Chicago Half -- Uhh, Something Ain't Right

I know flooding probably was an issue, but not having been there, all I can say is the preliminary results at www.chicagoaa.com from the Banco Popular Chicago Half Marathon make it seem as if it were about 11 miles, not 13.1 If you were there, give me a comment. What happened out there during the great rain of 2008?

It's Official: Makin' Tracks 5K on Circuit

Makin' Tracks 5K in River Forest replaces the cancelled Park Ridge Charity Classic 5K on the CARA Circuit on Saturday, Sept. 27. Here is the text from the CARA Web site:
The CARA Board of Directors met on 9/11 and following the recommendation of the Racing Committee, voted to substitute Makin’ Tracks 5K in River Forest the makeup race for the cancelled Park Ridge Charity Classic. The race will be held at Concordia University, 7400 Augusta, RiverForest and will begin at 8:00 AM. Information and online registration are available at www.rfparks.com or www.signmeup.com/61511.
Race day registration will also be available from 6:30 to 7:45 AM. Previously a CARA Registered Race, Makin’ Tracks has changed their award distribution from 10 year to five year age groups.

Take Care of Your Heart -- It's Important

In the aftermath of another tragic death in a running event (Sunday at the Alpine Half-Marathon in Lake Zurich), running coach and Boston Marathon veteran Mark Buciak, who still runs competitively after having open-heart surgery, offers this:

Coach Mark Buciak’s Top 10 Tips For A Healthy Heart
For most runners there are NO direct warning signs of heart disease. I ran 10 miles at an 8-minute pace the day before my open-heart surgery. Below are some guidelines to help decrease your chances of heart disease which I have learned through my experience as a heart patient. These are only suggestions, and for actual advice, please consult your doctor as in tip # 3.
-1- Know your family health history.
-2- Wear a heart monitor.
-3- Have an annual physical exam which includes complete blood workout and an EKG.
-4- Inform your doctor that you are a serious runner, running XX miles per week and racing X marathons per year. Ask him or her if there are any reasons why you should not continue your running at your current level.
-5- If you are over 35 years old, have a stress echo test for basic line purposes.
-6- If your doctor does not approve the above test, find a doctor that will.
-7- Eat a heart-healthy diet.
-8- Develop an excellent relationship with your doctor. Be honest and open with him or her.
-9- Listen to your heart especially at the quietest times of the day, i.e. before you go to bed, in the middle of the night and when you wake up in the morning.
-10- Beware of constant tiredness and fatigue
Coach Mark Buciak
THE ROAD TO BOSTON Training Program
FALL FITNESS RETREAT: November 14-16, 2008
www.theroadtoboston.info

Tragedy Strikes at Lake Zurich

A running tragedy occurred on Sunday at the Alpine Races Half-Marathon in Lake Zurich. I knew there was an incident going on, but didn't want to post anything until it was in the public domain. My sincere condolences go out to the family of Jeffrey Randall, 44, who collapsed near the 12-mile mark and was pronounced dead at 10:35 a.m. The Lake County coroner said Randall had undiagnosed heart disease and high blood pressure. According to newspaper accounts, he was a passionate runner. Here is a story that appeared in the Daily Herald:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=233456

Olympic Champion Tomescu-Dita to Run Chicago!

Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania, the breakway winner of the Olympic women's marathon in Beijing, is running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 12. The announcement came today in a press release that highlighted the men's and women's elite fields as of today (Sept. 9). Leading man for now is Kenyan William Kipsang, who won the Rotterdam Marathon in April in a spiffy 2:05:49. Despite a tough economy and a new boss, executive race director Carey Pinkowski has delivered again.
The press release follows:
2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Announces Elite Field
2008 Olympic Women's Marathon Gold Medalist Constantina Tomescu-Dita Tops List

CHICAGO (September 9, 2008) - Bank of America today announced the elite field of male and female athletes scheduled to compete for the 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon® championship titles on Sunday, Oct. 12. Topping the list is newly crowned Olympic women's marathon gold medalist Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania and up-and-comer William Kipsang of Kenya who currently holds the 11th all-time fastest marathon finish time, fifth-fastest this year (2:05:49).
At age 38, Tomescu-Dita became the oldest woman to ever win the gold medal in the 26.2-mile Olympic contest. Familiar to Chicagoans, Tomescu-Dita won the 2004 ChicagoMarathon and her 2008 appearance will mark her fifth on the notoriously fast and flat course. In her last two Chicago appearances, Tomescu-Dita finished second to American Deena Kastor (2005) and led the 2006 women's field at course record pace (sub-2:17) through mile 16 before being surpassed by eventual champion Berhane Adere (ETH) in the 22nd mile.
"I am delighted to be returning to Chicago. I have always felt great running there and have been fortunate to have some of the best races of my life there," said Tomescu-Dita from Romania shortly following her Olympic victory in Beijing. "It will also be nice to return because I understand Chicago is bidding for the 2016 Olympic Games and I think it would be a wonderful place to have them."
Tomescu-Dita will be challenged by 2007 Chicago Marathon runner-up and fellow Romanian Adriana Pirtea, 28, and up-and-comer Bezunesh Bekele, 25, of Ethiopia. Chicago fans will recognize Pirtea who came into the final stretch last year with a sizeable lead. As she pumped her arm in victory a few hundred meters from the finish, returning 2006 Chicago champ Adere streaked up behind her unnoticed until she was uncatchable in the final strides to repeat her championship finish. Bekele will follow-up her impressive debut at the Dubai Marathon entering the Chicago race with a 2:23:09 personal record, second in the field only to Tomescu-Dita.
On the men's side, William Kipsang, 31, is the man to beat arriving off a 2:05:49 first-place finish at the Rotterdam Marathon in April. Kenya's Emmanuel Mutai, 30, will put some pressure on Kipsang considering his fourth-place finish at the Flora London Marathon in April where he set a personal record (2:06:15). Also expected to be in the mix is fellow countryman Richard Limo who finished second to Mutai at last year's Amsterdam Marathon, crossing the line only 16 seconds behind the champion.
"The Bank of America Chicago Marathon has a reputation for producing historic efforts and breathtaking finishes and the quality of this year's elite field is an extension of that tradition," said Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski of Chicago Event Management, now in his 19th year overseeing the event. "This year's men's field features four men who have run under 2:07:00, one who has run under 2:06:00 and champions from some of the great marathons of the world which should produce another great day of marathon running on Oct. 12."
Representing the United States in Chicago are Kate O'Neill and Colleen De Reuck. O'Neill, 28, will return to the site of her 2007 debut at the marathon distance, looking to best her time of 2:36:15 on the Chicago course. Masters runner Colleen De Reuck, 44, will return for her sixth Chicago Marathon.
The elite racers will start the 26.2-mile Bank of AmericaChicagoMarathon course at 7:55 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12, five minutes in advance of the massive field of 45,000 registered runners. Following is the current list of elite athletes who will compete for the $125,000 first-place prize distributed to the top male and female overall winners.

2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Elite Field
Name Citizenship Personal Record
Women
Bezunesh Bekele ETH 2:23:09
Alevtina Biktimirova RUS 2:25:12
Colleen De Reuck USA 2:26:35
Zoila Gomez USA 2:33:53
Lidiya Grigoryeva RUS 2:25:10
Kate O'Neill USA 2:36:15
Adriana Pirtea ROU 2:28:52
Kiyoko Shimahara JPN 2:26:14
Worknesh Tola ETH 2:25:37
Constantina Tomescu-Dita ROU 2:21:30

Men
Moses Arusei KEN 2:06:50
Christopher Cheboiboch KEN 2:08:17
Timothy Cherigat KEN 2:09:34
James Getanda KEN 2:11:50
Salim Kipsang KEN 2:07:29
William Kipsang KEN 2:05:49
Richard Limo KEN 2:06:45
Emmanuel Mutai KEN 2:06:15

All's Fine at Alpine

If you haven't run the Alpine Races Half-Marathon in Lake Zurich, it's your loss. Yesterday's perfect running weather was augmented by the race's great course, organization and competition. I wasn't sure how my body would react after vacationing six time zones away, but things were just fine. I'll take 1:34:22 any time. There were fewer than 300 finishers in this race. Go figure. The small field makes it nice for those of us who are there, but a lot of people who weren't there would have loved it. Up front, Chris Setzler, 35, of Wonder Lake, broke away early, running solo almost the entire route. Setzler, who coaches cross-country at Johnsburg High School, won it in 1:13:52.81. The real battle was for second, with masters master Mike Egle, 46, of Glenview, running 1:17:44.49 to edge Hunter Brock, 30, of Glen Ellyn, who clocked 1:17:44.93. Jacqui Aubert, 32, of Crystal lake, avoiding her hometown half-marathon run simultaneously, won the women's race in 1:31:10.46. She was followed by Pam Blair, 27, of Chicago, who ran 1:32:30.49 as a training run for the Chicago Marathon. Kristy Howland, 45, of Elmhurst, took third in 1:32:46.80. I was running near national-class Nancy Rollins, 61, of Evanston, as she posted another sensational race. Her time was 1:34:43. Hats off to Pat and Beth Onines and the rest of the Alpine Runners crew for an outstanding CARA Circuit race.

Let's See, Where Was I?

Scotland, to be exact. We did a Rick Steves tour. It was the best. That's me on the right at the start of a marathon training run on the Scottish west coast. Suffice it to say the run was spectacular with sea views, ships, castles, traffic going the "other" way etc. etc.
I see that plenty of quality running and racing took place while I was gone. The inaugural Oak Brook and Half-Madness half-marathons appear to have gone smoothly, and the Bud James-led Park Forest Scenic 5-miler also went off OK with a much smaller group than the heydays of the "Scenic 10". Looks like Buffalo Grove also had another good field as did several other races. I also saw that the Park Ridge Charity Classic on Sept. 27 has been cancelled because of construction. I wonder what CARA will do regarding the Circuit.Park Ridge is where many a runner has set a 5K PR.
Well, it's up and at them tomorrow at Lake Zurich for the Alpine Races Half-Marathon. I'm a "wee" bit jet-lagged, but I'm looking forward to a race that isn't over in 20-plus minutes.