31st North Shore Half-Marathon

One day after 115 teams ran through Highland Park during the Madison-Chicago Relay, the 31st North Shore Half-Marathon was run under good weather conditions. The CARA Runners' Choice Series race with the famed hill up from the beach near Mile 9 was won by Ryan Zawisza, 26, of Chicago, in 1:13:03. Runner-up was Joshua Blair, 22, of Chicago, in 1:15:22, and third was Jordan Dubow, 31, of Chicago and a Highland Park High School graduate, in 1:15:45. Tracy McGarry, 28, of Chicago, was the women's champion in 1:25:27. Next came Nicole Mann, 38, of Chicago, in 1:27:16, and third went to Tammy Lifka, 38, of Glen Ellyn, in 1:29:37. An admirable performance was turned in by 80-year0-old Joe Paleczny of Des Plaines, who ran a 2:23:26. I've got to salute my Elmhurst R.C. mates, Mark Krause, Kurt Fiene and Doug Pearson, who went 1-2-3 in the men's masters category!

Lukas Wins Sensational Gala 2-Mile With 8:53.98!

Lukas Verzbicas, the Lithuanian-born sophomore-to-be from Lincoln Way Central in New Lenox, lived up to all the hype on Saturday night, pulling away from fellow superstar Solomon Haile of Sherwood, MD, to win the 2-mile at the Midwest Distance Gala in 8:53.98. The crowd at Benedictine University in Lisle was on its feet as Luke dug down to pull away from Haile after briefly trailing on the
fifth lap. It was a very impressive finish that began unfolding with about 600 yards to go. Haile finished in second with an 8:56.08, barely holding off a familiar rival, Graham Bezell of Anholton, MD, who was third in 8:56.65. In another great event, Andrew Springer of Rhode Island won the boys' mile in 4:02.90, beating surprising Peter Callahan of North Shore Country Day, who ran 4:05.20, and Pat McGregor of Hoover, AL, who was third in 4:07.01. Two Illinois girls went 1-2 in the girls' mile. It was Stephanie Brown running a great 4:40.12 to edge Lizzy Hynes, who ran 4:51.91. This was one great track meet. And yes, when Lukas flung his victory flower bouquet into the packed stands, I caught them. A bit embarrassed, I handed them off to a woman in the row behind me. Pardon the blurry photos! They show Luke biding time behind Solomon at the end of Lap 7 and then his decisive gap on the final turn.

Midwest Distance Gala Hosts HS Showdowns

Solomon Haile of Sherwood, MD, will take on Lukas Verzbicas, a sophomore-to-be at Lincoln Way Central, in a 2-mile (not 3,200 meters) showdown on Saturday night at the Midwest Gala at Benedictine University in Lisle. Haile and Verzbicas opened a lot of eyes on March 14 when Haile broke the 25-year-old high school 5,000-meter record with an indoor 14:22.88 in New York and Verzbicas broke Haile's mark later in the day with a 14:18.22 in Boston. They clash at 8:07 p.m. in a race that also will feature other top runners, including Steve Sulkin and Jordan Hebert of York High School, who went 1-2 in the state 3,200 this spring. Verzbicas also will run the mile in a race that will be led by Illinois state 1,600 champion Jeff Thode of Conant. This meet will be something else. For a good report, click on the following:
http://www.runnerspace.com/GALA

Jonaitis, Moffett Best in the Zoo

Jeff Jonaitis and Erin Moffett know how to win and did just that on Sunday in the 10K portion of the United Run for the Zoo (Lincoln Park) in Chicago. Jonaitis, 28, of Tinley Park, had no problem, running a 33:25, easily beating runner-up David Fallon of Chicago, who ran a 34:56. Joseph Podge of Chicago was third in 35:28. Moffett, 27, of Chicago, who I know from her job as the local Saucony rep., ran a 37:45. Distant runner-up was Sarah Grzybek of Chicago in 40:05, with Colleen Gaughan, also of Chicago, third in 41:21. In the 5K, Bradley Runnion of Aurora and Jessica Langford of Rockford ruled. Runnion won in 16:08 with Aaron Skolnick of Chicago second in 17:09 and David Windner of Chicago third in 17:44. Langford ran a 17:57, while Alissa Hunt of Chicago was second woman in 19:39 and Lisa Jurski was third in 20:13.

13.1 Half Goes to Favela

In the continuing run of half-marathons in Chicago, Sunday featured the debut of the "13.1 Marathon Half-Marathon." The first two runners produced some fine times as Emisael Favela, 32, of Cicero won in 1:08:54 and Scott Barnacle, 34, of Frankfort, IN, took second in 1:09:51. A distant third was Benjamin Worchester, 20, of Chicago, who ran 1:15:19. The women's 1-2-3 went like this: Sue Dehaan, 42, Chicago, 1:30:53; Suzy Turner, 23, Palatine, 1:31:17; Suzanne Riger, 25, Chicago, 1:32:32. A total of 3,002 runners completed the race.

15th Roselle Run for the Roses

Anyone who finished after about 18 minutes did it in light to heavier rain on Sunday as the 15th Run for the Roses went off without a hitch. The CARA Best of Chicagoland race drew a nice field with Chip timing and a well-marked course. Pictured are the men's and women's winners, Nathan Kennedy, 23, of Bolingbrook (16:07.1) and Brenda Napholz, 41, of Crystal Lake (19:11.2). There were 458 finishers.

Wheaton's Run for the Animals

With temps in the high 50s, maybe hitting 60, with very little wind, participants in the annual Run for the Animals 5K and 10K in Wheaton were treated to some very nice conditions. The races, which benefit the Wheaton Park District's Cosley Zoo, had 1,302 and 690 finishers respectively. In the 5K, three guys cracked 16:00 with Kyle Brady, 20, of Wheaton, taking honors in 15:12.8. Next were Brian Runyon, 28, of Chicago, in 15:58.8, and Jerry Olp, 17, of Wheaton, in 15:59.2. Leading woman was truly a master. I'm talking about Sanya Syrstad, 43, of Glen Ellyn, who won it in 18:49.0. Second was Catherine Blume, 12, of Wheaton, in 20:28.2, and third was Mollie Holzwarth, 26, of Gilberts, in 20:49.3. Switching to the 10K, Chase Kadlec, 18, of Wheaton, was champion in 32:10.9. He was followed by Ryan Giuliano, 24, of Schaumburg, in 33:03.7 and Graham Farnsworth, 19, of Wheaton, in 33:52.7. Those are some nice times. Leading lady was Amber Druien, 23, of Woodstock, in 37:34.4. Next was Nicole Lehmann, 29, of Elgin, in 37:47.3, and third went to Suetfei Li, 33, of Schaumburg, in 37:50.5.