News - July 2019
July 30 - 5 Lessons for Trail Runners from the 2019 Tour de France
The Tour de France is ridiculous, awesome, fascinating, crazy and just about every other word in the thesaurus. For three weeks and thousands of miles, 150-plus riders grind themselves into a fine pulp over and over again, fermenting that fine pulp over punishing terrain day after day. If you’re interested in human endurance, then the Tour is captivating even if you don’t really care about cycling. What are humans truly capable of? That’s the question that gets answered every year for a few weeks in July.
What is so cool to me about the Tour is that the margins are so slim as to be nearly nonexistent. more
(from Trail Runner, July 29, 2019, by David Roche)
July 23 - Book Review:
4:09:43 -
Boston 2013 Through The Eyes Of The Runners
At our recent run club meeting, our volunteer librarian held up a new book she had acquired and asked if anyone wanted to check it out. She said it was by Hal Higdon and was about the 2013 Boston Marathon. I admit I raised my hand only when no one else did and I saw that it was a thin book.
Being a 40 year runner I of course knew about Hal Higdon and had read many of his training books. I had also ready many accounts of the tragic Boston bombing of 2013 and kind of expected a rehash of what I had already read.
From the very first few pages, however, I realized this was an account of the day that was very different. The book is composed of the personal narratives of 75 different runners of their experiences that day, beginning when they got up in the morning, did their pre-race rituals and made their way to Hopkinton until the race was over for them, some having crossed the finish line, some not.
The writing is fresh and vibrant and the stories riveting. Check it out!
Dee Boeck
July 21
Todd Chandler is a great chronicler of trail events in the area. Here's his video highlights from the July 20 Psycho Psummer Run at Wyandotte County Lake. On the hottest day of the year, a group of intense athletes gathered and ran one, two, or three 10-mile loops around the lake.
July 18
Photos from the evening Good Hearts Track Meet at the Billy Mills Middle School. A breeze helped participants and volunteers fight the 98 degree heat. Besides athletes from the Mini Mocs and the TCB track clubs, about 20 participants came from the Boys & Girls Club of the Kickapoo Tribe. Click on the photo to open the Flickr slideshow.
July 13
One of the many events this Saturday was the Fiesta Mexicana 5K in north Topeka.
July 8
MiniMocs Track Club Good Heart Youth Track Meet on July 18. Click here to register.
July 5
More photos from the Freedom 5K & 10K by John Knepper and Shari Hicks.
July 4
Start of the GGRS Freedom 5K & 10K at Rock Chalk Park.
July 1
The 2019 Night Hawk 50K, June 29 at Clinton Lake was so humid, you could wade through it. Here's a dramatic picture of the creek crossing. Kudos to Shari Hicks and Mary Ann Frevert for directing a fine event. As always outstanding shots by Mile 90 Photography.
A belated congratulations to Dave Baldwin on his 2nd male overall finish (& 6th overall, M&F) at the DC Wonder Woman 10K in Kansas City on June 22.