Now That Was Xtreme!

Today's Xtreme10 miler at Waterfall Glen was jinxed again by heavy rain in the pre-dawn hours and subsequent flooding, but it didn't stop runners in this already difficult CARA Runners Choice Circuit race. To say conditions were tough would be an understatement. Standing water in the open field section, a wet and eroded trail and yes, the bridge under troubled water at about 1.5 miles. It was incredible, funny and slightly scary as we turned right to cross the short footbridge early in the race, only to find water raging over it. I think we were in close to a foot of water with a pretty strong current. I hung onto the person in front of me as we walked across. The shoes and socks would have been wet anyway, but they got a good early soaking. The breathing was never at full throttle as the high humidity wreaked havoc with many a finely tuned machine out there. It was an adventure in running, taken to the Xtreme by Illinois standards. Somehow, the really good runners really ran well despite everything. Kyle Brady. 23, of Naperville was the winner in 53:48.6. He was followed by Tyler Jermann, 18, also of Naperville, in 54:04.6. Emisael Favela, 34, of Berwyn,grabbed third in 54:51.5. On the women's side, Jean Marinangeli, 27, of Schaumburg, was the class of the soggy field in 1:02:31. Margaret Connelly, 19, of Western Springs was the runner-up in 1:04:11, and Angelina Anlika, 31, of Chicago, took third in 1:05:02. Some impressive masters performances were turned in by 40-and-over powers Dave Wilson, 42, of Brookfield, who ran a 58:01, and Tammy Lifka, 41, of Glen Ellyn, who posted a 1:08:27.1. Overall, there were 749 finishers on a very tough day to just park the car in the muddy field. Race organizers did a great job of pulling it off after another huge rainfall made things very difficult.