gallery - November / December 2012

Run for Ribbons 5K and 1 Mile Pinwheel Parade, Plymouth, September 23, 2012 Photos by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Brett Stinar, 1st, 17:10

Nick Allen, 6th, 21:04; Sarah, 1st, 21:04

Hiroshi Takakura & Mike Stankiewicz

Leonard Brito, 3rd, 20:11.

Sunny Hayashi & Eriko Nadachi

Nathan Koh, age 8

Scott Schafer & Tim Krieg.

Michigan Runner Photo Gallery - November / December 2012

Run Woodstock, Pinckney, September 7-9, 2012 Photos by Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Karen Garasimovich, 50k

Jason Andersen, 50 mile

Cortland & Roxanne Starrett, 100K

Rick Lehto, 100 Mile

Michael Parker, Marathon

Tom Perduto, 100 Mile

Michigan Runner Photo Gallery - November / December 2012

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Toronto, October 16, 2012 Photos by Victah Sailer / photorun.net

Mary Davies, 2:28:56

Betona Warga, 2:10:35

Ed Whitlock, 3:30:28 - AG WR

Matt Loiselle, 2:16:23

Lanni Marchant, DNF

Race Director, Alan Brookes

Runners start in damp conditions in Toronto. Michigan Runner Photo Gallery - November / December 2012

Groundhog Day Grand Rapids Gus vs. Punxsutawney Phil We've all heard of Punxsutawney Phil, the little furry guy in Pennsylvania who comes out, sees his shadow, and declares six more weeks of winter. Then there’s Augustus T. Groundhog, better know as Grand Rapids Gus. He’s Phil’s much more interesting cousin. Unlike Phil, who it seems can only see shadows, Gus has much better eye sight and can look at a calendar on February 2 and know that spring doesn’t start for six weeks. Gus suggested that instead of lamenting over six more weeks of winter, we should EMBRACE the cold and snow and do something fun. And so, the Groundhog Day Marathon was born.

Saturday, February 2, 2013 (616) 293-3145 info@groundhogmarathon.com http://www.groundhogmarathon.com

Park 2 Park Half Marathon, Holland

Storm Parks Park 2 Park’s Record Field

Photo by Scott Sullivan

By Scott Sullivan

Yellow caution tape waves as the Lake Michigan storm moves in. HOLLAND (9/22/12) — I thought Black Flag was a bug spray, not something you do to end races. Storms sweeping in from Lake Michigan not only taught me otherwise, they forced Park 2 Park Half Marathon organizers to end the eighth annual road race while most of its record field was still on the course. Lightning flashes were visible even as runaway men’s winner Kyle Mena, 27, of Portage blazed through Holland State Park near the eight-mile mark, framed by black skies, whitecaps and screaming seagulls. He and other top finishers outran the storm from there, but prospects of 1,000-plus slower entrants being lit up while personal-injury lawyers circled them proved convincing for Sherry Santos. “We can’t risk runners’ safety,” said the race director. “Weather was beautiful when we started and the storm was supposed to go south. Most did. There were waterspouts off South Haven (some 20 miles south of Holland). But we got enough of it that we just couldn’t take the chance.” Mena, a recent standout at Eastern Michigan University, gapped the field early en route to a 1:08:54 finish. Fully-bearded Tim Faith, 23, of Holland also ran solo to finish second in 1:12:45. Third was Christopher Gregory, 32, of Wyoming in 1:16:08. New Western Michigan University graduate Amber Brunmeier went out cautiously in her first race at the 13.1-mile distance, then ramped up her pace to capture the women’s title in 1:23:15.

She in fact was the only woman, and one of just 15 runners, to finish officially, as Santos blackflagged the race one hour, 25 minutes after starting. “That’s when the storm reached land at the park,” the director said. “We removed the computer timing mats but left the big digital clock running at the finish,” she continued. “Hundreds of runners, especially those who’d completed 10-plus miles and were now well inland away from the storm, still finished and could still see their times there. “We sent out eight police cars to advise other runners to take shelter. Early finishers, volunteers and more people driving cars and vans picked up runners still on the course.

Half marathon winner Kyle Mena takes a sip on the beach, while a dog walker sets out against the blackening sky. jump from last year’s totals. Even those disappointed to not get “official” half-marathon times praised its picturesque, lake-hugging courses, careful organization and festive flavor. “We are about people first,” said Santos, “even if safety means we black-flag them.” As for lawyers, if Black Flag doesn’t work, maybe Raid will do. - MR -

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“We sent runners entrants afterwards explaining why we did what we did and thanking them for their responses and understanding,” Santos continued. “After I meet with my board, we may offer discount coupons towards next year’s race fees. “No director wants to call off a race. But what could I do?” she said. Brett May, 23, of Belmont (15:55) edged Nathan Fujiuka, 28, of Grand Rapids (16:07) in the 5K. Third overall was masters champ Tony Ketchmark, 50, of Davison (18:23), followed closely by women’s champ Alicia Sherwood, 25, of Zeeland (18:26). Gayle Kuipers, 47, of Holland was the top female master in 21:10. Park 2 Park saw 1,795 entrants, a 50-percent michiganrunner.net

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

The Brooksie Way, Rochester Hills

Foley, Logan Fly to Brooksie Wins

By Charles Douglas McEwen

Repeat winner Shane Logan shows off his Brooksie Way trophy.

“I think she (Mantel) was close the whole race,” Nowik said. “I heard people cheering for her. So I kicked it in as hard as I could.” Nowik finished in 1:25:20 to Mantel’s 1:25:31.

Leah Foley set a PR in winning the Brooksie Way in 1:22:20. ROCHESTER HILLS (9/30/12) — Two-time Brooksie Way half marathon runner-up Leah Foley broke through the door to victory this year. Foley, 35, of Clarkston shook off back-to-back years as bridesmaid to run away with the women’s title, timing 1:22:20. “I didn’t run as even a pace as I wanted to, but I PR’d,” she said. “And Brooksie isn’t exactly a PR course.” The half marathon, in its fifth year, offered plenty of challenge, especially after the seven-mile mark on Tienken Road. “You always know the Tienken Hills are there,” said Foley. “But you never know just how hard they’re going to be.” Tammy Nowik, 38, of Clarkston, who won the Kensington Challenge 5K Sept. 15, and Melissa Mantel, 21, of Chelsea, who claimed this year’s Labor Day 30K, battled for second place.

“My goal was to break 1:30,” said Nowik, who was doing her first half marathon and trains with Foley. “It’s nice having someone to run with who is better than you. She constantly pushes you,” Nowik said. Loren Miller, 43, of Macomb won the women masters title in 1:29:15. Shane Logan, 34, of Clarkston dominated the men’s half marathon, leading from the start and winning for the second year in a row. He received a brief challenge from another runner in the sixth mile, which he fought off. “I just had to put my head down and go,” he said. Logan finished in 1:13:15. Next came Ryan Beck, 20, of Royal Oak (1:14:51) and Alexander West, 19, of Perry (1:15:09). Rich Power, 48, of Rochester topped the masters in 1:17:31. One of the course’s toughest uphills comes at the very end. “You’re cruising along,” said Logan, “and you hit it. It’s like going backward.” The event keeps moving forward attendancewise. A record 5,800-plus runners and walkers turned out for the half marathon, 5K and one mile. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, who started the Brooksie race in memory of his son (who died in 2007) to promote Oakland

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

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County and encourage people to become more physically active, couldn’t make it this year as he continues to recover from an automobile accident. However, Greg Meyer, 57, of Belmont, the last American male to win the Boston Marathon (running 2:09:00 in 1983), was among those who ran the 5K. “Huge crowd!” Meyer said. “Just a wonderful turnout. This is one of the up-and-coming races. After five years, it’s getting bigger and bigger. It’s a beautiful thing.” Meyer has participated in the Brooksie Way every year. “I think what’s special about this race is that it gives back,” he said. “All the money they raise goes back into the community to foster fitness, health and wellness for all populations.” Healthplus was Brooksie’s presenting sponsor. Winning the 5K were Eli Nasr, 18, of Oakland Township (17:53) and Kaitlin Catania, 16, of Clarkston (21:43). Eric Staub, 30, of Commerce finished men’s runner-up in 17:59, while Cailin Murphy, 15, of Rochester Hills took second for the women in 23:26. Peter Brole, 56, of Washington (19:56) and Renee Kotula, 43, of Ortonville (23:35) were the masters champs. For complete results, visit http://thebrooksieway.com. - MR -.

Grosse Pointe Run, Grosse Pointe Farms

Nemeh Rocks Boat, Rolls to Grosse Pointe Win By Charles Douglas McEwen while Shelly, 52, won in 33:01.

GROSSE POINTE FARMS (9/15/12) — Though he trains almost exclusively on the water, rowing shells on the Detroit River, Detroit Boat Club Crew member Christian Nemeh, 15, found success on land at the 33rd annual Grosse Pointe Run. The event is organized by the Grosse Pointe Sunrise Rotary Club and co-sponsored by The Grosse Pointe News.

“Everything went off without a hitch,” said Wayne Manchester of the Rotary club. “It takes a lot of people to do this race. We’re a small club with 28 people and are fortunate to have friends and volunteers who help us marshall the course and keep it safe. It’s a big undertaking.”

Photo by Jennie McCafferty

Nemeh, running just his second road race, won the 5K. “I’ve just been rowing for training,” he said. “It’s great for legs, arms, endurance ... everything.”

The event had 490 entrants.

The event raises funds for the club foundation. “We give most of the money to need-based scholarships for graduating seniors from local high schools,” Manchester said. “We also support an after-school pre-teen girls program on the near east side (of Detroit). It gives them a safe place to meet after school and do their homework.”

Nemeh ran much of the race with his boat club teammate Michael Landuyt, also 15 and a Runners enjoy post-race camaraderie at the Grosse Pointe Run. student at Grosse Pointe South High School. Sweeping the women’s 10K were Grosse Pointe Nemeh surged ahead near the end to triumph in in residents Amanda Vintevoghel, 25, first in 44:38, 19:35. Landuyt took second in 19:46, followed by Karen French, 44, in 46:41, and Ashley Voeks, 24, John Cook, 29, of St. Clair Shores in 19:57. third in 46:46. For complete results, go to The run starts and finishes at the Grosse Pointe http://raceservices.com. - MR Vintevoghel, who also won last year, had to Farms Municipal Pier and travels up and down third square template_third square 8/10/12 10:51 AM Page 1 avert a minor calamity Lakeshore Drive along Lake St. Clair. Nemeh loved at the start of the race. it. “There was a little breeze that felt great halfway through. The weather was great,” he said. Joining Nemeh as a first-time road race winner was Dianna Vanderpool, 29, of Grosse Pointe, women’s 5K champion in 21:30. She had to contend with two other women during much of the race. “I took the lead on the last turn (with a few hundred meters to go). There was some good competition out there,” Vanderpool said. Carrie Bachman, 26, of Grosse Pointe finished second in 21:52, followed by Hannah Lemanski, 12, also of Grosse Pointe, in 22:07. Paul Zeichman, 31, of Birmingham won the 10K, also his first race victory. “I came in third here last year,” he said. “I’m excited to win today.” Zeichman finished in 39:40, followed by Eric Bachman, 26, of Grosse Pointe (40:57) and John Kamm, 51, also of Grosse Pointe (42:37).

“My hair-tie broke and I didn’t have an extra one,” said the champ, who has shoulder-length blonde hair. “Two women went out of their way to find me another one. I thank them.” Tie and title intact, Vintevoghel made the race look easy. “She’s good,” said runner-up French. “She’s steady and strong.” Rick and Shelly Huber of Montrose won the 5K walk for the third straight year. Rick, 56, timed 29:11,

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Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

Great Prostate Cancer Challenge - Detroit, Rochester

Run Thru Hell, Hell

Kinder, Gentler Temperatures at Run Thru Hell

Newlyweds Sweep Detroit Prostate Cancer Challenge By Charles Douglas McEwen

Tim and Janet Mundell, both 25, were men’s and women’s winners in the 5K presented by ZeroThe End of Prostate Cancer, Comprehensive Urology, Oakland University William Baumont School of Medicine, and the Radiology and Radiation Oncology Student Advocacy Group. Tim Mundell is a medical student at OUWB. “A lot of Tim’s classmates ran in it too,” said Janet. “It’s a good place to run for a good cause and to promote healthy lifestyles in general.” Janet dominated the women’s field, opening a big lead in the first mile. “My plan was to run an even pace and try to finish strong,” she said. Tim received a challenge from David Hanley, 30, of West Bloomfield, who stayed on his heels for most of the race. “With a little less than half a mile to go, he (Mundell) made a break on a little uphill,” said Hanley. “He gave it a good push and got a cushion. I was feeling pretty good, but he had more oomph in his stride.”

Tim Mundell finished in 16:58, with Hanley second in 17:11, a PR for him. Edward Kerr III, 35, of Clinton Township took third in 17:40. Janet Mundell crossed right behind Kerr in 17:48. Sara Ropp, 24, of Clarkston took second for the women in 19:06 and Nikol Strother, 32, of Los Alamos, N.M., claimed third in 19:52. Nationwide, a man dies from prostate cancer every 18 minutes, according to the race entry form. “We’re trying to spread the word that this is a disease we can conquer someday,” said Comprehensive Urology CEO and President Dr. Donald Moylan. “We can find a cure. What we need is more awareness and research.” Race proceeds went to Zero-The End of Prostate Cancer, a research fund like the Susan G. Komen fund for breast cancer. The Detroit event was part of a 34-race series nationwide that draws 15,000 people and raises more than $2 million every year. For more about the Detroit challenge, visit www.greatprostatecancerchallenge.com/races/detroit. For more about Zero-The End Of Prostate Cancer, go to www.zerocancer.org. Complete race results can be found at http://runmichigan.com.

By Tracey Cohen

AUBURN HILLS (10/7/12) — Auburn Hills newlyweds ran away with the second annual Great Prostate Cancer Challenge-Detroit at Oakland University.

Matthew Folk HELL (8/11/12) – Run Thru Hell, infamous for its hills, heat, humidity and horseflies, was cool, wet, cloudy and bug-less this year. “I loved it,” said Hell veteran Pete Buccos after the 10- and 4.8-mile races. “I like the four H’s, but the mud was nice too.”

- MR Temperatures aside, runners looking for a challenge were not denied. First-time hellion Hannah Brattan of Bowling Green, Ohio, deemed the course “deadly. Those hills are sneaky. “It kicked my butt, but I will run it again,” she said.

Matt Folk, 10-mile winner in 53:02, agreed the hills were tough. “This was a good, hard run to get me prepped for the Columbus Marathon,” he said. “With my high-mileage training, running on dirt roads feels good, softer.” “I love this race,” said Erin O’Mara, women’s 10mile champion in 1:04:19. “You get a lot of benefit running hard here, even if you’re not in peak shape.” “I’ve run this race for years, and every year it’s as hilly as the year before,” sighed senior grand master women’s champion Ellen Nitz. “This is a race about running and having fun. I hope it never changes.” Race director Harrison Hensley sang along with those serenading his 80th birthday. “Our volunteers are the best in the world,” he said.

Janet Mundell won the 5K in 17:48.

Winner Tim Mundell takes an early lead.

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

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For complete results and more information, visit http://gaultracemanagement.com. - MR -

Labor Day 30K & 10K, Milford

Somerset Stampede

Folk, Mantel Outwork Labor Day Foes

Rook, Voronko Dominate Somerset Stampede

By Charles Douglas McEwen Toledo, Ohio, paced the grand masters in 2:14:47, while Bruce Seguin, 61, of Harrison Township led the senior masters in 2:15:53.

By Tracey Cohen

Melissa Mantel, 21, of Chelsea (2:07:59) beat defending champ Lisa Veneziano, 47, of Fenton (2:15:00) for the overall women’s title. Sarah Plaxton, 44, of Highland nabbed third in 2:15:49. Mantel, racing this distance for the first time, did not wear a watch or worry too much about her time. She focused on battling the dirt roads and hills instead.

“Some of those hills get you pretty good, but you gotta get up them,” the winner said. Amy Gluck, 40, of Westland paced the women’s masters in 2:19:11. Ann Kurtis, 50, of Livonia led the grand masters in 2:53:34, while Maggy Zidar, 62, of Pontiac snagged the senior masters title in 3:01:27. Chris Elsey, 26, of Milford and Angela Matthews, 28, of Westland were the 10K winners. Elsey, an assistant football and track coach at Brighton High School, timed 34:42. “I liked the hills,” he said of the course. “They test your mental toughness.”

Melissa Mantel won her first 30K. MILFORD (9/1/12) — Matthew Folk again dominated the Road Runners Club of America’s regional 30K championship, held during the 12th annual Labor Day Run/Walk. Folk, 35, of Perrysburg, Ohio, won in 1:43:11, 91 seconds faster than his championship time last year. “It wasn’t as hot and humid this year,” he said. Folk ran much of the 30K with Jon Gries, 26, of Haslett, the event’s 2010 winner. “It helped a lot having him there,” Gries said. “It’s a lot better than doing it by yourself.” The two pushed each other through some of the toughest hills on this challenging 18.6-mile course. “We ran together through 13 miles, then I put the hammer down,” Folk said. Ian Forsyth, 40, of Ann Arbor passed Gries and finished second in 1:43:41. Gries took third in 1:45:47. Esteban Vanegas, 42, of Alma won the men’s masters crown in 1:57:49. Timothy Mooney, 52, of

Kirk Walrath, 42, of Fenton (34:55) edged Andrew Porinsky, 27, of Dexter (34:56) in a battle for second place. Matthews ran away from the women’s field with a 37:57 clocking. Defending champ Denisa Costescu, 36, of Commerce took second in 40:02, while Gries’s wife Kelly Gries, 25, of Haslett nabbed third in 41:34. Daniel Yankus, 31, of Commerce and Rebecca Caldwell, 40, of Milford, triumphed in the 30K bike. Riding fat-tired bikes, Yankus averaged 22.4 mph and timed 49:46, while Caldwell averaged 18.7 mph and finished in 59:47. For those who yearned to go farther than 30K, race director Doug Klingensmith introduced a 30/30 hallenge where competitors bike 30K, then run another 30K, giving them 37.2 miles of racing. Joel Kozlowski, 41, of Macomb Township and Danielle Lamb, 36, of Northville led the way in the 30/30, timing 3:22:13 and 3:40:35 respectively. For complete results, go to http://laborday30k.com.

SOMERSET CENTER (8/18/12) — Spectacular blue skies and calm, cool temperatures reigned for the seventh annual Somerset Stampede Half Marathon and 5K Run/Walk. “Usually the weather is warmer,” said Denise Dashner, who “keeps coming back” to run the half marathon. “We were lucky this year that it stayed cool. “This is a nice small-town-but-tough race,” she continued. “The hills are challenging, but there is good support on the course.” Men’s and women’s half marathon champions Kevin Rook and Victoria Voronko commanded their respective fields in 1:18:03 and 1:22:15. “I liked everything about the race except for the last mile. It was really sandy,” said Rook after running Somerset for the first time. Voronko, an Eastern Michigan University sophomore from Russia, said she “liked the course; tough hills” and noted the weather was “just like home.” Trail runner Victor Sellinger called the 5K course “beautiful and scenic. I enjoyed all the uphills and downs,” he said. Wally Hayes led the 5K field in 20:31, with women’s champ Christine Jarchow fast on his heels in 20:36. For complete results, visit http://somersetrun.com. - MR -

- MR -

michiganrunner.net

Ron Carpenter, first in the men’s 60-66 age group, works his way through trails.

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

Run for the Hills, Farmington

Red Carpet Run, W. Bloomfield

Run for Hills is Time of Life

By Anthony Targan

By Ron Marinucci

Shosh Levine ran in an old bridesmaid dress, a popular fashion choice among participants. Her favorite part of the race was “definitely the outfits; I like the guys wearing girls’ prom dresses, the tuxedo shirts with running shorts and lots of ‘80s dresses out here.” Lori Pender pushed her son Cooper, 4, who has been racing in strollers since he was four months old. (They have even run the Crim together.) “Cooper kept asking, ‘When do I get to run?’ and he loves having his own bib,” Pender said. “So last fall he ran a race by himself — and won his age group!” Sandy Bailey also had a racing companion: her dog Jake. “He’s my running partner,” she said. “I try to run as much as I can and Jake loves it.” The race is not just for fun though. This year’s 5K served as a commencement exercise for the store’s Running 101 class. “We pick a 5K for each class to run at the end as their graduation race,” said employee Jean Yamamoto. “Then they’re real runners because they finished a race.” The Red Carpet Run offers a fast course through residential neighborhoods, starting and ending at the store. Now in its fourth year, it has grown to nearly 400

Shosh Levine ran in an old bridesmaid dress.

FARMINGTON (8/18/12) — Runners couldn’t have ordered a better Michigan morning for racing than at Run for the Hills. With weather more typical of September, temperatures were in the low 60s, humidity was negligible and skies were bright blue.

ner-up Laurel Park also took home cash in her first Run for the Hills. “I just decided (to run) this morning,” she said. “I had a stressful week at work, needed to have fun and saw this beautiful weather. I loved the course. It was beautiful.

“Our goal is to be your favorite race of the year,” race director Ed Anderson said last year. Run for the Hills is headed in the right direction. After 400, then 520 runners its first two years, it had more 700 this bright day.

“I didn’t go out to race it,” Park continued. “I’ve had hip trouble, but biomechanically I’m the best I’ve been in 10 or 12 years. It was a nice workout.” The check? “That’s a cherry on top,” she laughed.

There were four races — 10K, 5K and 1K runs, plus a 5K walk — not to mention a team competition and costume contest. The two longer races split 525 runners about evenly.

Angela Matthews won her third straight women’s 5K title in 17:25. Billy Van Vianen, stepping down this year from the 10K, was the 5K men’s champ in 16:46. “I like this race. The music and food are the best,” he said.

Courses, which started and ended at Shiawassee Park, reflected changes made after the first year, turning a brutal uphill start into a fast downhill near the finish. The 5K and 10K shared first mile before splitting off. Bob Drapal, thrilled to be third in his age group coming back from a calf injury, found the 5K course “pretty hilly, especially the first two miles.” Jim Carlton, who won his 10K age group, took a different view. “It’s not too hilly. I expected more,” he said.

Photo by Anthony Targan

WEST BLOOMFIELD (8/8/12) — The Red Carpet Run is a frivolous 5K, but Running Fit certainly knows how to put the “fun” into “fun run.” Robin McMahon, West Bloomfield RF store manager, says the race day vibe is “all glamour and glitz. A lot of out-of-towners do this race. Definitely do it dressed up or you’ll feel left out.”

Photo by Anthony Targan

Rolling Out the Red Carpet: Glamour, Glitz and Kitsch

Another 10K age group placer, Jerry Mittman, also wasn’t bothered by the hills. But he had just returned from Colorado, where he “cross-trained” with his son, scaling “five peaks of 14,000 feet or more.”

Cooper Pender, age 4, is an experienced stroller racer.

Women’s 10K winner Dorcus Chesang called the course “very tough and hilly.” The Kenyan, who now lives in Toledo, Ohio, called her 35:32 — a course record by five minutes — “a training race.” “No women were close,” said Anderson. Despite the “tough” course, Chesang walked off happy with a $250 check.

finishers. Erin O’Mara of Ypsilanti finished first overall in 17:44, six seconds faster than Rich Oltesvig of Wixom, the top male runner. “It was really fun,” said O’Mara. “Running Fit does a great job with their events, so I wasn’t surprised to find such a well-marked course. This is the first time I’ve done it. It was kind of a last-minute decision, so next year I’m going to come back and dress up a little more.” Anthony Targan is a regular contributor to Michigan Runner magazine - MR -.

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

Another Kenyan living in Toledo, Richard Kessio, won the men’s 10K in a three-minute course record 30:18, close to his 30:15 personal record and good for another $250 check. Asked why he was racing so far from home — Toledo or Kenya — Kessio smiled and said, “I found it (the race) on the Internet.” Runner-up Mike Anderson ran 31:04, also smashing the former course record by more than two minutes. Masters 10K winner and women’s run-

michiganrunner.tv

Van Vianen, in his sixth year of active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps, planned to leave in October for officer training school in Quantico, Va. He brought two other OCS recruits to race with him, plus his father, Bill, to watch. It was the winner’s first 5K since June 10, when he suffered a heart attack while running at Dodge Park in Sterling Heights. “I dropped right on the trail,” he said. “Another runner found me and called 911.” The Good Samaritan was talked through performing CPR on the phone until EMS workers arrived. Van Vianen was running with no identification on him. “I was a John Doe for a while,” he said. “I was in the hospital for a week.” His win here marked quite a comeback. His one disappointment? “No cinnamon bagels,” Van Vianen said. The age-graded 10K winner was Donna Olson, whose 45:55 measured 88.8 percent versus the world record for the distance. The run’s party atmosphere drew many families. Music inspired some to dance, while others dressed as Vikings and engaged in a Nerf sword fight. The post-race feast included fruit provided by Whole Foods, bagels from Panera Bread and Jet’s Pizza. Full race results and photographs can be found at http://farmingtonrunforthehills.com. - MR -

Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo, Huntington Woods

4,000+ Run Wild for Zoo © Carter Sherline / Frog Prince Studios

Run Wild provided an excellent opportunity for a fast time, he continued. “It’s a flat course. The cool weather was perfect,” Chomet said.

A Detroit Zoo resident entertains runners. HUNTINGTON WOODS (9/16/12) — Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo saw more than 4,000 runners and walkers stampede to and through 5K and 10K runs and a fun walk. With more 3,000 participants in the runs plus another 1,000 in the walk, the event easily eclipsed the previous record of 2,848 set in 2009. Former University of Detroit-Mercy teammates Erik Westbrook, 22, and Ryan Ayala, 23, of Ferndale know these streets well and raced together through most of the 5K. “Our goal was to push each other,” said Westbrook, who scampered away from Ayala with about half a mile to go. “He broke away and I slowed down,” Ayala said. Westbrook won in 16:08. Ayala took second in 16:21. “It’s a good race” Ayala said. “The best part is you get to go to the zoo afterward.”

Kokoszka galloped through the 10K in 40:18. Brandy Criscenti, 35, of Berkley was the second woman in 41:53. “I would have liked to have gone faster,” said Kokoszka. “But I haven’t been doing much sprint work. My PR is 40:10, so I’m still trying to break 40 minutes.”

Mark Morawski, 45, of Birmingham (35:39) and Greg Thomas, 43, of Clio (38:29) led the men’s 10K masters. Erin Kelly, 46, of Royal Oak (45:44) and Claudine Kelly-Wegener, 41, of Macomb Township (49:00) topped the over-40 women.

Jennifer Tava, 40, of Clinton Township (22:12) and Donna Olson, 62, of Southgate (23:21) paced the masters women. Winning the 10K were David Laney, 24, of Rochester Hills and Stephanie Kokoszka, 29, of Birmingham. Laney, who runs for Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, and Kokoszka, who won the 5K here two years ago, both led from the start and triumphed by almost two minutes. Laney timed 31:58, followed by David Chomet, 43, of Berkley in 33:56. “Within the first mile, he (Laney) was pretty much gone,” Chomet said.

Ryan Ayala (l) and Erik Westbrook Zoological Society and veterinary care for animals. For complete race results, go to www.raceservices.com. For more about the race or zoo, visit http://detroitzoo.org/runwild.

Run Wild for was sponsored by the Detroit Zoo, FordEvent and Kroger. Race0311_Third proceeds benefitted Detroit Directors Squarethe 2/6/11 10:39 PM Page 1

- MR -

Race Directors: and International - Searchable Online Calendar List your event online with a user-friendly form:

Steven Harris, 46, of Hazel Park (18:20) edged Jeff Martin, 54, of Bloomfield Hills (18:25) for the masters title. Leah Foley, 35, of Clarkston won the women’s 5K in 18:11, followed by Kirstin Mooney, 23, of Ferndale in 19:51. “It’s not bad,” Foley said of her time. “But I’ve done better.”

By Charles Douglas McEwen

http://tiny.cc/z5giu

runningnetwork.com/RNW/index.php/national-calendar then follow link in the right column: “Click here” Michigan Runner or Running Network staff will upload your listing Calendar links to 27 regional & specialty running publications: michiganrunner.net • runningnetwork.com For print listing only, Email, FAX or mail the following: Event Date:________________________ Contact Name:_____________________ Event Name:_______________________ Phone:__________________________ Event City:________________________ Email:___________________________ Starting Time:______________________ Mailing Address:___________________ Starting Location:___________________ City:____________________________ Distances:________________________ State/Province-Zip:__________________ Website:_________________________ Michigan Runner 4007 Carpenter Road, #366 Ypsilanti, MI 48197

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jennie@glsp.com (734) 507-0251 (734) 434-4765 FAX

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

November - December 2012 Event Calendar Thu, 11/1/12

Hansons Group Run - Thursdays

Royal Oak

(248) 616-9665

Thu, 11/1/12

Post a PR Cross Country Race

5KR

Brighton

(734) 649-2091

Fri, 11/2/12

Bell’s Beer Iceman Cometh Challenge

27MB

Kalkaska

(231) 922-5926

hansons-running.com iceman.com

Fri, 11/2/12

Glow Run - Bringing Light to Haiti

3MR, 1MR/W

Woodhaven

(734) 775-1836

haitianrestoration.com

Sat, 11/3/12

2.62 Mile Run

2.62

Ann Arbor

734-945-8799

twopointsixtwo.org

Sat, 11/3/12

‘Dia de los Muertos Cinco K Run

5KR/W

Saginaw

(989) 399-9925

Sat, 11/3/12

Gillette Nature Association Turkey Trail Run

5KR, 1MFR

Muskegon

Sat, 11/3/12

Livonia Turkey Trot

5KR/W

Livonia

(734) 466-2411

www.ci.livonia.mi.us

Sat, 11/3/12

Meaningful Moments 5K

5KR/W

Lansing

(517) 975-9900

runningfoundation.com

Sat, 11/3/12

Michigan HS Cross Country L.P. State Finals

5KR

Brooklyn

(517) 332-5046

mhsaa.com/sports.aspx

Sat, 11/3/12

Mio Baseball 5K

5KR/W

Mio

(260) 802-1091

race-mrm.com

Sat, 11/3/12

NCAA Division II Midwest Region XC Championships 8KR, 6KR

Somers, WI

Sat, 11/3/12

O’Connor’s Public House Get Lit Run Rally

3MR

Rochester

Sat, 11/3/12

Outrun Hunger

5KR/W, kids run

Commerce Township (248) 887-3700

Sat, 11/3/12

Runnin’ for the Law 5K Run/Walk

5KR/W, 1MR/W

Sault Ste Marie, MI

Sat, 11/3/12

Scope It Out Detroit 5K Run/Walk

5KR

New Boston

(989) 430-4683

Sat, 11/3/12

SCVMP Veterans Day 5K Run/Walk

5KR/W

Saginaw

(989) 529-7592

Sat, 11/3/12

St. Clair River Turkey Trot

5KR

St. Clair

(810) 329-7186

gillettenature.org

ncaasports.com (248) 608-2537

oconnorspublichouse.us playmakers.com

(906) 322-1425 runninforthelawssm.blogspot.com scopeitout5k.com elitefeetrunning.com

Sun, 11/4/12

D.O. Monster Dash

5KR/W

East Lansing

(509) 991-0492

www.com.msu.edu/ss/

Sun, 11/4/12

d’Ear Lake Lansing North 10K Trail Race

10KR, 5KW

Haslett

(517) 655-9698

www.theear.org

Sun, 11/4/12

Hello, Yeti!

5KR, 1MB

Parma

(517) 262-8103

run270.blogspot.com

Sun, 11/4/12

Life Time Fitness Indoor Triathlon

tri: 10minS/ 30minB/ 20minR

Commerce Township (586) 532-1300

indoortri.com

Sun, 11/4/12

Mahperd 5K

10KR/W, 5KR/W, 1MFR

Shelby Twp.

(517) 488-5663

mimahperd.org

Sun, 11/4/12

Poured Out Fall Back 5K

5KR/W, 1MFW

New Baltimore

(586) 713-6326

poured-out.org

Sun, 11/4/12

Rochester Area Optimist Club Bloomer Boogie

5MR/W, 5KR/W, 1KFR

Rochester Hills

(248) 651-6267

bloomerboogie.com

Sun, 11/4/12

Turkey Trot Cross Country Run

6KR X-C

Mt Pleasant

(989) 772-0323

edzone.net/~mphsstr/

Tue, 11/6/12

Hansons Group Run - Tuesdays

Grosse Pointe

(248) 693-9900

hansons-running.com

Tue, 11/6/12

Kids Feeding Kids 5K Run / 1 Mile Fun Run

5KR/W, 1MFR

Wyoming

(616) 534-8827

kfkdr.com

Fri, 11/9/12

NCAA Division I XC Regionals - Great Lakes

10KR, 6KR

Madison, WI

(419) 530-4925

ncaasports.com

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

michiganrunner.tv

November - December 2012 Event Calendar Sat, 11/10/12

ANG Road Hawg Classic

10KR, 5KR/W

Battle Creek

(269) 969-3441

Sat, 11/10/12

Central Lake Elementary PTO Turkey Trot

5KR/W, 1MFR

Central Lake

(231) 675-7007

greatlakeschampionchip.com active.com

Sat, 11/10/12

Churchill Family 5K Fun Run

5KR

Livonia

(734) 744-2650

chs-cap.com

Sat, 11/10/12

Don Dansereau Memorial Fall Race

5KR/W

Bay City

(989) 553-6656

race-mrm.com

Sat, 11/10/12

Falcon Fall 5K

5KR

Beverly Hills

sites.google.com/site/falconfall5k/

Sat, 11/10/12

Fall into Fitness 5K Race

5KR/W, 1MR/W

Adrian

(517) 265-8544

runningwithes.com

Sat, 11/10/12

Hightail It for Heroes

10KR, 5KR, Wheelchair race

Shelby Twp.

(248) 475-6411

essmichigan.org

Sat, 11/10/12

Hoffmaster Trail Run

4.3MR

Norton Shores

(232) 855-1282

goracego.com

Sat, 11/10/12

Michigan Fallen Warrior Memorial 5K

5KR/W

Wyoming

(616) 249-2724

runwalkjog.com/mfwm/

Sat, 11/10/12

Mid-Land Half / 10K/ 5K

13.1MR, 10KR, 5KR

Midland

(989) 289-2361

michiganhalfseries.com

Sat, 11/10/12

Muskegon Turkey Trot 5K Trail Run

5KR/W

Muskegon

(231) 894-9693

Sat, 11/10/12

NCAA Division III XC Regionals - Great Lakes

8KR, 6KR

Alexandria, IN

(440) 775-8525

ncaasports.com

Sat, 11/10/12

NJCAA D1 XC National Championship

gothunderbirds.com

8KR, 5KR

Ina, IL

(864) 587-4237

Sat, 11/10/12

Ohio/Michigan 5K

Sat, 11/10/12 Original Ann Arbor Turkey Trot

5KR

10KR/W, 5KR/W, 1MFR

Walbridge, OH

Dexter

(419) 699-3364

toledoroadrunners.org

Sat, 11/10/12

Panther Fall Classic

5KR

Comstock Park

(616) 785-7880

www.cpef.us/race.html

Sat, 11/10/12

Paradise Bound 5K

5KR/W

Allendale

(616) 340-2451

lifestreamweb.org

Sat, 11/10/12

Pigeon River Elk Stampede

5MR, 1MFR

Wolverine

(231) 525-8220

greenwoodfoundation.org

Sat, 11/10/12

Ruinning With the Waves 5K

5KR/W

Owosso

(810) 240-9891

Sat, 11/10/12

Turkey Trail Trot 5K Run/Walk

5KR/W

Middleville

(269) 795-5535

tkschools.org

Sat, 11/10/12

Turkey Trot

5KR, 2KW

Oxford

(248) 628-1720

www.oxparkrec.org

Turkey Trot 5K Run / Walk

5KR/W, kids fun run

Sault Ste Marie, MI

Sat, 11/10/12

(734) 213-1033 a2turkeytrot.com

(906) 322-6314

Sat, 11/10/12 Walt Disney World Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, 13.1MR Lake Buena Vista, FL

lssulakers.com/sports/c-xc/

disneywinedinerun.com

Sat, 11/10/12

USATF Region 5 Junior Olympic XC Championships 5KR, 4KR, 3KR

Northville

(313) 623-3029

Sat, 11/10/12

Woldumar Nature Center Run-a-Munk

13.1MR, 10KR/W, 5KR/W

Lansing

(517) 927-8955

woldumar.org

Sat, 11/10/12

YMCA 5K Turkey Trot Trail Run/Walk

5KR

Lowell

(616) 897-8445

grymca.org

Sun, 11/11/12

Highland Rugged Man

5MR, 2MW

Highland

(248) 320-9102

www.stayintheshade.org

Sun, 11/11/12 Roseville Big Bird Run

michigan.usatf.org/

Sun, 11/11/12

The Burg Trail Run

10KR, 5KR/W

10KR, 1MR/W, 4KR

Roseville

(586) 445-5480 roseville-mi.gov (517) 285-6487

www.leaf4Kids.com

Tue, 11/13/12

Wayne County Lightfest 8K Fun Run/Walk

8KR/W

Westland

(734) 261-1990

waynecountyparks.org

Fri, 11/16/12

Silver Bells in the City Fun Run

2.5MR

Lansing

(517) 487-3322

runwalkjog.com/silverbells/

Fri, 11/16/12

Yule Run, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Walk 5K

5KR/W

Grand Rapids

(616) 233-3563

yulerun5k.com

Sat, 11/17/12

Blitzen the Dotte

5KR/W

Wyandotte

(734) 284-5560

wyandotteboatclub.com

Sat, 11/17/12

Grand Finale 5K and Team Invitational

5KR, 5K/8K team

Lansing

(517) 755-8440

runningfoundation.com-

Laingsburg

Sat, 11/17/12

Grand Valley Turkey Trot 5K

Sat, 11/17/12 Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis

5KR

Allendale

10KR, 5KR, 1/4M kids run Bloomfield Hills (248) 530-5024 arthritis.org

Sat, 11/17/12

NCAA Division I XC Championships

10KR, 6KR

Louisville, KY

(812) 237-4040

ncaasports.com

Sat, 11/17/12

NCAA Division II XC Championships

10KR, 6KR

Joplin, MO

(812) 237-4040

ncaasports.com

Sat, 11/17/12

NCAA Division III XC Championships

8KR, 6KR

Terre Haute, IN

(920) 582-7585

ncaasports.com

Sat, 11/17/12

Pat Kellerman Memorial Turkey Trot

5KR/W

Bad Axe

(989) 269-8272

Sat, 11/17/12

Red Bull Trail Daze

5KR

Grand Rapids

(717) 460-9331 RedBullTrailDaze.eventbrite.com

Sat, 11/17/12

Schrauger Memorial 5K

5KR/W, 1MFR

Lake Orion

(248) 762-6825

michiganrunner.net

(616) 346-8740 grandvalleyrunningclub.webs.com/

lakeorioncrosscountry.com

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

Sat, 11/17/12

WMU Turkey Trot

5KR/W

Kalamazoo

(269) 387-3765

Sun, 11/18/12 Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis

5MR, 2MR

5KR/W, 1/4M kids run

Elba

Portage

(248) 425-0610

rotpac.com

Mon, 11/19/12

5KR, 3KR

Dowagiac

(269)782-1358

www.swmich.edu/trot

(269) 683-1552

Sun, 11/18/12

Hogsback Trail Run

Southwestern Michigan CollegeTurkey Trot

wmich.edu/rec/

(248) 530-5024 arthritis.org

Thu, 11/22/12

1st Source Bank/ Niles/Buchanan YMCA Thanksgiving Day Run 10KR, 5KR/W, 1MFR Niles

Thu, 11/22/12 Ann Arbor Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5KR/W

Ann Arbor

Thu, 11/22/12

Boyne City Turkey Trot

5KFR,1MFR

Boyne City

(231) 582-3416

Thu, 11/22/12

Dorks Brothers Turkey Trot

5KR

Alpena

(989) 354-7314

thunderbaytrails.org

Thu, 11/22/12

Eastside Track Club Turkey Trot

5KR

Toledo, OH

(419) 931-8484

toledoroadrunners.org

Thu, 11/22/12 Fifth Third Turkey Trot

10KR, 5KR/W, kids run

Detroit

(248) 446-1315 goodboyevents.com nb-ymca.org

(313) 247-4149 detroitturkeytrot.org

Thu, 11/22/12

Galloping Gobbler 4 Miler

4MR, 2MW

Fort Wayne, IN

(260) 436-4824

FortWayneGobbler.com

Thu, 11/22/12

Gazelle Sports Gobble Wobble

4.1MR/W, 1MFR/W

East Grand Rapids

(616) 940-9888

gazellesports.com

Thu, 11/22/12

Gobbler Gallop Trail Run

5KR, 1.5MR/W

Saginaw

(989) 513-5195

Thu, 11/22/12

KAR Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot Prediction Run 5KR

Portage

(269) 270-5641

kalamazooarearunners.com

Thu, 11/22/12

Lansing Turkeyman Trot

Lansing

(517) 702-0226

runningfoundation.com

5KR

Thu, 11/22/12 Smoke the Turkey 5K

5KR

Sylvania, OH

(419) 841-5597 eliteendeavors.com

Thu, 11/22/12

Tamarac Turkey Trot

5MR, 2MW, 1/2MFR

Fremont

(231) 924-1795

tamaracwellness.mobi

Thu, 11/22/12

The ANTI-Turkey Trot

10MR, 10KR, 5KR/W

Shelby Twp.

(586) 532-1300

shelbyrunclub.weebly.com

Thu, 11/22/12

Turkey Stampede

10KR, 5KR/W, 1MR/W

Elkhart, IN

(574) 293-1683

stonesouppromotions.com

Thu, 11/22/12

Turkey Trot for a Cause

5KR

Canton

(734) 483-5600

leisure.canton-mi.org

Thu, 11/22/12

Up North Mediaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Traverse City Turkey Trot for Charities 5MR, 5KR/W, kids run

Traverse City

(231) 645-8184

trot.evugo.com

Fri, 11/23/12

Fantasy 5K

5KR

Howell

(517) 546-3020

http://howell.org

Sat, 11/24/12

Gobbler Gallop

4MR/W, 2MR/W

Milford

(248) 320-8167

gobblergallop.com

Sat, 11/24/12

Toy Town Elfin 1K & Toy Trot 5K

5KR, 1KR

Cadillac

facebook.com/events/423802307663350/

Sun, 11/25/12

Hansons Group Run

training

Lake Orion

(248) 693-9900

Sun, 11/25/12

Road Racing at Lake St. Clair Metro Beach

2MR

Harrison Twp

(248) 627-6619

hansons-running.com

Sat, 12/1/12

ChoiceOne Bank St Nick Kick 5K/10K Run

10KR, 5KR/W

Newaygo

(231) 652-3068

newaygonaturally.com

Fowlerville

(810) 938-1315

fowlervillesports.com

Sat, 12/1/12

Dashing through the Snow

1 Mile R/W

Sat, 12/1/12

December Chill Adventure Race

7 hr sprint: canoeing, MB, orienteering, trekkking,

(231) 233-4736

infiterrasports.com

Sat, 12/1/12

Dickens of a Run

5KR

Mt Pleasant

(989) 772-0323

edzone.net/~mphsstr/

Sat, 12/1/12

Farmland 5K European Style XC Challenge

Sat, 12/1/12

Holiday Hustle

Holly Day 5K Run/Walk

5KR, 1MR

Dexter

(734) 929-9027 runholiday5k.com

Sat, 12/1/12

Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis - Northville

Sat, 12/1/12

5KR, 1MFR

3MR/W

Traverse City Armadad

5KRW, 1/4M kids run Northville

(231) 631-2195

xcchallengetcruns.com

(810) 343-5060

(248) 530-5024 arthritis.org

Jingle Bell Fun Run / Walk

5KR, 2KW

Port Huron

(810) 987-6400

www.bluewaterymca.com

Jingle Jog

5KR

Fenton

(810) 714-2011

www.fentonchamber.com

Sat, 12/1/12

Reese Winter Road Race Series

10KR, 5KR/W

Reese

(989) 529-7904

Sat, 12/1/12

Road Racing at Lake St. Clair Metro Beach

2MR

Harrison Twp

(248) 627-6619

Sat, 12/1/12

Santa for a Senior 5K Fun Run

5KFR, 1MR/W

Waterford

(248) 618-7433

Sat, 12/1/12

YMCA Santa Run

5KR/W, 1MW

Flint

(810) 232-9622 flintymca.org

Thu, 12/6/12

Hansons Group Run - Thursdays

Thu, 12/6/12

Run Through the Lights

Sat, 12/1/12

Tue, 12/4/12

Scrooge Scramble

5KR/W

Hansons Group Run - Tuesdays

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

5KR

michiganrunner.tv

Lansing

ciaoaklandcounty.org

(517) 899-5211

iloveoldtown.org

(248) 693-9900

hansons-running.com

Royal Oak

(248) 616-9665

hansons-running.com

Kalamazoo

(269) 342-5996

gazellesports.com

Grosse Pointe

November - December 2012 Event Calendar Sat, 12/8/12

Sat, 12/8/12

Come Home to Alma Jingle Bell 5K Run/Walk

Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis

5KR/W, kids run

Alma

ci.alma.mi.us

Jingle Belle Women’s 5K

5KR/W

Grand Rapids

(989) 948-2160

Sat, 12/8/12

5KR/W, 1/4M kids run

(248) 530-5024 arthritis.org

Lansing

(517) 490-2578

www.dtdl.org

Sat, 12/8/12

Paw Paw Santa Run

5KR/W, 1MW

Paw Paw

(269) 624-4841

santarun.pawpawmi.us

Sat, 12/8/12

Reindeer Run

Run Like The Dickens & Tiny Tim Trot

Tri: 15min S/ 15min B/ 15min R Monroe

10KR, 5KR/W, kids run

Holly

(734) 241-2606

(248) 328-3200 runlikethedickens.com ymcaofmonroe.org

Sat, 12/8/12

USATF National Club XC Championships

10KR, 6KR

Lexington, KY

(502) 320-2264

usatf.org

Sat, 12/8/12

USATF National Junior Olympic XC Championships 5KR, 3KR

Albuquerque, NM

(843) 918-2305

usatf.org

Sun, 12/9/12

Anchor Bay Jingle Bell Run

5KR, 1MFW

New Baltimore

(586) 648-2525

www.jinglebellrun.com

Sun, 12/9/12

Christmas Present 5K

5KR/W

Clarkston

(248) 623-7296

rotpac.com

Sun, 12/9/12

New Balance Girls on the Run 5K

5KR/W

Ypsilanti

(734) 712-5640

girlsontherunsemi.org

Tue, 12/11/12

Ann Arbor Track Club Winter Mini Track Meet

5000m, 1MR, 800m, 400m, 200m, 60m Ann Arbor

(734) 769-9105

aatrackclub.org/races

Tue, 12/11/12

Grosse Pointe Lights Run

6MR

Grosse Pointe

(313) 882-1325

hansons-running.com

Sat, 12/15/12

B A R C Christmas 5K

5KR/W

Bay City

(989) 832-2267

barc-mi.com

Sat, 12/15/12

GVSU All-Comers Distance Series

3200mR, 5000mR

Allendale

(616) 331-3360

gvsulakers.com/m-xc

Sat, 12/15/12

Hot Chocolate 5K Benefiting Girls on Track

l5KR/W

Kalamazoo

(269) 491-2663

girlsontherunkazoo.org

Sat, 12/15/12

Jingle All the Way

2MR

Alpena

(989) 354-7314

Sun, 12/16/12

Biggby Coffee Jingle Bell Run

5KR/W

Shelby Twp.

(586) 484-5523

Sun, 12/16/12

Whoville 5K Run & Walk

5KR/W

Grand Rapids

Sat, 12/29/12

HUFF 50K Trail Run

50 KR, 50K Relay, 10MR

Albion, IN

(260) 436-4824

www.huff50k.com

Sun, 12/30/12

Group Run

Lake Orion

(248) 693-9900

hansons-running.com

jinglebell5krun.com whoville5k.com

Mon, 12/31/12 Fifth Third New Year’s Eve Family Fun Run/Walk 5KR/W, 1MR/W 5KR/W

Lansing

(517) 882-3550

runningfoundation.com

Mon, 12/31/12

Midland Resolution Run

5KR/W

Detroit

Midland

(989) 205-3813

midlandresolutionrun.com

Mon, 12/31/12

New Year’s Resolution Run

8KR, 5KR/W

Flint

(810) 659-6493

www.riverbendstriders.com

Sun, 12/30/12

Resolution 5K

Sun, 1/13/13

Chevron Houston Marathon

Featured Future Events

(313) 886-5560 belleislefunrun.com

26.2, 13.1, 5K, kids run

Houston

chevronhoustonmarathon.com

5KR

Novi

(734) 929-9027 runsuperbowl.com

Sat, 1/19/13

Bigfoot Snowshoe Race

Sat, 3/9/13

Dances with Dirt - Green Swamp 50M, 50K, 26.2M, 13.1, relay Dade City, FL (734) 929-9027 danceswithdirt.com

Sun, 3/17/13

Sun, 2/3/13

Sat, 3/16/13

Super 5K

10K, 5K snowshoe races Traverse City (231) 933-9242 runsnow.com

St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun Races kids runs St. Patrick’s Day Races

8KR, 5KR/W

Bay City

(989) 415-5593 barc-mi.com

Sat, 4/13/13

Martian Invasion of Races

26.2, 13.1, 10K, 5K, kids

Dearborn

(734) 929-9027 martianmarathon.com

Sat, 4/27/13

Let’s Move Festival of Races

13.1/ Relay, 5K, 1M

Mt Clemens

(586) 295-1532 letsmovefestival.com

Kalamazoo Marathon

26.2, 13.1, 5K, 5K, 1M, kids Kalamazoo

Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon

26.2 MR, 13.1 MR, 10KR

Sun, 4/14/13

Sun, 5/5/13

Big House / Big Heart 5K

Sat, 5/11/13

Fifth Third River Bank Run

Sat, 5/25/13

Mackinaw Memorial Bridge Race

Sun, 5/19/13

10KR, 5KR, 1MFR

25KR, 10KR, 5KR/W

6 MR

michiganrunner.net

Bay City

Ann Arbor

(989) 415-5593 barc-mi.com

(734) 213-1033 bighousebigheart.com

(877) 255-2447 www.borgessrun.com

Grand Rapids (616) 771-1590 53riverbankrun.com

Cleveland, OH (800) 467-3826 clevelandmarathon.com Mackinaw City (231) 436-5664 mackinawcity.com

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

Running with Tom Henderson By Tom Henderson

Then came the finals of the 200-meter sprint at the Paralympics in London, before a packed stadium, but not, alas, before any NBC viewers, who were told repeatedly during the regular Olympics how wonderful and courageous disabled athletes (Pistorius) were but never got a chance to see more than one of them in action because as far as NBC was concerned, there was no Paralympics.

little of this and a little of that:

Putting the ‘I’ in irony. Timing is every-

Pistorius jumped out to a big lead in the 200 finals and came off the turn ahead by 10 meters. A closing rush by Alan Oliviera of Brazil brought the crowd to its feet. He kept closing and nipped Pistorius in a lean at the line.

thing. I had already decided to take the politically incorrect stance in this column that it was horribly misguided to let Oscar Pistorius, the courageous and talented runner from South Africa, compete in the regular Olympics.

Tom Henderson

Immediately after, Pistorius said he’d been cheated out of his gold, that Oliviera ran on “unbelievably long” blades that gave him an unfair advantage. “You can’t compete on stride length. You saw how far (Alan) came back, so, you know what, we’re not racing a fair race here … It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Then he made my case for me at the Paralympics that followed the Olympics. Pistorious had won four gold medals in two previous Paralympics before being allowed after years of lobbying, threats of lawsuits, hearings, studies, reports and who knows what all, to finally realize his dream of being able to run in the regular Olympics, competing against able-bodied sprinters on his carbon fiber blades.

I was going to argue that there’s a reason the Paralympics exist: to create a level playing field for disabled athletes competing on the world stage. And that they are a spectacle that doesn’t get anywhere near the coverage they deserve and would get even less coverage, now, because network TV executives and print and Internet media could tell themselves that having covered Pistorius nonstop for two weeks during the regular Olympics, they had done their duty to disabled athletes. Then Pistorius went ahead and made most of my argument for me. But let me digress. I covered the summer Paralympics in Sydney in 2000 and the winter games in Salt Lake City in 2002 for a now-defunct website, and they were both such compelling, exciting, spectacular events that it has been infuriating to me ever since that mainstream media pays the games almost no attention. The sled hockey finals in 2002, won by the U.S., was the most exciting game I have ever seen, and I covered Rose Bowls, Stanley Cup hockey, the Detroit Tigers, Red Wings and University of Michigan football in a previous lifetime.

What Pistorius was really saying was Oliviera wore blades that gave him an unfair advantage. And if it’s possible for one set of blades to be an unfair advantage, how then can you argue that your own blades are of no conceivable advantage against able-bodied runners?

Photo by Victah Sailer / photorun.net

Heartwarming? Sure? Fair? Not on your life. I was going to argue that he runs on springs, and there’s no way to prove that the return of energy they provide during a race is the same return of energy that bones, tendons, muscles and ligaments return to able-bodied runners. And how do you factor in the difference in weight he was able to save while motoring around the track? How much does the average sprinter’s leg from the knee down weigh and how much more is that than the weight of his fiber blades?

A count of strides taken during the race actually showed Pistorius took fewer strides, meaning he had a longer average stride length. But even if Oliviera had the longer stride, so what? Don’t you think 6’5” Usain Bolt has a longer stride length than his competitors, too?

You can’t have it both ways. As it turned out, all the blades used by runners in the Paralympics came from the same manufacturer, thanks to a contract it has with the games. And that blades vary in length because runners’ thighs and torsos very in length. And that all blades were checked before the finals to make sure they were legal.

Oscar Pistorius competes in the 400 meter dash, in the London Olympics. It was also the most exciting tournament I’ve seen. The second most exciting tournament? The U.S. men’s wheelchair rugby team’s run through the 2000 Paralympics. Those guys are crazy and fun to watch, as anyone who has seen “Murderball,” the 2005 documentary that was nominated for an Academy Award, will attest.

So consider me a fan of the Paralympics. Anyway, back to Pistorius. All along, he and his supporters said there was no advantage delivered to him by his blades, that his speed was a matter of the force he generated by his thighs, not a matter of the return on energy generated by his prosthetics.

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

michiganrunner.tv

Ten years ago, disabled runners couldn’t run times competitive with able-bodied runners. That they can now is because of improvements in technology. The improvements in materials will continue. Having let Pistorius run in the Olympics, now, what do we do in 10 years when able-bodied runners can no longer compete with runners on blades? Have an Olympic 100-meter finals that don’t have any twolegged runners?

I did a sub-three-hour marathon. Or was it sub-five? I can’t remember. You just can’t make this stuff up. Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, the blue-eyed heart throb of the Republican right, tells a conservative radio show host he’s a marathon runner, and the host asks, ‘What time did you run?” Without missing a beat, Ryan said: “Under three. High twos. I had a two-hour-and-50 something.”

Good job, dude. Even his political detractors on the left had to be impressed. I know I was. And that’s my full disclosure. I’m an old lefty, graduated from Michigan State University a few weeks after the Kent State killings in 1970 and was a Vietnam antiwar protestor. But I’m not dogmatic, having driven down from Traverse City in 2010 to vote for Republican Rick Snyder for governor in the primaries. So Ryan goes on the radio, word gets out on his 2:50-something and runners everywhere are impressed. Until the good folks at Runner’s World did a little fact-checking and found out that Ryan’s marathon was, uh, not quite so fast. His one marathon was at Grandma’s in Duluth, Minn., in 1990, where he clocked four hours, one minute and 25 seconds. When asked about the discrepancy, a spokesperson for Ryan told RW: “His comments on the show were the best of his recollection.” Later the candidate, himself said: “That was more than 20 years ago … If I were to do any rounding, it would certainly be to four hours, not three.” Uh, Paul, you didn’t round to three, you snuck the almighty, magic (when it comes to marathon times) word “two” in there.

within a minute or two, most of them remembering it within seconds. Wrote Thompson: “To put the difference in race times into perspective: Lance Armstrong ran his first marathon in just under three hours. P. Diddy ran his first in 4:14.” Wrote one blogger in reaction to Thompson’s piece: “I’ve been thinking golf is the sport that could make this more understandable to more people. Imagine your brother of average ability claimed to have shot a 61 in a tournament on a tough USGA course. When called on it with the facts, he admits: `Oh yeah, it was 91. I misremembered.’”

At least Ryan did a marathon. The chances of the New Yorker magazine writing about a marathon runner from Michigan are remote. Until I got my Aug. 6 issue in the mail, I would have said slim and none. Or, none and none. But there it was, a big honking story on a Michigan runner, and not only that, but the story also had a key role for a guy who writes for Michigan Runner, Scott Hubbard. (I don’t want to say Scott is the dean of Michigan running writers, but his first piece was an obit on Pheidippides.)

I later heard Ryan on the radio reiterating that it was a long time ago and, besides, he has a bad back now, doesn’t run and has gotten out of touch with the running world and the running mentality.

The story, by Mark Singer, can be found by Googling “New Yorker article on marathon cheat,” and is worth finding.

The blogosphere was filled with angry comments by runners assuming the mistake had to be a lie. A few defended the gaffe as an honest mistake.

To summarize: In 2010, Kip Litton, then a 48year-old dentist from Clarkston, began attracting national attention for his string of sub-three-hour performances at races around the U.S., and frequent wins in the masters division.

I personally don’t know any marathoners who think there was anything honest about it. I don’t remember what time I ran in my 10th marathon, or my 30th, but I know I ran my first in 3:28, though the number of seconds does escape me. And that was 31 years ago. And I remember where and when I ran my only sub-three-hour marathon, a 2:58:40 at the Scotty Hanton Marathon in Port Huron in 1988, when I was 40. The sub-three, I don’t have to look up the seconds, I remember those, too. And I certainly remember how much work, the hill fartleks, the track work, the 18- and 20-milers I did for years to finally break three hours and how much freaking effort it had been and what an accomplishment it felt like. And I remember, too, the four-hour-plus marathons I’ve run and how little training went into those, by comparison. Nicholas Thompson, a writer with the New Yorker magazine, posted a blog after the news broke in early September. Armed with a printout of finishing times, he called a bunch of folks who ran that same Grandma’s Marathon as Ryan and who finished just ahead of or behind him. Every single one remembered his or her time

Other masters first tipped their hats to him, then began to have doubts. One, Kyle Strode, a chemistry professor from Montana, began looking into Litton and his supposed runner-up finish in the masters division at the Missoula Marathon in 2010. What he found was that not only did Litton not show up at various checkpoints in that race, he didn’t show up at checkpoints in other races either, and often could be found in photos at the starting line of races in different clothes and shoes than he was wearing when he showed up in photos at the finish lines. Some marathons eventually disqualified him. Strode also found that Litton had a website devoted to his running accomplishments and was trying to raise $250,000 through pledges from website visitors for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Strode contacted race directors at the marathons on Litton’s website to see if any other runners had reported Litton as a suspected cheat. Richard Rodriguez, listed as director of the West Wyoming Marathon, which Litton supposedly won outright in 2:56:12, sent an email to Strode saying that Litton was a legitimate winner, that there were only 30 entrants in the race and that Litton and another runner had run in the lead the whole way.

michiganrunner.net

Meanwhile, Scott had first heard about Litton in October 2009, when his five-member team had been disqualified from winning the relay division of the Detroit Free Press Marathon. Litton had recruited four ace teammates, paid their entry fees and ran the second leg. The second-place team, encouraged by Litton’s own suspicious teammates, filed a protest that was upheld. That team’s second runner had got the baton in first and was never passed, so knew the claim by Litton was bogus. Hubbard’s next contact with Litton, or about Litton, was an item posted in the online newsletter of Michigan Runner from a guy named Brian Smith who thought the magazine ought to do a feature on his Clarkston dentist, a joy of a man and a great runner. Hubbard then asked Litton if he could provide contact information for Smith. Litton claimed not to know him. After subsequent evidence of Litton’s cheating at a string of marathons, Hubbard told him to take down the website soliciting donations or he’d expose him in MR. A representative of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation told Singer she wasn’t aware of any donations that had been made as a result of Litton’s website and, in fact, the organization knew of only one donation since 2004 that had been made by Litton or his family. Oh, as for the West Wyoming Marathon, eventually the tale unraveled. Litton had made the whole thing up. He got a friend to put up a phony website and he put together a list of pretend finishers and their times. He even got a post-race testimonial posted on the website Marathon Guide. But Litton denied any intention to deceive. He told Scott his family was going to western Wyoming and since he’d be there, he decided to organize a marathon that would only have race-day registration. A bunch of people said they’d come but no one showed up, so he ran anyway. Since it would look dumb to only list one finisher on his website, he padded the list. “I regret making this snap decision,” he said. In January 2011, Litton was disqualified from another marathon, the City of Trees Marathon held in Idaho in 2009. Scott then got a promise from Litton to disclose in advance any marathon he was entering, so that he could be monitored. “I look forward to being monitored,” Litton told Scott, as recounted by Singer. “I realize this isn’t absolute vindication, but it is a good first step … I am committed to continue my goal of running marathons in every state and raising funds for my charity. In time, I believe the questions will disappear. I welcome any and all that wish to join me.” As I said, you can’t make this stuff up.

- MR -

Michigan Runner - November / December 2012

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Welcome to the Family

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Bruckelaufe, Frankenmuth Dances with Dirt, Hell/Pinckney Dig â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;em Dash, Battle Creek Kensington Challenge, Milford Melon Run, Howell Run for Ribbons, Plymouth Run Woodstock, Pinckney Spartan Invitational, East Lansing and more . . . Featuring the photography of Scott Sullivan, Carter Sherline, Pete Draugalis, Victah Sailer, Dave Parham, Greg Sadler

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