Westchester Veterun Goes to Ware, Marinangeli

And what a race it was. The previously blogged Veterun in Westchester produced two top-notch victories as a pair of 25-year-olds, Chad Ware of Deerfield (top photo), and Jean Marinangeli of Arlington Heights, grabbed the overall titles in the 10K, which was the season finale on the CARA Runner's Choice Series circuit of races. Both winners have done well this year and put their championship stamps on a great year with their wins. Ware won in a fleet-feeted 31:12 while Marinangeli was top woman in 36:35.On the men's side, second through fourth went like this: Emisael Favela, 32, of Cicero, 31:31; Lars Juhl, 32, of Chicago, 31:37; Julius Rotich, 34, Kenya via West Des Moines, Iowa, 32:26; and masters master Dave Wilson, 40, of Brookfield, 33:03. Two through four for the women were: Columba Montes, 30, of Chicago (shown in photo at about 3.3 miles with Marinangeli, who is wearing No. 1234), 37:16; Christina Overbeck, 23, of Chicago, 37:19; Tammy Lifka, 39, of Glen Ellyn, 39:53; and Erika Vazquez, 29, of Chicago, 40:26. There were some nice battles in various age groups, and a total of 529 runners finished.

Veterun -- A Day to Run and Remember

I'm a veteran, drafted from 1971-'73 during the Vietnam War. I was not im combat and consider myself very lucky. For me, it's simple. I know others weren't as fortunate as I was, and to honor them, I don't miss the Veterun in Westchester. Because of injuries, I'm not running right now, but I went and watched this year's race, which was run in unseasonably warm conditions. It was great with many of the top names from the local running scene making the CARA Runners' Choice Series finale a hot one to say the least! I don't want to post any results until I see the official ones, but there were some sizzling times. They had quite a crowd out there today, too, watching at various points along the course. It was truly a remarkable day. As part of the big picture, they also had the traveling version of the Vietnam Memorial set up in the park behind the tent. I went and took a look, hoping to find the name a high school friend who died over in Nam while I sat behind a typewriter in Washington, D.C. I didn't find it, but saw names of thousands of other members of the armed services who made the ultimate sacrifice in that war. Those few moments behind the tent put me in a somber mood as I remembered those days I spent in the Army. But watching the race picked me up in a hurry! Congrats to all who ran today.

Tessling,Nagel Win Fall Frolic

I've only run it twice, and it's been a while, but one of the best runs a lot of people don't know about is the annual Fall Frolic/Jennie Hamilton 4-miler in Hammond, IN. Over the years, a lot of big-name runners have stopped in to do this race in the place where Chicago Marathon director Carey Pinkowski grew up. Sunday's version was more locally oriented as John Tessling, 20, of Glenwood, IL, and Karen Nagel, 30, of Valparaiso, IN, took individual honors. Tessling won it in 21:41.29, and Nagel posted a 24:16.40. Second and third men were James Elia, 18, of Valparaiso in 21:48.87 and Alberto Perez, 27, of Chicago, in 21:56.39. Second and third women were Christine Leslie, 17, of Griffith, IN, in 25:59.71,and Chris Wickard, 39, of Crown Point, IN, in 26:18.22. Special kudos go to male masters winner Dave Macknick, 45, of Chicago, who ran a strong 23:48.55. I've known Mac for a long time through our ties in past years with the Chicago Marathon. Way to go, Mac! Women's masters champ was Angelia Erb, 47, of Hammond, in 30:00.73. Put this race on your to-do list for the future.

Imig, Marinangeli Sweetest at Hot Chocolate 15K

The Hot Chocolate 15K and 5K attracted close to 10,000 runners to the north lakefront on Sunday. I wasn't there, but I would be interested on hearing how crowded the course was or wasn't. According to preliminary results, 4,172 people finished the 15K (9.3 miles) and 4,473 finished the 5K. Congrats go out to Steve Imig, 32, of Geneva, who wom the overall 15K title in 49:11, and Jean Marinangeli, 25, of Arlington Heights, who took women's honors in a nice 56:32. Ryan Hopper, 27, of Chicago, comfortably placed second overall in 50:58, and Mac McCulley, 25, of Grayslake, nabbed third in 51:29. No. 2 woman was Suet-Fei Li, 34, of Schaumburg, who is at or near the top at every CARA Runner's Choice Series race. She ran a 59:30. Third went to Emily Inskeep, 27, of Chicago, in 59:41. Two of the many notable performances in this race were by Mike Egle and Nancy Rollins. Egle, 47, of Glenview, finished eighth overall and was top master in 53:45. Rollins, 63, of Evanston, was 38th woman overall and easily won her age group in 1:05:49. In fact she beat all the male 60-64 runners as well. In the 5K, Brent Alexander, 29, of Wilmette, won in 16:06, and Angelo Kidd, 32, of Clarendon Hills, was women's champ in 18:38. So how was it today? Comments are welcome.

Favela, Montes Alive for Sure at Day of the Dead

Saturday's Carrera de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) 3.2-mile race (that's right) in Chicago went to Emisael Favela, 32, of Cicero, in 16:38.5, and Columba Montes, 30, of Chicago, in 19:10.9. The festive Halloween run had 1,034 finishers. On the men's side, Matthew Lavine, 35, of Crystal Lake, took second in 17:38.7, a full minute-plus behind Favela. Chris Sengenberger, 24, of Chicago, was third in 17:58.6. Runner-up to Montes on the female side was Clara Prouty, 34, of Oak Park, who ran 19:29.6, and third went to Alexis Carabello, age and hometown not available, in 22:01.3. Thanks to F50-54 winner Eileen Skisak for the great photos.

Setzlers Carve Out Wins at Sycamore

Chris and Cari Setzler of Wonder Lake took home the hardware on Sunday at the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival 10K run. Chris, 37, left no doubt about who would break the tape on the golf course with a strong 32:50. That left the battle for second to Jan Myrda, 38, of Palos Heights, and Mark Heintz, 26, of Schaumburg. Myrda, the No. 1 cross-country ski racer in Illinois, tuned up for the upcoming Nordic season, beating his younger foe, 34:18 to 34:20. Cari Setzler, 31, also had breathing room, winning the women's race with a 41:36. Finishing second and third were Sarah Bailey, 26, of Elgin, with a 42:55 and Jennifer Fox, 29, of North Aurora, with a 43:01. After countless years on the CARA (competitive Circuit, the race was not included in the CARA Runners' Choice (formerly the Circuit) this year, losing out in the popular vote to the Frank Lloyd Wright Run in Oak Park (see separate report). But I'm happy to report that Sycamore, still designated a prestigious Best of Chicagoland race, had 1,185 finishers, an increase from last year when 1,175 finished the 2008 Circuit race.

Fleetest Feet Rule Trick or Treat Trot

Note: I have updated this to be correct as per the first comment, which was made when I had another runner finishing second in the 10K.
The annual Trick or Treat Trot Presented by Fleet Feet Sports drew more than 1,500 runners to the lakefront on Sunday. In the 5K, Emil Bojanov, 25, of Chicago, took overall honors in 15:28.7 with Columbia Montes, 30, of Chicago, easily taking the women's competition in 17:58.2. Taing second and third in the men's race were Jeff Hojnacki, 35, of Chicago, in 16:16.9 and Jesse Kleinjam, 25, of Chicago, in 16:22.3. Elizabeth Waterstraat, 34, of Lisle ran a 19:18.6 for runner-up on the women's side, with Veronica Laureano, 25, of Chicago, garnering third in 20:15.8.
In the 10K, the women were impressive as Heather Prekop, 27, of Chicago, won in 37:50. She was followed in second and third by Christina Overbeck, 23, of Chicago, in 38:18, and Michelle Densmore, 28, of Chicago, in 39:34. Men's 10K winner was Eric Hofmann, 22, of Homewood, who cruised in with a 33:58. Second was Sam Ramirez, 42, of Chicago, in 36:12, and third was Chris Dumbrowski, 25, of Chicago, who ran a 36:52. There were 827 finishers in the 5K and 719 in the 10K. Hats off Fleet Feet for another quality event.