Saturday's Champs Edge Sunday's at Schaumburg

In the first half-marathon doubleheader I've ever heard of, the Saturday winners came in just ahead of the Sunday winners at the Schaumburg Turkey Trot Half-Marathons Nov. 27 and 28 at Busse Woods between Schaumburg and Elk Gove Village. On Saturday, Brent Alexander, 30, of Wilmette, won in 1:11:18.2, compared to Sunday winner Mac McCulley, 26, who ran 1:11:52.6. It was similar on the women's side as Jean Marinangeli, 26, of Arlington Heights, won on Saturday with a 1:21:07.4, nudging Sunday winner Meghan Kennihan, 29, of La Grange, who ran a 1:21:31.9. This two-race concept must have been a challenge beyond belief for race organizers, but it appears they pulled it off. Decent weather did help, I'm sure.
Back to Saturday, the field was tougher as Ryan Giuliano, 25, of Schaumburg, took second in 1:12:48.5, and Brian Grudowski, 29, of Buffalo Grove, took third in 1:14:37.8. Conversely on Sunday, Marco Alfaro, 23, placed second in 1:16:58.3, and Alfredo Delgado, also 23, was third in 1:16:59.1. Saturday's women's runner-up was Sherri Albus, 27, in 1:27:27.6, and third was taken by Angela Homberg, 39, in 1:29:48.6. Sunday's second and third women were Maria Cristi Homorozan, 35, in 1:30:47.3, and Aneta Ziemianska, 32, in 1:31:03.3 There were 681 finishers on Saturday plus 330 in the 5K. There were 581 on Sunday.
Some people ran both days, including Marinangeli, who jogged a 1:34 on Sunday! If you ran, give us your report! Congrats to all.

Verzbicas 'Coasts' to Foot Locker Midwest Win

Watching Sandburg's Lukas Verzbicas finish the Foot Locker Midwest boys cross-country championship on Saturday at UW Parkside in Kenosha, WI, you got the idea he just wanted to get in ahead of Fatzum Zeinasellassie of Indianapolis and save a little for next weekend's Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon. Lukas won it, looking back a couple of times in the last 100 meters, with a 14:44.2. Zeinasellassie was second in 14:47.6. They were way out in front in this studded field as third place went to Tony Smorgiewicz of Rapid City, SD, in 15:00.9. The rest of Illinois' top five went like this: 5. Jack Driggs, Elmhurst (York), 15:06.9; 13. Michael Clevenger, Decatur, 15:21.3; 18. Ben Silver, Downers Grove (North), 15:24.8; 36. William Hague, Winnetka (New Trier), 15:43.5. The girls title was won by Allison Woodward of De Pere, WI, in 17:18.6. Ilinois had five runners in the top 18. They were: 6. Kayla Beattie, Woodstock, 17:33.6; 12. Kelly Whitley, Geneva, 17:55.4; 15. Jill Hardies, Hinsdale, 18:11.2; 17. Alyssa Schneider, Bartlett, 18:16.7; 18. Julie James, Gridley, IL, 18:18.1. There are some good videos at www.flotrack.org.

A Thousand-Plus Trot in Lincolnwood

The Lincolnwood Turkey Trot 5K and 10K produced some nice late-fall times on Sunday as 696 runners completed the 5K and 483 the 10K. Michael Lucchesi, 32, of Lisle, won the 10K in 32:50 with Colleen Baker of Evanston taking the women's title in 40:29. Jeff Hojnacki, 36, of Chicago, won the 5K in 16:31, and Columba Montes, 31, of Chicago, took the women's honors in 17:51. There was some bib-sharing in the 10K (don't get me started, but I am sick of it). There is no way the 63-year-old listed as second overall in 32:51 really was. We'll give the runner-up spot to Juan Munoz, 43, of Cicero, who ran a 35:39 and was listed as third. Someone apparently finished second, just a second behind Lucchesi, but can't be the person listed. Does anyone know who it was? On the women's side in the 10K, Sang Boon Lee, 40, of Chicago, was second in 40:55, and Julie Wankowski, 40, of Glen Ellyn, was third in 41:07. In the 5K, Matt Cook, 17, of Lake Villa, was second in 16:59, and Felipe Lopez, 34, of Chicago, was third in 17:05. In the 5K women's competition, Mimi Smith, 13, of Wilmette, was second in 18:58, and Kayoko Hamamura, 49, of Chicago, was third in 20:00. A plethora of turkey trots is on the menu for Thursday morning. Check the Chicago Athlete schedule.

Pilgrim Pacer to Santino, Bingham

I ventured to La Grange today for my first-ever run at the 10th annual Pilgrim Pacer 5K. This one belonged to the young as Patrick Santino, 16, of Chicago, won in 16:22, while Kala Bingham, 20, of La Grange, was the female winner in 19:19. Male runner-up was Jack Keelan, 15, of La Grange Park, in 16:23 (one-second loss), and third went to Nick Peney, 20, of Crystal Lake, in 16:33. Second-place woman was Lisa Menninger, a good friend and the female course-record holder, in 19:43. Third was taken by Haley Prokaski, 15, of La Grange Park, in 20:17. There were 595 finishers. As part of The Runner's Soul team, it was fun to see new customers from the new store located less than a mile away in this excellent community event put on by the local Rotary Club. As I said, this was the first time I've run the Pilgrim Pacer, and I must say it's a good race on a nice course through beautiful neighborhoods. It was also great to see people I knew from the CARA circuit sprinkled in the crowd in a lower-key non-circuit environment.

North Central 2nd in NCAA Div. III

Naperville's North Central College placed second on Saturday at the NCAA Division III men's cross-country championships at Wartburg (Iowa) College. North Central went in with a slight chance of winning its 13th NCAA title under coach Al Carius, but Haverford (Pa.) was too strong and won with 87 points to North Central's 104. Here's the NC lineup and results:
2 Michael Spain, Sr 24:24.6
11 Neal Klein, Jr 24:40.2
21 Matthew Perez, Fr 24:48.4
28 Nathan Warstler, Sr 24:54.3
42 Matt Brinkmeier, So 25:11.1
58 Dan Kerley, So 25:18.9
81 Timothy Hird, Fr 25:29.9
Total Time = 2:03:58.4 Total Places = 104
In the women's race, Middlebury (Vt.) was the champion. University of Chicago was the top area team, finishing 10th.

Turkey Trots Here, There and Everywhere

It's that time of the year. We're talking turkey from one end of the Chicago area to the other and then back again. Turkey runs do well with college kids back in town, runners hungry for fast times as well as dinner on Thanksgiving Day and just the spirit of giving that pervades the crisp autumn air this time of year. Lincolnwood and La Grange (Pilgrim Pacer) are two of the good ones for this weekend, and then a bunch more (see Chicago Athlete's schedule) take place Thursday. Others have already been run (Tinley Park, Montgomery for example) I've run a few in the past (Elmhurst's Dan Gibbons Run, Downers Grove and Naperville) and really have enjoyed them. The most unique turkey (trots) are in Schaumburg. The Schaumburg Half-Marathon and 5K on Saturday and Sunday (that's right), Nov. 27 and 28, includes a half-marathon in Busse Woods both days. The Saturday half is sold out, but the Sunday half still has some openings. Incredible. If you can work a turkey trot of any length into your schedule, go for it. Most of them are for very worthy causes. In this economy, helping people less fortunate is a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving.

High School XC Skiing in Illinois?

Michigan's got it. Minnesota's got it. Wisconsin's got it. Why can't we at least have high school XC skiing at a bare-minimum level in Illinois? We have some of the strongest cross-country running programs in the nation. Surely, there must be a runner out there who would also like to be good on skinny skis. I realize those other states have much more snow, but when we get it, we know how to use it. My goal is to have a low-key high school division at the Northern Illinois Nordic cross-country ski races at Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton on Saturday, Jan. 8. If you know of any high school athlete who wants to compete on cross-country skis at any level, please leave a comment or e-mail me directly at bobnanrun@sbcglobal.net.