March Madness -- A Whole Lof of Half!

While 25,561 runners finished the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K, another 1,017 were finishing the cult-like March Madness Half-Marathon in far northwest suburban Cary. While driving to the Shuffle with some fellow Elmhurst Running Club members, none of us could recall a year when both of these special races were run on the same day. For many years, both were on the CARA Circuit (Runner's Choice these days). Now, the Shuffle is but March Madness isn't. Ryan Giuliano, 25, of Schaumburg, was the overall winner up in Cary with a very strong 1:12:16 on the hilly, challenging course. Shannon Fitzgerald, 27, of Rockford, was the women's winner in 1:22:44. Runner-ups were Tony Teunissen, 33, of Belvidere, with a 1:13:51, and Julie Zehr, 28, of Ottawa, in 1:23:11. Third-places were taken by Greg Castady, 36, of Homewood, in 1:15:18, and Jacqui Aubert, 23, of Crystal Lake, in 1:26:40. Nice work to all of you who got into this race and then ran it!