Downers Grove 10-miler to Sparks, West

The Downers Grove 10-miler, two laps on the hilly 5-mile course instead of one for the Circuit race, produced some nice running in humid, sweaty conditions on Sunday. The 10-miler, which is the original in this longstanding event, was won by Connor Sparks, 22, of Geneva, in 56:11. It was fairly close as Eric Hofman, 23, of Homewood came in second just 10 seconds back at 56:21. Third went to Jim Milner, 26, of Palatine, who was across the line in 56:43. Kristin West, 31, of Downers Grove, was the women's 10-mile winner in 1:08:47. Noriko Valentin, 49, if Indianhead Park, was second in 1:13:12, and Maureen Wilkey, 26, of Chicago, was third in 1:13:25. The results are a bit in need of fine-tuning at the moment, but it appears there were about 160 finishers, give or take a few. By request, here are the Downers Grove results:
http://www.theracershub.com/results.php

Escarenos, Marinangeli Take Downers Grove 5M

Christian and Jesus Escareno of Mount Prospect went 1-2 in the men's division, and Jean Marinangeli of Arington Heights took the women's crown on Sunday in the 5-mile event at the 33rd annual Downers Grove 5&10 Mile races. The Fast Track Racing Club sweep was done on a humid morning in the west suburbs as Christian, 22, ran 26:48, and Jesus, 20, ran 27:31, Tim Hamlton, 24, of Grayslake, placed third in a competitive field with a 28:04. On the women's side, Marinangeli, 26, won in 28:57 to get a clear-cut win over runner-up Jessica Langford, 39, of Rockford, who clocked 29:51. Kate Deprosperis, 31, of Downers Grove, was third in 30:38. There were 269 finishers in the 5-mile, which is on the CARA Runner's Choice Circuit.

13.1 Marathon Goes to Strubbe, Maletz

The amazing string of high-powered half-marathons in and around Chicago continued on Sunday with the 13.1 Marathon going off in high humidity along the lakefront. Winner overall was David Strubbe, who ran a 1:13:29. Second went to David Kittaka in 1:15:27, and third went to Timothy Jung in 1:16:04. Kristine Maletz was the women's victor in 1:24:39. She was followed in second and third by Jill Czarnik in 1:28:32 and Alma Gomez-Vanallman in 1:32:09. So when is the last time any top three all had names with at least one "z?" There were 3,298 finishers, 2,003 females and 1,295 males.

Zoo Run to Top Locals

On another busy racing weekend, the United Run for the Zoo 5K and 10K in Lincoln Park drew a large turnout as always. Winning Sunday's 5K was Lars Juhl, 34, of Chicago, in 15:38. He won comfortably. On the women's side, Jessica Langford, 39, of Rockford, eeked out a win with an 18:03, beating runner-up Marlene Key, 26, of Evanston, who posted an 18:09. The 10K was taken easily by Jeff Jonaitis, 29, of Tinley Park, who ran alone to a 32:39 (5:16 per mile). Kevin Deegan, 24, also of Tinley Park, was a distant second in a strong 35:37.Sarah Grzybelt, 30, of Chicago, was the women's winner in 39:29.The 5K had 1,000 finishers and the 10K had 1,699.

Tebockhorst, Marinangeli Win Roselle 5K

The CARA Runners Choice Circuit Sternberg Lighting Run for the Roses 5K in Roselle on Sunday went to someone I don't know. Justin Tebockhorst, 25, of Asheville, NC, averaged 4:54 per mile enroute to a 15:12.3 clocking and first-place trophy. If you know Justin, please fill me in. I know he's done well in local races back in North Carolina, but that's about it. Christian Escareno, 22, of Mount Prospect, was close, finishing second in 15:16.8, and Ryan Giuliano, 25, of Schaumburg, took third place with a 15:24.5. They were moving! On the women's side, Jean Marinangeli, 26, of Arlington Heights, who is getting to be well-known on local podiums, won in 17:00.2. Columba Montes, 31, of Chicago, was second in 17:54, and Suzanne Ryan, 36, of West Chicago, came in third with an 17:22.4. They had 603 finishers in what always is a high-quality event.

Bib Sharing Should be a NO-NO --UPDATED

Since I wrote this, the people originally listed as placing first and third in the men's 60-64 age group at the Soldier Field 10-miler have been disqualified. In both cases, detective work by Andrew Suozzo and I found that the runners wearing the bibs belonging to M60-64 runners listed as taking first and third were in fact runners in their 40s. This is wrong and frankly disgusting to me. Anyway, that's the latest, and I don't think it will be the last time we have situations such as this.
I see and hear about more and more people giving their race numbers to other people without considering the consequenses. Right now, in my own age group, there is an inquiry going on about whether or not the person who won at the Soldier Field 10 really was that person. It goes much deeper than that. The major problem to me is the issue of medical treatment should a runner go down. If you have serious problems (cardiac for instance), and they think you're Person A with o-positive blood when you're really Person B with o-negative blood, it could be catastrophic. Then there is the whole liability issue from a race organizer's point of view if something happens to Person B who is wearing Person A's number. And, of course, there are the skewed race results which take days, even weeks to untangle. Runners who are serious in the CARA Circuit races and other big events do not enjoy losing to impersonators. There you have it. Bib sharing should be banned unless someone finds a way to legally transfer them before races begin.

Valley Fox Trot Does Elgin Proud

With warm, humid weather and many 10-milers sleeping in on Memorial Day, two days after running the Soldier Field 10 on Saturday, the 35th annual Elgin Valley Fox Trot 10-miler and 5K had a great turnout and some excellent running on Monday. Matt Blume, 28, of Chicago, won the 10-miler in 55:13. Second on this hilly and historic course was Brian Grudowski, 28, of Buffalo Grove, who ran 57:21. Rounding out the top three was Neal Klein, 20, of Streamwood, who posted a 58:10. In the women's competition, Meg Thorsen, 24, hometown unknown for now, won in a nice 1:11:10. Second went to Lisa Koenig, 18, of Hoffmann Estates, with her 1:11:55, and third was taken by Kim Rivera, 32, of Batavia, who crossed the finish line in downtown Elgin in 1:12:01. In the accompanying 5K, triathlete Adam Zucco, 35, of Elburn, won in 17:32. The women's winner was Brooke Wolfe, 18, of Mount Prospect, in 18:56. There were 674 finishers in the 10-miler and 810 in the 5K. Hooray for Elgin's organizers. They're still strong despite not being on the CARA Circuit. Same goes for the Ridge Run previously covered on this blog.