What the Heck, I'm Doing the Hecto

It will be one hecto at a time on Saturday, May 10 for about 400 racers, including me, at the CARA Circuit Fitness Together 50 Hecto Race in Wheaton. What the heck is a hecto? One hecto equals 100 meters. Doing the math, 50 X 100 equals 5,000 meters. You get the picture. From that we call it a 5K but demand mile splits. Yep, we are crazy. The race, which had 118 finishers last year when it wasn't on the Circuit, will be at or over 400, race director Marilee Summer said on Friday. Todd Moxley, 44, of Wheaton, is two-time defending men's champ (15:53 and 16:00), while Natalie Gorski, 21, of Batavia, is defending women's champ (21:53). It is not known if they'll be in the field. Proceeds benefit St. John's Lutheran School in Wheaton. Rumor has it at least two runners will hightail it out of there after they finish and "run" the Run for the Kids 5K in Villa Park a half-hour later. Stay tuned.

Here's Why Khalid Wasn't Racing Sunday

Four-time Chicago winner Khalid Khannouchi, who placed fourth in the men's U.S. Olympic Trials, is training for Beijing just in case one of the top three falters. He didn't race the Palos Bank Southwest Half Marathon, but made an appearance.
Here's why he has to be serious . . .

New York, May 8, 2008—Defending champion and course record-holder Dathan Ritzenhein has withdrawn from the Healthy Kidney 10K, a New York Road Runners race scheduled for Saturday, May 17, in Central Park . He is suffering from a lingering foot injury that has sidelined him for the past 13 weeks.
Ritzenhein, 25, of Eugene, OR, told race organizers that the injury to the third metatarsal of his left foot, which he sustained at the USA Cross Country Championships in February, has persisted; Ritzenhein won that race, and has not competed since. In November 2007, Ritzenhein qualified to represent the United States in the men’s marathon at the Olympic Games in Beijing on August 24.
“We’re very disappointed not to be able to return to New York for the Healthy Kidney 10K,” Ritzenhein said on a conference call today. “With a whole array of ailments, it hasn’t come together in time for me to take on the great field that’s been assembled for the race. Knowing that it might set back my preparation [for Beijing ], it was with regret that we made the decision to withdraw.” Ritzenhein said he will use the next three weeks to build up to full training volume and intensity. He then plans to begin a 12-week marathon training regimen. Although he will run the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field in Eugene on July 4, he said he definitely will run the marathon at the Olympic Games.
“Dathan is a mega-talent and he deserves the chance to maximize his opportunity to get himself in the best possible shape for Beijing ,” said Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of New York Road Runners. “We are in full support of his decision.”

It All Adds Up

I decided to look at the numbers from this past weekend (May 3-4) and came up with some amazing stuff. We like to run, but we like to race, too. Counting Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon and its associated events, Indy's 500 Festival Mini Marathon/5K and 17 races in the greater Chicago area, I came up with a grand total of 9,228 finishers. No wonder the running paths weren't as crowded as usual! So, who had the big numbers? Indy's half-marathon featured 2,750 Illinois runners with another 240 in the 5K. Flying Pig had 255 Illinois finishers with another 258 in the half. Locally, the Palos Bank Southwest Half Marathon topped the list with 1,370 finishers, with the Run to Remember 5K second at 1,057.
Here's the list. Let me know what I missed.
Indy H.M. 2,750; Indy 5K, 240; Flying Pig Marathon, 255; Flying Pig HM, 258; Flying Pig 10K, 27; Flying Pig 5K, 15; Palos Southwest HM (Palos Heights), 1,370; Run to Remember 5K (Chicago), 1,057; Ol Phun Run 5K(Glenview), 659; Great Western HM (St. Charles), 650; Lake Run (Bloomington), 313; Seven Bridges 5K (Woodridge), 233; Blazier Run for the Arts 5K (Crystal Lake), 206; We Go 5K (West Chicago), 154; Griffin 4M (Frankfort), 148; Seven Bridges 10K (Woodridge), 141; Cinco de Mayo (Romeoville), 132; Spring Stampede, 107; Caps for Sam (DeKalb), 97; Heroes 5K (Palatine), 79; Nancy Young 5K (Aurora), 93; Run for Hope 5K (Palatine, 49; We Go 10K (West Chicago), 33; Lake Monona (Wis.) 20K, 18 Illinois finishers and Door County (Wis.) Half Marathon, unknown amount of Illinoisans. Updates expected.

Can Ya Say "Kenya?"

OK, this is the latest update. In the newspaper business, we called this the "sub" story, as in substitute. So anyway . . . The Kenyan express blew through the Southland of Chicago on Sunday as professional runners Matthew Chesang, now living in Manhattan, Kan., and William Serem, a resident of Coon Rapids, Minn., went 1-2 in the debut Palos Bank Southwest Half Marathon in Palos Heights. Chesang, who logged some time at Kansas State, won in 1:05:31 to Serem's 1:05:33. Local standout Jeff Jonaitis was third in 1:06:20, one week after running a strong Lakefront 10. A couple of notes on Serem: He won the San Sebastian marathon in Spain, back in 2006 with a 2:16:20, and a month ago in Tennessee, placed second in a big half-marathon in Knoxville. On the women's side it was another story as two locals beat a Kenyan! Bridget Montgomery, a Universal Sole runner and native of Joliet who ran for Boston College, won in 1:20:48, comfortably ahead of Alona Banai of Oak Park, an up-and-comer with her own story, which I'll relate at a later time, who ran 1:22:45. Kenyan Areba Moraa, who on April 8 won the 56K Xstrata Ultra marathon in South Africa, was third in 1:22:52. Montgomery, according to what I've been able to find, smashed her P.R., which had been 1:23:17. On the men's side, one of the pre-race favorites, Kenyan Wilson Chepkwony, finished seventh and Ravenswood 5K champ Chad Ware finished sixth. Prize money is what brought these athletes to town. It was $1,000, $750, $500, $400, $300, $200 for men and women plus masters and veterans money. What a great event. Kudos to Runnng for Kicks. Full results are posted at www.chicagoaa.com (link on right). I'll update again if needed.

Time Is Relative, Don't Ya Think?

It didn't take an Einstein-minded runner to figure that out on Saturday at the Run to Remember 5K, which honored fallen Chicago police officers. One look at Soldier Field's flags told you all you needed to know. As I was reminded by race food-area volunteer Mark Buciak, the first half of the basically out-and-back course would be a breeze; the second half would be a word that rhymes with stitch. It was all true. Times were slower for everyone, many running 40 seconds to more than a minute slower than the week before on Ravenswood's lightning-fast course. After a fairly normal first mile with the wind, things seemed OK. Once you saw everyone else running slowly into the teeth of the wind on the way back, you realized it was all about hanging on and placing as well as you could. I even tried drafting, but there weren't many large runners in front of me. About hanging on and placing, take my 21:08 for instance. It might be my slowest time ever for a 5K on the CARA Circuit. It got me the same age-group place that a 20:27 got me last week. Neither time is anything to whoop about, but as one friend said, "it is what it is."
The podium picture looked like this:
MEN
1. Rob Chenoweth, 39, Chicago, 16:25 (9th at Ravenswood in 16:12). Rob, who runs for Fleet Feet, reportedly pulled away on the third mile, which included a hill west of the Field Museum that caused many to lose some time.
2. Chris Setzler, 35, Wonder Lake, 16:32
3. Jason Ream, 26, Chicago, 16:41
WOMEN
1. Lisa Johnson, 32, Chicago, 19:21 (7th at Ravenswood in 18:38, she also runs for Fleet Feet)
2. Kalina Michalska, 30, Chicago, 19:38
3. Cari Setzler, 29, Wonder Lake, 20:09 (under 19:00 at Oak Park and Ravenswood!)
There were 1,057 finishers in a race for a very worthy cause.

Chicago Running on Start Line for TV "R.U.N."

My first reaction was "Why didn't I do that?," and with that thought, I wish the producers and on-air talent at the new Runner's Ultimate Network the best of luck with their debut TV show. The program, which will feature Chicago running from events to personalities to training to clubs and more, will debut on COMCAST SPORTS NET at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 3. It will be re-broadcast at the following times:
Sunday, May 4 -- 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 18 -- 1 p.m.
Tuesday, May 20 -- 2 p.m.
Saturday, May 24 -- 3:30 p.m.
Plans are for this to be a monthly program. I plan to tune in and see what it's all about. In the meantime, I'll try to keep my blog fresh daily. Cheers!

New Palos Southwest Half, A Whole Lot of Talent

Two Kenyans with solid mid-tier (by Eldoret, Kenya standards) credentials will toe the line with the rest of a field of just under 1,700 runners on Sunday in the first annual Palos Bank Southwest Half-Marathon. Produced by Running for Kicks, the race will feature appearances by Wilson Chepkwony and Jared Nyamboki. I checked them out, and both are the real deal. Chepkwony, among his other recent accomplishments, placed second at December's Memphis Marathon in 2:18:17. Nyamboki can claim major TV time at the 2007 Boston Marathon. He led or co-led through the first 18 miles before crashing. He did win the 2007 Army 10-miler in Washington,D.C. with a 48:24. Both are based in the U.S. most of the year. On the women's side, Mike Yuhasz of Running for Kicks said no international talent, but plenty of local flair, will highlight the women's field. This one looks interesting. Gun time is 7:30 a.m. at 76th Avenue and Route 83 in Palos Heights. Entries definitely are closed. Weekend activities will include an appearance by Khalid Khannouchi on Saturday. Check out http://www.palosbankhalfmarathon.com/