Fall 2006
It’s
so hard to believe that HOLIDAY time is here already…It was just
summer!!!!! That means that most of us are taking a break from intense
training and racing. Congratulations to all the Pacers who competed in
road races and triathlons this past summer. First I want to apologize up
front for anyone’s race times that are not mentioned below. PLEASE,
email your race accomplishments to me directly if you want to be
acknowledged! Mary Kay
Blaschke did the August Accenture Triathlon, international distance
(same as Olympic distance), completing it in a time of 3:19:36. Mary Kay
has progressed from the sprint distance this past year, so this is an
awesome accomplishment for her. Matt Knoop, an experienced
triathlete, also completed the Accenture international distance in a time
of 2:46….Debbie Hogemeyer and Denise DeBo raced the sprint
distance at Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin on August 20th. Enduring the swim
portion with the blinding sun in your eyes was the real test according to
Denise.….. Congratulations also to our Pacers who did a fall marathon. Jim
Kelly ran the St. George Marathon in Utah on October 7th in
a 4:29. This marathon is popular and gets filled very rapidly, as it is
mostly down-hill; well, there are a few up-hills too!! ALL hills kill!!!!
Marathon day in Chicago turned out to be a blistery cold and windy day. It
didn’t seem to bother the Pacers who ran that day, as there were some
Boston qualifying times as well as PR’s. Runners include Tom Bowtell
(3:13), Johann Lustenburger (3:29), Rick Kennedy (3:09), Ron
Weber (3:22), Urs Weber (3:12), Aziz Uras (5:12), and
our token female, Debbie Vickers with a PR of 4:07.…Later that
afternoon, the Pacers held their traditional post-marathon party for
runners and volunteers, this year back to Bachinos for pizza and beer.
It’s a good opportunity for the runners to show off their medals and
brag and/or lament on their race. Thanks to Heather Ludlum who
organized the get-together. It was such “a treat” to have Urs Weber
and Lori Soderholm Weber in town for marathon weekend this year. We
also had a visit from John Turchan, who now lives in Vail,
Colorado….For those who missed Urs and Lori in October, they will be
back in Chicago in time to join us for the Pacer holiday party…. Rick
Kennedy didn’t stop with one marathon. He went on to run the Marine
Corps Marathon on October 29th in a 3:19, and then New York on November 5th,
where he finished only minutes behind Lance Armstrong. Rick could have
kicked Lance’s butt if he hadn’t run 3 marathons in a row, AND/OR if
he had known how close he was to his “competition”!!!!!!… Three
weeks after Chicago, on November 11th,
was Stuart Schulman’s Chicago Lakefront 50/50. Again, it
was a cold blistery day, even colder and windier than marathon day. For
the volunteers it was dreadful working that day. A tent had been put up
the day before, but had been torn apart by the wind by race day, so there
was really no good place to keep warm and stay out of the wind. Running
would have been a better option because at least one could keep moving!!! Aziz
Uras ran the 50K, finishing in 6:15. Debbie Vickers proved her
running skills once again, finishing her 2nd 50K ever just
ahead of ex-Pacer David Farley, with an ultra PR of 5:11. All
Debbie’s dedicated training this past summer has paid off big time!!!
Debbie’s next goal is a Boston qualifier, which no doubt she will
accomplish soon!!…..Joanne Kaeding gets to join the ranks of
runners who blew off an important race with no regrets (the regrets lasted
all of 15 minutes). She was signed up for her last CARA circuit race of
the year, the Westchester Veterans Day 10K on November 12th,
however for some reason, Joanne thought the race was November 19th.
Finding out her mistake the night before, and not being mentally or
physically race ready, she decided to forget the race and sleep in that
Sunday, possibly risking her 1st place age group standing on
the CARA circuit. Luckily, the 2006 results are now posted, and Joanne
managed to barely squeak out a 1st!!!…..Best wishes to Dean
Battistella who was married this past spring out at Lake Tahoe. Dean
and his soon to be wife ran the Lake Tahoe Half-Marathon first, then went
up in a hot air balloon and were married over the lake!!!!!! That sounds
like a very adventurous and creative ceremony!!…It seems we have quite a
contingent of Pacers who have hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in
Peru. Now added to the list of hikers is Lynn Sue Kahng, who went
with a group of friends and reported what a great time she had. Hopefully
Lynn Sue will share her photos at a Pacer breakfast so everyone who’s
already been there can reminisce, and those who haven’t been there will
be enticed into going. It is truly a magical place!!!…… Karl Fife
spent a week in Serbia visiting his parents who now live there. He went
with his sister, Jennifer and her one-year old baby. Carol Tebbe
passed up going with Karl due to her job demands, and spent a few evenings
in her husbands absence out with “the girls” for dinner and wine!….Cary
Adams and girlfriend Amy will be spending Thanksgiving in Hawaii,
while Jennifer Leslie and Joanne Kaeding will visit Prague
for 6 days. I don’t think the traditional turkey dinner will be on
Jennifer and Joanne’s menu for Thanksgiving, but maybe some good Czech
beer and cabbage will take its place??!!!!… Several Pacers, including David
Altshuler and Hal Olin have either lived in (David) or visited
(Hal and wife Joan) Prague. They gave the girls some good advice on what
to see and do in this beautiful, historical, and charming city.…….Now
it’s time to prepare for the holidays and nestle in with a good book. If
you haven’t read “The Lagarto Stone” by Pacer, Gordan McIntosh,
I can personally recommend it for a good mystery with an exiting surprise
twist at the end!!!!!!!! Last, but not least, good luck to Tara Pollack
who is expecting her baby the end of January!!!!!……… ____________________ |
