7HRC VP Swearingen takes second chance on soccer at SHSU

(Note: At last Thursday's Seven Hills Running Club meeting, members voted Nikki Swearingen in as the club's new vice president, taking over for Lindsey Boller who had moved to Spring.)

Former Lady Hornet star sparks struggling Bearkats
By Gene Schallenberg, The Huntsville Item, 10/29/06

Second chances. Many athletes dream of playing sports in college, but only a small percentage ever get that chance.

A dramatically smaller amount get a second chance.

Former Huntsville High School soccer star Nikki Swearingen is living that dream.

Swearingen was initially recruited in her senior year by Sam Houston State soccer head coach Marcia Oliveira. Swearingen, however, had other plans and declined Oliveira’s invitation. Those plans consisted of going to Texas A&M to study nutrition and education, as well as train for marathons.

Like many young people, Swearingen’s plans changed.

While Swearingen still trains for marathons today, she did not feel Texas A&M comforting.

“It wasn’t for me. It was too big,” she said.

After her brief stint in Aggieland, Swearingen decided to return home and enroll at Sam Houston State. Oliveira found Swearingen on SHSU’s campus and invited her yet again to join the team. Again, Swearingen declined.

Swearingen said she wanted to focus attention on her classes and her preparation for marathons.

Swearingen and Oliveira kept crossing paths. As luck would have it, Swearingen enrolled in Oliveira’s soccer class this fall.

“Nikki admitted to me that she had fun playing and that she missed playing soccer,” Oliveira said.

Injuries to SHSU soccer players Mary MacGregor, Yoanna Garcia and Laura Ybanez put Oliveira in an interesting position. With some of the Bearkats’ scoring threats sidelined with injuries, Oliveira needed someone to help put goals in the nets. There was Swearingen at her disposal.

Oliveira, for a third time, asked Swearingen to join her soccer team.

“It pays to be persistent,” Oliveira said.“After thinking about it, this would be my last chance to play competitive soccer at this level, and I have always wanted to play at this level,” Swearingen added.

Swearingen played her first collegiate soccer game on Oct. 1. Her debut was everything Oliveira expected. Swearingen assisted Raquel Bueno on the game’s lone goal to defeat Texas State.

“I didn’t play for two years. I was scared out of my shoes, but playing soccer is great. I really missed playing,” Swearingen said.

This dream for Swearingen almost didn’t happen at all. In her junior year of high school, Swearingen was hospitalized with anorexia nervosa. This condition kept her from playing, rendering her physically and mentally unfit to compete.

She has returned to the field, and in no time began contributing to the Bearkats’ team this season. “Nikki is a hard worker. She strives for excellence. She provides speed and good passing for those necessary game situations. Her work is phenomenal,” Oliveira said.

“Being able to play soccer in college is once in a lifetime. I have my whole life to run marathons,” Swearingen said.

After collegiate soccer is over, Swearingen plans on working for a ministry for young adults using outdoor adventure sports.

“I want to get to that point of pushing your body to be spiritually dependent on God. God brought me back to soccer and God brought me back from anorexia,” Swearingen said.

Swearingen and the rest of the Bearkat soccer team return to action today against Southeastern Louisiana at 1 p.m. at Pritchett Field. The game will mark the final contest of the season for the Bearkats.

405 Have Run Both HARRA Fall Series Individual Races

Long-time "Houston Running" blog readers knew it would just be a matter of time!

While this list is not able to take into account those runners who volunteered or participated in the event's relay competition, 405 runners have completed both of the HARRA Fall Series individual races -- the United Space Alliance 10-Miler and the Koala Health & Wellness Center Luke's Locker Houston Half Marathon.

Of the 405, they've ranged all the way from 13-year-old Brittani Johnson to 75-year-old veteran Sadie Greenman.

The top 10 male runners in combined time are as follows:

1. Vaughn Gibbs, 2:08:32
2. Ray Ceasar Martinez, 2:10:45
3. Francisco Perez, 2:13:11
4. Gerardo Mora, 2:14:51
5. Christopher Bittinger, 2:19:10
6. Joe Oveido, 2:19:41
7. Richard Peoples, 2:21:40
8. Rich Fredrich, 2:24:19
9. Andrew Keller, 2:26:37
10. Chad James, 2:28:01

The top 10 female runners in combined times are as follows:

1. Susan Walters, 2:32:23
2. Lisa Tilton-McCarthy, 2:32:36 (sandwiched a Huntsville Half Marathon win in between)
3. Olya Perevalova, 2:34:33
4. Debbie Rudisill, 2:34:42
5. Michelle Friedman, 2:36:39
6. Helen Grant, 2:37:26
7. Bonnie Jo Barron, 2:43:48
8. Liz Schwandt, 2:45:42
9. Jody Berry, 2:47:02
10. Melissa Hurta, 2:48:37

The top 10 male masters runners in combined times are as follows:

1. Francisco Perez, 43, 2:13:11
2. Gerardo Mora, 40, 2:14:51
3. Richard Peoples, 47, 2:21:40
4. Rich Fredrich, 49, 2:24:19
5. Elias Deetlefs, 48, 2:28:04
6. Francisco Garza, 41, 2:30:55
7. Kevin Regis, 47, 2:31:53
8. Ted Traynor, 57, 2:32:10
9. David Depinet, 43, 2:32:48
10. Mike Crowley, 42, 2:33:34

The top 10 female masters runners in combined times are as follows:

1. Susan Walters, 42, 2:32:23
2. Helen Grant, 43, 2:37:26
3. Bonnie Jo Barron, 44, 2:43:48
4. Liz Schwandt, 44, 2:45:42
5. Jody Berry, 46, 2:47:02
6. Melissa Hurta, 43, 2:48:37
7. Anna Sumrall Helm, 40, 2:50:13
8. Phyllis Aswell, 40, 2:54:32
9. Miriam Terc, 48, 3:01:21
10. Annie Hadow, 42, 3:01:56

The top 10 male veterans runners in combined times are as follows:

1. Ted Traynor, 57, 2:32:10
2. Ben Harvie, 59, 2:33:35
3. Scott Bounds, 54, 2:34:38
4. Mark Anderson, 54, 2:36:09
5. Mark Girouard, 50, 2:38:54
6. Dale Lee, 50, 2:39:31
7. Tom Pasquini, 53, 2:41:28
8. Rich Siemens, 66, 2:43:34
9. Kenneth Ruane, 65, 2:44:22
10. Darrell Sterns, 55, 2:45:14

The top 10 female veterans runners in combined times are as follows:

1. Alice Keelin, 57, 3:08:10
2. Diane Patterson, 50, 3:13:44
3. Gail Sabanosh, 51, 3:24:24
4. Angela Oltean, 57, 3:30:49
5. Vickie Horst, 53, 3:34:11
6. Kathleen Mahon, 51, 3:38:15
7. Ursala Spilger, 65, 3:39:28
8. Cathy Beavers, 54, 3:42:33
9. Carol Croom, 59, 3:45:44
10. Sue Christoffersen, 50, 3:46:43

Updated Ironfoot Streakers (as profiled in October 2006 Footprints)
* this list doesn't take into account volunteering and isn't an official HARRA stat

23 - Eric Faria, BCRR
19 - Kathleen Mahon, BCRR
14 - Jack Lippincott, TTC
13 - Joe Carey, BARC
11 - Richard Fredrich, TTC
9 - Francisco Garza, TOR
9 - Roger Redding, BARC
8 - Bonnie Jo Barron, BCRR
8 - Chris Buchanan, BCRR
8 - German Collazos, HMSA
8 - Bill Cox, HS

Potentially more to come!

Chevron Houston Marathon's Karpas runs 3:11:55 at MCM

Six hundred (600) Texans completed the 31st running of the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. and running sixth among all of them was the head of the Chevron Houston Marathon, 40-year-old Steven Karpas.

Karpas went through the front half in 1:31:50 before finishing with a time of 3:11:55. According to marathonguide.com, it was Karpas' fourth marathon since 2002. His finishes are as follows:

3:04:32 - 2002 Chicago Marathon
4:14:31 - 2004 New York City Marathon (ran with his wife, Carolyn)
3:04:30 - 2005 Austin Marathon
3:11:55 - 2006 Marine Corps Marathon

Karpas ran a 2:59:38 at the 1998 Chicago Marathon.

28 Texans qualified for the Boston Marathon based on their current age and performance on Sunday. They were as follows:

3:00:11 - Adam Jackson, 42, Cypress (HF/TOR; ran Boston in '05 after qualifying in Houston)
3:01:11 - Ricky Mitchell, 35, Houston
3:07:30 - Brandon Langlinais, 33, Houston (4th BQ since '03 with
3:07:45 - Timothy Seipel, 30, Houston (doctor who ran 3rd BQ in 2 years; ran Boston '05,'06)
3:09:16 - Nathan Stone, 26, Dallas
3:11:55 - Steven Karpas, 40, Houston
3:15:10 - Steven Cohen, 42, Coppell
3:28:06 - Ken Washburn, 46, Boerne
3:30:57 - Robert Miracky, 51, Austin
3:44:07 - Jim Mayo, 57, Coppell
3:55:34 - Jim Sampson, 67, Richardson
4:11:47 - Daniel Shuff, 71, San Antonio

3:22:20 - Monique Ecker, 37, Dallas
3:25:50 - Meda Bourland, 44, Arlington
3:33:36 - Donna Sterns, 53, Sugarland (HH) - first marathon since '04 Houston (3:27:33)
3:33:53 - Karen Nyberg, 37, Seabrook - astronaut's time was just 12 seconds off '06 Houston
3:33:58 - Tanda Langford, 31, Fort Worth
3:34:29 - Courtney Taylor, 23, Houston
3:37:57 - Gianna Cerullo, 40, Dallas
3:40:33 - Ann Cruce-Roberts, 31, Lubbock
3:40:55 - Sherry Bankhead, 34, Houston - by four seconds!
3:45:39 - Ingrid Nystrom, 40, El Paso
3:49:08 - Kathy Senese, 43, Dallas
3:50:47 - Caryn Honig, 41, Bellaire (ALRC)
3:53:03 - Catherine Miller, 50, Austin
3:57:19 - Kim Martin, 47, Fort Worth
4:00:15 - Kathy Redfern, 59, Dallas
4:03:41 - Marti Holland, 51, Plano

Potentially more later!

Wade, Ray win 1st annual Houston Half Marathon

With 33-year-old Ray Ceaser Martinez and 32-year-old Vaughn Gibbs tucked in behind the entire way, 40-year-old Sean Wade scored his 8th career Warm-Up Series win on Sunday by posting a 1:12:51.2 finish in today's Houston Half Marathon.

Martinez, a Kenyan Way participant who was running his very first half marathon today, was just three-hundreths of a second behind under Wade's watchful eye as they came down the finishing stretch. Gibbs finished less than 5 seconds later in 1:12:56.0. (Martinez was 10th overall in the 2005 ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run 10K and won his 30-34 age group with a time of 35:18. Wade won that race in 31:18.)

As the female runners completed the first loop of the course, relay runner Agustina Foglietta, who completed the first half in 40:28, led with Heidy Lozano second and triathlete Autumn Ray third. But by the time runners completed their second loop, the 26-year-old multi-sport star had passed Lozano, last year's 30k overall winner, as they held on to their finish while 39-year-old Lisa Tilton-McCarthy grabbed third 23 seconds in front of Susan Walters.

Ray won the event in a time of 1:23:39.6 while Lozano clocked a finish of 1:24:17.9. Tilton-McCarthy, who won last weekend's Huntsville Half Marathon, was third in 1:25:22.2.

Warm-Up Series Data

Sean Wade has won the 20k/Half six of the last eight years.

Six years ago today, Rudy Rocha won the 20k in 1:06:58.9 and last year, Baytown's hometown favorite finished second to Luis Armenteros. His 8th Warm-Up Series win is 5th all-time.

Francisco Perez, 41, captured his third Masters Warm-Up Series win in four tries. He won Masters division of the 20k last year in 1:11:36.9 and the 30k in 1:50:47.8. He was less than a minute from making it a clean sweep a year ago as Bernie Weber won the Masters in the 25k last season in 1:35:21.6.

After finishing second in the 25k last year and punching her Invited Runner ticket to the Houston Marathon, triathlete Autumn Ray won her first Warm-Up series race. Last year she covered the 25k distance in a 6:49 pace while hammering out a 6:23 pace today to win.

43-year-old Heidy Lozano won the 30k last December outright with a time of 2:04:48.3. Therefore, today's second place finish to Ray gives her a second consecutive Warm-Up Series win.

Chevron Houston Marathon Invited Runner Status

If my information is correct, five (5) men and just two (2) women secured Invited Runner status as a result of today's race. They are as follows:

Male
Sean Wade (Open, 1:12:51.2, best time under 1:18:29)
Francisco Perez (M40, 1:14:43.5, best time under 1:20:29)
Edward Fry (M50, 1:25:15.1, best time under 1:26:44)
Allan Conley (M60, 1:31:01.2, best time under 1:34:31)
Ino Cantu (M70, 1:40:26.6, best time under 1:45:05)
Female
Autumn Ray (Open, 1:23:39.6, best time under 1:30:08)
Heidy Lozano (F40, 1:24:17.9, best time under 1:133:20)

Carole Uttecht met the female 50-59 standard today; however, she already secured her invitation with her performance in the 2006 Chevron Houston Marathon.

Two weeks ago at the USA 10-Miler, the Houston Striders' Ted Traynor was one minute, 44.3 seconds off of the men's 50-59 standard for that distance. Today, as one of the top veterans runners in town, Traynor met the half marathon standard but watched Edward Fry outsprint him to the finish line by two (2) seconds, 1:25:15.1 to 1:25:17.1.

Special Congratulations

Lots to eventually talk about today; however, I want to extend two big congratulations to Jan Poscovsky and Vic Kaiser. While they spent a little extra time on the course today than both of today's winners, they deserve recognition as well as winners and the front runners.

Jan did today's half marathon in 3:19:29.4 a week after doing the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon (which was her third and personal best of 6:41:09) and Vic came very, very close to breaking three hours in his race distance PR and - in fact - he did! Chip time of 2:59:56.3! I had the pleasure, as I walked the course (out to the turnaround on Shepherd and back) to cheer people on, to see both of them on the course in the latter stages of the race.

Best of the Bloggers

Edwin Quarles (BARRA) - 1:38:52.8 PR!
Keith Kelleher - 1:49:35.7 PR!
Joe Carey (BARC) - 1:49:43.2 PR!
Bill Cox (HS) - 2:00:16.2 Debut!
James David Dykas (HF) - 2:01:06.0 PR!
Jessica Alexander (HS) - 2:01:54.8
Holden Choi (HS) - 2:02:29.6 PR!
Barbara Boone - 2:05:19.2
Bob Entwhistle - 2:07:15.0
June Vidrine (HS) - 2:31:13.2 Debut!
Jaclyn Dykas (HF) - 2:31:41.9 (hubby blogs for her!)
Jennifer Kim (HS) - 2:56:29.8 Debut!
Vic Kaiser (HS) - 2:59:56.3 Debut!
Jan Poscovsky (FBF) - 3:19:29.4

Overall Numbers

Today's race featured 2,576 runners that included a record 131 relay teams (up from last year's high of 96 finishing teams). The former 20K event featured 2,636 finishers per the results on the houstonhalf.com website. The last seven years are listed here as follows:

2000 - 1,873 finishers (no relay)
2001 - 2,229 (including 36 teams)
2002 - 2,380 (including 36 teams)
2003 - 2,453 (including 58 teams)
2004 - 2,636 (including 95 teams)
2005 - 2,391 (including 96 teams)
2006 - 2,576 (including 131 teams)

Not counting the relay teams, this year featured the highest percentage of female finishers since 2000 - 48.7%. The complete numbers are as follows:

2000 - 59.8% male (1,120 to 753 female)
2001 - 58.0% male (1,250 to 907 female)
2002 - 56.2% male (1,296 to 1,012 female)
2003 - 55.2% male (1,288 to 1,045 female)
2004 - 52.7% male (1,289 to 1,157 female)
2005 - 53.2% male (1,169 to 1,030 female)
2006 - 51.3% male (1,187 to 1,127 female)

Record number of runners in the following age groups were seen in the following groups:

+ Female 19-U (19)
+ Female 20-24 (67)
+ Female 35-39 (224)
+ Female 45-49 (135)
+ Female 55-59 (35)
+ Male 60-64 (44)
+ Male 65-69 (17)

Best of HARRA Presidents

Tom Stilwell (2005-2006) - 1:26:33.9
Anna Sumrall Helm (Current) - 1:35:34.4
Joe Sellers (2000-2002) - 2:11:29.3

Rocky Raccoon 25K DNF's Me For Sunday

It was a bit of a disappointing morning in Huntsville's State Park, but I'm at a place with things right now that I'm not going to beat myself up over it. It is what it is. My body is not in the shape to be racing longer distances - even though those are the ones that I enjoy the most.

I had some thoughts about trying to take it easy with enough to leave my body in a position to complete the "Houston Quintuple", but it just isn't going to be. I had the alarm set for 4:45 p.m. to make a last-minute drive to Luke's Locker on West Gray. But with the temperatures inching up tomorrow morning and my body not feeling the best (although better than last Saturday after the Huntsville Half), I just decided to sit this one out.

As far as Huntsville went, I experienced double calf cramps somewhere around mile 6 and power walked much of it on in. I finished in 3:38:24 - a very far cry from last year's 3:02 (when I cramped up in the last 2.9 miles - from the last aid station), but I was determined not to take a "DNF".

Cassie Cowan did very well for doing her first trail race. I think she'd say that she found it a bit challenging, but finished with a respectable 3:04.

Rocky Raccoon 25K/50K race director Paul Stone - we have a mutual friend in former Palestine Herald Press sports editor Kevin Taylor - does a very good job with this event and Waverly got to help out at the start/finish line aid station and had a great time. Three clubs handle the aid stations at this event. They are the Hillcountry Trailrunners (nice people), the Seven Hills Running Club and the Tornados Running Club. We just weren't going to get there early enough or stay late enough for Waverly to work the Seven Hills aid station with Ken Johnson's wife, Marilyn, and John Cook's wife, Kathy - both who treat Waverly very well.

Seven Hills had a good contingent running the event, but I wasn't part of too much of the good!

In the 25k was Sara Seale, John Cook, Melissa Broussard, Jan Parks, Dr. Christopher Wilson, Ken Johnson and myself. In the 50k was Juan Melchor (who set a distance PR), Gerald Peters, Felix and Rick Cook. Rick was attempting this three weeks after going 85 at the Arkansas Traveller 100, came through the first loop in 2:34.

His report -- "Just before Amy's Crossing on the way back from the first aid station, I tore my right calf muscle. I waited until after the 7 Hills aid station to place my left heel lift in with my right and it helped enough to keep me moving. I should have walked more, but once it tears it's over. Then around the water only station (at mile 11.5), I had the back of my left knee flare up (AR100 injury) and it was all pain from there. I came home ate and took a two hour nap. It hurts to walk up and down the stairs. I feel about the same way I did a week after AT100."

He indicated that he may have to scratch Sunmart and Bandera to finally kill the 100-mile Raccoon in February.

I was there when Bayou City's Suzy Seeley finished as the women's winner of the 50K. (One thing that I noticed is that she immediately went to the massage table to get her legs worked on.)

It was good to see Pam Paling, Frank Halter, Lisa Ruthven and Jack Rubalcalva - friends from the Striders there. They'll be doing chip removal duties tomorrow at the Houston Half. Pam and Frank looked strong early in the 25k. Lisa is recovering from a cracked rip and she and Jack walked the entire course. Jack took his time and when he came in, passed the orange cones and the volunteer checked to see if his number got one of the finisher's items, he said, "I get an award?" It was funny!

The people report is incredible as always. I had people that said my name while I was running that I didn't know even who they were. It is kind of embarrassing at times, but incredibly amazing. Let's see if I forget anybody:

+ Andrew Perry was running second in the 25k. Perry finished 4th at Ten For Texas, works for Luke's in The Woodlands and used to run for Caney Creek HS. Really a nice kid!
+ Kirk Norton, an RTW regular who did his first trail run. Perry was running second early in the race while Norton was running fourth.
+ Russell Meyer of The Woodlands Running Club (and the Houston Harriers). Russell was running eighth early.
+ Met The Woodlands Running Club president Scott Campbell and his wife, Amy (who is a physical therapist).
+ Saw Vincent Aquirre with the Tornados when we went off the road at the Nature Center on to the trails. I said, "Nice job in Des Moines", but I don't think he either heard me or knew where the voice was coming from.
+ Saw Paul Brundage, a RTW regular. (Not sure he knows who I am.)
+ Talked to Fred Dwyer, a really nice guy who I met for the first time at the Webster Bicycle Duathlon in La Marque two summers ago. He told me not to worry about all of the fast folks when I got my bike out of the pickup truck - like a rookie! He said he was taking it easy today and racing hard tomorrow.
+ Saw and talked to Steve and Paula Boone of the 50 States Marathon Club. (Steve came in from the first loop, as they were doing the 50k, and told Waverly, "How are you? I haven't seen you in forever?") Want to do a fun marathon one time? Do theirs on the first of January!
+ Paula Robertson, creator of the "Love The Half" Texas Challenge. She's starting a new half marathon in May in Irving called the "Heels and Hills Half Marathon".
+ Susan Rouse of The Woodlands, who is participating in "Pick Lance's Time" contest walked up and introduced herself shortly after finishing the 50k. She asked if I was Jon Walk and I responded, "Am I trouble?" She laughed and said, "No," and added something to the effect of that's what happens when I put my picture on the Internet. :)

I'll see a lot of you tomorrow as I'll have tape recorder in tow - looking for stories for Footprints. To those who are running, do your best!

RTW 5K #165 to Benefit 3-Year-Old Hans Weberling

Saturday, November 11, 2006, 8:00 a.m.
Run The Woodlands 5K #165, Barbara Bush Elementary, The Woodlands, TX

All monies from the race will go to the family of Hans Weberling, who is the 3-year-old son of Woodlands Fit runner Lara Weberling. This effort is being spearheaded by Beth Whitehead and Luke's Locker The Woodlands store manager Susie Schreiber informed this evening that everything was a "go" to donate all monies to the family.

Beth wrote the following on Wednesday for the Woodlands Fit newsletter --

"One of our runners, Lara Weberling got some horrible news this weekend. Her little boy, Hans, who is only 3, has cancer. Being the mother of two young ones, this really hits too close to home for me. I haven't spoken with Lara directly but apparently he had a mass that was misdiagnosed as an infection.

"This weekend, she took him to the ER to only find out after a biopsy that not only was it a cancerous mass, but that it had spread to his liver. Today, I found out it maybe in his bone marrow as well. I am not sure what Lara needs at this time but if any of you would be interested in doing something for their family please let me know.

"Lara teaches at my children's pre-school and now with Hans being in the hospital, I am sure she will not be returning. I really do not know how this will affect their family financially. I will keep you all updated on little Hans. Please keep him in your prayers tonight! If you have children, thank God for that and be thankful that they are healthy, give them an extra little kiss tonight, and never for one single second take them for granted!"

As I receive more information, I will pass it along!

If you've already planned on doing another 5K in town that day (as there are at least four races), it is completely understandable for you to support those causes. However, if you are thinking about one and you haven't registered for one, give this situation your utmost consideration and do what you can over and above the $1 entry fee.

Seven Hills Running Club Meeting Thursday Night

The turnout this past Thursday night wasn't as large as the last Seven Hills Running Club meeting, but the company was just as nice and positive. I was fortunate enough - with Waverly, of course - to be in town to be able to make the post-Half Marathon club meeting.

It was threatened throughout the week to make sure that you showed up so that you weren't voted in as an officer in abstentia. For that reason alone, I made sure that I was there. Rick Cook and his son, Cooper, couldn't be there as the youngster wasn't feeling well.

There were a couple of folks who I didn't catch their names. (The couple in the corner to Ken's left and the young lady sitting to the right of Lindsey.) However, I think the roll call was something like this:

+ Ken Johnson and his wife, Marilyn
+ Waverly and myself
+ Christopher Wilson and his wife (Chris is on the cover of this month's Inside Texas Running)
+ Hans Jaeger and his wife
+ True Cousins and his wife, Esther
+ Glenn Carter
+ Marisa Padilla (a fellow Spring High School graduate)
+ Lindsey Boller (a Spring resident now with her husband, Joey)
+ Juan Melchor (at the end of the table)
+ J.C. Guzman
+ Niki Swearingen (who took over for Lindsey as Vice-President)
+ Ben Johnson, Ken's son
+ Eric Pittman, Ken's son-in-law, and his daughter and grandson
+ John, Kathy and Colleen Cook

Ken pointed out that the entries for the Huntsville Half Marathon/5K were up by about 20-to-30. He indicated that the club pays its expenses, retains a $500 management fee and then gives all of the monies to two local charities and he said that he thought that it would come in somewhere over $3,000. (This isn't any secret information as it will be in the club's newsletter, "Hill Peek", in November.)

He recognized the committee chairpersons - Kathy, Lindsey and Christopher - for their efforts on Saturday and they really all did a heck of a job. Kathy is really the star of the show, though. She was there before 6 a.m. training the volunteers on how to handle everything and then was also responsible for the start/finish area. I mean it was even a pleasure to see Hans on the course, waving a flag and directing traffic (but I'd rather have seen Melissa four times instead of Hans)!

I think that is what I like about Seven Hills. Ken treats everyone the same and I haven't found an ego yet. I joined the club at the start of 2005 because Ken kept inviting me to come up and run the trails with them. I figured at $7 that the least that I could do was support the club in what they were doing ... in return, I have a ton of friends.

Even though I was on the losing end of some friendly competition back in August at Run The Woodlands 5K, I was thankful that I had a very small part in facilitating one of the club's largest turnout in its history.

The funniest moment, though, of the whole evening is that our waitress at the Junction Restaraunt was a young lady named Candis Smith and a collection was taken up - not out of her tip, of course - to pay for her to become a 7HRC member that evening after winning her 20-24 age group in the 5K on Saturday.

Haven't You Seen This At A Race Before?

These are the antithesis of the "Success" motivational posters.

Saturday's Houston Area Race Schedule

Courtesy of Bonnie Jo Barron

Goblin Gallop 5K, Deer Park, TX 8:00 AM (also, Kid's Mile, 9:00 AM)
610 E. San Augustine, Deer Park, 77536
Chip-Yes; On-Line sign up: No
Nice trophies as awards
Awards: OA and OA Masters and 3 deep in 5 year AG up to 80+

Great Pumpkin Fun Run, Houston Zoo, 8:00 AM (also, 3M Walk, 8:10 AM and 1K Kids, 9:00 AM)
Chip-Yes; (Gary Mulvihill)
On-Line sign up at: www.texasheart.org
Awards: OA and OA Masters and 3 deep in 5 year AG up to 70+

League City Rotary 10K and 5K, 8:00AM
South Shore Harbour Resort and Conference Center-2500 South Shore Blvd, League City
Chip: Yes;
On-Line sign up at: www.signmeup.com
Awards: OA in both 10K and 5K; 3 deep in 5 year AG up to 65+
Awards for OA in 10K receive hotel package to South Shore Harbour
Awards for OA in 5K receive pair of Mizuno running shoes

YMCA Creepy Crawl Clay Road 5K, 8:00AM (also Rascal Run 1M, 9:15 AM)
10655 Clay Road Family YMCA Houston, TX 77041 (713-467-9622)
Awards Male and Female, 1-3 place (not sure about AG's)

Boo Run 5K, 7:00 AM
New Beginnings Church - 14325 Crescent Landing, Houston, TX
281-990-8890 Cynthia Rogers (Cjrogers3@yahoo.com) www.nbcchurch.com
Chip-yes
On-line sign up: www.signmeup.com
Awards: OA and OA masters and 3 deep AG up to 75+

Monster Mash 5K, 8:00 AM
Friendswood, TX
Contact: Dawn Johnson, 281-996-8902 dawn.johnson@alptx.com

16th Annual Rocky Raccoon 50K and 25K--50K 7:00AM; 25K 8:00AM
Huntsville State Park, Texas Raven Lodge
On-Line sign up: www.active.com website: www.geocities.com/badwater75757/etultra.html
Contact: Paul Stone badwater75757@yahoo.com 903-894-9788
Awards are guaranteed to runners who registered by October 14th--limited to first 600 entrants

How Fast Were Adere and Bogomolova at the End?

The top two women in Sunday's Chicago Marathon, the winner Berhane Adere and the runner-up Galina Bogomolova, in the final 2+ kilometers were faster than all but nine (9) and 16 men, respectively, as they covered the distance in 7 minutes, 16 seconds and 7:21.

The 5-second difference, of course, was the margin of victory for Adere, 2:20:42 to 2:20:47.

Six (6) men, three Kenyans and three Americans, covered the same distance in less than seven (7) minutes.

The two fastest, of course, were Robert Cheriuyot and Daniel Njenga, who covered the distance in 6:34 and 6:39, respectively. Third place finisher Jimmy Muindi ran it in 6:49. 12th place finisher Clint Verran led the Americans in 6:54 while Brian Sell (6th) and Mike Johnson (14th) made the distance in 6:58.

To put Cheriuyot and Njenga's speed that late in the race into perspective, the top three Texas runners covering that same distance -- Beeville's Eric Rivas and Houston's John Yoder and Brett Riley -- seems rather pedestrian. They went 8:38, 8:43 and 8:49.

Here's a scary thought for you. Cheriuyot and Njenga were faster - in the last 2+ kilometers - than everybody but ... just four of the wheelchair competitors!

Three of those were the top three finishers (Joshua George, Saul Mendoza and Krige Schabort) as they hit the distance in 5:30, 5:31 and 5:32, respectively.

More Chicago Marathon Stats: Texas Runners

836 Texas finishers -- 102 Boston Qualifiers -- 52 men and 50 women

Fastest male -- Laredo's Benny Rodriguez, 2:31:23
Fastest female -- Houston's Caroline Burum, 2:59:33 (HARRA and master, age 41)

Fastest male HARRA member -- Houston's Brett Riley, 2:37:02

Fastest male master -- Mexia's Pete Martinez, age 44, 2:47:35

Fastest male 50-59 -- Sugar Land's Leonard Mallett, age 50, 3:31:51
Fastest female 50-59 -- Austin's Marcia Herzik Ralph, age 52, 3:35:46

Fastest male 60-69 -- Dallas' John Atwood, age 64, 4:32:15
Fastest female 60-69 -- Houston's Judy Loy, age 68, 4:51:16 (Oldest)

Youngest male -- Flower Mound's Andrew Scaparra, age 16, 6:00:43
Youngest female -- Fort Worth's Audrey Parker, age 17, 5:54:11

Oldest male -- Rosenberg's John Fredrickson, age 68, 4:55:31
Oldest male -- Aransas Pass' Charles Yost, age 68, 5:11:20

Fastest male time w/o qualifying for Boston -- Dallas' Eric Lindberg, age 34, 3:12:08
Fastest female time w/o qualifying for Boston -- Texarkana's Kristi Robinson, age 32, 3:42:37 (I originally had typed 3:32:37. It was a typo.)

Interestingly, Lindberg has still come up short after dropping his time down from last year's 3:27:13 at White Rock in Dallas. Robinson, however, ran 3:41:19 in Chicago last year (close again, huh?) but scored the BQ at Dallas in December with a 3:36:53. At Boston, she ran 3:46:19 this past April.

Closest Texan to miss qualifying for Boston -- Katy's Sean Dunbar, by 2 seconds, 3:16:01 (But don't cry for Sean. He ran a 3;07:07 in Boston this past April.)

16 runners had their 5K time get slower each split throughout the race ...
Fastest male -- Frisco's Jerry Hodges, age 36, 3:04:27
Fastest female -- Amarillo's Shirley Walker, age 43, 3:36:01

3 runners had their 5K time get faster each split throughout the race. They were ...
+ Bellaire's Kent Heck, age 44, 3:35:22
+ Dallas' Germaine Kropilak, age 46, 3:53:36
+ Carrollton's Josh Steele, age 29, 4:02:33

Fastest negative split by a male -- Rancho Viejo's Octvaio Gomez, age 29, 16 minutes, 39 seconds (2:32:13 front half, 2:15:34 back half -- 4:47:47 finish)
Fastest negative split by a female -- Houston's Theresa Strong, age 47, 26 minutes, 20 seconds (2:56:41 front half, 2:20:21 back half -- 5:27:02 finish)

Fastest front half by a male -- Laredo's Benny Rodriguez, age 30, 1:12:16
Fastest front half by a female -- Kingwood's Caroline Chamness, age 41, 1:29:29

Fastest back half by a male -- Rodriguez, 1:19:07
Fastest back half by a female -- Houston's Caroline Burum, age 41, 1:29:37

There were eight 5K timing opportunities for all runners. Rodriguez had the fastest male split in the first seven (7) 5Ks while Beeville's Eric Rivas was the fastest male between the 35K and 40K mark -- in 19:18. Houston's John Yoder was second in 19:36. For the women, Chamness was the fastest female in the first two 5K's while Burum nailed the last six (6) 5K's as the fastest.

Burum kept her 5K splits between 21-even and 21:30 the entire race, including a last 5K that was 21:14. She had a 19-second negative split overall.

Kingwood's Mike Cothron at Chicago!

Kingwood's Mike Cothron looking cool in Chicago as he does every year there (since 2001) and here in Houston! Little slower than most years (6:36:56), but still as much fun!
(Photo courtesy of runjenrun.com)

Record number of U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifiers

The USATF, in the following news release, confirmed the number of U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifiers that "Houston Running" reported to you on Sunday evening --

CHICAGO -- U.S. distance running again saw another highpoint with 44 men and 25 women qualifying for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, the most in a single race to date. Each earned The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon's American Development Bonus and time bonuses for posting the qualifying times.

The American Development Bonus offered an $80,000 prize purse to U.S. citizens in The 2006 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and will be split among the first twenty-five (25) U.S. male citizen finishers and first twenty-five (25) U.S. female citizen finishers.

The American Development Bonus will also pay an additional incentive for the U.S. athletes who ran under the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying times. A bonus of $2,500 will be paid to the 20 men and three women who met the respective "A" Standards of 2:20:00 and 2:39:00. A bonus of $1,500 will be paid to the 24 men and 22 women who met the respective "B" Standards of 2:22:00 and 2:47:00. The time bonuses are based on gun/clock time finish and are not cumulative.

Karen Thibodeaux Lands Billboard Picture

It's odd, in a way. I have many good friends.

That fact alone gives me a lot of feeder material for this blog, HARRA's Footprints in Inside Texas Running or when I get the "Talking The Talk" column fired back up in Runner Triathlete News.

One of those good friends is Karen Thibodeaux. She shared with me last night via e-mail that one of her pictures that she took at an out of town race is being used on a billboard along Interstate 45 near The Woodlands.

She didn't ask for me to post this; however, I thought that it was pretty cool nonetheless!

Houston's 2-Time Defending Champ Finished 6th in Baltimore

The two-time defending champion of the Chevron Houston Marathon, David Cheruiyot, who recently turned 36, finished sixth two weekends ago at the Under Armour Baltimore Marathon with his slowest marathon time in the last two years, 2:18:27.

Reminiscent of his telling Houston Marathon officials that the pace in which he won the 2005 event, prompting the event to hire Houstonian Sean Wade as a rabbit through the first 13 miles, it was reported in the Baltimore Sun that Cheruiyot "lamented dawdling tactics that played into the hands of the younger, faster (Yirefu) Birhanu."

It also reported that "both Cheruiyot and Antonenko threw in tentative surges, but when no takers went along, they receded back into a pack of a baker's dozen heading into Fort McHenry, near Mile 10."

Last year, Cheruiyot used a 2:17:10 effort on October 16th to win the Toronto Marathon - his third win in 2005 - as part of his build-up to run 2:12:02 this past January here in Houston.

Cheruiyot's times according to marathonguide.com the past two years are as follows:

2:14:50 - hp Houston Marathon, 1/16/05 (1st)
2:15:24 - Freescale Austin Marathon, 2/13/05 (4th)
2:14:20 - Ottawa Marathon, 5/29/05 (1st)
2:17:10 - Toronto Marathon, 10/16/05 (1st)

2:12:02 - Chevron Houston Marathon, 1/15/06 (1st)
2:11:07 - Ottawa Marathon, 5/28/06 (1st)
2:18:27 - Under Armour Baltimore Marathon, 10/14/06 (6th)

If Cheruiyot were to return to Houston in January and win, he would become:

+ the second runner to win three consecutive Houston Marathons - joining Kenya's Stephen Ndungu, who won three from 1998-2000
+ the fourth runner to win three Houston Marathons - joining Ndungu and 3-time women's winners Veronique Marot and Tatyana Pozdnyakova
+ the second oldest men's marathon winner behind Sean Wade, who won the 2003 event just before turning 37 less than two months later

Huntsville Half Marathon Splits

Don't look. These were ugly.

Mile 1 -- 10:30.18
Mile 2 -- 10:24.46
Mile 3 -- 10:38.82
Mile 4 -- 10:38.15
Mile 5 -- 10:50.72
Mile 6 -- 11:26.79
.55 Mile -- 6:13.49

Halfway -- 1:10:42.61

.45 Mile -- 5:27.19
Mile 7 -- 11:41.08 (this has to be the toughest mile on the course)
Mile 8 -- 11:49.32
Mile 9 -- 11:21.44
Mile 10 -- 12:06.96 (what's bad is that this stretch is about as flat as it gets)
Mile 11 -- 12:16.28
Mile 12 -- 12:25.94
Mile 13 -- 12:21.25
Last .1 -- 55.01

Overall -- 2:29:25.08

In all fairness, I should have volunteered the entire day - instead of just before and after - as this was one of those races that I shouldn't have run. Weight is up. Back is hurting. And we'll see if I can get my head screwed on straight before Saturday.

Aguirre, Brown and Rios take on Des Moines Marathon

(Update, 10/23/06) Tornados Running Club president Victor Aguirre paced club member Jennifer Brown through the first half at 1:34:36 before Brown ran into problems on the back half.

Aguirre, 54, from Katy, finished in 3:22:05 (6th in his age group) while the 30-year-old Brown completed the distance in 3:42:59.

Earlier this year, Brown covered the Freescale Austin Marathon course in 3:26:36.

I found out from talking with Joe Oveido at the Huntsville Half Marathon on Saturday, October 21st that Leno Rios of Dickinson ran this marathon as well. (How did I miss him as he finished just one spot behind Jennifer? Well, his town was listed as Dickinson, Iowa instead of Texas.)

An interesting side note from Des Moines -- the winner of this past year's 2006 Houston Press/Smart Financial 5K, Scott Gall, 32, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, was fourth in the Des Moines Half Marathon today with a time of 1:10:01.

Chicago Marathon Additional Notes

+ Only the top six (6) men from today's Chicago Marathon will crack the world top 100 for 2006 according to the Association of Road Racing Statisicians, but the top 11 women garnered top 100 spots with their performances today.

+ Four (4) national records were broken among the race's top four female finishers. They were as follows:
- Berhane Adere, Ethiopia, 2:20:42 (Getenesh Wami, 2:21:34, Berlin, 9/24/06)
- Galina Bogolomova, Russia, 2:20:47 (Lyudmila Petrova, 2:21:29, London, 4/23/06)
- Benita Johnson, Australia, 2:22:36 (Lisa Ondieki, 2:23:51, Osaka, 1/31/88)
- Madai Perez Carrillo, Mexico, 2:22:59 (Adriana Fernandez, 2:24:06, London, 4/18/99)

+ You say that Fernandez's name looks familiar? Yes, she was the 1996 winner of the Houston Marathon.

+ Meadville, Pennsylvania's Amy Winters' time of 3:04:16 on Sunday is particularly impressive any day that you look at. In 1992, the now 34-year-old woman ran the Boston Marathon in 3:16. You think to yourself, "Long layoff, but strong comeback." Well, you see, in May, Winters ran the Cleveland Marathon in 3:26:19 and finished 20th overall. But she did so as a below-knee amputee - and her time yesterday was a new world record! (Please read this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story for more!)

+ Romania's Nuta Olaru last month won the Boulder Backroads Marathon (and more than likely rubbed a little speed off on Joe Carey) in 2:43:10 as a tune-up for Sunday's Chicago Marathon. In doing so, she wasn't just the first female. She was also the first overall winner. Yesterday, Olaru finished 6th in 2:25:17 -- one spot behind Romania's Constantina Tomescu-Dita, who blew up after going out at a world-record pace.

+ A husband and wife from Dallas, Chris and Tova Sido, ran the Chicago Marathon in memory of their two children, Charles and Louisa, who passed away in 2003 and 2005, respectively, due to a little known illness called mitochondrial disease. (Their story is profiled here.) The Sidos, who were raising money for the disease with their run, ran in 3:54:13 and 3:58:36, respectively. (Some of you in the Houston area last year may have participated in a 5K downtown called Christopher's Heart 5K - that was run by current Power In Motion co-director Jack McClintic. That race, honoring the late Christopher Schindler, raised money for the same illness.)

+ Talk about a guy celebrating a win with a run! Sean Berkowitz, 39, of Chicago finished yesterday's marathon in 4:07:58. In fact, you might have seen Berkowitz training here in Houston for it as he was the lead prosecutor for the U.S. Justice Department's Enron Task Force that earned the convictions of Ken Lay and Jeffery Skilling.

+ Dean Karnazes of San Francisco, California ran his 36th marathon course on Sunday in 3:28:19 while Pam Reed, 45, of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, finished in 4:30:49. Both ultramarathoners, of course, are known for their efforts to run 300 or more miles without stopping. Karnazes will run the Twin Cities Marathon course later today before heading off Tuesday to run the Green Bay Marathon course with Reed. Karnazes' son, Nicholas, who will turn 9 on Tuesday will run the final 9 miles with his dad.

+ Rick Roeber, 50, of Lee's Summit, Missouri, also known as "The Barefoot Runner," covered the cold course in 3:38:07.

+ 13 of the top 25 and 30 of the top 34 men's finishers were Americans who met the United States Olympic Trials "A" qualifying standard of 2:19:00 (which includes an expenses paid trip to the U.S Olympic Trials). An additional 30 runners met the "B" qualifying standard of 2:21:00. Runners such as Abdi Abdirahman, Brandon Leslie, Jason Hartmann and Chris Seaton had already met the "B" qualifying standard in either the 5,000 meters or 10,000 meters; however, their marathon showing allowed then to meet the "A" standard.

+ On the women's side, only Elva Dryer and Colleen De Reuck, met the "A" qualifying standard with times of 2:31:48 and 2:33:18, respectively, and were the only Americans in the top 15. 23 of the next 24 finishers were Americans and those runners all met the "B" qualifying standard of times underneath 2:47:00.

Harbor Half Not the Highest Half in Texas

I had given some serious thought this weekend about driving down to Corpus Christi on Sunday to run in the Harbor Half. However, I didn't as I was pretty beat up from Saturday's half marathon in Huntsville.

You have to give the organizers credit in trying to bring people to its race. They have a banner ad on their main page that says, "13.1 Miles. Two Counties. One Big Bridge."

Race materials indicated that "the “Harbor Half” has many unique features beginning with a footrace across Corpus Christi’s Harbor Bridge. It is the highest half in Texas and will be guaranteed to challenge even the most seasoned runner."

Yes, it may be a challenge; however, it isn't the highest half in Texas.

That title belongs to the Prude Ranch Races - which includes a 5K, 10K and a half marathon - in Fort Davis, Texas, which was run on July 30th this year.

The town's website, fortdavis.com, states, "Fort Davis is the highest town in Texas at an elevation of 5,050 feet. Folks 'round here say "Enjoy Denver's altitude without the snow."

Man, I really hate to be the bearer of bad news on things like this.

Austin's Desiree Ficker 2nd at Ironman Kona

Ficker, 29, covered the Ironman distance (2.4 mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run) in 9:24:02 to finish second to Michellie Jones, who won in 9:18:31.

To read RunTex's report by Bob Wischnia, please click here.

The Woodlands' Emily Deppe finished 9th in her 25-29 age group with a time of 10:26:48. (I thought that Emily might had been the answer to a trivia question of being the only person to win a Run The Woodlands 5K and compete at Ironman Kona.) Actually, Deppe can be seen in this race writeup from 2000 )RTW #15) where she finished third behind Lisa Green and Bonnie Canter. But Deppe's strength is in the swim portion, where she competed collegiately for the University of Minnesota.

Chicago Marathon Greater Houston/Texas Notes

Greater Houston Area Notes

- On The Run Racing team member Brett Riley (HS) finishes in 2:37:02 and John Yoder (HS) finishes in 2:39:25. Fellow OTR member Thomas King (HS) covers the course in 2:44:37.
- Run The Woodlands 5K regulars Buck Snyder and Ian MacDougall finish in 2:57:01 and 3:13:01, respectively.
- Former UT and St. Agnes Academy track star Maureen Sweeney (living now in Boulder, CO) finishes in 2:58:01.
- BCRR's Robert Walters, 46, part of the winning Mixed Masters team at the recent HARRA XC relay, finishes in 2:59:17. Fellow BCRRer Caroline Burum, 41, finishes in 2:59:33.
- HARRA VP of Road Races Stephen Mayor (HH), 33, narrowly misses qualifying for Boston with a time of 3:12:55.
- Seven Hills RC member Rose Rhoton finishes her 8th career marathon in 3:18:35.
- Erin Foley (ALRC) will be heading back to Boston with a 3:26:54 finish - and a new marathon PR! (Foley's 10K splits were 48:02, 48:08, 48:10 and 50:51.)
- Melissa Henderson (ALRC) also BQ's with a 3:29:19 finish! (49:51, 49:49, 49:31 and 49:18.)
- Michael Csikos, 37, of The Woodlands Running Club (and Team In Training), finished today in 3:36:49. He was profiled in the October edition of Footprints.
- HARRA treasurer Audrey Christiansen (FLS) finishes in 3:49:02.
- Lisa Foronda (ALRC) finishes her 10th career marathon in 4:02:11, just a two minutes and 43 seconds off of her 3:59:28 2002 Houston Marathon PR. (10K splits were 53:24, 54:57, 58:38 and 1:01:35.)
- Katy's Nancy Brammer (TOR), 52, finishes in 4:08:26. (It appears currently that her husband, Steve Brammer, was a DNS.)
- My good friend, Becky Spaulding (BCRR), finished in 5:23:53. (I believe that this was her very first marathon finish!)
- HRBer Christy Gonzales finished in 5:20:06, which is a one minute and 11 second-PR over her very first marathon, the 2003 hp Houston Marathon. Fellow HRB members Jill Boston and Jan Poscovsky (FBF) finished in 6:13:41 and 6:41:09, respectively.

Texas Notes

- Just 120 of the 836 Texas finishers today posted a negative split.
- Austin's 49-year-old Mac Allen, who often runs his best marathons in Boston, ran 3:35:41 today after finishing 7th in Marathon 2 Marathon last weekend in Alpine, Texas in 3:33:55.
- After turning in a Boston-qualifying time of 3:09:52 in Houston and following it up with a 3:17:45 in Boston in April, 28-year-old Jon Minor (now of Temple and who trained under Bill Dwyer) set a personal best today with a time of 3:08:52!

Team Woodlands Team In Training in San Fran

My very good friend, Bill Dwyer, took 19 Team Woodlands Team In Training members to run either the full or the half at San Francisco's Nike 26.2 Women's Marathon today.

Full marathoners results are here:

Jessica Neal, 20, The Woodlands, 4:29:45
Christopher White, 45, Spring, 4:42:30
Alexis Neal, 20, The Woodland, 5:05:44
Jim Fredricks, 44, Conroe, 5:19:24 (Editor of the Conroe Courier)
Delia Akers, 46, Tomball, 5:20:50
Wendi Wilson, 34, Spring, 5:38:50
Leah Tullos, 28, Conroe, 5:59:29
Kaymi Thompson, 24, Conroe, 5:59:30
Barbara Shedden, 47, The Woodlands, 6:17:34

Half marathoners results are here:

Kristin Frazier, 32, Shenandoah, 2:44:34
Kim Boesen, 35, Magnolia, 2:48:24
John Ford, 38, Montgomery, 3:03:18
Kimberly Gray, 37, Kingwood, 3:12:24
Margaret Booth, 59, Kingwood, 3:12:17
Bridget Brewster, 41, Kingwood, 3:14:43
Yvette Falcon, 34, Spring, 3:40:49
Lauren West, 18, Kingwood, 4:02:09
Julie West, 47, Kingwood, 4:02:10

Chicago Marathon Coverage Online

Live streaming of CBS' official race coverage in Chicago is happening at http://www.cbs2chicago.com/.

A couple of early notes --

+ The men's first two mile splits were 4:52 and 4:48.
+ American Brian Sell was not in the lead pack ... determined to try and run his own race with event splits of 64:30 in the front and back half to hit 2:09.
+ Constantina Tomescu-Dita ran 15:33 through the first three miles - going off strong like she has a huge reputation of doing.)
+ Richard Kiplagat and Sammy Kipketer was two of the four paid rabbits to run 63:10 through the halfway point.
+ Former Steelers QB Mark Malone, the sports director and lead sports anchor at CBS 2 Chicago, led the station's coverage.

This link -- http://cbs2chicago.com/chicagomarathon_elite -- is providing live updates.

+ A third of today's participants are running their first marathon.
+ Wheelchair marathoners had passed the half way point by 8:45 a.m.
+ Tomescu-Dita's split at mile 7 was 36:15. The men's 8-mile split was 38:40.
+ The lead men's pack consisted of 16 runners at the 48-minute mark.
+ The men went through mile 10 at 48:12 - at a or just under 2:06 pace.

+ Legendary women's marathoner Katherine Switzer is part of the CBS 2 Chicago's broadcast team.

+ The men have gone through the half-way point at 1:03:11.
+ Tomescu-Dita continues to be on a world record pace and the second and third place women are 2 minutes and 6 seconds behind her. 1:07:49 through the half way point for her!
+ Mile 16 is at 1:22 and change for the men.
+ Watching the coverage, Malone and Switzer were asking the on-course reporter on the motorcycle, "Which one is Abdi Abdirahman?" Well, duh, he's the one in the white singlet with USA across the middle.
+ Tomescu-Dita's mile 16 split was right on the event record. 5:38 and 5:26 splits in mile 15 and 16, but she was running into the wind going west.

+ Pacesetters are out at mile 19.
+ The wheelchair winner - in a pack of three - finishes in just over 1:38 - five minutes off of the course best of 1:29.
+ A pack of four men lead - around mile 20 - including Boston Marathon winner Robert Cheriuyot and Abdirahman.
+ 2003 and 2004 winner Joshua George, a University of Illinois student, wins the wheelchair race over Mexico native Saul Mendoza of Wimberley, Texas.

+ Gas in Chicago is $2.59 per gallon.

+ Robert Cheriuyot put on a little bit of a surge and Jimmy Muindi and Daniel Njenga responded. Abdirahman is in fourth.
+ On the motorcyle covering the women's marathon leader was 1996 1,500 meter Olympian Juli Henner.

+ George wins in 1:38:31 and Mendoza was a second behind in 1:38:32.

+ At 1:51 and change, Cheriuyot, Muindi and Njenga are together. Abdirahman is off the lead pack of three.
+ At 1:54:49, Njenga is struggling to stay with Cheriuyot and Muindi.

+ At 1:57:17, Dita's lead is just over a minute. Mile 22 was 5:47, her slowest of the race.
+ At 1:58:06, Juli Henner can spot the second-place female from the motorcycle.

+ Should Robert Cheriuyot win, he would be the first male runner to win Boston and Chicago in the same year. (Catherine Ndereba did so in 2001. Ingrid Kristiansen did in 1986 too.)
+ At 2:02:39, Dita's lead has dropped to just about 15 seconds. (Henner has reported that Dita has been passed by 30 men with no response.)

+ With less than a mile, Cheriuyot makes a kick on Njenga.

+ At 2:04:24, Dita was just passed by a pair of female runners - Galina Bogomolova (RUS) and Birhane Adere (ETH).
+ At 2:06:12, Cheriuyot and Njenga are shoulder-to-shoulder!

+ Cheriuyot appears to win in 2:07:34 and while trying to break the tape, he slips on the marathon logo!
+ Abdirahman and Brian Sell finish 4th and 6th. Sell reportedly finishes at 2:10:47. Abdi's time is the 3rd fastest ever by an American.

+ Adere finished 4th earlier this year in London, just six (6) seconds in front of Bogomolova - 2:21:52 to 2:21:58. (Her time is the 6th best this year and is trying to join the sub-2:20 club.)

+ Adere wins in 2:20:42 - regaining the Ethiopian national record! Bogomolova finishes 2nd and it looks like Benita Johnson (AUS) will finish third to post three national records in the top three!)
+ Tomescu-Dita finishes in 2:24:24 - a 1:16-plus back half after a 1:07:49 front half.

Me and the Redheaded Princess in Huntsville

The running in Huntsville on Saturday didn't go so well. My head wasn't completely in the game, but I had kind of alluded to that.

Nonetheless, a day that I got to hang out and have fun with my daughter, Waverly, makes up for it all. They said at her last visit to the doctor's office that she is now 5' 5 1/2" tall. (Thanks to fellow The Woodlands Running Club member Russell Meyer for the picture!)

We'll do it again next Saturday - in Huntsville - for the Rocky Raccoon 25K at Huntsville State Park. (I hope I recover in time. I'm still hurting and I had two Tylenol 8-hour before I started the race and three Extra Strength Tylenol after coming home.)

Heading to Huntsville

As I get ready to head north up Interstate 45 for this morning's Huntsville Half Marathon, I have no idea how things will go this morning from a running standpoint.

Some of the depression that I deal with took its toll Tuesday and Wednesday completely wiping out any desire to do any form of exercise, let alone run.

I recovered the last two days to record an hour-long elliptical trainer workout Thursday night (4.99 miles, level of extertion would have been about an '8') and then early Friday evening, I went 2.75 miles in 30 minutes hard on the elliptical trainer with 30 minutes fairly easy on the stationery bike.

So three decent hour-long workouts or more this week after the back-to-back 10-milers last weekend ... we'll see how things go today.

Hope everyone has a great Saturday and if you aren't doing anything, the Marathon Kids kick-off is going on out at Rice University's track stadium, I believe, at 10 a.m. They're always in need of volunteers. I helped out at the closing ceremonies last year and had a great time.

Run The Woodlands 5K in October -- Changes!!

Yes, tradition will be shattered!

Run The Woodlands 5K #163 and #164 will be run on the first and third Saturdays instead of the traditional second and fourth Saturdays!

On October 7th, RTW is being shifted because 1.) all of Luke's Locker's staff will be working the revived Ten For Texas 10-Miler on Saturday, October 14th and 2.) many RTW regulars will be running in it as well.

We learned at RTW #160 on August 26th that Barbara Bush Elementary's administration did not want us holding the race on Saturday, October 28th because of a school carnival that would be held that morning at 10:30 a.m. Since we want to be able to continue to run the event for years to come, the second RTW that month will be run on Saturday, October 21st.

If you have any further questions, please let me or Luke's Locker - The Woodlands store manager Susie Schreiber know.

Working With The Houston Marathon

Call it a collaborative effort, I guess you can say.

The Chevron Houston Marathon is desirous to beef up its statistical information and to get their media guide closer to what the Chicago and New York Marathons have.

I've already done the research and have provided the Marathon with the following data, with just a little assistance from Jack Lippincott and Tom McBrayer:

+ Race day temperatures
+ Winning bib numbers
+ Margin of victory
+ Wheelchair winners

Yesterday, I passed along to them after having a great conversation with Jan Nierling the 1.) Event Record Progression for both the Marathon and Half Marathon and 2.) the all-time winners for both the Half Marathon and the 5K/4-Mile event.

We're only missing the 1998 5K women's winner and any Master's winners beyond 2000 for the 5K. (The 5K started and was first one - on the men's side - by Austin's Steve Sisson.)

I've agreed to provide the Marathon with 1.) a list of the top 100 times for both the men and the women (this is almost complete with the assistance of the Association of Road Racing Statisticians) and 2.) the top 10 from each year for both the men and the women (something that is easy to come by, but just takes a little time to compile.)

This is the kind of stuff that makes me happy!

HARRA gives me the opportunity to do this through editing Footprints - and coordinating its coverage. I'm pretty proud of the first two editions that have been put together and I should be seeing the third edition pretty soon.

I have had great help so far from Sarah, Edwin and Jessica as well as some great people that provide unique club reports and pictures. I've gotten some clubs engaged in the process - namely the Houston Harriers and Finish Line Sports - that haven't been in awhile. Clear Lake Fitness Club will have their club report in coming up in November.

There's just a lot of other crap that I'd rather not have to deal with and quite frankly, those are some things that I'm slowly weaning myself away from.

Don't Let This Hill Keep You From Huntsville on Saturday

See you there on Saturday morning! Race time is 8 a.m.!

A Tiger at Huntsville State Park?

Hmmm .... perhaps.

It seems that since Cassie (aka Tiggs) can't make it for the Koala's/Luke's Locker Houston Half Marathon on Sunday, October 29th (something to do with wedding preparation), she's going to do her first trail race at the 16th Annual Rocky Raccoon 50K/25K Trail Run the day before!

I'll be there as well for the second straight year and if Rick Cook is all healed up from his second attempt two weekends ago at a 100-miler (Arkansas Traveller 100), he'll be there too - as well as the regular (or shall I say, "positively irregular") contingent from the Seven Hills Running Club in Huntsville.

2006 Houston Race For The Cure Video on YouTube.com

Parsons finishes 3rd in age group at Denver Marathon

Bayou City Road Runners and HARRA member Carolyn Parsons, 46, finished third in her 45-49 age group at the new Denver Marathon on Sunday in a time of 3:49:22.

It is the second new Colorado marathon that Parsons participated in this year after running a sterling 3:23:51 at this year's Chevron Houston Marathon.

In May, she competed in the Colorado Colfax Marathon and finished in 4:13:26 with fellow BCRR/HARRA member Claire Greenberg.

Huntsville Half/5K Entries 10% Ahead

Seven Hills Running Club president and Huntsville Half Marathon/5K race director Ken Johnson reports that race entries for this Saturday's event are up 11% over a year ago.

2-time defending 5K champion Alyssa Crocker, who was on the winning HARRA cross country relay team and won her age group Sunday at the USA 10-Miler (1:15:06), will be back as will 4-time men's 5K winner Carlo Deason of Houston. Deason, who was 4th in his age group on Sunday with a time of 1:03:11 and less than two seconds ahead of Doug Schroeder, won the Huntsville 5K in 1999, 2000, 2003 and 2004.

2004 5K masters winner Robert Duncan of Huntsville and last year's 5K women's masters winner Peggy Lobato are the early favorites from registrants to date.

In the half marathon, as of Saturday, it appears that there will be no defending champions in 2006. Two-time defending titlist Clint Sherrouse, who finished third in his age group with a time of 1:01:33 on Sunday at the USA 10-Miler, has not yet registered.

The master's favorites in the half marathon appear to be Kingwood's Bill Schroeder and Houston's Suzy Seeley. Schroeder won the event outright in 2002, was the masters winner in 2003 and 2004 and was the top male masters in the 5K last year.

Making the trip in from Seguin, Texas will be Robert and Juanita Espinosa, who completed the "Love The Half Texas Challenge" in 2005 and 2006.

Monday Workout

Rest from running today.

50 minutes on the elliptical trainer at Bally's in The Woodlands (level 16, 4.19 miles).
Took it easy, read Sports Illustrated while doing so.

8.2 miles on the real bike (two 4.1-mile running loops) in 37:53.05 or 12.98 mph.
First loop was in 20:08.37 (12.21 mph) and the second was in 17:44.68 (13.86 mph). Why the increase in speed? Well, I think I took it from 6-speed to 12-speed and 18-speed in the last lap ... lol

Two thoughts - well, three actually - crossed through my mind while riding - 1.) I'm not yet ready to make turns at breakneck speed. I figure that I'll let Bill Cox be the blogger that stays most acquainted with fire hydrants in his job as a City of Humble fireman, 2.) As I was doing each loop, I thought to myself ... Kim Hager is going to do 28 of these in a few weeks in Florida and 3.) it actually felt good to get back on the bike for probably the first time since I did a duathlon two years ago (and I would say that 12-13 miles on a bike equals about 20-21 on the stationery bike).

Huntsville Half on Saturday and it looks like Rocky Raccoon 25K will go on the schedule for Saturday, October 28th (as I was told to do nothing more than a 25K in October).

Run Huntsville, Get October ITR Autographed!

Come run the Huntsville Half Marathon on Saturday, October 21, bring your October issue of Inside Texas Running with you and get your cover autographed!

Huntsville's Chris Wilson, a member of the host club, Seven Hills Running Club, is featured on this month's cover in conjunction with his story, "A Nice Little Run In The Desert: Possibly The Toughest Marathon You'll Ever Try".

The story is about his running (with Conroe native and fellow club member Hans Jaegar) the Bataan Memorial Death March earlier this year at the White Sands Missile Range, north of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

If you come up and see me in Huntsville on Saturday, ask me and I'll make sure I introduce you to Chris (or rather, Dr. Wilson - a professor of psychology at Sam Houston State University) -- or you will probably find he and Hans monitoring the course somewhere on the back half of the loop between the Prison and the University.

Oh ... and while you're reading ITR, HARRA's Footprints is smack dab in the middle this month - with pictures from Sarah and articles by Edwin, Jessica and yours truly.

Huntsville Half This Saturday - Cheapest in Texas!

After doing a very quick, but effective surf across the Internet, I've been able to confirm that the Huntsville Half Marathon, which is being presented this Saturday, October 21st by the Seven Hills Running Club, is the cheapest in Texas - $25!

Here's the run-down of the other half marathons in Texas (by current price):

$25 - Red Ribbon Half, Midland, October 21

$35 - Helotes Half, San Antonio, October 14 (was $25 14 days before race day)

$40 - Surfside Half, Surfside Beach, February 10, 2007 (early bird price for first 100 registrants)
$40 - Texas Half, Dallas, February 10, 2007
$40 - Big D Texas Half, Dallas, April 1, 2007
$40 - South Padre Island, Corpus Christi, was October 7
$40 - Houston Half, Houston, October 29 (was $35 up until 45 days before race day)

$45 - Seabrook Lucky Trails Half, Seabrook, March 17, 2007
$45 - Miracle Match Half, Waco, October 29 (was $40 up until 30 days before race day)
$45 - Motive Bison Stampede, Austin, November 12
$45 - White Rock Half, Dallas, December 10 (will go to $50 on November 25th)

$50 - Heels and Hills Half, Irving, May 6, 2007
$50 - San Antonio Half, San Antonio, November 12 (will be $60 on October 22nd)
$50 - AT&T Half Marathon, Austin, February 18, 2007 (up to $60 after January 28th)
$50 - Harbor Half, Corpus Christi, October 22 (was $30 if before July 1st)

$60 - Aramco Half, Houston, January 14, 2007 (was $50 up until September 11th)

And, for the record, the price comparison of this weekend's 10 Milers was as follows:

Ten For Texas - $40 up until race day; $55 on race day
United Space Alliance - $28 up until race day ($26 for HARRA); $35 on race day ($33)

7 Largest Overall / 5 Biggest Blogger Drops Today

These seven (7) runners dropped their times at the United Space Alliance 10-Miler from 2005 to 2006 by more than 20 minutes:

48:36 - Rachel Brady, 31, female, 2:47:56 to 1:59:20
36:35 - Chelsea Rake, 14, female, 2:24:19 to 1:47:44
31:31 - Patrick LeMoine, 47, male, 2:28:23 to 1:56:52
22:59 - Judy Chapa, 46, female, 2:10:51 to 1:48:52
22:26 - Alan Snedeker, 32, male, 1:59:30 to 1:37:04
21:25 - Tim Bowler, 58, male, 1:58:07 to 1:36:42
20:13 - Tom Chandler, 46, male, 1:45:32 to 1:25:19

These five (5) bloggers had time reductions of 10 minutes or more from 2005 to 2006:

19:17 - Jan Poscovsky, 2:34:47 to 2:15:30
18:56 - Joe Carey, 1:44:09 to 1:25:13
16:47 - Steve Bezner, 1:34:11 to 1:17:24
10:36 - Jon Walk, 2:04:56 to 1:54:20
10:02 - Edwin Quarles, 1:28:12 to 1:18:10

58 Legacy Runners at United Space Alliance 10-Miler

After today's running, there have been 58 runners who have participated in all four (4) United Space Alliance 10-Milers.

I'll have some statistics below, but there have been two runners who have lowered their times each year -- Brenda Opliger and Christopher Bittinger.

Opliger, 49, ran the first year in 2:36:01.4 followed by showings of 2:33:49.2, 2:25:52.2 and 2:23:32 this year. Bittinger, 39, saw his times go from 1:18:12.1, 1:06:30.7, 1:05:00.7 and 1:01:49 today.

There are eight (8) possible patterns of how times can go from one year to the next. Here is the distribution of the 57 runners and their year-to-year times.

Up-Up-Down -- 15
Up-Up-Up -- 2
Up-Down-Down -- 1
Down-Up-Up -- 10
Down-Up-Down -- 24
Down-Down-Up -- 4
Down-Down-Down -- 2

You'll notice that 51 had an up from 2004 to 2005 due to the excessive heat and humidity that we had last year.

The four (4) that were unable to join Opliger and Bittinger in continuing to drop their times were Bonnie Jo Barron, Christopher Rampacek, Paul Roche and Tom Stilwell.

Bonnie Jo, meanwhile, joins Eva Luckey, Donna Sterns, Margaret Montgomery, John Yoder, Rudy Rocha, Francisco Perez and Ben Harvie as the only runners to finish in the top three of their age group each year. In fact, Rudy Rocha is the only one to take first place in his age group every single year.

Rocha, Perez and Yoder are the only ones to run it under an hour all four (4) years.

The oldest? Margaret Montgomery. The youngest? Raul Quiros.

The complete list is as follows:

Andrea Chan, Annie Hadow, Ben Harvie, Bonnie Jo Barron, Brenda Opliger, Chris Bittinger, Chris Preston, Christopher Rampacek, Cindy Sosa, Dan Dick, Deb Clifford, Denise Correll, Donna Sterns, Douglas Paddon-Jones, Edwin Quarles, Eva Luckey, Felix Lugo, Francisco Garza, Francisco Perez, Gail Sabanosh, Ignacio Ybarra, Jack Lippincott, James Leonard, Jay Bevan, Jesus Garza, John Yoder, Jose Luis Martinez, Jose Reyes, Julie Ward, Karen Lancer, Kathryn Vidal, Kay Stewart, Kevin Ward, Lent Rhodes, Lynn Trafton, Margaret Montgomery, Mario Carbone, Mark Anderson, Mark Fraser, Martin Stupel, Matthew Chauvin, Myron Dianiska, Nathan Weber, Paul Roche, Raul Quiros, Richard Werner, Robert Walters, Roger Redding, Rosemarie Schmandt, Rudy Rocha, Skip Teel, Terrie Gorney, Terry Johnson, Tim Bowler, Tom Chandler, Tom Stilwell, Tonya Arnold, Yong Collins

Congratulations!

Tale of Two Ten-Milers

I was spent a little bit on both days. Certainly, a lot more today in Clear Lake.

I didn't feel like I ran all that well on Saturday, but I still was within 1:23 of my 10-mile race PR set last December in Pearland (Fitness Solutions Jingle Jog 10 Miler).

Here are my splits from Saturday --

1 - 9:29.16 - too fast
2 - 9:53.77 - was talking with Tom Pinney from RTW, still too fast
3 - 11:09.52 - started to pay for it (this mile was long)
4 - 10:48.17 - lots of people passing me, not good
5 - 10:49.78 - was worrying about facing the sun on the way back
6 - 10:22.26 - it was cool and I finally relaxed a bit
7 - 10:28.62 - still cool and felt good, but not as strong as I have been
8 - 10:45.10 - blew the water off because the water stop was before the mile marker
9 - 10:35.08 - was worried that I was going to go over 1:44 chip time and that wouldn't have made for a good day
10 - 8:47.16 - saw Kim Hager, who was the first woman overall, as I turned into the Market Street complex as she was waiting for the runners that she, Debbie Tripp and Bill Dwyer coached specifically for that race.

I knew after this race though that I can get under 1:40 soon if I was able to run a 15K at 10:04/mile.

The weather sucked today in Clear Lake, but it wasn't anything that I hadn't run in before. I was simply gassed, especially after challenging Sarah, who I ran with for three miles, to finish the last mile in 10:30. (We missed by a couple of seconds.)

These were notes that I sent off after Sunday's race --

1 -- 10:55.73 -- i tried to keep it slow, but I thought that this was too slow for me
2 -- 10:34.26 - saw Stephen Stinemetz of Ft. Bend Fit go past me, but I also caught up to Cassie and Sarah (i knew he had done Ten For Texas the day before and I got him at the Surfside Beach Marathon)
3 -- 11:19.28 - slowed down and ran with Sarah
5K -- 1:10.52 - I was doing the math ... ugh, 11 minute mile
4 -- 10:02.04 -- Yep, 11:12 mile.
5 -- 10:34.77 -- Pushed Sarah to do the last mile under 10:30.

55:33.52 minutes 56.92 = 54:37 even

6 -- 11:57.08 -- Walked out of the 5-mile point totally gassed and then had a water stop before the mile marker
10K -- 2:46.46
7 -- 9:13.05 -- 11:59.51 mile. Ugh again. Mary Spurlock caught up and said Hi! She used me for a rabbit to push herself to her best 5-mile front half.
8 -- 12:07.11
9 -- 12:14.49 -- Andrea Chan caught me in this mile. We had a good conversation at the start and I was glad that we were able to feature her in October's Footprints. Last year, we walked the same stretch in the sweltering heat and humidity.
15K -- 3:51.03
10 -- 7:30.12 -- last mile was 11:21.15; Felix Lugo had walked back out and was offering encouragement to a number of runners

So 1:43:06 yesterday and 1:54:20 today! It is what it is.
More than likely Huntsville next Saturday.