On Your Marks, Get Set . . .

I would describe myself as a mild geek when it comes to track and field. Nevertheless, I get excited about the 3,200 and 1,600 each year at the high school state meet in Charleston. Chris Derrick of Neuqua Valley is the man this year. It will be interesting how he does with a taper and warm weather this weekend. I have pulled the 3,200 runners who qualified under 9:20 and 1,600 guys who are under 4:20. * means their times were clocked manually and have been adjusted slightly upward.
3,200
8:58.88 Chris Derrick (Sr.), Naperville (Neuqua Valley)
9:09.44* Kevin Havel (Sr.), Arlington Heights (Hersey)
9:13.14 Kyle Gibson (Jr.), Naperville (North)
9:16.71 Danny Pawola (Jr.), Naperville (Neuqua Valley)
9:18.84* Nate Troester (Sr.), Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)
9:19.24* Nick Holmes (Sr.), Bartonville (Limestone)

1,600
4:14.72 Chris Derrick (Sr.), Naperville (Neuqua Valley)
4:14.94* Kevin Havel (Sr.), Arlington Heights (Hersey)
4:15.34* Jeff Thode (Jr.), Hoffman Estates (Conant)
4:17.44* Myles Scott-Stirn (Sr.), Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)
4:17.61 Chris DeSilva (Sr.), St. Charles (North)
4:17.83 Chase Kadlec (Sr.), Wheaton (North)
4:18.12 Jim Riddle (Sr.), Naperville (Neuqua Valley)
4:19.42 Tom Achtien (Sr.), Elmhurst (York)
4:19.62 Josh Stein (Sr.), Aurora (Marmion Academy)
4:19.62 Andrew Nelson (Jr.), Geneva
4:19.64* Kyle Engnell (Sr.), Lockport (Twp.)
4:19.90 Steve Couch (Sr.), Naperville (Central)

The full fields in these and all other events can be found at www.ihsa.org.

Waddle On In! It's the Penguin!

I've had 7 p.m. Thursday, May 22 at Dick Pond Elmhurst on my "to-do" list for quite a while. John "The Penguin" Bingham will be in the store to speak to runners and autograph copies of his books, which will be on sale. I've known the Penguin for a long time, and he won't let me forget how I opposed his idea of changing the Chicago Distance Classic from a 20K to half-marathon when he bought it a few years back! The rest is history. He has grown the event into one of the top half-marathons in the country. John is a Chicago-area guy who understands the running landscape around here, from front to back, or maybe I should say back to front. I'm sure you've seen his great columns in "Runner's World."
Books on sale will be:
No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running
Running for Mortals: A Commonsense Plan for Changing Your Life with Running
Marathoning for Mortals: A Regular Person's Guide to the Joy of Running or Walking a Full or Half Marathon.
Dick Pond is at 124 N. York St., just north of the tracks in Elmhurst. Call 630-832-7685. See you there!

North by Northwest

We (a few hundred runners and I) ventured into uncharted territory on the CARA Circuit, running the Healthbridge 5K "up north" in northwest suburban Crystal Lake. It was a nice, fair course that included some wide roads and a narrow bike path. I was able to do some decent pacing, didn't blow up early and came in strong with an OK kick for a change, even though it was into the wind. The time of 20:41.7 is still too slow as far as I'm concerned, but it was a confidence-booster for sure. My Elmhurst Running Club (photo) mates did well (Doug Pearson--1st M40-44, Julie Bruns--1st F35-39, John O'Blanis and Mark Robinson (not pictured)--both strong showings) and so did my Fossil Velocity MC200 Relay mates (Keith Burns--1st M50-54 and Charlie Shabazian--3rd M50-54. Hats off also to runner/photographer Eileen Skisak, who joined me last week in the Wheaton-Villa Park double. She ruled women's 45-49 at Crystal Lake with a snappy 21:57. The heavy hitters this week were familiar names. Dave Wilson of Brookfield, the hottest runner on the CARA Circuit, was the men's winner in 15:48, and Cari Setzler of Wonder Lake was the women's medalist in 19:11. Nice job by Healthbridge Fitness Center in ramping up for its first year on the Circuit. NOTE: I've heard more than one report that police were stopping runners to let traffic through on Main Street. That's a no-no! Anyone have a first-hand account??

Sutherland, Verplank Best in Long Run

It was fast company in the final of the 3,200 meters today at the girls state meet in Charleston.
Here's the top eight, all sub-11 performances (thanks to IHSA site for this information):
1 Kristin Sutherland (Sr), Orland Park (Sandburg) 10:31.34
2 Lindsay Flanagan (Jr), Roselle (Lake Park) 10:36.34
3 Caitlin Comfort (Sr), Peoria (Notre Dame) 10:42.95
4 Nicole Benson (Sr), Bartonville (Limestone) 10:49.51
5 Lizzy Hynes (Jr), St. Charles (East) 10:54.00
6 Stephanie Strasser (So), St. Charles (North) 10:54.55
7 Kristina Aubert (So), Crystal Lake (South) 10:56.72
8 Katherine Rack (So), Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest) 10:59.14

And in the 1,600 final . . . six went under 5 minutes. Nice doubles for Strasser and Benson.
1 Ashley Verplank (Sr), Bloomington (H.S.) 4:54.99
2 Liz Phillips (Sr), Lockport (Twp.) 4:57.23
2 Rebecca Tracy (Jr), Barrington 4:57.23
4 Heather Olson (Jr), Gurnee (Warren) 4:57.31
5 Stephanie Strasser (So), St. Charles (North) 4:59.41
6 Nicole Benson (Sr), Bartonville (Limestone) 4:59.57

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

Cardiac Care at races is a new frontier being addressed by the Chicagoland running community. While there are no clear-cut answers, we need to be ready if something happens. I attended a seminar for race directors tonight on the specific topic of Cardiac Care. It was hosted by USA Track and Field-Illinois and led by Dr. Meechai Tessaloe, a cardiologist based in Hinsdale, and for the past few years, an active participant on the local triathlon circuit. The bottom line for me was that runners need to be pushed a little more to have physical exams before they embark on some of their ambitious racing goals. And if they are over 35, they should have stress tests where medical people can look for and identify any heart conditions that might make them think twice about running a marathon or other endurance event when it's hot and humid outside. I also learned that as a race director (Community Bank of Elmhurst 4 on the 4th), I need to be even more vigilant about having CPR-trained personnel and paramedics ready to go. With CARA imposing a color-coded flag system to show conditions at Circuit races this year, this is a very hot topic for people who put on races (liability) as well as people who run them. No one wants to see any Sudden Cardiac Death at local races, but we all need to be better prepared.
Comments are welcome.

Avenue Q (Quarryman) -- Take 2!

This time, the men's times are correct.
The Quarryman 10-miler in Lemont produced some terrific results on Saturday. I couldn't recognize the strong efforts until now because I was out of town. First, kudos to Bridget Montgomery and Emisael Favela of Chicago for their wins in 1:03:02 and 53:21 respectively.
On the men's side, Deerfield's Chad Ware, winner of the Ravenswood 5K, was second in 54:25, and Jason Olszowka of downstate Greenville was third in 54:55. Following Montgomery in the women's race were Pam Blair of Chicago in 1:04:48, and Emily DeWald of Bloomington, winner of the recent Lake Run in that city, with a 1:06:16.
I have not run this race, but for three years now, I've been told it's very good. Anyone have any comments on it?

The Saturday Morning Progressive 10K

We're heading to beautiful Muncie, IN to visit the in-laws for Mother's Day, so this will be quick for now. I tried the Wheaton-Villa Park double today. So did at least one other runner, Eilseen Skisak. Doing the Hecto 50 (5K) in Wheaton, followed by a carefully choregraphed car route to Villa Park, followed by the Run for the Kids 5K made for an interesting morning. First, Wheaton (start shown above) was exceptionally bad for me. The lungs and legs just weren't there and I struggled to about 20:56.5,and was passed by people I'm not used to losing to. Dave Wilson, 39, of Brookfield, the winner (photo right) posted a 15:37.9. Lisa Johnson, 32, of Chicago was the women's victor in 18:37.3. Villa Park was a much less intense race, and I went about 21:35.9. I saw fellow 55-59er Gary Townsend as well as Lisa Menninger (women's winner with a 19:03) at Villa Park. Both races had nice turnouts. Results are posted on www.racetime.info.