Fall 2005
Juice e-mail: Pacers@LincolnParkPacers.org At the beginning of the summer, I marveled at the wonderful hot summer weather; now it is so cold and windy out there, that hibernation for the winter seems like a logical plan. It’s a good thing that most of us have completed our season of intense training, and we can stay indoors if we feel like it; party, eat, relax, and enjoy the holiday season with zero guilt. Congratulations to all the Pacers who completed fall marathons. There were some outstanding race results--- Rick Kennedy breaking the 3 hour marathon barrier, running a 2:56 at Dublin and being 3rd finisher from US (his 5th marathon in ’05!!), and Emma Cohen De Lara completing her first marathon in New York City, running a 4:02. There are many other race results: visit the Pacer website to see race results from the year 2005. Thanks to Jennifer Leslie who recorded all the Pacer race times, and putting them, along with some photos, on our website. David Farley also contributes to the photo section, including being the “official” photographer at Stuart Schulman’s Chicago Lakefront 50K/50M, taking over 300 photos. In addition, David is also our Pacesetter editor, and we thank him for all his hard work and creativity this past year in putting our newsletter together. Another Pacesetter editor from the past, Kate Fitzgerald, popped into Chicago for several days, and showed up at the Pacer breakfast on November 19th. She and Marshall Craig, who now live in Scottsdale, Arizona, just bought a new home, supposedly “bigger and better” than their last. Coming from a visitor at their home on several occasions, that remains to be seen!!!….Many of the Pacers are enjoying the fun runs at local running stores, including Momentum and Fleet Feet. These runs usually have a theme, and offer great raffles, drinks, and sometimes some great eats. If you are interested in a calendar of events taking place at these stores, I suggest that you call and ask to be added to their emailing list. It is a good way to run while having fun and meeting new people.…..Jim DesJardins has left Chicago to join his wife, Debora Bear in Bangladesh. Deb emails that she is working very hard and spending long hours with her job in the Peace Corps. Jim is working hard too, getting settled and adjusting to life in an unusual country, while also learning about the people, their culture, and the language. They are both running with the Hash and traveling a bit when time. We will hopefully hear more about Jim and Deb’s experiences abroad in person when Jim returns over the Christmas holiday……Karl Fife is busy reorganizing his life and belongings. Since he decided to move in with Carol Tebbe, he has been building shelves and storage spaces at her place to make room for all his things. This has been a long slow process, and before the holidays, Karl will be all “moved in”, and he and Carol will be settled at last!!…..Our “Pacer” volleyball team, which played on Wednesday evenings all fall, was in 1st place in the league right up until the final game, where they lost to a rival team. Truth be told, the team actually consisted of only 2 Pacers, Steve Helfrich and Jim Otto. I hear though that these 2 Pacer guys carried their team to a victory almost every week, or at least they religiously showed up and played hard at all times. It’s probably the post-game beer and blue cheese burgers afterwards that attracted their attention and inspired their efforts. Word is out that there are other Pacers wishing to join the winter volleyball competitions. Contact either Jim or Steve for information on starting another Pacer team….Hal Olin hosted a Dunes Clean Up and fun run at his place in October. It was a successful as well as an enjoyable afternoon, as the Pacer crew picked up numerous bags of garbage along the running route, which included the beach …… Deb Hoegemeyer won the prize for picking up the most garbage, while John Turchan won the prize for being the fastest!!. Hal Higdon was there for the post run festivities, to congratulate the winners, and promote his new running book on marathoning. Details and photos of the gathering are in a special online story written by Hal Higdon, which is also featured on our Pacer webiste…..Gordon McIntosh gets the prize for the most amazing and dangerous adventure in 2005. He left for a scuba diving trip in Cozumel, Mexico the day before Hurricane Wilma hit the coast of Mexico. Why did he do that? Only Gordon can answer that question. He ended up hanging inside the hotel the whole time with his travel buddies, wading through pools of water and broken glass rather than viewing underwater sea life, and eating whatever the hotel staff had on hand, which turned out to be surprisingly good. The group read, played cards, and watched the storm. They went snorkeling afterwards, but the area was so beat up from Wilma, that there was no way diving was even an option. We are lucky indeed to have Gordon back safe and sound…..Cary Adams spent three weeks traveling throughout Thailand and Viet Nam on a solo venture. He did some diving, trekking, boat and train trips, and of course, sightseeing in cities and villages. He reported that the scenery over there is breathtaking, and that Viet Nam is a place he would go back to …..Arkansas was visited this fall by two Pacers-Melissa Neal and her “new beau”, and by Mike Ward, who did a solo adventure. After their trips there, they agree that Arkansas is really a beautiful place to visit…There is so much to do and see, especially in the Ozarks, which are great for hiking, canoeing, running, and caving.……This past fall, Urs and Lori Weber received several Pacer visitors in NYC.. Joanne Kaeding and Denise DeBo have been talking about going to NYC for over a year, and they FINALLY did it!!!. The duo stayed with Urs and Lori for 4 days enjoying the city. They took in an “all day” rainy walk through the Manhattan neighborhoods with Urs and Lori, saw the Broadway play, “Tony and Tina’s Wedding”, and ran and walked in Central Park. Highlights include drinking good wine while watching the White Sox beat Houston, and imbibing in great food and drinks at Urs and Lori’s favorite neighborhood hangouts.. A few days later, Tom Hall and Diane Graham Henry showed up in NYC , and they met up with Urs and Lori for dinner. Heather Ludlum visited NYC that next weekend, but since it was a "girls retreat” birthday weekend for one of Heather’s friends, she was unable to arrange a time to meet with the Webers as planned. Heather has however stayed with Urs and Lori on a previous trip to NYC..… After Kate Handley completed her fall marathon in Detroit in under 4 hours (congratulations Kate!!), she headed for Japan to spend some time with her “new beau” who taught there for 6 weeks…… Joanne Kaeding took off once again with her daughter, Kristin, for a week of playing tennis, sightseeing, and shopping in and around Guadalajara, Mexico—the kind of trip that guarantees good “mom/daughter” bonding..…Janet Omer left for a three week exotic adventure in Africa with Cary Adams’s mom, Adele, and about a week after Janet returns, she will go to California to visit family for Christmas. Jennifer Leslie, our Pacer President, went to Vancouver, Canada on business this month, and will miss the holiday party as she’s off to Scotland and England to meet family for Christmas….I think it is fair to say that the Pacers don’t let the grass grow under their feet for long!!!! See you all at the Annual Pacer Holiday Party on Friday, December the 16th!!!..HAPPY HOLIDAY’S and HAPPY WINTER RUNNING!…………… ____________________ |
