Running and Runners
Somewhere You can Go
The February issue of Forbes Magazine featured an article about an interesting marathon for you to consider. Marathon du Médoc is both a race and a wine tasting. Held every year in September, the participants gather at linen covered tables in Pauillac, France, on the evening before the race to load up on carbs and wine.
 Fifty-nine châteaux, including the Lafite Rothschild, host 9,000 runners, most of whom wear costumes and refresh themselves at rest stops where they are served oysters, grilled beef, croissants, pâté, cheese and saucisson.
The application form for the marathon discourages those who are “sad, unfriendly, or stressed out” and who are obsessed with speed. Last year a chef who finished in 4:27:44 then returned to his restaurant to prepare dinner.
 Only 20% of the entrants can be foreigners, and the cap of 9,000 is reached early in the year. If this sounds like a civilized way to run, and you have 80 euros ($98) you can check the website www.marathondumedoc.com. Everyone who finishes within six and a half hours receives a medal. The winners, however, are given their weight in wine.
(photos from the Marathon du Medoc website)
New Use for Chips
If you have a K-TAG, you may have noticed an article in the turnpike newsletter recently by Carl Compton, the accounting systems manager. He ran a race in Colorado last Thanksgiving in which runners had to predict how long it would take them to finish a 5K.
All runners were issued chips that worked similar to the K-TAG technology. These chips recorded their start and finish times, but the clock that read their times counted backwards, which
meant that the runners started the race at their predicted finishing times (reverse order - slowest to fastest).
Theoretically, if everyone ran their predicted time they would all cross the finish line at the same time. The congestion occurred at the finish, not the start of the race. What fun!!
In this race, though, only the six who ran closest to their predictions earned the prize turkeys. Of course no one was allowed to wear a watch, but despite this restriction, the winner finished 101 one- thousandths of a second off the time he predicted he would run. Not bad for an internal clock!
Running as a Team
The women’s runLawrence Brew-to-Brew team successfully defended their winning title this year. Team member Lori Cackler offers some insights into running as a part of a team.
This was my second opportunity to run with the Brew-to-Brew team. I had not run with any team before the March 2005 race. The experience was joyous and gratifying.
I am thankful that these stronger runners allowed me, a comparative slow-poke, to be a part of the team. I felt responsible to run strongly and not let my teammates down, so that made me work harder than I ordinarily work
Dee is legendary in local running lore; I have heard people refer to her often as the "ideal runner" so it was a great honor for me to be on her team and a "double" honor that she invited me back the next year
The Brew-to-Brew day is just plain fun -- from the interesting personalities encountered along the way; for example the lady running by me who pulled out her cell phone and called the next runner to warn them she was closing in on the exchange by singing "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" -- to the creative costumes and team spirit. I would encourage all the members to consider fielding multiple teams next year, I believe no one would be disappointed by the experience.
Kansas Relays
It’s that time again. Although none of us attended the first KU Relays 79 years ago, those of us who grew up in Lawrence have memories of watching many track and field athletes. Janet Huchingson remembers going every year to see if someone would ever break the four-minute mile.
 The KU Relays website gives a brief history of the annual event, which was often affected by the capricious April weather.
John Outland, the KU football coach, who was involved with the Penn Relays while growing up in the East, helped organize the first KU Relays, along with KU basketball Coach Phog Allen. It was held in the new Memorial Stadium in 1923.
People came to watch great athletes such as Tom Poor, Jim Bausch and Glenn Cunningham of Kansas, Ed Weir of Nebraska, Jack Elder of Notre Dame and Tom Churchill of Oklahoma.
Even the referees drew attention because they included the inventor of basketball Dr. James Naismith, KU basketball All-American Adolph Rupp, and Notre Dame and football coach Knute Rockne.
Runner’s
Log -
Running Poetic:
The 3rd P - Physiological
The third “P” is Physiological - the changes that occur as a result of running. Physiologically, the body adapts. Were it otherwise, Nike, the Boston Marathon and the runLawrence club would not exist.
Your body is in millisecond by millisecond adjustment, dictated by the environment. We would be out of business quickly without this ability.
Body movement (or not) is a major stimulator of hundreds, no, thousands of physical changes. Some are immediate, others of longer time, but all are with a purpose, and that is ultimate physical functioning.
As a runner, you intuitively know the four factors of physical adaptation to all of your huffing and puffing. They are: intensity, frequency, duration, and of course, consistency. Amazingly varied results may be obtained by individual and/or combined manipulation of these factors. Called hard/easy days, tempo and interval runs, long runs, hill work and other terms that elicit emotional responses, they are the tools used by us runners to describe our avenues to change.
It’s simple, really. You do this to get that, and if you don’t do this you get THAT!! The beauty of body adjustments is they are predictable. However, the quality and quantity of the “four” vary with the individual. Some of us need four weeks of training to reach a two-week level of another person. Hey, we can use more of our vol/max than they!
Now, what is your favorite physical adaptation to running? Is it greater cardiac power? The average heartbeat per minute is 72; runners typically have 60 bpm or lower. A savings of 5,256,000 bpm each year! (You do the math). Or maybe it’s the fact that you as a runner are utilizing 90% of the oxygen you breathe vs. 70% for a non-runner. How about having 25% more blood fluid as you train in the warm Kansas summer than non-runners?
Well, I hope these examples will encourage you to research other body changes as a result of your hard training and that you will be more motivated.
One more factor needs to be noted, as it is arguably the most powerful - “It’s the dopamine, stupid.” Runners are “feel gooders.” Our natural “feel good” chemical, dopamine, is brain produced to fit into our “feel good” receptors, and we love “feeling good” after a run and for the rest of the day.
This concludes our 3 P’s - the Philosophical, Psychological, and Physiological factors of running. What do they have in common? They are all in our mind.
John Huchingson
Me and Julio by Mark on West Campus
 This was KU's West Campus in September 1966, a cross country race with freshmen Julio Meade and Mark Ferrell. In June that year, these two guys ran for Queens (NY) Jackson High School in one of the most thrilling 2 mile relay races in high school history as they tied Brooklyn (NY) Boys in a record time of 7:35.6 - a record that stood for 36 years. Queens was given the victory.
In 1972 Paul Simon came out with the hit song "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard."
In 1986, Marc Bloom (The Runner magazine) wrote a memoir of the high school boys record in the two-mile relay - one of the top stories of track and field. The title: "Me and Julio Down by the School Track".
So, it's now 40 years since that famous race and 40 years since I had the privilege to spend that freshman year as a teammate. Both were instrumental in helping KU win the NCAA outdoor championships in 1970. Julio and Mark's team beat the old high school record set by Wichita East that included Jim Ryun and Mike Petterson (two more KU teammates in '66).
Mark, a big city guy, on seeing the Flint Hills for the first time was wowed by the openness - "all this space!" Later, Mark just chuckled when we went to Kansas State for a meet, "This! Is Manhattan?" I remember Julio as a sharp, go-getter talking to me about investments as he began his financial advisor business about the time we were just out of college. Julio became a success from his humble beginnings in the Dominican Republic. I saw Mark about 1980 helping Student Union Activities with the showcase of acts for a regional conference. He was the man controlling the soundboard. Haven't had a chance to see Mark again. Julio died in 2001.
Gene Wee
- Marc Bloom's classic story in book form, “Me And Julio Down By The School Track,” about the 1966 high school record in the 2-mile relay, has been revised, updated and enhanced with an entirely new design, graphics and color photography, plus a new foreword. It's the same great story, but it looks and reads much better. This is the 40 th anniversary year of the historic race… considered by many the “greatest track story ever.”
- Bloom's story on Julio Meade from the Mar 4, 2001 NY Times is available on-line.
[gmw photo, 1966]
Confessions of Your President
I know many of you think of me as perfect - otherwise, why would you have elected me your President? I know - no one else would even consider this thankless, lots of work, unpaid position, but let me glory in my little misconceptions.
Having been the director of many road races and in particular being in charge of day of race finish line and results areas, I've become aware of tendencies I have which fortunately are over-looked by most of my fellow volunteers.
I realize I tend to irately stomp through the finish chute, which has been so thoughtfully set up by others, and to rearrange the cones to precisely how I prefer them.
I also like to readjust the angle of the finish line clock to what I think is best. I like to tell my chute workers to be aggressive about keeping finishers in the proper order in the chute, but to also be supportive and friendly - in other words, yell at the runners with a smile on your face! (Despite my inclination to shoot anyone who dares to enter the finish chute without a number properly pinned on the front).
I've also been known to exhort the results tabulators to work faster and then complain that I can't read their handwriting. I have, on occasion, conscripted a club member who has just run her PR in a long race and forced her to hustle about smiling and handing out all the awards- including the one she herself just won
It is certainly possible that things would go smoothly without my theatrics, but then again, why take the chance! I'm just thankful that most of the time you wait until my back is turned to roll your eyes and shake your head before calmly going back to your tasks.
Another aspect of my make-up became clear at a recent long race. I had just passed the start of the final mile when I came upon a competitor of mine whom I never beat. As I pulled alongside her I asked how she was doing and she said that her hip was bothering her a lot. I mumbled something about being sorry to hear that, but then it was peddle-to-the-metal to the finish line.
After I finished I came upon a trio of friends who had just finished and I asked one of them about her time. She explained that one of the three started experiencing severe knee pain during the race and the other two refused to leave her - even considering ways to carry her to the finish line if necessary. Oh well, I guess I'm just not a born social worker! See you all at the next race
Dee Boeck
Our Website
The runLawrence website now covers all the local events and results – the photos are great, our minutes are posted, new people can join, and all of us can “window shop” for our club running clothes.
Since the website is so complete, and so completely up-to-date, our newsletter will now be posted on-line and will feature articles about members and items of interest concerning running.
Add the site (www.runLawrence.org) to your Favorites list and be sure to check it weekly for the latest races, results and photos. Submit postings to Gene Wee.
Newsletter
Contributions
All members contribute to the newsletter. Please email any articles, letters to the editor and suggestions to: jhuchingson63@hotmail.com.
About runLawrence
formed in September of
2004.
Dee Boeck, President, deeboeck@sunflower.com
Celeste Leonardi, Vice President, cleonardi@sunflower.com
Molly Wood, Treasurer, mmwood@ku.edu
Ed Payne, Technician & Course Master, payne@ku.edu
Janet Huchingson, Newsletter Editor, jhuchingson63@hotmail.com
Gene Wee, Web Page Editor, gmw@ku.edu
Second Wind
16660 21st Street
Lawrence, KS 66044
|
