News for August 17, 2004

Kalamazoo resident and former Track Coach, George Dales, is over in Athens serving in the capacity as the President of the International Track & Field Coaches Association. George is also Greek and has been a consultant for the 2004 Games!

Results of the 2004 Otsego Ready or Not 5K!

News for August 12, 2004

Olympics on TV! See www.nbcolympics.com

Think your stride is too short? Unlikely! In a study of elite runners, good runners and untrained, but equally physically fit runners, Dr. Don Morgan, an exercise physiologist and recreational runner at Middle Tennessee State University, and his colleagues found that about 20 percent of the runners tested were overstriding, or taking steps too large for maximum efficiency. None were taking steps that were too small. The researchers set out to train the overstriders to take shorter steps. For three weeks, five times a week, the athletes ran on treadmills at the physiology lab, their pace set by the beat of a metronome. That rhythm forced the runners to shorten their strides, and, as a consequence, they ran about 3 percent faster. "For someone like me, it wouldn't make any difference," Dr. Morgan said. "But for an elite runner, that small percentage change could mean a big deal.

News for August 5, 2004

Weekly Rundown for August 5,11

This is a special extra-long two-week version of the Weekly Rundown as there won't be an issue next week.

If you would like to share an achievement or experience with the local running community, we would love to hear from you (especially from those we haven't picked on before)! No matter what it is, as long as it has to do with running, it is fair game! It can be a trip to an exotic location, a funny story, a first race, a first marathon, a first 20 miler or a first victory! You name it!

Please Note the Change: The next Kalamazoo Area Runners Board Meeting will be held Monday, August 16 at 7:15 at North Eleven (near the corner of Gull and Sprinkle, in the plaza across the street from Meijer). This month we may have some very special guests-the leadership from our friends, the Battle Creek Road Runners. We will be exploring future partnership opportunities between the two Clubs and how we can best serve our running communities. As always, KAR members are always invited to attend our Dinner/Board Meetings.

We just finished E-mailing membership renewals to all KAR members expiring through August. Please take the time to print out and complete your renewal application and send it back to us. We want to keep you on our list!

Over 1100 participants showed up for the 30th Anniversary of the Steve's Run 5k and 10k Races. Nicknamed "The Original Road and Trail Race, " the challenging 10k course traversed through roads, a golf course, a cemetery, trails, and the campus of South West Michigan College. Participants had the option of leaping hay bales and even a stone wall. The usual contingent of high school and college cross country teams dominated the event including the squad from Notre Dame. Special Guest Hal Higdon came out with his family to run the 10k and present awards. The winner of the men's 5k was none other than Paul Barrons of Kalamazoo with a time of 15:31. The women's 5k was won by Ashley Sill with a time of 18:10. The men's 10k race ended in a three-way tie between Notre Dame teammates Tim Moore, Sean O'Donnell and Kaleb Van Ort, all crossing the line in 32:01! The women's 10k winner was Justina Faulkner with a time of 37:39. See the Local Runner Happenings Section below to see more on our KAR members and local participants. See complete results at www.greatlakeschampionchip.com.

Kalamazoo Area Runners is expanding its apparel line! This fall, we will be rolling out our own custom Defeet socks with the Kalamazoo Area Runners logo. Stay turned for more details and how to purchase your very own pair!

There will be workouts at the WMU track Tuesday, August 10 and Tuesday, August 17. Steve Hicks/Dave Walch will be the group contact.

A Clinic for Men and Women Coaches and Distance Runners is being held Saturday, August 28, 2004 at Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac. Ron Gunn and his staff will present a total program for coaching and training scholastic and intercollegiate teams and runners. Ron is the winningest coach in NJCAA history and established an outstanding program that generated 8 national team titles and 130 Al l Americans. Contact rgunn@swmich.edu for more information on this unique program.

Here's what's coming up...

SPECIAL EVENTS AND RACES

Wednesday, August 11, 2004
The next Dances with Dirt Pre-Dirt Run is on the schedule for today in Pinckney. Details will be posted at www.danceswithdirt.com soon!

Saturday, August 14
The Otsego Running Club is sponsoring the 4th annual Ready or Not 5k which includes a 5k race, unofficiated walk and one-mile fun run. For more information visit www.runotsego.com. All proceeds go to support the ORC and the Otsego High School Cross Country Teams.

The National Blueberry Festival is holding its 5k Run/Walk today in South Haven. Run along the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan. For more information, contact Laura Crouse at 269-639-2779 or Lynn Kelley at 269-639-2804.

Saturday, August 28
If you want to experience the thrill and excitement of a big city marathon without having to do 26.2, then The Crim Festival of Races 10-mile run is for you. This truly is the Coolest Race in Michigan as they claim. The festival not only includes the 10-mile, but also an 8k and a 5k. This event seeded start for those who have completed a certified 10k below 7:00 minute pace. You don't have to be an elite runner to enjoy this fun-filled event, however. See www.crim.org for all the details. This one is truly worth the trip

Saturday, September 11, 2004
The infamous Dances with Dirt 100K Relay, 50K Ultra or 50 Mile Ultra happens today in Hell, MI with lots of local teams among the 320 in the running. It is too late to sign up for this years relay (if you are thinking about securing a spot for next year, make sure you send a representative from your team, check in hand, to the registration run held next February!) Intrigued? You can still sign up for the 50k or 50 Mile Ultra,though! See details at www.danceswithdirt.com for more details!

Please note the correction in the date of the Grape Lake 5k Run/Walk from the Gazelle Calendar. This takes place today and is a fast, flat 5k run in the heart of Paw Paw. Visit www.lakeviewcares.com for more information.

A third option for something a little different is the Kazoo Area Foot Chase held in Portage. See www.kazoofootchase.com for more information.

Saturday, September 18, 2004
This is it, folks, the final event in our Club Championship Series, the Peacock Strut 10k and 5k Races are today at Celery Flats in Portage. Here's a hint: You can gain about twice the points by running both of these events! See www.classicrace.com to register online and for more information.

UPCOMING MARATHONS

September 11, 2004
North Country Trail Run 26.2 & 50 Mi Trail Runs in Manistee, MI
www.stridersrun.com

September 12, 2004
Mile High City Marathon, Denver, CO www.milehighcitymarathon.com

September 18, 2004
Air Force Marathon, Wright Patterson AFB, OH www.Afmarathon.wpafb.af.mil/

September 26, 2004
Boulder Backroads Marathon, Boulder, CO www.boulderbackroads.com

September 28, 2004
Fox Cities Marathon, Fox Cities, WI www.foxcitiesmarathon.org

October 2, 2004
Road Runner Akron Marathon, Akron, OH www.akronmarathon.org

October 3, 2004
Lakefront Marathon, Milwaukee, WI www.badgerlandstriders.org/marathon

October 9, 2004
Whistlestop Marathon, Ashland, WI www.whistlestopmarathon.com

October 10, 2004
LaSalle Chicago Marathon, Chicago, IL www.chicagomarathon.com

October 17, 2004
Des Moines Marathon, Des Moines, IA www.desmoinesmarathon.com

October 24, 2004
Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon and Half Marathon, Detroit, MI
www.detriotfreepressmarathon.com Please note the correction in the Date on
this one!

October 31, 2004
Grand Rapids Marathon, Grand Rapids, MI www.cooladventures.net

October 31, 2004
Marine Corps Marathon, Washington DC www.marinemarathon.com

November 7, 2004
New York City Marathon (by lottery or qualifier), New York, NY

November 25, 2004
Atlanta Marathon, Atlanta, GA www.atlantatrackclub.org

November 28, 2004
Seattle Marathon, Seattle, WA www.seattlemarathon.org

GROUP RUNS

Saturday, August 7
The Gazelle Sports/KAR Marathon Training Program meets today at 7:00 am. Location will be E-mailed to participants at a later date. The Gazelles will be embarking on their very first 20-mile Safari Adventure, while the Impalas and Gnus run 14 and 16-mile jungle runs.

LOCAL RUNNER HAPPENINGS

We couldn't give him an all expenses paid trip, but the Greater Kalamazoo Area sent a representative to the Chronicle Marathon in San Francisco. Congratulations to Shuffler Kim "Flash" Robinson, who crossed time zones to travel to the West Coast and conquer this hilly, but scenic 26.2 miles! See www.chroniclemarathon.com for all the results!

Old Friends and New......Kalamazoo Area Runners would like to bid a fond farewell to members John Gardiner and John Jones. John Gardiner is currently in the process of moving to the Big Apple while John Jones recently relocated to New Jersey. We wish them both the very best in their new homes! On the flip side, the Kalamazoo Area Runners would like to extend a warm welcome to two newcomers to our running community, Laurie Reuttimann and Mike Yarbrough. Laurie recently relocated to the area from Chicago while Mike just retired out of the Air Force and moved to Kalamazoo from the Fairbanks, Alaska area. Please join us in welcoming them!

Ron Gunn kept participants entertained with his zany sense of humor at the awards ceremony of the 30th Anniversary of Steve's Run. We are going make an attempt at listing KAR Award Winners, Local Runner Award Winners as well as any KAR members who had the tenacity to tackle either one of these challenging courses (neither the 5k or 10k is exactly a PR course!), but please do let us know if we missed anyone! The unique awards formula provided one age group award for every five participants, but we couldn't quite get a grasp on how Ron did the rounding!!! So, here goes.....those KAR Members entering the Age Group Winners Circle in the 5k Race were: Teresa Xaundria (1st), Cindy Comer (2nd), Xavier Cook (1st) and Donna Oas (1st). In addition to winning her age group on this tough 5k course, which traversed through a Golf Course and up "Cemetary Hill, " Teresa introduced to us a new multi-sport event! After cheering on her friends in the 10k, she moved on to scale the approximately 20-foot climbing wall erected at the finish line area. The wall was brought in to raise more funds for the Steve's Run beneficiaries. Great run on a tough course Renny Oas! Other local runners who earned 5k age group awards included James Guitar (1st), Alyson Howe (2nd), Dan Higgason (1st), and Daryl Ann Letts (1st). KAR Members who continued on to tackle the hilly trails, hay bales and stone wall of the 10k Race and made it to the Age Group Winners Circle were Fred Colbert (2nd) and Bonnie Sexton (1st). Several other KAR Members from the Gazelle Sports/Kalamazoo Area Runners Marathon Training Group exercised their option to conquer the 10k including Wendy Avenetti, William Gephart, Ron Ried and John Gray. Wendy finished an awesome 3rd place in her age group, although with the highly complicated awarding system, we could not determine if she received one of the stained glass artifacts or not! Other local runners who earned 10k age division awards were: Nicholas Tecca (4th), Tina Walter (2nd), Kyle Mena (6th), John Tecca (6th), and Peggy Zeeb (1st) Congratulations to all finishers!

We always knew that Audrey Hill was fast, but rumor has it that she, along with KAR President Dave Walch, led the Gazelle Sports/Kalamazoo Area Runners Marathon Training Group on a smokin' 10- mile pace run this past Saturday. She wins the award for group speedster while the always-smiling Sue Ann Mater is most definitely in the running for group encourager

We are going to mention Megan James again (no matter how hard we try, we just can't seem to keep her name out of print), but only because we erred! She didn't complete triathlons back-to-back days as we originally wrote, but back-to-back weekends. Still, tough enough! Thanks for correcting us Megan!

In closing, this little word of encouragement was taken in modified format from a poster at KVO:
The success of your accomplishments is measured by the obstacles you overcome in order to achieve your goals!