Thursday Night Runs

Waverly and I didn't get outside until approximately 10 p.m. this evening.

She spent much of the day with my grandparents, who are down from Pennsylvania, and parents. Me? I was being lazy on vacation.

In the interest of expediency, I'll keep this report short with some good news and normally what would be ugh! news.

The good news is that Waverly did the 4.1-mile outer loop in our subdivision in 53:57.59 for a pace of 13:10/mile. (I've told her that a 13:00/mile pace would yield a 2:50 half marathon - equivalent to Dad's first outing at the half marathon distance in November 2003.) Now why is this good news?

On Saturday, November 27th, Waverly did the same loop twice in 57:11.61 and 58:53.95. Both nights we were primarily interested in running the entire way and maintaining a nice steady pace. This just goes to show that the pace has quickened a bit in a month. Nice job!

Now the ugh! news. I took off for an additional 2.1-mile loop (with Waverly following on her new bike that her uncle, Jason Broadrick, got for her.) I did it in 21:12.29, a 10:06/mile pace. Cassie is smiling somewhere and Sarah is just licking her chops thinking to herself, given her steady resurgence, "I can finally take Walk now."

Although I should place a bit more stock in times and pace in training, I really just go out, try to run hard, steady and consistent as much as I possibly can, get the miles in and the work done and then lay it all on the line when I race.

We're off tomorrow to San Antonio (on the campus of UT-San Antonio) to see some NCAA Division I women's college basketball between Colorado State, where former HBU women's head basketball coach Shane Brown is now the first assistant, and Tulsa.

48 hours to marathon #4!

A Christmas Picture from Karen Bowler in the UK

There are a lot of runners who I look up to for not only their ability, but more importantly their humility, friendliness and support as an individual. One of those people is the Striders' Karen Bowler.

Karen is pictured here (last on the right) with members of her UK club team, the Hailsham Harriers, that finished 3rd this past March in the SEAA "South of England" championship of the AAA England "Hastings" Half Marathon Championship. (She got her medal over the Christmas break as she headed back to Houston the day of the competition in England.)

Karen reported that her two teammates are 22 and 35, edging her out by a year. Karen's 56 and had a sterling 2005 season. She belted out the best 2005 time (3:27:24) by any female aged 50 or better at any Texas marathon (hp Houston Marathon), was fifth in her age division (55-59) this fall at the Chicago Marathon and then earned invited runner status at this year's Chevron Houston Marathon with her 30K performance a few weeks ago in the Houstonian Lite 30K in Sugar Land.

In the competition in March, Karen finished third in the 50-59 age group in the SEAA championships with a time of 1:38:06.

India's Marathon Boy, Budhia Singh, Now 4

It seems that Budhia Singh is making a name for himself in long distance running circles not only in India, but around the world now.

An article in London's "Independent" even went so far as to call him "India's Forrest Gump".

But there's a question whether or not the 4-year-old Indian boy is doing long distance running completely at his own choosing. Here's one of the first stories from mid-September in the BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4241958.stm

The article states that, "He runs seven hours at a stretch, sometimes as much as 48km (30 miles). On a daily basis." However, it is the following statement - in the same article - that causes many concern: "Budhia's coach has now set his eyes on a place in the Guinness Book of World Records."

Most of the response towards Singh's "coach" has been negative; however, some, like this blog entry, simply admire the young man's ability, regardless of his handler's intentions.

In fact, it isn't just that the responses have been negative towards Singh's coach, Biranchi Das, the Orissa state government, as of this November 19th article, has gotten involved.

But, nonetheless, this mid-December article, "Four-year-old boy in fast lane," in India's National Newspaper, "The Hindu", seems to state a sense of "buy in" with targeting his development for a 2016 Olympic spot (which seems unlikely at the age of 15).

(I can tell you that I've been concerned about people's viewpoint of me and Waverly's doing the half marathon. Yes, I threw out the word "challenge" in the KTRK story and it was. But, if she had said, "No, Dad, I don't think I want to do it," that would have been all there was to it. The subsequent media coverage that Waverly has experienced recently has just been a result of recognizing her commitment and hard work and hoping that other youngsters will see her as an example of what is possible. -- JW)

Current HRB / Blogger / 7 Hills Houston Lineup

Houston Running Bloggers
Marathon -- Edwin Quarles, Lisa Leese, Steve Bezner, Rick Cook, Dave Smart, Holden Choi, Joe Breda, Jennifer Kim
Half Marathon -- Sam Rodriguez, Jessica Alexander, Cassie Cowan, Sarah Graybeal, Jon Walk (and daughter Waverly)

Other Houston-Area Bloggers
(not sure who, if any, are going to eventually identify themselves are HRBers)
Marathon - Greg Boncimino, Scott Effner, Joe Carey, Tim Mitchell, Bob Entwhistle, Tommy Stunz
Half Marathon - Barbara Boone, Erica Smith, Michelle Ratliff, Erin Nies

Seven Hills Running Club (Huntsville)
Marathon -- Rick Cook, Brad and Rose Rhoton, Karly Simmons, Ken Johnson, Doug Dretke, Hans Jaegar, Gerald Peters, Angie Burns, Melissa Broussard, Ray Alexander, Jerry Flanagan, Mary Patterson, Ben Harvie
Half Marathon -- Jon Walk, John Cook

Houston Striders -- Maybe too many to list!

Friends of Houston Running Bloggers
Marathon -- Lance Collins, Steve Schroeder

2004 Fall Power in Motion "Fitness" Group (All Striders)
Marathon -- Lee Greb (Coach), Chris Murphy, Stacy Stepler, Becky Stevens, Clarence Silva
Half Marathon -- John Ainsworth, Sophie Rydin, Becky Spaulding (BCRR)
5K -- Janet Gillespie (NONE)

Run The Woodlands Regulars (10-/20-Race Club)
Marathon -- Ann Leoni, Jim Harrington, Jim Braden (BCRR), Jarold Buell, Bill Schroeder (HS), Gary Van Kuiken, John Soul, Mindy Schroeder (HS), Vincent Attanucci, Tom Hippe, Lou Wilson, Nora Wilson, Vince Gayman, Wayne Rutledge, Sandra Sutherland, Susie Schreiber (Luke's)
Half Marathon -- Debbie Tripp, Denise Van Kuiken, Tim Bowler (HS)

Tuesday Night Workout

It took me a good bit of the day to recover from yesterday's 17.1-mile run to make it to the gym; however, I got in a good hour and a half workout between 8:15 and 9:45 p.m. -- an hour on the elliptical machine in which I slowed it down a bit (level 15, random, 5.22 miles) and a half hour on the stationery bike (level 6, random).

After showering, I then went out at about 10:20 p.m. and did a 2.1-mile loop in the subdivision with Waverly. She wore her Texas flag running shorts that Santa brought her for Christmas to make sure that they won't give her any problems on "Marathon Day." (She has been doing her ankle exercises since Sunday for her right ankle as well as doing some work with the exercise ball that Santa also brought her. She's actually been doing the latter on her own!)

As we started the run, my legs were still a bit tender from Monday; however, I got out a little bit ahead of her but told her to do exactly what she was capable of doing. Eventually, I dropped back a little to be in synch with her.

At 18:48 into the run, I started to do a light amount of speed play - which I've never done with her before. We'd run a bit more aggressively for five (5) seconds and then maintain the original pace for 15 seconds. There was one stretch where she wanted to walk so I stretched it out to 30 seconds for that one part and then in the last 30 seconds (and making the last turn on to Hannover Pines), we increased our sprint to the finish line.

We covered the distance in 26:41.08 - which I think is a few seconds faster than last week!

I'll probably run tomorrow, do another 2.1-mile run with her on Thursday and then back it off until Sunday morning's Texas Marathon in Kingwood.

A New Houston Running Blog: "Cross-Train The Runner"

Earlier this month, we were treated to a "year in review" from Houstonian Joe Carey.

Now we'll be treated on a regular basis as Joe has joined the Houston running blogging fold with his new blog, "Cross-Train The Runner". And he's got it started off with three (3) excellent posts: Merry Christmas, Training On The Road and Injury Management.

I'd like to invite all of the Houston Running readers to check it out! (And Joe, we'll look forward to meeting you hopefully before the Marathon on the 15th!)

17.1 Miles with Team In Training - The Woodlands

Not too often you can go out on a training run and have your run pictures available, but that is the magic of Houston Running reader and "running community" contributor for Team in Training - The Woodlands and Luke's Locker, Bill Dwyer.


Bill has been so gracious to include me on his weekly Team In Training e-mail each week and I saw that a number of runners were going to be doing their 21 miles this weekend. Some even on Monday. I know that I have the Texas Marathon in Kingwood coming up on Sunday, but I needed to get some miles in.

Bill teamed me up with Melinda Tosoni (on the right) and we belted out 17.1 miles, according to Bill's calculations. (She's a veteran of 4 marathons, including NYC finishes of 5:17:12 and 5:41:23 in '03 and '04)

The Woodlands is really a nice relaxing place to run and yes, there are some slight hills towards the back. I was once told that, but went like - "yeah, right!"

We did a long loop of 10.5 miles and then a smaller interior loop of 6.6 miles. How long did it take us? I have no idea (as I forgot to hit my watch) nor, on a nice, cool morning like today, do I care. It was about just simply logging some miles! I definitely felt strong through the first loop (despite a pressing "blue can" need -- well, Shadowbend Park restroom!)

I was good through about halfway of the second loop when some of my hydration issues kicked in plus we really ripped through the 10.5-mile loop (not fast enough to keep up with the 8-9 minute milers, but at the type of pace that I did early in the 30K). I cannot repeat that on Sunday. I have to slow down at the beginning of that marathon and not try to PR through the front half.

With all of the friends that I have in the running community, I continue to be fortunate enough to become acquainted with even more runners. Bill introduced me this morning to some excellent runners in Tony Allison (a veteran of 70 marathons), Pam Meaux and Mary Kershbaum (who went 1:37:47 and 2:00:44 this year in the 10-Miler and 20K).

I think often times that people equate all Team In Training participants as newer or beginning runners and/or marathoners; however that simply isn't the case.

(Bill, thanks for having me out there this morning! I enjoyed it immensely. I'm very excited about the Team In Training event at Run The Woodlands 5K #146 on Saturday, January 28, 2006. I sincerely hope that we can break 100 for the very first time!)

Houston Running Bloggers Running Shirt Order Due

If you are interested in ordering a Houston Running Bloggers running shirt, we have to place an initial order on Tuesday, December 27th to have them delivered and ready on Saturday, January 14th.

Please e-mail me at walksports(at)aol.com with the number you wish to order and the size. It is likely that they will run approximately $15 per running shirt.

Waverly nails LLR of 13.1 in just under 3:03!

From a 44-minute 5K that saw her bonk just before the finish line this past August at Run The Woodlands 5K to 13.1 miles today, Waverly ran the Aramco Half Marathon course this morning and just has to do it again in three (3) weeks to get the medal and the sweatshirt!

And she did it in just under 3:03! Not bad for a 10-year-old and her final major preparation for her first-ever effort at any race distance more than 5 miles!

Thanks to my wife, Gena, for providing water support for the first six (6) miles as well as being on the lookout for some stray dogs just on the far end of the Elysian Street bridge. (We actually got in the truck and went about two blocks before we got out and started to run again.) Also many thanks to Geoff Guenther, Doug Flad, Jack Rubalcalva and Frank Halter of the Houston Striders for water station support along Montrose. The 3:03 included time spent at the water stations so there is an outside shot of making three (3) hours on marathon day; however, finishing injury-free is the best result!

Waverly did some walking between miles 7 and 10.5; however, once we got close to the parking area of Eleanor Tinsley Park close to Allen Parkway and Sabine she asked me what the time was (about 2:45) and she asked if she could go to the finish even if it was a little bit past three hours. What do you think my answer was? "Yes", of course!

She was really a trooper today! We started at 5:40 a.m. at McKinney and LaBranch and once we got to going down Montrose, it was good to see all of the Striders - including the newest member, Steve Bezner - as they were heading out on a 21-to-23-mile run and we were heading back to Allen Parkway.

She experienced some cramping, but that can be better prepared for leading up to and on race day then we did today!

ING NYC Marathon Finisher's Certificate

My New York City Marathon finisher's certificate came in the mail this week while I was out travelling. (I also received one from the Marine Corps Marathon last year.)

The certificate has the official finish time, the net finish time as well as all of the splits, place of finish and age graded time and performance level percent (ugh ... 36.9%)

I'm curious as to what other marathons do this and I really wish Houston would do this other than handing out their "fill it in yourself" finisher's card.

Thursday Workout Recap / Run with Waverly

After racking up some good quality miles last weekend, I fell off the cart a bit Monday thru Wednesday while working in Bloomington, Indiana. When it is as cold as it is, the motivation becomes a bit more challenging to go out and run or even just make it to the gym.

I'm more of a night runner, but I'm even concerned about doing that there now because of not being able to see a spot of "black ice" on the road, falling and hurting myself.

Getting back to Houston, however, always seems to get me back on track and when I need a pick-me-up, it means heading to Bally's in The Woodlands.

Thursday evening after flying in from Indianapolis and seeing that Waverly and Gena made it back safely, I went to Bally's to post a relaxing 60 minutes (although I got stuck reading a People magazine) on the elliptical trainer (random, level 15, 5.40 miles) and another 30 minutes on the stationery bike (random, level 6).

After getting back home and having something to eat, Waverly and I went out for a 2.1-mile loop in the subdivision.

While at the Hampton Inn in Tullahoma, Tennessee (my wife's parents' hometown) on Tuesday night, Waverly logged 30 minutes -- completely on her own motivation -- on the treadmill -- in two stretches: one of 20 minutes and then another of ten (10).

Tonight the idea was to go fairly easy knowing that the plan was to run for three (3) hours on Saturday morning; however, we covered the 2.1 miles in 26:46.83 - a nice leisurely 12:45/mile pace for Waverly. (She did 12:00/mile at the last RTW and 12:33/mile in the Jingle Bell Run.)

We then went over - at 10:20 p.m. this evening - to my sister and brother-in-law's house to view the Channel 13 KTRK-TV piece on the two of us. It was very well done. I was pleased (except for my shorts running up my butt when they showed us running off into the distance.)

There was a funny exchange between Bob Allen and the two co-anchors at the end. The one male co-anchor (I know his name, but I can't think of it) said, "Walk? Interesting name for a runner, isn't it?"

I've had fun at packet pickup at races before. They'll ask what my last name is and I'll say, "Walk". And then I'll chime in, "Yeah, but I think I'll try to run it today." Always good for a chuckle. :)

FLASH! -- Channel 13 Tonight!

I just got a call from the public relations individual with the Houston Marathon at approximately 5 p.m. Central time stating that Channel 13 KTRK TV will be airing the piece on Waverly and I on their 6 p.m. newscast between 6:20 and 6:40 p.m.

She said from her experience last year that this will also probably air repeatedly leading up to the Marathon on January 15.

If anyone can tape it as I am in Bloomington, Gena and Waverly are on the road between TN and MS, my Mom is away from the house and my Dad doesn't know how to record it --- I would greatly appreciate it!

Many thanks!

Invited Runner Status from the Houstonian Lite 30K

Six (6) more runners punched their ticket to the Chevron Houston Marathon two (2) Sunday mornings ago at the Houstonian Lite 30K in Sugar Land to finalize the number of "Local Invited Runners" to 42!

In winning her first overall Warm-Up Series race, 42-year-old Heidy Lozano also met the Open qualifying standard of 2:11:19 by crossing the tape in 2:04:48.3. With 30K winner Luis Armenteros having already qualified and running to ensure his piece of HARRA's Runner of the Season monies, Houston Strider Brett Riley secured his status by meeting the Male open qualifying standard of 1:54:48 with a second-place 30K finish of 1:46:46.9. Riley won the 30K last fall for his first-ever Warm-Up Series win.

Male and female runners in both of the 40-49 and 50-59 age groupings also won spots while nobody else qualified in the 60-69 and 70-Over divisions (although Kenneth Ruane of Orange met the qualifying standard despite qualifying during the 20K).

Terlingua Track Club's Rich Fredrich and Patti Kroger secured the Invited Runner bids in the 40-49 age group with respective times of 1:54:29.8 and 2:14:29.1. Tornados' Steve Brammer and Houston Striders' Karen Bowler earned their stripes in the 50-59 age group with respective times of 1:59:07.9 and 2:20:19.6. All but Bowler, while meeting the qualifying standards, benefitted as a runner in front of them had already qualified for the Invited Runner designation.

[It was brought to my attention that the delay in seeing the lists updated on the HARRA web site as well as the Marathon's web site (under Elite Runners) "may be" because a runner that was 40 and older - Heidy Lozano - was the top female finisher instead of a runner under the age of 40. The scenario that I painted above would give the Open slot to Lozano and the 40-49 slot to Kroger; however, if Lozano is the 40-49 age group designee then the only other Open runner to meet the standard was 31-year-old Alex Gajewski. My opinion, for what it is worth, is that Lozano and Kroger should get the spots because "Open" isn't defined as 39 and under -- even though HARRA uses the term "Open" to designate 39-and-under in Runner of the Season competition.]

Below is the complete list and how they qualified:

2005 Houston Marathon Men's Open (Sub 2:35:00)

Gabriel Rodriguez, Webster, 2:31:18

Vaughn Gibbs, Houston, 2:32:01

Michael DeFee, Vidor, 2:32:54

---

2005 Houston Marathon Men's Masters (Sub 2:50:00)

Joe Flores, Houston, 2:35:03

Simon Alvarado, Houston, 2:45:52

Joe Melanson, Orange, 2:47:31

David Washburn, Houston, 2:47:45

Richard Peoples, Jr., Houston, 2:48:47

---

2005 Houston Marathon Women's Open (Sub 3:00:00)

Kelly Keane, The Woodlands, 2:32:27

Caroline Burum, Houston, 2:58:09

---

2005 Houston Marathon Women's Masters (Sub 3:16:00)

Allison Le Compte, Houston, 3:00:13

Barbara Stoll, Houston, 3:06:26

Suzanne Day, Houston, 3:11:26

Marla Burum, Houston, 3:11:39

Susan Walters, Wallis, 3:15:49

---

2005 Aramco Houston Half Marathon Top Open Male

Sean Wade, Houston, 1:07:03

---

2005 Aramco Houston Half Marathon Top Masters Male

Bart Rainey, Houston, 1:17:23

---

2005 Aramco Houston Half Marathon Top Open Female

Maureen Sweeney, Houston, 1:21:47

---

2005 Aramco Houston Half Marathon Top Masters Female

Christie Lammers, Houston, 1:27:14

---

United Space Alliance 10-Miler

Laura Bennett, League City, 1:05:54.5

(Top Female Open under 1:07:39)

Luis Armenteros, Houston, 55:07.5

(Top Male Open under 58:46; Wade, Rodriguez had already qualified)

Bonnie Jo Barron, Houston, 1:09:56.8

(Top Female 40-49 under 1:10:15; Day had already qualified)

Francisco Perez, Houston, 59:52.4

(Top Male 40-49 under 1:00:28)

Ino Cantu, Houston, 1:16:54.0

(Top Male 70-79 under 1:18:59)

---

Koala's Health and Wellness Centers/Luke's Locker 20K Championship

Rudy Rocha, Houston, 1:07:10.6

(Top Male Open under 1:07:39; Armenteros had already qualified)

Steven King, Houston, 1:12:28.5

(Top Male 40-49 under 1:16:03)

Miguel Lopez, Houston, 1:18:35.1

(Top Male 50-59 under 1:21:57)

Kenneth Ruane, Orange, 1:27:18.2

(Top Male 60-69 under 1:29:19)

Jim Braden, The Woodlands, 1:37:46.7

(Top Male 70-79 under 1:39:19; Cantu had already qualified)

Caroline Chamness, Kingwood, 1:24:24.3

(Top 40-49 under 1:28:15; Stull, Burum and Walters had already qualified)

Eva Luckey, Houston, 1:34:16.3

(Top 50-59 under 1:36:10)

Nancy Prejean, The Woodlands, 1:32:57.5

(Top 60-69 under 1:46:14)

---

HMSA Classical 25K

Ramiro Alvarado, 1:27:16.3

(Top Male Open under 1:34:13)

Bernie Weber, Houston, 1:35:21.6

(Top Male 40-49 under 1:36:27)

Autumn Ray, Galveston, 1:45:43.4

(Top Female Open under 1:47:59; Stull already qualified)

Helen Grant, Houston, 1:48:38.1

(Top Female 40-49 under 1:51:36; Burum already qualified)

---

Houstonian Lite 30K

Brett Riley, 1:46:46.9

(Top Male Open under 1:54:48; Armenteros already qualified)

Rich Fredrich, 1:54:29.8

(Top Male 40-49 under 1:57:16; Perez already qualified)

Steve Brammer, 1:59:07.9

(Top Male 50-59 under 2:06:20; Melanson already qualified)

Heidy Lozano, 2:04:48.3

(Top Female Open under 2:11:19)

Patti Kroger, 2:14:29.1

(Top Female 40-49 under 2:15:25; Walters, Chamness and Day already qualified)

Karen Bowler, 2:20:19.6

(Top Female 50-59 under 2:27:31)

Houston's Runner's Choice Awards?

One of the nice things that the Freescale Austin Marathon does is direct the Austin Runners' Choice Awards. Awards are offered in the following categories:

Runner of the Year - male and female
Masters Runner of the Year - male and female
Youth runner of the Year - male and female
Trail/Ultra runner of the Year - male and female
Volunteers of the Year (3 top volunteers)
Sponsor or Partner of the Year
Coach of the Year
Race of the Year: 10K and under
Race of the Year: 15K and longer
T-Shirt of the Year
Most Runner-Friendly Business of the Year

Nominations are made for the calendar year of 2005 and are accepted up to a month before the Freescale Austin Marathon. Winners are announced at the Marathon's pre-race Pasta Party the night before the event.

Why can't we (in the Houston running community) do something like this for Houston? Any suggestions?

If You Ran The White Rock Marathon ...

... and are planning to run the Chevron Houston Marathon and the Freescale Austin Marathon, there may be a Brooks jacket in your future -- if you claim it!

A project of the Austin Marathon Foundation, the three (3) marathons teamed up to create marathonsoftexas.com - despite what I believe is an incorrect name as they do not represent all of the marathons in Texas - and will give a Brooks jacket, free of charge, to anybody that completes all three (3) and e-mails them to let them know that they have.

Currently, the Foundation should be on reserve for 3,305 of them - the number of finishers at White Rock. However, the number that run all three (3) will certainly be less and those that claim them by taking the time to 1.) know about the site, 2.) know about the offer and 3.) send the e-mail with jacket size and a mailing address will be even fewer.

I think it is a noble endeavor (and wish more would do so around the state) although my rub is similar to the one with the HEB Texas 10K Challenge - you have to take action to claim it!

I think that the Foundation - and the HEB Texas 10K Challenge, for that matter - should on their web site list all of those individuals that are still eligible (just like is done for the Austin Distance Challenge - of which 582 still remain for the 7-race series). Maybe it is in the Foundation's plan for mid-January after the Houston Marathon. I guess we'll see. (Same goes for the Warm-Up Series mugs! Recognize everyone that achieved the feat online in a public place! It is something that can easily be delivered in an electronic format to be displayed on the HARRA website.)

My take is that three (3) technologically saavy marathons could collectively mine their data and e-mail runners who have completed all three and seek out the jacket size information instead of working in passive mode and putting the onus on the runner to do so.

Didn't the runner do enough already to register for all three races, pay their fees, travel to and actually run the events? Why not do something for the runner in this case? Don't you think that the extra effort will do more to influence runners in the future to accomplish the feat? I think it would.

WalkSports.com File Updates

As most of you know from reading this blog over the past year is my love for crunching numbers, documenting history and compiling statistics. That love has moved from private and parochial high school athletics, which didn't have a strong documented history, to Houston-area road racing.

I've added a couple of files, in web page form, of some things that you've seen mentioned here. The updates are as follows:

All-Time Houston Marathon Warm-Up Series Winners
'05 Sunmart / Houstonian Lite 30K Double
'05 Sunmart / White Rock Marathon Double
'04 Greater Houston Double -- Texas Marathon and Houston Marathon
65 completed the last feat in 2004. 50 did earlier this year.

Some additional Warm-Up Series notes:

+ Sean Wade and Luis Armenteros have won nine (9) of the last 12 Warm-Up Series races.
+ Armenteros became the first to win the 20K and the 30K in the same year since 1992 when Jon Warren swept the Warm-Up Series. The only other male overall runner to do that was David Washburn in 1988.
+ Likewise, Francisco Perez was the first male masters runners since 1998 when Bernie Weber won both the 20K and 30K masters title. Weber won this year's 25K masters crown.
+ 12 different female runners have won the overall titles the last four (4) years of Warm-Up Series races. The last female runner to win more than one (1) Warm-Up Series race in a year was Jackie Rzepecki in 2001 when she captured the 20K and the 25K.

Speaking of the Warm-Up Series, the oldest shirts that I saw on Sunday while running in Memorial Park were from the 1997 HMSA Classical 25K and one of the Gallery Furniture 20Ks from 1994 to 1996.

Keith scores interviews with Dan Browne and Kelly Keane

In his "5 Miles with" segments, HRB's Keith Kelleher has scored two (2) e-mail interviews -- to date -- with 2004 U.S. Olympic marathoner Dan Browne and hp Houston Marathon 2005 women's winner Kelly Keane.

The links to his interviews are as follows: Dan Browne and Kelly Keane.

Impressive job, Keith! I apologize for not catching on to these sooner! These are a great resource to all runners!

Best Galveston County Road Races in '05

Picking the best of ’05 area races
By Bernice Torregrossa
Correspondent, Galveston County Daily News
Published December 15, 2005

Now that the last local race of 2005 is behind us, it’s time to look back at some of the high points. There were a few new races, a few old favorites that vanished, and plenty of chances for runners and walkers of all abilities to hit the streets.

There were 15 races in, or nearly in, Galveston County this year, and I was lucky enough to go to all of them except one. They were all fun, but some of them were outstanding. Here’s a tip of my running cap to some of my local favorites in 2005:

Best New Race — Galveston Island State Park 5K combined a scenic course, good post-race party and family activities into a great outing. If the race weren’t in August, it would be an absolute don’t-miss.

Best Addition to an Established Race — D’Feet Breast Cancer added a 10K event to its 5K/Kids K this year. With a little tweaking, it could become a prime fall race.

Best Kids’ Race — Runner/mom Deb Clifford gives the Summer Kick-Off high marks for its age grouping and organization.

Most Family-Friendly — A tie between the Mardi Gras Beach Run and Galveston Island State Park 5K, both of which had children’s activities while the parents ran.

Best Finish Line — The Summer Kick-Off’s ice-cold towels are worth sprinting in for.

Most Scenic Course — Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon goes through wooded areas, a brief cross-country section with bayfront vistas and then across the tall-grass prairie for a smorgasbord of environments you won’t find in the big-city marathon up the road.

Best Race T-shirt Design — College of the Mainland often comes up with attractive designs. This year’s Moonlight Madness Run was a standout, with its understated sun/moon graphics.

Fastest Field — On the Run 5-Miler’s small turnout was comprised largely of team runners using it as a time trial. For the rest of us, it was still a better way to start Mother’s Day than the traditional breakfast in bed.

Most Beautiful Awards — Galveston Island State Park 5K skipped the shiny trophies and handed out shorebird statuettes to age group winners and striking bird statues to the top finishers.

Most Fun Awards — Age group winners in the Beneezy Purple Monkey 5K and 10K went home with purple monkey stuffed toys.

Best Post-race Party — Boiled shrimp, live music and a moving tribute to two local running legends kept the crowd lingering at the Galveston Island State Park 5K long after the last walker crossed the finish line.

Best Holiday Celebration — Resurrection Run, always held the day before Easter, segues into an Easter egg hunt for children.

Best Weather —Village Fair 5K’s early May date has managed to beat the heat consistently.

Clearly, there’s a race for every taste. Each one raised funds for a good cause, from scholarships to park preservation to cancer treatment, and they all welcomed participation from every type of runner.

If you had favorite races this year, e-mail me your comments and I’ll run a “People’s Choice” list soon.

Bernice Torregrossa is The Daily News’ running columnist. You can e-mail her at bernice92(at)aol.com.

Norm Frank Nailed World Best 900th Marathon in Memphis

'Marathon Man' aims for his 900th today
Rochester grandfather ran his first 26.2-mile race in Boston back in 1967
(Norm completed the Memphis Marathon on 12/3/05 in 6:53:49)

Jim Castor, Assistant Sports Editor, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat & Chronicle

(December 3, 2005) — A few hours from now, if all goes well, Norm Frank will finish running another marathon and pass a milestone that's his alone.

Rochester's Marathon Man, a 74-year-old grandfather of two, is in Memphis, Tenn., today for his 900th certified 26.2-mile road race. No one on Earth has completed more, he says.

"Absolutely," was his answer when asked if they're getting any harder. "You see how quickly I answered that?! I'm getting slower and they're getting harder, all right."

He's coping with a few "problems," as he calls them — shin splints and a leg infection — but nothing that will prevent him from setting out three hours ahead of the starting gun at the St. Jude Memphis Marathon so he can complete the race with a certified time before the course closes in six or seven hours.

"I run the whole thing," he says. "Actually, it's sort of like a shuffle. I don't like to call it a jog, and it's not walking. I don't like to walk. It's more difficult."

Among Frank's feats are running at least one marathon a month for 216 consecutive months (that's 18 years and change) and running at the North Pole, along the Berlin Wall and the original marathon route from Marathon to Athens, Greece.

Frank's first marathon, Boston in 1967, and the early hundreds that followed were a walk in the park compared with many in the past few years.

He was back on the roads for marathon 660 just two months after open heart surgery in September of 1998, when doctors rebuilt part of his aorta with a cow valve.

He blew out an Achilles tendon and was in a cast for three months in 2001, cracked several ribs while colliding with a dog in 2003 and tore a rotator cuff when he tripped over some construction materials and whacked his shoulder on a light pole walking from the Houston Marathon Expo to his hotel last year.

"I'm fine," he said Thursday night by phone from Memphis. "Just had my semi-annual heart checkup. My arteries are clear and my blood flow is great. Things are working good. I can't complain." -- JCASTOR@DemocratandChronicle

Norm Frank
Occupation/avocation: Founder, owner Marathon Lawn Service/distance runner.
Born/age: June 20, 1931/74.
Ht./wt.: 6-feet-2/185 pounds.
Education: East High School, Class of 1950.

Career highlights: No. 1 marathoner in world with 899, including at least one in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Ran his first one, the first of 30 Boston Marathons, in 1967 at age 37. Member, Frontier Field Walk of Fame (2000).

Milestone marathons: 100th — Erie, Pa.; 200 — Arctic Circle; 300 — Wheeling, W. Va.; 400 — Boston; 500 — Erie, Pa.; 600 — Burlington, Vt.; 700 — Huntsville, Ala.; 800 — Huntsville, Ala. (Dec. 14, 2002); 900 — today in Memphis.

Best time: 3 hours, 20 minutes, Rochester, 1973.

Estimated mileage: More than 80,000, counting training. That's running around the Earth about three times.

Goals: Finish 1,000 marathons, in 2008, maybe make a TV ad with the Energizer bunny.

1/15/06: Second Baptist Church North Campus 5K

Actually, my wife stumbled upon this in her work as Second Baptist Church (in Kingwood) is hosting a health fair earlier in the afternoon. The only problem is that this 5K is on Sunday afternoon, January 15th at 2:00 p.m. -- the same day as the Chevron Houston Marathon.

5K & 1 Mile Family Fun Run/Walk
Race Time: 2:00PM - Check in Time: 1:15-1:45PM
Registration Entry Fees: $10.00 Adults (age 13-54) - $8.00 Children (age 12 & under) - $8:00 Senior Adults (age 55 & up)
After 1/6/2006: Add $2 per person
T-Shirt for all participants - Prizes awarded for different age groups
For more information, contact Valerie Bridges at (713) 365-6319

Directions to Family Life Center are here.
Online registration can be performed here.

Aiming for Marathon #4 on New Year's Day

I registered this evening, as originally promised, for the Texas Marathon in Kingwood on New Year's Day.

This marathon, put on by Steve and Paula Boone of Humble (of the 50 States Marathon Club and the Bayou City Road Runners), is used by many runners as a long training run for the Houston Marathon, which, of course, is two weeks later. In fact, last year, 50 runners did both, including the overall winner, John Yoder of the Houston Striders. (As a result of this, the majority of the runners who do both will improve their time because of this. 45 of 50 did in 2005.)

We'll see how this goes. I'm taking this very serious and am going to attempt to put together a plan to try and PR or even go under 4:48. (But, if I don't, the world isn't going to end either.) I feel like the recent longer runs give me the opportunity to be successful here.

The only drawback to the event is that it is four (4) 6.55-mile loops, but it still all adds up to 26.2!

If you're in town and want to go a loop on race day to get in a nice easy run, I'll be more than happy to accept a pacer if you want to make the jaunt out to Kingwood.

Waverly notches distance PR in next-to-last long run!

11.6 miles! 4 loops of Memorial Park!

With the Striders' Longest Long Run left next Saturday morning, Waverly should now be in excellent shape for a sterling half marathon debut. She covered the distance in a running time of 2:37:38.17 -- 13:35 per mile. Splits looked like this:

Loop 1 -- 38:09.21 -- 13:09/mile (followed by a 5:25.63 water break)
Loop 2 -- 39:27.60 -- 13:37/mile (followed by a 8:24.57 bathroom break)
Loop 3 -- 41:36.50 (3.0 miles) -- 13:52/mile
Loop 4 -- 38:24.86 (2.8 miles) -- 13:43/mile

There were some motivational issues during the 3rd loop, but otherwise she probably ran 90% of the entire distance. She did a great job!

I don't run at Memorial Park often so it is just simply incredible for all of the people that you see out there running. This morning alone, at various times, there were:

Striders -- Tommy King, Brett Riley, Aimee Solway, Charlie Rodriguez
Houston Harriers -- Suzanne Day
Tornados -- Francisco Perez
Kenyan Way -- Sean Wade

Roberta MacInnis and her husband were out running. She recognized me, even with my hat on, stopped and introduced herself. Also on the loop (running with Sean a little bit) was Raymond Cooper from Finish Strong Sports.

Good weekend for me overall. No racing. Friday, I spent an hour and a half at Bally's in The Woodlands (an hour on the elliptical trainer -- 5.59 miles -- and a half hour on the bike ... almost experienced some problems with my achilles muscle again.) I was worried, but I was able to run on Saturday with Jen. 16 miles on Saturday and 11.6 miles today.

28 days until "race day"!

Saturday: My Life As A Bandit (I Hope That Doesn't Make It on TV)

I felt so ashamed. I even covered my head so I wouldn't be noticed. And since the sun wasn't out, nobody would have to worry about the reflection coming off of my dome anyways. :)

All joking aside, I ran this morning with Strider/HRBer Jennifer Kim as Houston Fit staged its annual 21-miler beginning at Memorial Park on the south side of the park that included three (3) loops of the trails at Eleanor Tinsley Park, which is bounded by Sabine, Memorial, Shepherd and Allen Parkway.

I have no idea if things got started on time at 5:30 a.m. nor did I care what time I finished. I was really just out to log the miles for a long run. And it was cold and wet ... and then some.

The run out to the bridge that crosses Memorial Drive at Jackson Hill Park was nice and easy. Jen and I talked much of that time and then we began the first of three (3) loops heading west towards Shepherd before heading back east on Allen Parkway.

Parts of the trail was covered in water. Other parts were cakes of mud. Wet cakes! I slipped twice. It really was becoming unsafe and after people had done one loop, when they made it to the midway point of the second loop, runners were being routed back in the same direction.

Basically, I did the run out to Jackson Hill, two (2) full loops -- I had to abandon Jen because of an upcoming commitment -- and the run back along Memorial Drive to where the truck was parked.

I met blogger Bob Entwhistle, who did the Sunmart 50K last Saturday in Huntsville. Jen introduced me as the founder of the Houston Running Bloggers. That was kind of her, but I just see myself as the chief agitater!

Speaking of Jen, I think Bob said it best to her, "Jen, you are a real trooper to be out here today." I couldn't agree more, especially after how she was feeling after last Sunday's 30K in Sugar Land. I specifically went down there today to run with her. Yes, I needed the miles, but I need to also slow it down a little bit and I knew that she needed to also find a steady pace.

We talked about a number of things. When I asked her how she felt compared to last Sunday (other than being wet and cold ... well, freezing), physically she said she felt fine. She asked me what my one tip to a new marathoner would be. (Very insightful question I found.) I told her that, since she has documented in her blog that the clock was going to be a concern and the always uncertain feeling about completing the first marathon, she should find somebody during the race that she could talk to as long as possible.

I didn't set out to do that last year; however, I chatted with a gentleman from mile 4 to the halfway point and it was a major help. (And that is other than running the course during the Striders' Longest Long Run and running that with a good steady experienced runner in Whitney LaRocca.)

Before I had to leave, I made sure that she was going to be able to hammer it out (which I knew the answer was going to be, "Yes".) However, when my wife and daughter made it to Memorial Park at about 9:15 a.m., Waverly said that they saw Jen almost to the turnaround at Sabine and that made me feel good that she was going to complete more mileage today than she did last Sunday with a better frame of mind!

Now ... why was Waverly coming to Memorial Park? (Didn't she have a basketball game today and that we were going to run there tomorrow?)

Well ... I had to keep this under wraps until it happened; however, we were interviewed today as one of 5-7 stories that KTRK-TV ABC 13 will use leading up to and part of its Houston Marathon race day coverage. Waverly was excited and nervous as we were interviewed. They also filmed us crisscrossing the trail while running in front of the Tennis Center about 5-6 times.

The angle was the fact that Waverly is 10 years old and running the half marathon!

Some of the other stories included 1.) a grandfather (Lee Miksch) and his grandson that will be participating on race day, 2.) a grandmother who I didn't get the complete uniqueness of her story (Julia Pittman), 3.) a woman who has lost over 100 pounds and will be doing her first half marathon, 4.) a gentleman from Houston who runs marathons completely attired as Elvis and 5.) a piece with the foot doctor, Dr. Jeffrey Ross.

The public relations person that we were working with told us that Channel 13 tries to let her know when certain stories are going to run. As soon as I know, I'll let all of you know.

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday. Waverly and I get 11.6 miles tomorrow!

Incriminating Photos are Online!

Karen Thibodeaux's photos are online from both the Houstonian Lite 30K and the Chevron Jingle Bell Run.

Waverly's Jingle Bell Run photos are here. (I like the high step on the second picture and I love the air time on the third one -- awesome! The fifth one she clearly has her eye on the prize and the sixth one is just too cute -- checking her -- err, my -- watch on Allen Parkway! On the seventh one, she's slow moving a bit, but finds a stride in the last one seeing Sarah!)

Mine from the 30K are here and, for maximum laughter opportunities, the ones with JoePa! from the Jingle Bell Run are here.

HRBers at the 30K are as follows: Joe Breda, Holden Choi, Steve Bezner, Jennifer Kim and Dave Smart.

Texas Marathon on New Year's Day or Not?

I know I said earlier that if I hit my time targets in the Jingle Jog 10-Miler (Pearland) and the Houstonian Lite 30K that I would do the Texas Marathon in Kingwood on New Year's Day.

I'll make my decision before the end of the weekend as the price is $35 through 12/18/05.

I should have two (2) long runs under my belt by then. I plan on joining Jennifer Kim (and Holden perhaps?) for the HoustonFit 21-Miler on Saturday morning and then Waverly and I are planning on doing four (4) loops of Memorial Park - one of two final long runs for her - sometime on Sunday. (She has a basketball game on Saturday that I don't want to tire her for - or we'd do it on Saturday.)

If I do the marathon put on by Steve and Paula Boone of Humble (who ran 34 marathons this year), I want to be successful and I haven't put together a plan to run the four (4) 6.55-mile loops. (Yes, I could do it for fun but I did my one "fun race" on Sunday! No carting JoePa for 26.2! Ok, if Penn State wins a national championship next year, I'll carry JoePa for a marathon. You read it here first!)

My PR is 4:55:08 and my 30K minutes per mile might suggest I can get under 4:48; however, I was fading at the end with 7.6 miles to go. (On Sunday, I would had to have done 7.6 more miles in 1:26 or better to beat 4:48 - 12 minutes a mile - or 1:33 or better to PR! That might have been a tall order.)

4:47:58 is my magic time for the marathon - as that represents the slowest 10:59/mile pace! If I can slow down at the beginning, I could target four (4) loops of 1:12 to get the job done.

Stay tuned here on Sunday night and if you are interested in running a nice leisurely 6.55 miles on New Year's Day in beautiful Kingwood at 1:12 or better, let me know. I might just be interested in a few pacers!

1/28/06: Team In Training Run The Woodlands 5K Challenge

(From "Houston Running" reader Bill Dwyer, whose daughter, Keriann, is getting married tomorrow! Congratulations!)

Saturday, January 28, 2006
Fall & Winter Season Reunion Run 5K and TEAM Challenge - The Woodlands

TEAM Woodlands is inviting our Clear Lake, Sugar Land, Kingwood, Memorial Park, and West Houston teams to attend a friendly competition and reunion January 28. There will be a TNT Team category in this event. Scoring will be the best three times from each group added together. Fastest combined times wins. You must be a fall or winter season participant to score for your team. We will also include a coaches and mentors competition.

The Run The Woodlands 5K has never had over 100 participants. Wouldn't it be cool if Team In Training could be the group to set an attendance record? To make it a little more exciting, we will be adding an alumni category open to all the teams. Will the Rebels run and can they beat our current fundraisers? Mark your calendars for two weeks after the Houston Marathon for some fun competition and to see if coach Bill can actually run.

Houston Marathon Weather

After making it home, being here in the "home" office, trying to get out the door to head to the gym and cleaning out some e-mail boxes, I thought I would share a recap of the Houston Marathon weather the past 12 years from the Striders' Steve Shepard. (Steve was responding to Strider Aimee Solway's e-mail about trying to convince her sister to come run the Houston Marathon instead of doing one in San Diego the same day under what, of course, should be pristine conditions.)

Here was Steve's response:

She should be concerned about the volatility of Houston marathon weather, although it's been very good to excellent the last five years running (and sucked 5 years previous to that).

1994 - warm and humid
1995 - perfect!
1996 - 59 at the start with so much fog the TV helicopters couldn't get off the ground
1997 - the famous sleet bowl - 32 degrees all the way with sleet; this is the one everybody remembers
1998 - ugly yet again, very warm and humid
1999 - same as 1998; the crappy weather was getting old
2000 - more of the same; both my training partners bailed before half way
2001 - neutral weather, first decent Houston marathon since 1995
2002 - perfect!
2003 - perfect!
2004 - very nice, a little humid, no complaints
2005 - perfect!

For me, perfect for a marathon is crisp and clear, no humidity, high 30's to high 40's.

I only did the 4-mile run in 2003, but I remember it being cold enough that I had on sweatpants, a mock turtleneck covered by a XXL Houston Texans t-shirt ... oh, and a baseball cap! (I've said before. I was a sight to behold. I even had a stopwatch dangling around my neck ... who did I think I was? Bill Rodgers?)

I agree that 2005 was perfect. I ditched my "socks as gloves" in front of the school in mile 5 and wish I would have kept them on! I wore my Marine Corps Marathon race jacket the entire way as I remember, even at noon, the winds being pretty cold coming through downtown.

In 2004, I remember it being cold. I wore my The Half windshirt that I got in November of 2003, but on the mile 9-to-11 stretch (that I think will be a big mental challenge for Waverly this year), my feet were freezing as the wind blew across the tops of my Brooks Beast shoes.

19 Complete Sunmart / White Rock Marathon Double

Whereas three (3) runners did both the Sunmart 50-Mile or 50K Endurance Runs and the Houstonian Lite 30K this past weekend, 18 stalwarts of the sport did the White Rock Marathon in Dallas - and 7.6 more miles - as opposed to the 30K!

Sunmart 50-Miler / White Rock Marathon
Ryan Loehding, 33, Carrollton -- 7:11:02 / 3:32:35 -- 11th overall in 50-Miler
Stephen Hudgens, 50, Fort Worth -- 8:46:49 / 3:42:51
Rene Villalobos, 46, Fort Worth -- 8:56:23 / 6:04:25
Ken Ashby, 53, Dallas -- 9:59:37 / 5:07:36
Jeff Dalton, 30, Fort Worth -- 10:44:02 / 5:14:16
Vicki Chazan, 32, Sunset Valley -- 10:35:59 / 5:41:18
Fran Cox, 44, Fort Worth -- 11:35:45 / 6:12:34

Sunmart 50K / White Rock Marathon
Bret Sholar, 39, Oklahoma City, OK -- 5:00:58 / 3:49:58
Michael Pentland, 43, Houston -- 5:17:19 / 4:28:03
Christopher Horsak, 28, Crosby -- 5:36:01 / 4:22:14
Mike Smith, 48, Fishers, IN -- 5:09:57 / 4:56:55
John Bozung, 52, Orem, UT -- 5:57:55 / 4:17:37
Kent Fish, 52, San Angelo -- 5:47:49 / 4:46:04
Thomas Okazaki, 48, Plano -- 5:23:56 / 5:16:11
Andy McCartney, 42, Aledo -- 6:24:50 / 4:28:22
Kimberlie Budzik, 45, Friendswood -- 6:17:21 / 5:13:20
Frank Bartucci, 58, Rochester, MN -- 6:48:52 / 5:46:18
Charlie Alewine, 60, Diamond Bar, CA -- 7:06:21 / 5:43:17
Lisa Hogan, 38, Irving -- 8:03:54 / 6:23:02

Waverly's Jingle Bell Run Race Report

As I had to do some time studies on the job earlier this afternoon, I had to remember to write down Waverly's time splits from Sunday (as she wore my watch!)

Sunday's Jingle Bell Run downtown was a distance PR for her - 5 miles - and she covered the distance in 1:02:44.3 - a 12:33/mile pace. (Saturday's 5K was an even 12:00/mile pace. My very first race ever for 4 miles found me doing just a 12:52 clip.) Her mile splits were as follows:

Mile 1-2 -- 23:44.93 (11:52.47 per as she didn't see the first mile marker)
Mile 3 -- 12:59.63
Mile 4 -- 13:25.09
Mile 5 -- 12:32.89

Does this pattern remind you of anyone? ;) She goes out fast like me and has a kick like Cassie's!

Actually in all fairness, the first two miles, where we all passed Sarah to our left, were basically flat (although there was one underpass that I saw her run up without stopping) and miles 3 and 4 included the underpasses on Allen Parkway.

There is a picture on Karen Thibodeaux's main page today that shows her sprinting at the end -- with air time!

"Waverly ran a great race," Cassie commented on a later post. "After I crossed the line, I headed back out on the course to run in with her. We were moving along at a good clip, then she rounded the corner to the finish and took off on me! I had to sprint to keep up! She was bobbing and weaving through the crowd, hopping curbs and everything. Strong finish for her."

Yes, she might be (yes, yes, she is!) a runner before it's all said and done. She told me later, "I had to slow down right before the finish line to make sure I hit my watch!"

Gotta love it! 33 days away from the big day!

Touching White Rock Half Story about Houston XC Coach

Running debt repaid
High school coach, team to run in support of Rock's beneficiary
09:13 PM CST on Wednesday, December 7, 2005
By DEBBIE FETTERMAN / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

Running didn't come naturally for Amy Gabehart.

When she was 1, Gabehart spent six months in a full body cast to correct a congenital hip disorder.

"My parents and doctors didn't know if I'd be able to walk normal or skip or jump or run," Gabehart said.

Gabehart's hip responded to treatment, helping her avoid surgery. She grew up dancing, cheerleading, playing soccer and running.

Now the Katy Mayde Creek girls cross country coach and team hope to give back to the organization that helped her.

Gabehart, 24, and her team will participate in the half marathon and marathon relay at Sunday's Dallas White Rock Marathon. They are running to support Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, which treated Gabehart when she was a toddler. The hospital, one of the nation's leading pediatric orthopedic centers, treats Texas children free of charge. It is the beneficiary of Sunday's marathon.

"For me, it's kind of this full circle where I've been blessed by a lot of people," Gabehart said. "I'm hoping the blessing is put on someone else. We can give back to people that give to us. It's a double blessing for me."

Gabehart graduated from Baylor in 2004 with a degree in health and physical education. While in graduate school last year, Gabehart approached Baylor coaches Clyde Hart and Todd Harbour about training with the cross country and track teams. She wanted to experience what it would be like to be a college athlete, even though she knew she wouldn't represent Baylor competitively.

Gabehart, who plans to complete her master's degree in the spring, worked out all year with the Baylor teams and continues her running today.

She began coaching in Katy, near Houston, last summer. She introduced herself to the team and told members the story of her childhood physical problems.

Gabehart told her team that running success is more mental than physical.

"If these girls can find something to shoot for, some goal to reach for, they can do anything," she said. "They ache for someone to say, 'You can do it. I know you can do it.' That's all most of us need."

The team placed second in District 19-5A, and every varsity runner posted a personal best.
"Cross county is one of those sports that gets overlooked when football is popular," Gabehart said. "I wanted them to get to see that running is a huge sport. People do this their entire lives."

During the season, Gabehart's team managers noticed a newsletter on her desk from Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. She hadn't looked at it yet.

They read an article highlighting the upcoming Dallas White Rock Marathon. The runners brought it to Gabehart's attention.

The team traditionally takes a trip to acknowledge individuals' hard work and celebrate team success. They suggested making Dallas their postseason destination.

With support from the athletes' parents, Gabehart coordinated the trip. Gabehart and two seniors will run the half marathon. Ten others will make up two five-person relay teams.

"It's amazing because they thought she'd never walk, and here she is running eight miles with us every morning," said senior Michelle Gabriel, who plans to run one of the relays. "I've done triathlons and marathons in the past for charity. To benefit a hospital that helped Coach Gabehart is even more personal."

UPDATE: Former Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children patient Amy Gabehart, a Houston-area teacher and coach, completed the half marathon in 1 hour, 48 minutes, 28 seconds. Two Katy Mayde Creek athletes also ran the half. Ten others participated in the five-person relays.

Dead Last at the Jingle Bell Run!

But loving every single minute of it! (Well actually, I was dead last by gun time but I finished in front of two runners - Don Marlin and Elizabeth Hill - by chip time!)

Since I may never run a 6-minute mile or better, I'm afraid that my running legacy in Houston will be "aren't you the guy who ran the Jingle Bell Run carrying a cardboard cutout of Joe Paterno?" Then again, who knows? I might get good at it with some practice!

Earlier this year, Steve Shepard approached me - as well as every Houston Strider - about being on a centipede team for the Bayou City Classic 10K and I told Steve that I just wasn't at a point to spend money for a race and not go out trying to gun for my best time.

My primary purpose, though, was to go out and pace Waverly. Her Thanksgiving week of training was pretty tough for her. Last week, we sort of backed off some; however, I felt like a 5K Saturday morning, a basketball game at 5 p.m. and a 5-mile run (done as a race) would be a good final prelude to two (2) weeks of long runs.

After I had registered for the Jingle Bell Run late Friday morning and I got home and started to play with the foam antlers, I realized that I could have some fun (therefore my mindset had changed from earlier about having fun), put the antlers on the "Stand Up Joe" and carry it throughout the race. And again, pace Waverly. (As I found out later, yeah right!)

The weekend was so hectic (and positive) that I'm not sure if I intimated the idea with the rest of the Houston Running Bloggers that came to my house for breakfast Saturday morning.

We tried to use some packing tape to affix to the forehead to keep the antlers in place, but it wouldn't stick and I was worrying about defacing Joe. (Those cardboard cutouts aren't cheap. They're something like $25 with some - or most - of the proceeds going to Penn State's library fund.) So I decided that clothespins would work better!

I had e-mailed Jingle Bell Run race director Melissa Levin on Saturday that if she saw someone with a "StandUp Joe" that it would be me! (She is also doing PR work for the Houston Marathon and arranged the interview of Waverly for the Spring Observer.)

As I made my way from the parking garage with Joe, I got all kinds of interesting looks but mostly a lot of good-heared laughs. I can promise you that many people were talking when they got home or in the office today, "You won't believe what this guy ran with in the Jingle Bell Run ....."

We saw Lisa, Cassie, Sam and Keith before the race as well as Karen Thibodeaux, Mike Mendeck, Vera Balic, Calvin and Joyce Stout and Gary and Denise Van Kuiken.

I really don't think people believed that I was actually going to run with that thing (I know some bloggers sure didn't!) although I kept telling people, "You laugh, but watch Joe come in first in the 75-80 age group!" (This was before I started running.)

As far as Waverly was concerned, I told her her plan was to keep running no matter what and to run the race as fast as she could without stopping to walk (i.e. nice and steady). I also had given her my watch so that she could track her mile splits since I wasn't going to be able to (thinking that I was going to be able to run with her).

The gun went off and we started towards the back. For much of the first mile, I was actually ahead of Waverly and thinking, "This isn't going to be too bad" but I was also worried about any wind. Right before the first mile marker, she passed me and I actually was close enough to tell her to hit her watch (but she didn't see it.)

One woman that was running and walking towards the back asked me who it was and she cackled, "I know who Joe Paterno is. Wait until I tell my husband that I ran a race with Joe Paterno!"

As I got to around mile 2 where Sarah was taking pictures, I had done a lot of walking and running as I had already many times switched the cardboard cutout and football from arm to arm like a running back. Even though the cutout wasn't heavy, the resistance of the headwind going out Allen Parkway made it feel like I was running lifting weights.

Sarah couldn't believe it! She told me that she saw Waverly go by and that she thought she missed me! (No, Dad was still running behind!)

As I made the turn, headed back towards downtown and got to Sarah's spot again, she told me, "You're insane!" I was going to stop for water at the only water stop, but they had run out. I seriously needed some but I was going to ask if they had any for Joe. :) At the same time, I was thinking that since I was at the back of the pack that when I crossed the finish line that I could set Joe down and then spike the football as if I had broke the plane of the goal line.

As I approached the table, I saw a sea of people ahead of me and then I realized that a lot of them were walkers from another start time. I also figured that 1.) there went the safety factor in spiking the football and 2.) I would have to dodge and weave through a lot of them carrying Joe. But, by that time (just before mile 4), I figured out that if I switched the cutout and the ball more frequently that I could keep running. So on I went passing all of these walkers (as I wondered why these folks would pay $20 a person to walk this course - other than to donate to a good cause).

I'm no more than 200 yards from making a last right hand turn onto Louisiana and towards the finish line when this older gentleman begins to run along side of me with a camera. I'm thinking to myself, "This is strange." So the guy gets ahead of me and I just decided to stop and give him the picture that he was looking for before taking off again. (More on that later!)

After I made the turn, I saw Ben Harvie pushing a stroller on the left hand side of the street (he ran the 30K earlier in the day like I had) and he was having a good laugh. Then I saw about five cameras, one of which was Karen Thibodeaux's. So I had the cardboard cutout in my left hand, the Penn State football in my right held high above my head and was going, "We are .... Penn State! We are .... Penn State!" the rest of the way in as I crossed the finish line!

Believe me, I had the attention of many!

One lady walked up to me and wanted her picture taken with me and JoePa. It turned out that she was a Penn State graduate and she knew where Altoona and Tyrone was. Then the gentleman that I saw earlier came up and introduced himself. He was Greg Kelley and ran the website for the Houston Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association! Go figure!
He ended up getting got a few more pictures of me and JoePa.

Then Keith, Cassie and Jessica, who I had seen just beyond mile 1 on the course as she had run in from Memorial Park, came walking up. I still don't think they really believed what they just saw! :)

After awhile, and as Louisiana Street began to clear out, Sarah had made her way back into the area and Karen got a picture of Keith, Cassie, Jessica, Sarah, Lisa, Waverly, myself and JoePa!

A fabulous day - and weekend - for the Houston Running Bloggers!

Three (3) Complete Sunmart / 30K Double

Just a year ago, 39 runners completed either the Sunmart 50-Mile or 50K Endurance Run and the Houstonian Lite 30K. However, they landed on the calendar eight (8) days from each other!

They were scheduled this past weekend on back-to-back days - Sunmart on Saturday in Huntsville State Park and the Houstonian Lite 30K on Sunday in Sugar Land.

Three (3) runners did what the average runner considers unthinkable -- they did both!

53-year-old Chris Rampacek conquered both the 50-Miler and the 30K while 61-year-old Armando Ramos and 41-year-old Denise Moore of Missouri City made it 80K overall! All three (3) did the Sunmart/30K double last year. Their times this year are as follows:

Chris Rampacek - 10:57:11 (50-Miler) / 3:44:56.4

Armando Ramos - 6:10:05 (50K) / 3:33:29.0
Denise Moore - 6:33:31 / 3:17:42.7

Rampacek is perhaps one of the most accomplished ultramarathoners in the state of Texas as he has completed three (3) Badwater 135's (2001-2003). He finished 12th in 2003 with his personal best of 41:58:31 in an event that found Pam Reed and Dean Karnazes go 1-2). He finished in 52:29:51 and 47:10:20 in 2002 and 2001, respectively.

Coming On Monday (And Tuesday)

+ Sunmart 50M / 50K Report
+ Extended Houstonian Lite 30K Coverage
+ White Rock Marathon Report
+ Who Else Punched Their Houston Marathon Ticket?
+ Jingle Bell Run Race Report (Bottom line: Waverly, 1:02:42 for 5 miles!)
(That included a couple of the Allen Parkway underpasses.)
+ And ... Can You Run 5 Miles with a Football in 1 Hand and a "Stand Up JoePa" in Another?

Funniest Exchange of the Weekend!

It was great to see Joe Breda out at Run The Woodlands 5K on Saturday with everyone and even better for him to come out and run the Houstonian Lite 30K today! (Joe, great job both days!)

Everyone I think got to learn that Joe's a sharp and extremely funny guy and he is coordinating the first annual Houston Running Bloggers Pre-Marathon Pasta Party for Friday night, January 13th; however, we have to have a good-hearted laugh at his expense.

Joe's primarily a cyclist (but is running the marathon in January this year to vindicate last year's peformance) so he knows from doing cycling events what packet pickup, late registration and all of those things are. But this is only his third running race ever and the other two were the $1 Run The Woodlands 5Ks.

Jen, Holden and myself were standing waiting for the race to start (Steve Bezner is up in the pack a little bit). It wasn't to long from starting as the playing of the national anthem was just about ready to be sung. Joe comes walking up and Holden and I shake his hand and tell him how glad we are to see him there.

Holden has this running shoe fetish so naturally Holden looks down, see Joe's shoes and asks him, "Where's your chip?!"

Joe replies, not completely understanding what Holden asked him, "What do you mean? My pants?"

Holden goes, "No, your timing chip."

A slight embarrassment comes over Joe and we motioned to him that the chip pickup was on the other side of City Hall. In the meantime, the race started, Holden and I chuckled for about much of the first mile as Joe went and got his chip before registering the second largest chip difference of all runners - 2:33.1. (At least, it wasn't because he got stuck in a blue can!)

Way to finish, Joe! The marathon is but 35 days away!

Houstonian Lite 30K / Houston Running Bloggers Race Report

What a turnout today! 6 runners, 2 volunteers at the Striders water station (plus Waverly) and one on the CPR/AED team.

Striders/HRBers Jessica Alexander and Cassie Cowan, after impressive 5K's at Run The Woodlands 5K on Saturday, joined up with a number of talented runners (John Yoder, Helen Grant and Ryan Stepler to name a few) as well as a number of dedicated Strider volunteers in Lisa Ruthven, Jack Rubalcalva, Frank Halter, Paulette Salanon and Charles and Tina Deeds. (I know I'm missing a few plus volunteer Beverly Arnold, who took Waverly to the finish line before I got there so we were able to cross the finish line together!)

It was really, really good to see and get great encouragement from Strider/HRBer Vic Kaiser as he patrolled the course on his bike as part of Dr. Bob Hoekman's CPR/AED Team.

As far as the running went, the Houston Running Bloggers went this way:

Steve Bezner, 2:45:06.7, 8:53/min
David Smart, 3:19:52.8, 10:45/min
Jon Walk, 3:22:50.6, 10:54/min
Holden Choi, 3:41:21.0, 11:54/min
Joe Breda, 3:48:12.4, 12:16/min
Jennifer Kim, 4:09:28.5, 13:25/min

Steve's pace was better than all three of his previous distance races (10-Miler, 9:25; 20K, 8:55 and 25K, 9:23); however, it might just simply suggest that Steve is a better cold weather runner (even though he comments on his blog about not enjoying running in weather that is too cold!)

I PR'd over last year's time by 7:29 (3:30:19 in 2004). (Three straight races, three PR's!) My mile splits were like this:

Mile 1 -- 10:21.38
Mile 2 -- 10:21.68 (20:43.06)
Mile 3 -- 10:20.03 (31:03.09)
Mile 4 -- 9:55.00 (40:58.09)
Mile 5 -- 9:52.29 (50:50.38)
Mile 6 -- 10:08.56 (1:00:58.94)
Mile 7 -- 10:06.22 (1:11:05.16)
Mile 8 -- 10:02.18 (1:21:07.34)
Mile 9 -- 10:19.87 (1:31:27.21)
Mile 10 -- 10:28.10 (1:41:55.31) -- 13 seconds off race PR!
Mile 11 -- 10:23.84 (1:53:19.15)
Mile 12 -- 10:58.41 (2:04:17.56)
Mile 13 -- 11:06.88 (2:15:24.44) -- add the .1 at the mile 14 pace and set a half marathon PR by 8 seconds.
Mile 14 -- 11:00.76 (2:26:25.20)
Mile 15 -- 12:03.68 (2:38:28.88) -- only 15-mile race was 2:52:07.88
Mile 16 -- 11:47.83 (2:50:16.71)
Mile 17 -- 12:50.23 (3:03:06.94)
Last 1.6 -- 19:58.85 (3:23:05.79) -- official chip time was 3:22:50.6!

Since I had to get back to get showered and then ready for the Jingle Bell Run with Waverly this afternoon, I stayed until Jennifer made it down the stretch where the rest of waited on her! One of our Houston Running Bloggers mottos will be: "No Blogger Left Behind!"

I ran with Holden the first two miles and he got out ahead in mile 3 (and I was thinking that it was going to be a long day although I kind of expected for it to go Steve and then Holden - not knowing how Dave performed at the distance) before having to take a break to stretch and deal with some of the pain issues that he has commented about in his blog.

Dave ran nice and steady and caught up to me somewhere after we made the last turn on the far water spot (between mile 14 and mile 15). I had him in sight for awhile until the last mile.

Some other Houston-area bloggers performed like this on Sunday morning:

Scott Effner, 2:04:35.9, 6:42/min (Houston Striders) - 24th overall
Greg Boncimino, 2:35:37.2, 8:22/min (Houston Striders)
Tim Mitchell, 2:43:33.1, 8:48/min
Cathy Clancy, 3:09:08.6, 10:10/min

Also lurking at mile 14-15 were Striders Whitney LaRocca and Stacy Stepler. Like Cassie yesterday, I was their motivation in this big orange target - today, it was the NYC race jacket! And they finally caught me once we got quite a ways on to the parking lot of the First Colony Mall. As they went by, they really left something in the tank because I started to sprint before the last series of turns (right, left and right to the finish) and couldn't catch them. (I'm telling you ... it is this desire to not be beat by the guy who is a little bit bigger than the rest of them!)

That's OK, I consider both Whitney and Stacy very good friends although I don't see them much. Stacy was in our Fitness group (with Clarence Silva, Becky Stevens, Sophie Rydin, Stephanie Salyer, Amy Parker, John Ainsworth and Lynn Stengel) in the Fall '04 session of Power In Motion. I really didn't get to know Whitney until last year's Longest Long Run when we pretty much ran together from mile 4 on in.

Great job ladies - and bloggers alike!

Houston Running Bloggers at Run The Woodlands 5K #143

Front row (L to R): Jennifer Kim, Cassie Cowan, Waverly Walk, Sarah Graybeal, Edwin Quarles, Jessica Alexander and Holden Choi. Back row (L to R): Keith Kelleher, Joe Breda, Jon Walk, David Smart, Steve Bezner. (Photo courtesy of Debbie Tripp)