Latest Running Stuff

Nothing too much to get excited about.

Wednesday -- 75 minutes on the stationery bike at Bally's in the evening. (Time PR for me. I think my butt still hurts.)
Thursday -- off
Friday -- 55 minutes on the elliptical trainer at Bally's in the evening. (Not as hard as I used to do these looking back to the earlier part of this year.)
Saturday -- 10.35 miles in The Woodlands in 1:50:58. (Bill: I hope it was a bit longer than that. Ran a good bit of the way with Jim Braden. Slowed him down a little on the back half. I'm pretty confident that the first half was pretty quick for me.)
Sunday -- 5.133 miles in 56:34.27 in W.G. Jones State Forest, just outside of the Conroe city limits off of FM 1488 West. (Ran these trails with Rick Cook.)
Sunday evening -- 4.1 miles in 50:17.91 with Waverly in the subdivision, a pace of 12:16 per mile. (She did the first 1.7 in 20:57.08 and the back 2.4 in 29:20.83 -- paces of 12:19 and 12:13, respectively.)

Hamstrings are starting to tighten up again. If they are like they are yesterday and today, I will not be able to run like I'm capable of doing in two weeks.

Cardio is pretty good. Jim commented at the end of our run Saturday morning, which he joined me midstream, that I had more in me because I was able to carry on a good conversation the majority of the way. I told him that my lower body was hurting a good bit.

I plan on hanging out tomorrow in Kingwood for Steve and Paula Boone's 8th annual Texas Marathon.

I could still run it if I wanted to even though they have exceeded their cap. When you go to check out their online registration, it reads: "The race limit has been reached and online registration is closed. Race day registration is only available to 50 States Marathon Club members and veterans of this race."

Don't worry. I'm not. Well, unless it will be 40 degrees until 1 p.m.

Running with a Legend: Jim Braden

I'm sucking wind yesterday in The Woodlands and Jim, who ran 3:39:36 at last year's marathon, is smiling for the camera. Seriously though, it was an honor for Jim to run 7-8 miles with me.

(Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

68 U.S. Athlete Development Project Runners

Credit on this post belongs to Kevin Regis, who commented on Edwin's post and mined Greg McMillan's message board for the information. (Nice job, Kevin - and nice spectator pics from last year's marathon!)

I'll get my ass chewed out for this (but those that are chewing it will always remember who I am.) Ask Dan Cunningham at the Chronicle about 'Jon Walk' and 'private schools'.

But my point is that if this was up on Greg's message board on the 19th of December, it should be on the marathon's web site by now. (By releasing the list nationally at that point, it may give local sportswriters the opportunity to do the human interest story on them going to Houston and trying to run an Olympic Trials qualifying time.)

Granted, most of the people lining the course won't care who the majority of these runners are. But, if they are slated to be the next Brian Sell and so on, those that promote the sport should be getting this information out.

Women's Field:
Stacey Ritz - 26, Xenia, OH
(Was 5th at Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon on 4/29/06 in 3:04:09)
Brandy Erholtz - 29, Bailey, CO
(Was 3rd at New Denver Marathon on 10/15/06 in 2:58:47)
Sharon Lemberger - 32, Stamford, CT
(Was 9th at New York City Half Marathon on 8/27/06 in 1:19:17)
Carly Graytok
(Only major result on the 'Net was 3rd place 5000 meter finish, 17:36, in 2003 USATF New England Indoor Championships.)
Jenna Boren
(Was 12th at Grandma's Marathon on 6/17/06 in 2:45:51)
Lucie Mays-Sulewski - 36, Westfield, IN
(Was 74th at Chicago Marathon on 10/22/06 in 2:53:44)
Leah Thomas - 29, Smyrna, GA
(Was 18th at Austin Marathon on 2/19/06 in 2:50:37)
Erin Ward - 31, St. Paul, NM
(Was 12th at Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon on 1/15/06 in 2:57:07 and ran 3:05:20 in Chicago on 10/22/06.)
Tara Gruskiewicz - 25, Concord, OH
(Was 1st at Erie Marathon at Presque Isle on 9/10/06 in 3:06:27 and 2nd at Columbus Marathon in 2:53:52 on 10/15/06)
+Rachel Booth
Judy Johnson - 29, Syracuse, NY
(Was 2nd at Steamtown Marathon in Pennsylvania on 10/8/06 with 2:52:31)
Angie Voight - 29, Minneapolis, MN
(Was 26th at Twin Cities Marathon on 10/1/06 in 2:59:45)
Melissa Gacek - 30, White Bear Lake, MN
(Was 91st at Chicago Marathon on 10/22/06 in 2:56:33)
+Lisa Butler - 33, Tulsa, OK (potentially)
(Won Lake Tahoe Marathon on 9/30/06 in 3:24:59 and Oklahoma Marathon on 11/18/06 in 3:16:07)
+Janelle Olson - Bismarck, North Dakota (ran for Adams State collegiately)
(No marathon times for 2006; Won Bismarck YMCA Half Marathon on 9/10/2005 in 1:19:17)
+Christine Gibbons - 27, Burnsville, MN
(Ran Boston Marathon on 4/17/06 in 3:33:18)
+Theresa Stern - 36, Saline, MI

+ I am not sure that I have the right person with the information that I have listed.

(The men, listed below, are going to take some time to profile, but I'll begin working on it.)

Men's Field:
+Bob Thompson
Ben Rosario - 26, St. Louis
(Was 15th at Grandma's Marathon on 6/17/06 in 2:27:49; Was youngest qualifier for '04 Trials)
Matthew Laye - 25, Columbia, MO
(Won Columbia Half Marathon Challenge on 10/1/06 in 1:15:45)
Jacob Kaemmer - 29, Des Moines, IA
(Was 17th at Dam To Dam 20K on 6/3/2006 in 1:09:58, 5:38/mile)
Marty Dalton - 30, Stuart, IA
(Was 7th at Dam To Dam 20K on 6/3/2006 in 1:05:45, 5:17/mile; once was disqualified after finishing 2nd in 2002 Des Moines Marathon in 2:25:08 for using a rabbit, Matt Gabrielson.)
Sage Canaday
Brian Grudowski
Christopher Raabe
Andy Ruffalo
Chris Knorzer
Michael Kirk
Luke Kimmel
Jason Finch
Josh Banister
Matt Folk
Brendon Moody
Dwight Thomas
Marcus Murphy
Mike Seymour
Mike Smith
Steve Meinelt
Rich Skorczewski
Michael Wardian
Mike Aldrink
Kevin Stover
Matt Hooley
Carlos Martins
Robert Cannon
Nicholas Mockeridge
Dane Mitchell
Ross Martinson
Fred Keiser
Matthew Pimentel
Ryan Meissen
Aaron Church
Cole Dailey
Michael Reneau
Eric Lavigne
Mark LaRosa
Eric Hartmark
Dale Dexter
Adam Tribble
Jerry Faulkner
Eric Blake
Andy Martin
Matthew Ely
Kevin Curley
Mike Friedberg
Alex Moore
Alan Tobin
Brian Dumm

(Marathon dates, times and places of finish have been researched from marathonguide.com)

Things are a bit slower in Jasper

I do periodic searches on the Chevron Houston Marathon through http://news.google.com/ to find out what is being written about the upcoming event.

This story, "Sanchez to raise funds for ADA in marathon," in the Jasper (Texas) Newsboy reveals two interesting facts:

1.) "Sanchez will be participating in the Tenneco Houston Marathon in an effort to raise funds for the American Diabetes Association." (Yes, you read that right. It's been quite some time since the Marathon was sponsored by Tenneco.)

2.) "He will be participating in the half marathon, 13.5 miles, but the distance in itself is a new challenge for Sanchez." (Yes, those of you who will be running with Sanchez - he is registered for the half - will be finishing on the east side of Highway 59.)

Let's hope that Sanchez does as well as he has prepared for -- without having to run another four tenths of a mile!

Pasta Party to Honor Inaugural Hall of Fame Inductees

The Chevron Houston Marathon announced yesterday in its periodic e-mail blast that long-time Runner's World columnist Bart Yasso will help introduce an inaugural group of six inductees into the Houston Marathon Hall of Fame.

While I have been compiling and researching information for the event's media guide, writing a column in Runner Triathlete News that recapped the 1984 Houston-Tenneco Marathon (one of the closest marathon finishes in history) and presented a number of articles on the marathon in HARRA's Footprints, I do not have any idea of who these six (6) honorees will be.

I believe that these five (5) will be locks:

1.) Jack Lippincott - 32 finishes

2.) Ingrid Kristiansen - 2-time winner and the event record holder

3.) Veronique Marot - 3-time winner with 4 of the top 14 finishes in the marathon's history

4.) Stephen Ndungu - 3-time winner with 2 of the top 11 finishes in the marathon's history

5.) Tom and Mary Anne McBrayer - They were there in the beginning.

The sixth one, I believe, will include one of the following:

A.) Tatiana Pozdiakova - 3-time winner, but was forced to give up the 1996 crown after testing positive for pseudoephedrine and ephedrine.
B.) David Cheriuyot, Clent Mericle or Ron Tabb - one of the men's 2-time winners.
C.) Benji Durden or Marty Froelick - Durden finished 1st in 1982 and 2nd in 1983 while Froelick was 3rd in 1984 before winning in 1985 and finishing 6th in 1986.

Another outside shot would be the marathon's founder, Pete Teague, who lives in Austin.

If my first five are right, then I think the 6th will be another male to even things out with Kristiansen and Marot.

Your thoughts please.

Losses in the Running Community

Andy Stewart of Finish Line Sports shared with everyone the following:

"We sadly lost two great club members this week.

"Jeff Breinig, age 58, died suddenly of a blood clot on Dec. 26 after lunch. Jeff was a new member and was training for his first marathon next month. He was raising money for Snowdrop Foundation. Jeff ran the Turkey Trot (46:55.5) with his 11-year-old grandson (Andrew Jenson), who now wants to be a marathoner.

"John Hitzfeld, age 38, died last night in a motorcycle crash on Kirkwood, coming home from work. He leaves behind a wife, Erin, and two small children. John ran his only marathon five years ago. I coached him and he ran a 3:10 at Austin, exactly as we planned. He qualified for Boston, but never ran it.

"Both were Tuesday night track runners, a tight-knit band at Clements High. Jeff's funeral is in Kansas City and John's will be here. Both funerals are next Tuesday, Jan. 2.

"I will miss both these upbeat guys a great deal."

Closer to home for myself and fellow members of the Seven Hills Running Club. The mother, Betty Jean Broussard, 64, of one of our members, Melissa Broussard, passed away this morning after a long illness. Melissa's mom was "her biggest fan," she said, and encouraged her to make sure she got in her run even during her mother's recent hospital stay. Melissa ran the Sunmart 50K more than two weeks ago with her Mom's initials written on her leg as seen in this picture.

Mrs. Broussard's funeral will be on Saturday in Buna.

Please keep all of these families in your thoughts and prayers.

Jack Lippincotts of the Half Marathon

It is well known that Houston's Jack Lippincott is the all-time leader in the number of Houston Marathons completed with 32.

From 2002-2005, there were 109 individuals who were official finishers of the now-titled Aramco Houston Half Marathon each year. After last year's event, the number dropped to 50.

What I'm not able to capture, of course, is if an individual, particularly a woman, changes their last name due to a marriage or divorce.

The complete list of runners - alphabetically and by cumulative time - are now housed at the following link --

http://www.runmontgomerycounty.com/runningstatistics.htm

Correction: Sell will return to Houston

This just goes to show the type of journalists that we have in this town!

A former sports editor of the Lufkin Daily News, Edwin Quarles, who writes for HARRA's Footprints in Inside Texas Running and will be included in a piece in February for Runner Triathlete News on the area's running specialty stores, has been in contact with the folks at Michigan's Hanson Brooks Distance Project and Team USA Minnesota, which is a part of the U.S. Distance Project, and he will be reporting on his blog who will be coming to Houston from those two groups.

In addition, Sell actually announced during a December 22, 2006 podcast interview with TrackandFieldRadio.com that he would be returning to Houston on Sunday, January 14th.

Sell indicated that his mileage the week prior to the interview was 138 miles and that he and his wife, who is a nurse, would be expecting their first child in June.

I inaccurately surmised below that since Sell had a pretty good chance of nailing an Olympic spot that he wouldn't go back-to-back and this was not even knowing that the Ohme 30K had been moved up two weeks to February 4th. I learned that from some folks on the Houston Marathon's Elite Athlete Committee. (They've assured me that once they are in a position to release who is coming that I'll be among the first to know.)

The Detroit Free Press' Olympics writer Jo-Ann Barnas reports in this December 20th article that last year's USATF half marathon national champion Brian Sell will not return to the Aramco Houston Half Marathon this January to defend his title.

Sell, who ran 2:10:47 at October's Chicago Marathon, will in February "join five other Hansons runners for a 30K race in Japan," according to Barnas. The race is the Ohme-Hochi 30K in Ohme, Japan.

One excellent long-distance runner that I spoke with didn't rule out that somebody like Sell would do both.

"The Ohme 30K is the most prestigious 30K race in the world, so I highly doubt that those same runners would double," the individual said. "However, it is not out of the question that perhaps some of the stronger guys would run both, but due to the timing between races, this seems unlikely."

College Football Bowl Picks, Week 2

Week 1 found myself going 5-2.

Edwin Quarles, who logged his picks in the comments area, also went 5-2.

I almost typed, "Now if I could run as fast as Edwin."

But even though going faster over a given distance is the object of our sport, having fun and still doing well means more to me.

When it all becomes too much of a hassle, it will be time for me to find another hobby!

Now on to the picks!

Sunday, December 31 - MPC Computers Bowl (Boise, Idaho)
My prediction: Miami over Nevada

Saturday, December 30 - Chick-fil-A Bowl (Atlanta, Georgia)
My prediction: Georgia over Virginia Tech

Saturday, December 30 - Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, Texas)
My prediction: Texas over Iowa

Saturday, December 30 - Meineke Car Care Bowl (Charlotte, North Carolina)
My prediction: Boston College over Navy

Friday, December 29 - Champ Sports Bowl (Orlando, Florida)
My prediction: Maryland over Purdue

Friday, December 29 - Insight Bowl (Tempe, Arizona)
My prdiction: Texas Tech over Minnesota

Friday, December 29 - AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tennessee)
My prediction: South Carolina over Houston

Friday, December 29 - Brut Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas)
My prediction: Oregon State over Missouri

Friday, December 29 - Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl (Nashville, Tennessee)
My prediction: Clemson over Kentucky

Thursday, December 28 - Texas Bowl (Houston)
My prediction: Rutgers over Kansas State

Thursday, December 28 - Pacific Life Holiday Bowl (San Diego)
My prediction: Texas A&M over California

Thursday, December 28 - PetroSun Independence Bowl (Shreveport, Louisiana)
My prediction: Alabama over Oklahoma State

Wednesday, December 27 - Emerald Bowl (San Francisco)
My prediction: Florida State over UCLA
Final score: Florida State 44, UCLA 27 (Go to 7-2 as I figured it would be too much for the Seminoles to stomach their first losing season in 30 years. I've always thought Bowden is a class act, but I've never had any love lost for the Seminoles. Sorry Keith!)

Tuesday, December 26 - Motor City Bowl (Detroit)
My prediction: Central Michigan over Middle Tennessee State
Final score: Central Michigan 31, Middle Tennessee State 14 (6-2 thanks to the Chippewas)

Two Excellent Workouts

It's Tuesday night. That must mean "Track Workout" at Knox Junior High in The Woodlands with Luke's Locker's Beat and The Woodlands Team In Training programs!

Waverly and I both logged excellent workouts this evening. We did our normal eight (8) laps around the track in lane 7, which comes out to 2.217 miles.

Her lap splits on Tuesday, December 12th were:
3:12.84, 3:22.78, 3:14.29, 3:18.60, 3:20.32, 3:18.67, 3:19.68 and 3:13.98 - 26:21.16 / 11:53

Last week, Tuesday, December 19th, they were:
2:58.36, 3:08.01, 3:11.96, 3:14.53, 3:14.75, 3:17.41, 3:21.88 and 3:05.30 - 25:32.20 / 11:31

Tonight, Tuesday, December 26th, they came in as:
6:16.81 (first two), 3:09.59, 3:14.78, 3:14.17, 3:16.89, 3:18.19 and 2:59.01 - 25:29.44 / 11:29

Once again, we worked on trying to stay as close to even pacing as we could (with the exception of the last lap as we picked it up in the last 200 meters). She did great! We tried to just run nice and easy as I tried to help her think about what this race day was going to be like.

I took just over a 4-minute break before I headed into my Yasso 800 workout.

I had an idea of what I wanted them to be around, but I figured I wouldn't know until I got the first one or two out of the way. Obviously, the weather - somewhere around 45 to 47 degrees this evening - was certainly in my favor. (This is what I'd like to have on January 14th!)

The times that you'll see below, you really won't believe. However, I have witnesses.

One of them is the coach whose plan I didn't follow to a "T" because of a variety of reasons - that all started with me! (The year has been challenging emotionally and the last day or two haven't been any different.) But what matters the most is that he's been there the entire way to encourage me on and have confidence in me as a person first and as a runner second.

I did Sunmart a couple of weeks ago (it seems like a month ago) for three people other than myself -- my daughter, Waverly (so she knows that she can always go just a little further), my good friend, Rick Cook (who had taunted me to come to the "dark side" of ultras) and yes, my coach, Bill Dwyer (who did the very first Sunmart in 1990.)

800 #1 - 4:38.28
Recovery -- 3:45.22
800 #2 - 4:29.04
Recovery -- 3:46.90
800 #3 - 4:37.84
Recovery -- 3:44.97
800 #4 - 4:35.76
Recovery -- 3:45.03
800 #5 - 4:29.63
Recovery -- 3:44.83
800 #6 - 4:25.32
Recovery -- 3:45.08
800 #7 - 4:27.45
Recovery -- 3:45.90
800 #8 - 4:27.44
Recovery -- 3:46.04
800 #9 - 4:37.55
Recovery -- 3:42.97
800 #10 - 4:29.73

800s #5 through #8, I had a very consistent runner that for the past couple of Yasso workouts had been hammering 4:20s. But as she was shadowing me going around the track, she told me that she really was targeting 4:30s. So the workout worked for the two of us.

After I did the first one, I asked Bill to confirm what Kim Hager had been communicating to other runners during the last workout - and that was to be running these "comfortably hard." I honestly was looking to try and do all of these in around 4:45. Once the first three came in the way that they did, I tried to take the first lap out fairly easy and then work on running as strong and as steady as I could in the last 200 meters.

I know what the numbers above mean.

However, my goal is to simply get to the start line in a little over two (2) weeks healthy and to have good weather.

College Football Bowl Game Picks

Each week on Monday, I'll make my picks for the entire week and see how things go:

Sunday, December 24 - Hawaii Bowl (Honolulu)
My prediction: Hawaii over Arizona State
Final score: Hawaii 41, Arizona State 24 (End the first week at 5-2. Hard to miss this one with Hawaii playing a home game against a coach that was on the way out.)

Saturday, December 23 - Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas)
My prediction: Tulsa over Utah
Final score: Utah 25, Tulsa 13 (So much for easy as I slip to 3-2)

Saturday, December 23 - PapaJohn's Bowl (Birmingham, Alabama)
My prediction: South Florida over East Carolina
Final score: South Florida 24, East Carolina 7 (Rise to 3-1, but these games are easy though.)

Saturday, December 23 - New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque)
My prediction: San Jose State over New Mexico
Final score: San Jose State 20, New Mexico 12 (Bump up to 4-2. Nice win to beat UNM on their home field.)

Friday, December 22 - New Orleans Bowl
My prediction: Rice wins over Troy
Final score: Troy 41, Rice 17 (Ouch! Fall to 2-1 as Joel Armstrong does his best David Carr impersonation with 5 interceptions and 4 sacks)

Thursday, December 21 - Las Vegas Bowl
My prediction: BYU wins over Oregon
Final score: BYU 38, Oregon 8 (Make that 2-0)

Tuesday, December 19 - Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego)
My prediction: TCU wins over Northern Illinois
Final score: TCU 37, Northern Illinois 7 (Off to a 1-0 start)

The 10 best "Bet you didn't know" from the Chronicle's "College Football Bowl Preview" in Monday's (December 18th) edition --

10. Sugar Bowl - LSU lost three consecutive Sugar Bowls in 1936-38, including back-to-back games to Santa Clara. (Did you know that Santa Clara also played Rice in the first game at Rice Stadium?)
9. Armed Forces Bowl - Tulsa was the first school to appear in five straight New Year's Day bowls (1942-46). (Back when it meant something.)
8. Sun Bowl - ESPN's Lee Corso and actor Burt Reynolds played in the Florida State backfield in the 1955 Sun Bowl that the Seminoles lost 47-20 to Texas Western. (And no, Bobby Bowden wasn't their coach!)
7. Texas Bowl - Neither school played in a bowl before 1978. Rutgers started football in 1869 and Kansas State in 1896. (And I think Rutgers first bowl game was against the Coogs in the now-defunct Garden State Bowl.)
6. New Mexico Bowl - San Jose State's Dick Tomey is the winningest coach in Hawaii and Arizona history, joining Bear Bryant and George Welsh as the only coaches to be all-time wins leader at two schools. (Does Tomey have enough time to add a third state to his credit?)
5. Capital One Bowl - Arkansas has played only five games against Big Ten schools, with its lone victory over a winless Northwestern team in 1981. (And they probably beat SMU and TCU the weeks before in the SWC.)
4. Motor City Bowl - In its bowl debut, Middle Tennessee lost to Sam Houston State 27-14 in the 1956 Refrigerator Bowl in Evansville, Indiana. (The last bowl game MTSU was in was in 1964 - the Grantland Rice Bowl. This year is very, very watered down.)
3. Fiesta Bowl - When Boise State started playing football in 1968, OU had played more than 70 seasons and had won four national titles. (Look what blue turf will do for you.)
2. Orange Bowl - Entering this season, Wake Forest had the 117th-worst winning percentage among 119 NCAA Division 1-AA schools, leading only Kent State and Florida International.
1. Outback Bowl - At 24-12-2 in bowls, Penn State has the highest winning percentage of any school (minimum 20 games).

Run The Woodlands 5K #168 Race Report

This was a 5K that I originally had no intentions of running - at all.

As proof, I went to Bally's in The Woodlands Friday night by 7:30 p.m. and did an hour on the elliptical trainer (4.79 miles, level 16, no sticks) and an additional 30 minutes on the stationery bike. (And this was also after taking Wednesday and Thursday off.)

Luke's Locker Quick Beat coach Bill Dwyer, as a Christmas present, gave the Luke's staff the morning off and race directed. I was there to help him as Rick Cook was going to run with Waverly.

The morning was moving along. Bill had one of his Beat runners from the spring, Ana Brumfield, helping out as well as the husband (Greg) of another one of his runners, Gena Alvarez. Then ... my wife, Gena, showed up. It was a surprise to me and I certainly knew that she wasn't going to run it.

Once I knew that Bill had the finish line completely covered, I decided to go ahead and run it. (He had actually been hoping that I would. Not completely sure why ... lol)

The cool weather - low 40's - is pretty much always to my liking. I went, gave Waverly a kiss like I always do and shortly thereafter, "trigger finger" Bill had us off and running.

Mile 1 -- 9:08.93
Mile 2 -- 9:32.92 (18:41.85)
Mile 3 -- 9:41.37 (28:23.22)
Last .1 -- 51.80 (29:15.02)

I ran a surprisingly good race and am close, once again, to getting back into that 28-minute range again. (Maybe the temperature on the 6th of January at the next Run The Woodlands 5K #169 will be the same.)

I ran the first mile such that I didn't put myself in a position to have to walk (which I occasionally do). Then I just tried to keep it nice and steady the rest of the way. I actually recorded one of my faster last .1 mile and still got passed down the stretch - by 49-year-old Mario Boffa (who hasn't run at RTW since Nov. 1992.) But it was earlier than when Cassie got me last December 10th - when I ran my 5K PR.

Rick and I had talked on Friday and I wanted Waverly to try to run right at 12 minutes per mile (37:12) and run the whole way. She had splits like her father, but basically accomplished the goal by running 37:14.75. (Rick, unfortunately, popped his on-again, off-again calf muscle in the middle of the second mile. Waverly pressed on! Not sure that I've taught her that.) Her splits were as follows:

Mile 1 -- 11:10.90
Mile 2 -- 12:18.59 (23:29.49)
Mile 3 -- 12:39.31 (36:08.80)
Last .1 -- 1:05.95 (37:14.75)

This will give her January 14th pacer some data to work with. :)

That was actually her 4th fastest 5K ever and 7th under 38 minutes and it wasn't until last November 12th that she ever dipped under 40 minutes. Her top seven (7) are as follows:

1/8/06 - 4th annual Rockets Run - 35:56.87
3/11/06 - Run The Woodlands 5K #149 - 36:12.64
12/10/05 - Run The Woodlands 5K #143 - 37:12
12/23/06 - Run The Woodlands 5K #168 - 37:14.75
3/25/06 - Blue Bell Fun Run 5K - 37:22.9
4/22/06 - Run The Woodlands 5K #152 - 37:26
5/13/06 - Run The Woodlands 5K #153 - 37:39

This is for Bill ... it was Waverly's 29th race in three years and three months -- two (2) 1-milers, 24 5K's (16 of which are RTWs), two (2) 5-milers and a half marathon.

Including Waverly and myself, there were eight (8) members of the Seven Hills Running Club there as well as 11 members of The Woodlands Running Club.

We had a great time with friends and family (the three of us went to Egg & I for breakfast after the race - which is good and off of Research Forest Blvd.)

The results are posted at http://www.runmontgomerycounty.com/.

If for some reason I don't post again (which I doubt), Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Season's Greetings to you all!

Or as it was from Hawaii 18 years ago, Mele Kalikimaka and Haouli Makahiki Ho.

EliteRunning.com: Wisconsin's Reneau to run Houston

In an online interview, EliteRunning.com reports that 28-year-old Houlton, Wisconsin native Michael Reneau, who met the "B" U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying standard at this summer's Grandma's Marathon in June with a 4-minute personal best of 2:20:28, will be on the starting line at next month's Chevron Houston Marathon.

The website reports that Reneau ran marathons of 2:36 and 2:26 in the Mad City and Twin Cities Marathon, respectively, in 2004 before lowering his time to 2:24:12 (where he was 11th overall) in Twin Cities last fall.

In 2005, Reneau, then 27, was second by a heartbreaking four (4) seconds to Ryan Meissen at the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in a time of 1:06:42. The half marathon is part of the Grandma's Marathon field of events. (Meissen qualified for the Trials in Austin this past February with a 2:18:03.)

New Site for Run The Woodlands 5K

The following web site has been launched to handle the Run The Woodlands 5K Series --

http://www.runmontgomerycounty.com/

I'm working as diligently as I can to get everything back into its normal place.

I've written Running In The USA to see if we can have 24 race results from 2005 and 2006 reinstated. I have the source files of most of those races, but without the pictures.

Thank you for your patience.

And for those of you who aren't participating in the Houston Striders' Longest Long Run or Fort Bend Fit's long run, you're invited to come out and join us for the last Run The Woodlands 5K of the year on Saturday morning, December 23rd.

The Demand of the Houston Marathon

Edwin Quarles has some excellent commentary on his blog regarding the issue addressed in today's Houston Chronicle column (page C11) by Roberta MacInnis titled, "Buying and selling of bib numbers sparks debate."

I've been hesitant to chime in on the subject because of the tentacles that I've created over the past couple of years. They've become pretty wide-reaching and my thoughts here only represent me personally - and do not represent any organizations (HARRA) or publications (RTN, ITR, Conroe Courier) that I provide time or services for, including the Chevron Houston Marathon itself.

This year, I've done everything I possibly can (and will continue) to support the "hometown cause!" I think it is a great event, even though Houston's concrete is punishing, and it is great to run your hometown race! I've stated on a number of occasions given all of the places that I've run events that we need to be more thankful for the closed course!

In January's edition of HARRA's Footprints in Inside Texas Running, there will be one whole page devoted to all of the Local Invited Runners to the Chevron Houston Marathon. For most of the runners, their head shot is included with their name, age, affiliated club, qualifying event and time, the qualifying standard as well as a note. (In my research of the event, I believe we've done something unique to recognize the local runners.)

I'm looking forward for the fifth straight year to be able to run in one of the events!

(And Waverly will be doing one of them for the third straight year - with a pacer each year! I hope that she will still enjoy the sport enough one day that we can run the full marathon together!)

While the Marathon consistently states that it desires to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone involved, it also wants to be able to make sure it can deliver on everything it promises too. Having a cap (and knowing that they have a large likelihood of meeting it) allows the event to plan for food, fluids, numbers of volunteers, etc. And for that, you can't begrudge them that desire at all.

So the fact that they've reached their cap and that they have eliminated that part of their worry in the continuation of race-day preparation, good for them. Now all they have to do is to make sure things get in the proper spots at the proper times -- still a challenge though!

Having that announced cap, I've contended (with last year's Marine Corps Marathon being the exception) creates artifical interest. Either people don't want to pay the price later on when they can lock in their schedule (so they pay the early fee figuring if they don't run they won't be blowing as much) -or- people get caught up in the euphoria back in September and never follow through come January.

The Marathon - or any race, for that matter - precisely knows how many race packets aren't picked up prior to the race. Many, in fact, including the venerable Western States 100 (which has clauses because their race is partially on federal land), factor that number in to their registration cap or limits.

I guess here is the rub that I have. The Chevron Houston Marathon has really worked hard to promote its No. 2 ranking by Marathon and Beyond magazine. Nothing wrong with that at all, but I can spin it in return.

I ask myself, "Who's No. 1?" Let's face it, I think you have to start with Boston. It is the place every marathoner strives to be able to run at one day. So if I'm calling myself "No. 2", shouldn't I do the things that the race that I believe are ranked lower than me do?

If so, try the following -- "The New York City Marathon permits runners to withdraw 24 hours before the race and use the deferred entry plan. Refunds are not allowed." (Article link)

In today's column in the Chronicle, Roberta quoted Steven Karpas as saying that USA Triathlon's service to allow athletes to turn in their numbers (for a fee) would be " 'an administrative nightmare' for his office this close to the race."

So, if you've collected the initial registration fee from the runner, you charge them a fee for changing (like USA Triathlon does) and then collect a registration fee from the new runner (potentially), you could pay somebody to handle the steps of making sure that all of the databases are synched up.

The same article referenced above said, "Two well-known marathons, The Marine Corps and the Vermont City Marathons, have transfer policies. The buyer and seller of a race number arrange the transfer on their own terms, then a fee is paid to the marathon."

With the fee collected, again, pay somebody to handle the legwork.

Then there was this quote from Karpas, "We are aware that it will happen. What we would say is, if we catch anybody who is running under someone else's name, we will immediately disqualify both people -- person running and person who sold that bib -- and potentially bar them from any future Houston marathons."

I agree that the subject is a serious one -- and should have a threat there -- that has many issues that were covered in MacInnis' article including fraud, runner's safety, liability and the like.

But it would be a total contradiction to say that you'll potentially bar the runner buying and selling a bib number because the event chooses not to be flexible in a world that is filled with changes BUT you'll continue to allow runners like Poland's Wioletta Kryza, who finished second to Kelly Keane in the 2005 event, to participate after being stripped of her Pittsburgh Marathon title in 2002 because of a positive drug test.

(I only used Kryza because it is under the race's current leadership. Poland's Antoni Niemczak had two drug disqualifications at NYC in 1986 and Tokyo in 1995, but ran the talent-rich 1996 field here in Houston; however, that race was under different race directorship.)

It's saying, "We'll bend over backwards to get the Ukraine's Tatyana Pozdniakova to run here, even though we had to disqualify her as the winner of our race in 1996 being of having cold medicine in her drug test, but we'll go and potentially bar somebody for wanting to run our race when another can't run it."

I'm glad that the Austin Marathon didn't have a cap this past February or I wouldn't have been able to run my PR! Was it because of a lack of planning? Heck, no, because of my job, I couldn't plan for it - and can't any event until the project is over.

And do you think that Austin will break its participation levels all on its own? Maybe. Maybe not. People that missed registering for Houston that I've talked are very nonchalant about it, "Hey, we'll just go run Austin now." To me, that is a dangerous sentiment to know that is out there.

This commentary isn't to support the topic at hand - buying and selling of bib numbers, but the fact that it is being discussed should indicate more people want to run your event.

Therefore, listen to the public and figure out a way to make it happen -or- they'll go somewhere else (and that No. 2 ranking will go away).

2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials

It has been widely known, of course, that the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials will be held in the fall of 2007 (for the men) in New York City and in the spring of 2008 (for the women) at the Boston Marathon.

The Chevron Houston Marathon announced this week that 65 hopeful marathon trials qualifiers, including 18 female runners, will be coming to the Bayou City as part of the event's "U.S. Athlete Development Project."

There have been 121 Men's Trials-qualifying performances from 100 runners, including two (2) Texans, Andrew Cook and Lance Parker. The women have seen 109 qualifying performances from 92 individuals. Three (3) Texans have done so -- Wendy Terris from San Antonio, Melisa Christian from Dallas and Cassandra Henkiel from Austin.

The following 26 men qualified for the 2004 Trials and have already qualified for next year's event:

Alan Culpepper (CO)
Ben Rosario (MO)
Brian Sell (MI)
Carl Rundell (MI)
Chris Banks (CA)
Chris Graff (VA)
Chris Lundstrom (MN)
Clint Verran (MI)
Edward Callinan (NJ)
James McGown (NE)
Jason Lehmkuhle (MN)
Jason Ryf (WI)
Jim Jurcevich (OH)
Khalid Khannouchi (NY)
Kyle Baker (MI)
Matthew Byrne (PA)
Meb Keflezighi (CA)
Nick Cordes (OH)
Pete Julian (CO)
Peter Gilmore (CA)
Ryan Shay (MI)
Ryan Meissen (WI)
Scott Larson (CO)
Steve Moreno (CA)
Terrance Shea (MA)
Trent Briney (MI)

Thirty-six (36) women who qualified in 2004, including the legendary Joan Benoit Samuelson, have already qualified to make an attempt in 2008:

Aimee Larkin
Brett Ely (MA)
Carly Graytock (MA)
Christine Lundy (CA)
Christy Nielsen (IA)
Colleen De Reuck
Deeja Youngquist (WA)
Deena Kastor (CA)
Doreen McCoubrie (PA)
Emily Levan (ME)
Heather Hunt (CO)
Heather May (IN)
Jeanne Hennessy (CO)
Jen Rhines (PA)
Jennifer Derego (MI)
Jenny Crain (WI)
Jill Boaz (CA)
Joan Samuelson (ME)
Johanna Olson (OR)
Kim Pawelek (FL)
Magdalena Lewy-Boulet (CA)
Marla Runyan (OR)
Mary Akor (CA)
Megan Daly (CA)
Megan Holden (NY)
Melissa Rittenhouse (OH)
Michelle Lafleur (GA)
Midori Sperandeo (CA)
Molly Taber (MA)
Nicole Hunt (MT)
Nikole Johns (CO)
Paula Morrison (AZ)
Rachel Kinsman (OH)
Robyn Friedman (IA)
Susan Loken (AZ)
Suzy Schumacher
Wendi Ray (WI)
Zika Palmer (NC)

New Year's Day Texas Marathon at 160 Registrants!

Humble's Steve and Paula Boone will be hosting their 8th annual Texas Marathon in Kingwood at 8 a.m. on New Year's Day.

One Christmas wish is for this year's participants -- currently numbering 160 (with more room for Aggies and T-sips who don't have to worry about rushing home to watch their football teams on New Year's Day) -- not to suffer through the heat and humidity that those of us who ran it last year did.

There are many familiar names on this year's registrant's list -- Seven Hills Running Club's Rick Cook and Marvin Dittfurth, The Woodlands Team In Training's Carol Steele, HMSA's Clark Courtright, HARRA Power In Motion coach Donna Crocker and The Woodlands Running Club's Gary Van Kuiken.

There are approximately 40 of the runners who will be making their marathon debut.

The total number of finishers each year is as follows: 2000 (16), 2001 (14), 2002 (39), 2003 (68), 2004 (129), 2005 (114) and 2006 (124).

Tuesday Workout

Surprisingly, I felt pretty good Monday, but gave things a complete rest from running or working out. Plus I delayed my chiropractor appointment to go through some level II exercises until today because I wanted to make sure I could do them without too much strain from the running on Sunday.

Sunday evening, before I made it back from Jacksonville, Florida, Waverly went out with her Mom and did the 4.1-mile outer loop of the subdivision in 47 minutes, 29 seconds - for a pace of 11:34 per mile. (I was actually more proud of her for doing that than of me running the Jacksonville Marathon.)

Tonight, we joined the co-workout between the Luke's Locker - The Woodlands Quick Beat and The Woodlands Team In Training groups.

Waverly and I walked one lap around the track as a warmup and then started into eight (8) laps of lane 7. For those with short memories (seriously, I'm joking), I explained last week that running in lane 7 equates to 446.01142 meters each lap instead of 400. Multiply that times eight, convert it to miles and it comes out to 2.217 miles.

Last Tuesday night, taking it easy, Waverly ran it in 26:21.16 for an 11:53 per mile pace.

Tonight, she did it 25:32.20 or an 11:31 per mile pace. (That pace is a 5K PR pace of 35:46. But when you look at how the splits tonight went, it would be unlikely that she could hold it all for another mile.)

Her lap splits last Tuesday were:
3:12.84, 3:22.78, 3:14.29, 3:18.60, 3:20.32, 3:18.67, 3:19.68 and 3:13.98

This week they were a little different:
2:58.36, 3:08.01, 3:11.96, 3:14.53, 3:14.75, 3:17.41, 3:21.88 and 3:05.30

We got off to a quicker start and immediately made a conscious effort to slow it down. The last lap we both tried to push it a little. We walked another lap around the track as a cool down.

Thursday will be real easy for her - just a simple 2.1 miles and then she'll do Run The Woodlands 5K #168 on Saturday, December 23 with a goal to run steady the entire way without walking.

I ended up doing another mile and a half (in lane 2), untimed, for close to 4 miles total.

After getting her back to the house, I went to Bally's in The Woodlands and got in two (2) 24-minute hill routines on the stationery bike -- one at level 8 and another at level 10.

Hmmm ... I just need to find my way to the pool.

Wade's Beer Mile World Record Busted

I kid you not! (I had actually seen this online quite some time ago.)

For proof, I take you to the blog of Cleveland, Ohio masters runner Ben Szporluk.

The link is here:
http://rocknrollrunner.blogspot.com/2006/12/new-beer-mile-world-record.html

Wade's mile of 5 minutes and 40 seconds from August 23, 1987 has reportedly been broken by Oregon's A.J. Acosta with an effort of 5:38.9 on November 21, 2006 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

The question is whether or not they were using fully automated timing (F.A.T.) or not!

Marathon Confidence Is Always A Good Thing

Having confidence going into any marathon is pretty much always a good thing.

Even when one might just be a wee little bit over the top. In pure fun, of course.

Thanks to eagle-eyed Edwin Quarles, we present to you 25-year-old Clute resident and Clute Intermediate School band director Brent Roach. Roach's registration is listed as follows among all three (3) Clute residents running next month:

Heinlein, Jenny Suzanne, 29, F, Clute, Texas, United States, Aramco Half Marathon -13.1 Miles
Roach, Brent Athlete of the Century, 25, M, Clute, Texas, United States, Chevron Houston Marathon - 26.2 Miles
Heinlein, Wes Aaron, 29, M, Clute, Texas, United States, Aramco Half Marathon -13.1 Miles

This link on the Brazosport ISD's web site describes Roach as "the band director at CIS. He attended East Central University in Ada, OK. Mr. Roach enjoys teaching at CIS because each day he finds a new challenge and becomes a more effective music educator and simultaneously improves the lives of the students. He likes the students at CIS because they are great and each of their personalities contributes to an outstanding student body. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, eating, playing piano, and playing ping pong."

The Brazosport Facts reported last month - in their online edition - that 12 of Roach's students were named on November 4th (in a competition at Pearland Jr. High South) to the All-Region Band. Not only is Roach an excellent educator and a first-time marathoner, it is clear that he has a healthy dose of good humor too.

Update! I had sent Brent an e-mail and he alerted me to the fact that he ran the Methodist Sugar Land Hospital 30K and didn't have to be admitted!

Seriously ... he finished 127th overall in a time of 2:24:50.1 chip time - a 7:47/minute pace.

"I did okay for a non-runner," Roach said about his debut race. "I've always had it (a marathon) on my list of things to do and decided I would go for it while I'm still young."

Brent, way to go and we wish you all the best!

Dane Rauschenberg in Texas in 2007?

As I profiled in my "Notes in Jacksonville Marathon" report earlier this morning, Arlington, Virginia's Dane Rauschenberg - and a Penn State graduate - is running a marathon a weekend throughout 2006.

Actually, he was in the Lone Star state the weekend before last running the White Rock Marathon in a Boston-qualifying time of 3:09:36.

At the beginning of his White Rock Marathon race report, which can be found here, he stated the following:

"While I have been rather inefficient on knocking off new states during Fiddy2, this was my first in Texas. With Austin and Houston following up soon in 2007, there is a possibility I will run all three to complete the Texas Challenge."

Well, I checked the online confirmation list for the Chevron Houston Marathon and, unfortunately, Dane's name is not on there.

I'll get flamed for saying it (and I will take off anonymous posts), but this is where I would wholeheartedly support Rauschenberg getting the opportunity to run Houston - if he approached race officials for an entry -or- they approached him.

He's generated a lot of positive press for marathoning over the past year. The White Rock Marathon even gave him bib number #49 (for the 49th marathon he was doing this year)!

Unlike Karnazes, he isn't being sponsored by a corporate entity, like North Face. He's paying everything - like Sam Thompson's 50 states in 50 days marathon effort -- himself, while trying to raise money as well for a worthy charity.

And I'm not just saying it because he's a Penn Stater either!

My question is: "Would he add something to the "Marathons of Texas" by being nationally recognized and doing all three marathons?"

I think there's enough potential there that he would to give him a pass and let him run in our great city -- and event.

Notes of the Jacksonville Marathon

It's Monday morning and surprisingly, after running a road marathon, I feel pretty good.

I'll probably go to the gym today and do some time on the stationery bike.

I'm also wondering how much walking on Jacksonville Beach for about an hour after the race - to kill some time since I had three hours plus before my flight after eating - helped. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a little sore in some spots but I could more easily run another Jingle Bell Run today than I did the weekend before last.

There was a good article today on the Marathon online at the Florida Times-Union's site. It turns out that the women's winner, Kim Pawelek of Jacksonville, who has already qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials, was out on a training run and decided to finish it for the win.

171 of the 898 finishers -- 19 percent, a fairly high number -- posted a Boston Marathon qualifying time.

Just 56 of the 888 finishers -- just 6.3 percent -- who registered a time at the half way point posted a negative split. (I fell in the other category.)

Dane Rauschenberg of Arlington, Virginia, who is running a marathon a weekend in 2006, finished in 3:10:20. This coming weekend (on Saturday) in Titusville, Pennsylvania, he'll be running his own Drake Well Marathon to keep his weekly streak going. It will be 105.5 laps around the Titusville Senior High School track! Titusville, Pennsylvania, of course, is the location of the first commercially successful well drilled specifically for oil which launched the modern petroleum industry in the United States.

You can read Dane's race report, which is actually pretty entertaining (even the part where he "hit" on one of the female leaders), here.

Then there was Joseph Burgasser's time from St. Petersburg, Florida. It was an impressive showing of 3:14:18. But, wait, Joseph is 68!

Burgasser was the 2001 Boston Marathon senior champion when he ran the legendary course in 2:56:49, at the age of 63. Using the current age grade tables, Burgasser's age-graded time was an even more impressive 2:26!

Lou Wilson of The Woodlands, 70, slipped in under the 6-hour mark (5:58:43) for his 24th marathon finish of 2006.

It's Over in Jacksonville

(Update: 6:09 p.m. at the Jacksonville Airport using the airport's free wireless Internet. Albuquerque also had this too.)

With the mileage that I had on my legs (too much), I logged mostly sub 12-minute miles through mile 19. (In fact, I don't believe that there was a one under 11 minutes - anything over was to take a Gu or get fluids.) And actually, the first 15 felt real good!

The forecast was right, however. In the last 7 miles, I did a lot of walking to get my fluids in as the temperature rose.

My watch "gun time" was 5:27:26 and my watch "chip time" was 5:25:38. It was the fifth best of my 11 marathons. The end began to remind me of the Texas Marathon in Kingwood this New Year's Day. (Rick, Bill Dwyer, Dalton Pulsipher and Waverly know how warm it got that day.)

Did I do this under the best conditions or preparations? Of course not, but that only matters to me. If the temperature hadn't risen, I would have been between 5 hours and 5:12. I want to get to where I can go out and run a marathon at anytime and run under 5 hours.

There you have it. 8th marathon in 2006. 11 overall. Eight (8) states - and an ultramarathon to boot. Not bad at all.

Here are my splits:

Chip difference – 1 min, 48.08
Mile 1 – 11:01.05
Mile 2 – 11:31.75 (22:32.80) <-- ran with Lou Wilson from The Woodlands
Mile 3 – 11:22.06 (33:54.86)
Mile 4 – 11:27.93 (45:22.79)
Mile 5 – 11:10.81 (56:33.60)
Mile 6 – 11:12.72 (1:07:46.32)
Mile 7 – 11:52.25 (1:19:38.57)
Mile 8 – 11:34.67 (1:31:13.24)
Mile 9 – 11:39.90 (1:42:53.14)
Mile 10 – 11:25.37 (1:54:18.51)
Mile 11 – 11:44.93 (2:06:03.44)
Mile 12 – 12:34.85 (2:18:38.29) <-- to get a Gu down and get fluids
Mile 13 – 11:37.97 (2:30:16.26)
Mile 14 – 11:47.96 (2:42:04.22)
Mile 15 – 11:44.76 (2:53:48.98)
Mile 16 – 11:49.85 (3:05:38.83)
Mile 17 – 11:42.61 (3:17:21.44)
Mile 18 – 12:26.20 (3:29:47.64) <-- ditto
Mile 19 – 12:03.09 (3:41:50.73)
Mile 20 – 14:46.28 (3:56:37.01) <-- once I got to the 19-mile marker, the temps had increased and I was beat
Mile 21 – 13:44.19 (4:10:21.20)
Mile 22 – 13:59.29 (4:24:20.49)
Mile 23 – 12:59.50 (4:37:19.99) <-- not sure where this came in
Mile 24 – 15:12.72 (4:52:32.71)
Mile 25 – 15:35.59 (5:08:08.30)
Mile 26 – 14:43.86 (5:22:52.16)
Last .2 – 2:45.85 (5:25:38.01)

Nice marathon. The course is flat and not a closed course. (In fact, on the return, we were routed off the road to some sidewalks that, I believe, took us off the way that the course was measured and that was to the right side of the road.) Those of us who do Houston ... be thankful for a closed course!

Race day registration was $70, but they don't need to pay for all of the police protection that, for example, Houston does with the closed course. Nice medal. (It is the same as the logo on this page.) Volunteers - mostly high school cross country teams - and spectators were very supportive and enthusiastic. Almost in the same league as Boise, Idaho last month.

The course was almost pancake flat- and pretty scenic. A lot of the course going out was shaded (it is advertised as 80%). I would say maybe 70%, but a lot of the last many miles aren't. At one point, I know that we passed the winter home of Harriet Beecher Stowe. (Surprised that I could remember that, eh? I am.)

This guy, Phillip Little, was running his 232nd marathon. I passed him around mile 12 and he came back and reeled me in somewhere around mile 22.

Time to board .... More later.

Here in Jacksonville!

I'm here at the Marriott Courtyard in Jacksonville, Florida, just a few miles from the race start location - the Bolles School.

A timely article in the Jacksonville Times-Union today about the surging popularity of the half marathon.

Weather.com predicts a forecast of 55 degrees at 6 a.m., 64 degrees at 9 a.m. and finally 73 degrees at 12 noon. The race starts at 7 a.m. and a Texan, Jerry Lawson, holds the course record -- 2:14:33 in 1992. (I would be lucky to challenge that for the half.)

And one nice note to read in Rick Casey's column in the Chronicle on the way over in the early Sunday edition. The three most humid cities, according to the U.S. Census (not sure what they're doing compiling that data), are Houston, Jackson, Mississippi and Jacksonville, Florida.

Maybe that is why I didn't get any sleep on the plane over here.

Willis Wildkat 5K Race Report

Really a nice event - the Willis Wildkat 5K - put together by Dana Fossmo, the cross country coach of Willis High School, this morning at and around Anchorage Marina on Lake Conroe.

42 finishers in the 5K and 16 in the kids 1.1-kilometer run. Not bad for a first year event and this had everything that you could want - inexpensive ($15), accurate results, age group awards, a dark-colored t-shirt (which, of course, is different), tons of refreshments and a pretty challenging course.

There's literally not one thing that I can think that they could improve upon.

The course went through a subdivision and it immediately reminded me of a 10K that I did back in 2003 in Shreveport, Louisiana when I was ramping up to run my very first half marathon.

I didn't see the mile markers (and I'm glad that I didn't.) However, other runns said that they saw them. I probably ran fairly comfortably at about 90% - just less of the speedwork that I've done recently.

I finished in 30:19.66, which was good for 3rd in 35-39 age group.
Nice engraved medal. (I need to run in Montgomery County more often!)

It was a good run for me. Hopefully next Saturday at Run The Woodlands 5K #168, I hope that I can get back in to 29-minute territory. I think that I will be able to on a basically flat course. Today's course didn't have any uphills, per se, but certainly a spot or two with a slight incline.

Former Willis Wildkat cross county stars Jacob Jones, who runs for Baylor, and Elizabeth Slaughter, who runs for Texas A&M, won the event in 16:11 and 19:19, respectively.

Winning the Masters titles were Rafael Martinez (50-54) and Houstonian and HARRA member Sabra Harvey, 57, in times of 19:19 and 20:36, respectively.

With president Ken Johnson serving as an adviser on the race, the Seven Hills Running Club turned out to support the event with Dr. Chris Wilson leading the way in 24:04 and followed three (3) seconds behind by 59-year-old former Houston police officer Hans Jaeger. Those three seconds cost Jaeger an age group award!

Both Ken and 72-year-old True Cousins had good races today. In fact, it was one of Ken's better 5K races in some time. Ken finished in 32:15 and True was not far behind in 33:41.

Up from Houston were HMSA's Paul Cooley (20:37, 2nd 55-59), Clark Courtright (22:31, 2nd 45-49) and Larry Lindeen (23:20, 1st 65-69). It's always good to see Danny Gilbreath out and he ran well today in 22:58 - good for 2nd 50-54.

Doing a little web surfing so that I could get the results online at Runner Triathlete News, I noticed that Willis ISD superintendent Brian Zemlicka and his son, Chris, ran the race in 26:05.

Fellow The Woodlands Running Club membership committee person Mike Mendeck, 59, of Conroe, ran well with a time of 26:47, but was in the toughest age group (55-59) where he finished 5th. Mike introduced me to some nice folks from Willis, Mike Sproba and his sister-in-law, Robin Sproba. She and her husband, Rich, are in the real estate business. Mike is in the mortgage business. All three (3) ran the race. Mike won the family competition and beat her brother by more than a minute, 21:19 to 22:41. Robin finished in 28:11.

So .... to answer the question that I posed earlier in this post .... where am I off to so that I can log race #200 tomorrow? Florida for tomorrow's Jacksonville Bank Marathon.

Lou Wilson of The Woodlands - and TWRC - will be there to run his 72nd marathon. I do not believe that he'll be adding his 28th state.

Me? It will be marathon #11 and state #8, as long as I'm successful. I don't have a time projection, but I'm going to work on my long-distance pacing and register another state - thanks for frequent flyer miler and hotel points (and 31 miles last Saturday at Sunmart).

Thursday Workout / BBQ Run With Waverly

Late in the afternoon, I got to Bally's in The Woodlands and logged an hour on the elliptical trainer (4.96 miles, level 16, random) and 50 minutes on the stationery bike (level 6, random).

After coming back and getting a shower, Waverly and I went and got some BBQ in what I thought would be far enough ahead than not to mess with things on the run. (I guess that I'll have to adjust my lead time out another hour or so. About midway through, I started to get a little light-headed.)

So at 9:15 p.m., we started our regular 2.1-mile loop around the subdivision. I wanted to try and push things a little bit faster than Tuesday night without specifically trying to do any strides or intervals with her.

We got on the street the farthest from the house and I felt like we were lagging it a little bit. (At the same time, I'm thinking that I'm going to be in trouble for Saturday's Willis Wildkat 5K; however, I was also thinking that I could easily do another long run in the 11-minute range without any problem.) Anyways, I told her that we needed to start to pick it up and for her to try and stay with me.

When I heard her breathing almost get to a point that I thought she might stop and walk, I backed off slightly but still kept things moving.

We got down to two turns to go and I saw that we were in the 20-minute area. I hadn't pre-done what a pace to beat her 35:56 5K PR would be, but I thought we were close.

I tried to pick it up without totally knocking her - or me - out. She responded.

She finished the 2.1 miles in 24:24 which is a pace of 11:37 per mile - or, if she could hold it, a 5K time of 36:05. She did great! For those of you with kids, you'll understand the feeling when they push and stretch themselves and see the benefit of what they're doing.

We won't do anything at all tomorrow, plus she has a basketball game Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Our next run will be on Sunday (maybe 4 at a very relaxed conversational pace) - as long as I'm in town.

College Station Runner's Marathon Streak For RSDA

For too long, I've gotten too busy and have been remiss in sharing with you an effort by Troy Grimes of College Station, Texas to raise money for the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association.

Troy's fundraising page can be found here -- http://www.firstgiving.com/troyraygrimes.

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (RSD) - also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) - is a chronic neurological syndrome characterized by: severe burning pain, pathological changes in bone and skin, excessive sweating, tissue swelling and extreme sensitivity to touch.

Troy, 43, earlier this year ran the Chevron Houston Marathon in 4:33:21 and the Big D Texas Marathon in Dallas in April in 4:46:25. And he is now setting out to run a marathon a month -- "Troy's Streak" -- until a care is found for RSD.

He ran his first two marathons in this streak -- in September and October -- with Dean Karnazes in St. Charles, Missouri and Tulsa, Oklahoma. In November, he finished the San Antonio Marathon of the Americas in 4:10:58. Last weekend, he ran the White Rock Marathon in 4:05:36.

You ask, "Why?" Troy says that his wife was injured at work three years ago, developed RSD shortly after that and is now permanently disabled.

"She had a spinal implant (a device that is surgically implanted in her back that has wires running from it to her spine) last year to help make the pain "bearable", Grimes said. "On a pain level of 1 to 10, she went from a 9 or 10 to a 3 or 4.

"Before the implant, she refused to go out in public for fear someone might bump into her.

"One day, I heard her scream in agonizing pain when an envelope fell on her leg - RSD is pretty wicked stuff," he added. "And all of this resulted from a simple fall at work (she slipped on some wax that was left in the floor by the cleaning crew.)

"Her only option at this point is to have the device in her back the rest of her life plus be on heavy medication forever as well."

He said that he has "enjoyed" running for three years now, but explains that the comments he has received since he has started this effort have been overwhelming.

"The comment, 'Thank you for running for those of us who can't'," says Grimes, "are the most amazing words anyone has ever said to me."

Grimes' next three marathons are the Texas Marathon in Kingwood (January 1), Mardi Gras Marathon (New Orleans, February 25) and Little Rock Marathon (March 4).

Houston Area Marathon Times - December 9-10

Here's a list of marathon times from this past weekend of Houston area runners, except for the White Rock Marathon (which, in its download, doesn't list the city and the state):

Tucson Marathon
Jack McClintic, 45, Katy (TOR, PIM Co-Director), 2:55:38, 15th overall
Christine Agnew, 36, Houston, 3:09:41, 4th overall female
Leno Rios, 36, Dickinson (TOR), 3:30:43
David Waddell, 46, Houston (HS), 3:31:48
Cindy Laidlaw, 43, Katy (TOR), 3:48:19 <-- 1st time to qualify for Boston
Jim Van Matre, 57, Houston, 3:48:55
Jeff McElroy, 37, Seabrook, 4:46:17
Nancy Crane, 64, Houston (HMSA), 4:50:57
James Wiedemer, 53, Houston, 5:34:39

Thunder Road Marathon (Charlotte, NC)
Gary Van Kuiken, 48, The Woodlands, 3:57:28
John Moyer, 49, Friendswood, 4:17:53
Jo May, 58, Houston, 4:23:11
Vernon Wells, Jr., 51, Houston, 4:48:02

Kiawah Island (SC) Marathon
Sharon Adler, 50, Houston, 5:35:35
Neil Adler, 52, Houston, 5:35:38

Otter Creek Trail Marathon (Brandenburg, KY)
Brian Jackson, 45, Sugar Land, 5:45:37

Rocket City Marathon (Huntsville, AL)
David Nemoto, 43, Houston, 3:31:11

Honolulu Marathon
Tandi Hodges, 40, The Woodlands, 3:47:56
Darryl Parker, 36, Houston, 4:02:31
Sifa Mvoi, 40, Houston, 4:04:42
Shannon Casellis, 39, Sugar Land, 4:36:38
Peter Sedrak, 26, Houston, 4:42:14
Meinolf Weidenbach, 46, Lake Jackson, 4:52:35
Susanne Weidenbach, 34, Lake Jackson, 4:52:35
Kuniyoshi Asano, 49, La Porte, 4:54:34
David Allan, 36, Spring, 4:58:43
Say Terry, 20, Sweeny, 5:07:58
George Leyendecker, 58, Houston, 5:09:14
Ila Owers, 38, Houston, 5:23:03
Joe Sellers, 43, Jersey Village (BCRR), 5:42:10
Jan Trimmer, 58, Houston (NONE), 6:47:37
Marc Trimmer, 51, Houston (NONE), 6:47:39
Akira Nishikawa, 43, Houston, 6:54:55
Bobby McIlveen, 46, Sugar Land, 7:21:07
Ann Riopelle, 49, Sugar Land, 7:21:06

Las Vegas Marathon
Tom Watson, 36, Missouri City, 3:17:02
Leonard Mallett, 50, Houston, 3:32:09
Sarah Broyles, 32, The Woodlands, 3:40:32
Michle Fredenburg, 41, Houston (HH), 3:41:22
Katie Custer, 27, Houston, 3:43:39
Claire Greenberg, 44, Houston (BCRR), 3:50:52
Christopher Higgins, 37, The Woodlands, 3:51:30
Da Huang, 40, Houston, 4:00:24
Kenneth Butler, 53, Sugar Land, 4:10:32
Candi Rhodes, 32, Kingwood, 4:10:17
Michelle Meyer, 32, Katy (BARC), 4:15:18
Trey Evans, 57, Crosby, 4:15:50
Carol Moody, 50, Houston (HMSA), 4:17:57
James Taylor, 63, Houston, 4:18:27
Feliciano Gonzalez, 30, Houston, 4:19:31
Andrew Fucci, 44, Houston, 4:21:39
Courtney Sarofim, 36, Houston, 4:21:42
Kim MacDougall, 46, The Woodlands, 4:25:47
Laura Kohlmaier, 39, Houston, 4:28:52
Deborah Thomas, 33, College Station, 4:36:01
Franklin Scanterbury, 53, Houston, 4:36:14
Walter Knowles, 32, Houston, 4:40:50
Amy Parker, 50, Houston, 4:41:26
Stephen Arong, 30, Houston, 4:41:31
Kristy Maue, 43, Sugar Land, 4:42:52
Robert Deeds, 52, Houston, 4:51:54
Evelyn Maclean-Quick, 47, Houston, 4:51:57
Jason Cezeaux, 25, Cypress, 4:54:45
Tommy Golczynski, 31, Richmond, 4:54:50
David Underwood, Jr., 40, Houston, 4:55:44
Andy Bishop, 32, Katy, 4:58:17
Scott Johnson, 39, Houston, 4:59:28
Susan Dool, 39, Houston, 5:00:50
Yong Collins, 52, Houston (HS), 5:00:56
John DiMarco, 48, Sugar Land (HS), 5:00:56
Jonathan Church, 26, Stafford, 5:04:13
John Carnicle, 48, Houston, 5:04:18
Melinda Vassberg, 41, College Station, 5:06:57
Brad Reilly, 38, Kingwood, 5:14:34
Ronald Burrows, 53, Tomball, 5:16:22
Seyla Suos, 30, Missouri City, 5:23:07
Tony Nixon, 48, Houston, 5:25:28
Betty Wong, 47, Houston, 5:30:15
Robin Blanchette, 30, Houston, 5:34:10
Scott Wallach, 38, The Woodlands, 5:39:02
Charles Deeds, 53, Houston (HS), 5:40:05
Michael Kove, 68, The Woodlands, 5:57:05
Joe Kohlmaier, 63, Houston, 5:58:58
Michelle Novak, 56, Houston, 6:07:20
Teresa Amberson, 43, Houston, 6:11:54
Larry Davidson, 55, Houston, 6:29:31
Donna Davidson, 42, Houston, 6:29:44
Brett Powers, 47, Houston, 6:40:28
Lou Wilson, 70, The Woodlands (TWRC), 6:57:58

111th Boston Marathon Registration Numbers

While it is only mid-December, United States and Canadian residents have combined for 9,843 entries in the stated 22,500 field for the 111th running of the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 16, 2007.

U.S. residents have turned in 8,624 registrations while Canada has 1,219.

Eight (8) U.S. states have more registrants than Texas, which has 320 thus far, but that is almost certain to change after this past weekend's White Rock Marathon in Dallas and January's Chevron Houston Marathon.

Leading the way is California with 725 registrants, closely followed by New York (690), Illinois (636) and Massachusetts (598). Also ahead of Texas is Ohio (411), Pennsylvania (380), Michigan (365) and Virginia (328). Every U.S. state has more ten (10) or more runners registered at this point.

Ontario leads all Canadian provinces with 663 followed by British Columbia (183), Alberta (117) and Quebec (111).

Run The Woodlands 5K Series Announcement

The Run The Woodlands 5K Series has not died, even though the previous main link to the Series -- http://www.runningintheusa/rtw/ -- has been deleted by the event's founder without my knowledge or that of the sponsor, Luke's Locker.

The next races are on the following dates:

+ Saturday, December 23rd, 2006
+ Saturday, January 6th, 2007
+ Saturday, January 27th, 2007

Was I delayed in getting results to the founder, who posted them for us on Running In The USA's servers? Yes, I was. (I can't begin to tell you the things - and issues - that I've been juggling.)

Results for the last two races - won by Gabriel Rodriguez and Kirk Norton on the men's side and by Rachel Guenther for the women in both races - are online at the following links --

RTW #166 (http://www.walksports.com/tx1125a.htm)
RTW #167 (http://www.walksports.com/tx1209a.htm)

The results from the "Race for Hans" 5K - RTW #165 - are still a challenge and a work in progress.

Although probably not as important, yet still a surprise, it also seems that all of the results from 2005 and 2006, housed at Running In The USA, are inaccessible as well.

Add one more thing to the ever-growing list -- Build a new site!

Magness runs well at USATF National Club XC Championship

Former Klein Oak HS and Rice Owl track star Steve Magness competed last Saturday (December 9th) at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships in San Francisco, California's Golden Gate Park.

Competing as an open runner, Magness finished 29th overall on the 10K course in a time of 31:22 (a pace of 5:02 per mile). He was the 4th fastest open - or unattached - runner in the Men's Open race.

Austin's Rogue Running sent two teams to the Bay Area - one in the Women's Open Division and another in the Women's 45-49 Masters Division.

Led by 37-year-old Chris Kimbrough, who finished the 6-kilometer course in 21:29, the Rogue Running team was 18th in a field of 28 teams. Kimbrough was 26th overall while teammates Carmen Ayala-Troncoso, 47, and Cassandra Henkiel, 36, covered the distance in 21:59 and 22:27, respectively in 52nd and 88th places.

Rogue's Masters Division team was 9th of 12 teams and was led by Donna Moore and Deb Hilton, who finished in 25:15 and 25:56, respectively.

College Station's Marcella Paull, 56, was fifth in her 55-59 age division with a time of 29:26. (I'll take an assist on this result.)

Some interesting names appeared in the Men's Masters race:

+ 15th in the 40-44 division was a competitor of Sean Wade's, 41-year-old Paul Aufdemberge of Redford, Michigan, finishing in 34:01.
+ 33rd in 35:21 was 41-year-old Keefer Whan of Mount Vernon, Washington. He would be northwest Washington's Sean Wade, if you will.
+ 45th was one of the more talented "running husbands", 41-year-old Boulder, CO resident, Darren De Reuck. He finished in 35:54. (Colleen did not compete.)

+ 9th in the 50-54 division was 52-year-old John Wellerding of Louisville, Kentucky, who finished 4th at the 1984 Houston-Tenneco Marathon. Wellerding, running for the Derby City Ahtletic Club, ran the course in 36:25, but his club was unable to defend its 2005 title. (John is a subject of my Runner Triathlete News column in December.)

+ 11th in the 60-64 division was Runner's World editor, Amby Burfoot. Hailing now from Emmaus, Pennsylvania and running on the Raritan Valley Road Runners division-winning team, the 61-year-old former Boston Marathon winner ran the 10K course in 41 minutes, 45 seconds.

Rockets Run 5K now Chip Timed!

Apparently, the Rockets have finally listened to the masses - and increased the price to $23 and $28 late - a bit to cover the expense! (And just when you thought Les Alexander really had deep pockets.)

However, the Rockets Run 5K will go head-to-head with the first race of the 2007 HARRA Spring Series -- the Buffalo Wallow 6K Cross Country Championship, which is set for the same day -- Saturday, February 3, 2007.

It will be interesting to see watch the Bayou City Road Runners juggle this one as BCRR has provided road race management for the Rockets Run as well as being the two-time defending champs of both the Team and Club championship in the HARRA Spring Series. (It just will mean that maybe the other clubs will delay the obvious a little bit and get a leg up in the first race.)

Here's the news from Cris Garthe at the Rockets (my comments added in blue):

Don't miss Rockets Run 2007 on February 3rd.

The Houston Rockets invite fans to participate in the Rockets Run 2007 on February 3. Thank you for your participation in the past, we are now in our fifth year of the race. Come out again and experience the thrill of crossing the finish line on the Rockets home court at Toyota Center. (I must add it is pretty cool, but thrill might be an overstatement.) New this year - each runner will receive their official timing with the ChampionChip.

Participants in the Rockets Run can choose to compete in the 5K run or the 2 Mile walk. Both courses take runners through several blocks of midtown Houston, then back toward Toyota Center. The final leg of the courses runs underneath the Tundra Garage and the arena (can someone clear the exhaust - please - before entering the garage this year), before emerging on the Rockets home court - 32 feet below street level.

After crossing the finish line, you are invited to head to the main concourse of Toyota Center, where a post-race party awaits. The celebration includes trophy presentations for the top finishers, along with free food (pizza and hot dogs), drinks (Sarah requests unexpired Diet Pepsi this year) and live entertainment.

The fun does not end after the post-race party, however. Every participant receives one ticket to the Rockets vs. Charlotte Hornets game at 7:30 p.m. that night. At a price of only $23 ($20 for the walk), no other fun run compares. (If you're not a Rockets fan, that's clearly an over-the-top statement.) The registration fee includes admission to the race, a race packet complete with T-shirt and other sponsor gifts, plus the post-race party and a Rockets game ticket.

Prizes will be awarded for the top 3 finishers in 5 year age groups. The top 3 overall male and female runners will receive trophies and be recognized on court during a timeout of the Rockets game that night.

The Rockets Run is perfect for the serious racer or the casual fan. The race is just a few weeks after the marathon, and as a certified USA Track & Field course, it is a perfect competitive cool down. Fans looking for a slower pace will find that as well.

The Rockets Run takes place at Toyota Center on Saturday, February 3. Check-in and chip pick-up begins at 6:30 a.m. Start times are 8:00 a.m. for the 5K and 8:20 a.m. for the 2 Mile walk. Free parking will be available in the Tundra Garage, located just next to Toyota Center.

Registration for the Rockets Run is available online at www.rockets.com.