Akita, Paprocki Win Oak Brook Half

Elmhurst College coach Jim Akita told me it would be a practice run for him at the Oak Brook Half-Marathon. He's been coming back from a hamstring injury suffered in May at the Green Bay Marathon. Practice made perfect for 30-year-old Akita on Monday as he easily won the third annual Oak Brook Half-Marathon in 1:11:45.3. Now, he plans to "race" this Sunday in the Chicago Half-Marathon. We'll see! Akita's winning counterpart in the women's competition was Angie Paprocki, 35, of Hoffman Estates, who took the title in 1:27:22.6. Back to the men, Brian Runyon, 29, of Chicago, took second in 1:14:56.9, and Todd Quednau, 28, of Downers Grove, grabbed third in 1:16:04.5. Women's second-place finisher was Heather Swink, 37, of Chicago, in 1:28:14.7, and third went to May Chavez, 35, of Oswego, in 1:29:04.3. On a weekend full of races and marathon training runs, race director Tom Hepperle's event had 1,482 finishers, 759 men and 723 women. How did it go for you? Comments are welcome.