C h a t t e r ATHLETIC CLUB DECEMBER 2008

CELEBRATING THE 113TH TURKEY TROT WITH OVER 10,000 ENTRANTS!

CHECKERS

Anne Reif, Financial Development Director YMCA and Race Director Tom Donnelly are very satisfied feeling the 2008 Turkey Trot was a great success. Runners en-tered the Convention Center with a live band playing, setting the morning for a fun time. _________________

Upper right hand corner is Kathy Melling's sister, Maureen Knutsen who resides in Alaska. She let Joan

know that she didn’t forget her Checkers Singlet! Thanks to everyone who wore their Checkers apparel!

Gloria Santarpia 1/1

Diane Sardes 1/1 Herman van Leeuwen 1/3 Bradley Karpie 1/5 Lauren Lorek 1/7 Chuck Tokarz 1/8 Cindy Bartkowiak 1/9 Hermann Pohl 1/9 Tim Zelasko 1/9 Jerry Mangan 1/12 Carol Smith 1/12 Paul Duttge III 1/13 Gary Hackbush 1/13 Rosalie Marino-Soehner 1/13 Jackie Appenheimer 1/14 Kitty Mahoney 1/14 Bill White 1/14 Gerry Buchholtz 1/17 Dave Eckhardt 1/17 Edye Radice 1/18 Peggy Towers 1/18 Patricia Judge 1/19 Patrick Occhino 1/19 Rob Terreri 1/19 Susan Ballard 1/22 Deb Morrison 1/22 Katie Pietrak 1/22 Marc Ruettimann 1/23 Chin Li Pompeo 1/24 Margaret Connelly 1/25 Billy Flynn 1/25 Patricia Hilbert 1/25 Reginald Pierce 1/26 Paul Donnelly 1/27 Warren Hale 1/27 Maureen Kemeny 1/27 Jennifer Schaffstall 1/29 Darlene Schweikert 1/29 Melanie Grzebinski 1/30 Larry Ammon 1/31 Elizabeth George 1/31

The 30th Annual Bob Ivory 5K November 2, 9AM Bob, thank you for visiting us at track, for being interested in our accomplishments and for putting on such a great race year after year.

Also, thanks to the Checkers volunteers that came out to support and help in this important club event.

We would like to Congratulate

Gloria Santarpia once again on her

First Marathon at the awesome age of 74!

Thank you Steve Seerey and Peter Szymanski for taking charge of the 27th Checkers HS XC Invitational at Elma Meadows for yet another year! We couldn’t do it without you! Thanks guys!

Checkers does NOT approve of unruly behavior! These guys are TRYING to be

Reindeers.

SOCIAL/EVENTS CALENDAR Sat. 12/13 10:00 am GRTC Freezeroo Series #1 - 5 miles Pineway Ponds Park, Spencerport Sat. 12/13 10:30 am Snowball Run 5k Ellicott Creek Fire Hall, Amherst Sun. 12/14 8:30 am RIT Open Indoor Track Series #1 Gordon Field House, Rochester Sun. 12/14 10:00 am Habitat for Humanity 4 miles Niagara Gorge Discovery Ctr., Niagara Falls Sat. 12/27 8:30 am RIT Upstate Holiday Classic Gordon Field House, Rochester Thurs. 1/01 10:00 am GRTC Freezeroo Series #2 – 7.5 miles Mendon Ponds Park, Rochester Sun. 1/11 8:30 am RIT Open Indoor Track Series #2 Gordon Field House, Rochester Sat. 1/10 7:00 pm Checkers Annual Holiday Party Roger & Mary Roll’s house Sat. 1/17 10:00 am GRTC Freezeroo Series #3 – 5k Camp Eastman Conf. Center, Rochester Sun. 1/25 10:00 am Snowshoe Race 5k Chestnut Ridge Park, Orchard Park Sun. 1/25 11:00 am Penguin Run 5k Classics V Restaurant, Amherst Sat. 1/31 10:00 am GRTC Freezeroo Series #4 – 10k Powder Mills Park, Rochester Sat. 1/31 11:00 am Bulldog’s Icebreaker 5k Meadville High School, Meadville, PA Sun. 2/08 8:30 am RIT Open Indoor Track Series #3 Gordon Field House, Rochester Sat. 2/14 10:00 am GRTC Freezeroo Series #5 – 8 miles 647 Long Pond Road, Greece Sat. 2/14 10:30 am Alden Black Water Baths 5k Park Street & Crittenden Road, Alden Sat. 2/14 11:00 am Lockport Y-10 Lockport YMCA Sat. 2/14 11:00 am Dash for the Dome 5k Erie Cty. Botanical Gardens., So. Buffalo Sun. 2/22 9:00 am Grimsby half marathon and 5k Grimsby, Ontario Sun. 2/22 9:00 am Polar Bear 5k Olcott Fire House Sun. 2/22 12:00 pm Chilly Challenge Canisius High School, Buffalo Sat. 2/28 10:00 am GRTC Freezeroo Series Finale #6 – 10k American Legion Hall, Churchville ** Note: As of 12/1, some 2008 races are not posted online for 2009. Please check Checkers and Buffalo Runners calendars for updates. Thanks to Joe Janowski for helping out with this calendar.!

Our condolences go

out to Sandra Hebeler with the

passing of her Mom, also Greg Weber who’s Dad

passed away.

Avoid being one of the 80% of people with back pain.

Chiropractic is preventative care 716.580.3246

Schaffstall Chiropractic 777 Maple Rd. Williamsville www.MovementIsLifeBuffalo.com

Checker’s Holiday Party January 10, 2009, 7:00 PM - ?

Roger & Mary Roll’s Home Address: 80 Cayuga Rd, Village of Williamsville (1 block S. of Main St)

Cost: We ask for a $5.00 donation or a dish to pass. Members along with non-members are welcomed.

Checkers provides wine and pop. This year Flying Bison will be providing a selection of

Beer for our enjoyment. Please RSVP Roger at 912-9800 or e-mail to: rogerroll@roadrunner.com

What a Duo -Tom and Murray!

Another Duo – Mark Mahoney and Sharon Linstedt

Rick Queeno had a great year !

Kathleen Yesny

Greg Lavis

We found Coach Carroll dancing around in between taking photos! By rights, he deserved to be having fun. He’s been

running only three days a week and ran a 28:23, a 5:43 pace taking 1st place in the 50-54 age group! There were 31 males between the ages of 15 and 49 before the next 50 year old placed.

Nice to see you back racing Coach Bob! (Where’s his beard?)

More Turkey Trot News

David Spillman and wife

Brenda Placed First Husband and Wife Team

at the Turkey Trot! Brenda burned up the road with a 31:41 while Dave coasted in close

behind with a 32:48!

YMCA Turkey Trot 8K 30:37 Matt Phillips Life 31:57 Herman VanLeeuwen Life 32:28 Rick Queeno Course 32:37 Susan Ballard Life 43:18 Joe Hauser Course 50:03 Barbara A. Smith Course 55:24 Michael Karpie Life Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon San Antonio 1:43:55 John Siwek Age-Group 1:46:08 Joanne Cunningham Age-Group 2:08:50 Linda Murgatroyd Age-Group Bob Ivory Run 5K 15:52 Brad Heron Life 19:06 Herman VanLeeuwen Life 19:21 Kieran OLoughlin Life 20:39 Carolyn Corgel Course 26:17 Brenda Bartkowiak Life 26:25 Tommy Appenheimer III Life

We were looking for an out-of-town race where I could run in my first half-marathon plus a 5k race for Linda. While the Big Island Marathon didn't have a true half, they did offer a 10.8 mile race (last year for the 10.8 mile - next year it will be a true half-marathon). We had been to Hawaii last year for our 20th anniversary but we never made it to the Big Island so we could-n't resist going back. It was an added bonus that the Kilauea volcano started erupting just weeks before we got there. The 5k was run right in Hilo while the 10.8 mile race started up the coast and ended in Hilo. Obviously it was the most beautiful place we've ever raced at. It rained almost the entire time during my race but it didn't matter, I never enjoyed a race more. A huge rainbow appeared right over the finish line as soon as

my race ended. Linda was thrilled to finish 3rd in her age group and I was just as happy to finish 5th in mine.

Jim & Linda Christen

Don Mitchell was vacationing in his homeland of Hilo, Hawaii when he went to a race and saw a Checkers singlet running by. It was Jim Christen running an ‘almost’ half marathon! You just never know who you will see wearing your club colors thousands of miles away! Or WHO will be watching!

Road 2 Hope Marathon 3:23:42 Rick Queeno Life 3:55:42 Chuck Fried Life Niagara Falls International Marathon

3:35:51 John Teuscher Course Niagara Falls International Half Marathon 2:12:24 Maria Pieri Life 2:17:20 Eden Fried Life 2:22:12 Barbara Smith Life

Marine Corps Marathon 4:15:34 Gary Hummel Life 5:25:55 Gloria Santarpia Life 5:40:12 Rick Schoellkopf Life Shake-a-Leg at the Lake 5K 26:43 Richard VanAlmkerk Course UAW's Veterans Appreciation 5K 23:37 Belinda Stoll Course Thundercloud Turkey Trot 44:18 Richard VanAlmkerk Age-Group

I Love getting a PR!

The only things that stand between a person and what they want in life are the will to try it and the faith to believe it’s possible. RICH DEVAS

Thanks to all the members who have worn their Checkers apparel in races this year. We appreciate your loyalty to the club. (And the cameras can spot you easier!)

We’ve noticed all the special running groups within the club that have been formed. People should run with others of the same abilities, its not called a clique!

Its called, being smart, knowing who you can run your Pace with, It’s not getting stressed out because you cannot keep up.

Its called having fun and running the best pace you know how for the day.

Checkers Members Send in their Final Thoughts for 2008

Don Mitchell My fitness tanked pretty bad, but I medaled in the only race I can remember running. Jerry Irving Amy completed 0 Turkey Trots in 08 and Cole ate 1 pair of socks in 08. Jim Terreri Being able to run some 5K Races & post parties with his 2 sons. Russ Trippe Completing 26 Turkey Trots, Pat Dalton, 29 and Patrick Dalton Jr.12th, Jan Jezioro finished his 25th, Dave Lawrence, ran his first road race in 1970 and has completed 37 Turkey Trots! Chuck Fried Running with friends and family at so many events! Gary Raby Sr. My joy of running with Jennifer and sharing so much with sunsets, smiles, snowballs, snowflakes, jokes, laughter and beautiful places to run without a worry but the love of running. Kate Braisted participated in a half-marathon, two 8ks and a handful of 5ks in 2008. Jerri Joyce ran her first marathon in Chicago! Kevin Burke was glad to see The Great Bob Carroll back in action this year! Sam Spritzer set a personal record for lowest number of PRs in a year......ZERO! Robert (Mike) and Belinda Stoll trained their daughter Krysten for her first marathon which they all finished hand in hand in Toronto. John Roden fell on a rock mountain biking and lacerated his kidney, but he's back jogging at a snail's pace after 3 months off. Joe Janowski - Aside from running injuries, my proudest fitness moment will be waking on January 1, 2009 heavier and slower than I was 365 days earlier. I don’t see anything keeping me from that mark. Woo hoo! Diane Sardes enjoyed seeing Tony FINISH the Wisconsin Ironman after having to cancel it just over 2 years ago. Starting to race 5K’s again, placing top three at Ironman Kentucky and continuing on to the Hawaiian Ironman Championships. Rick Travers ran Turkey Trot with both my daughters for the first time Patty Hilbert I achieved my lifetime 5K PR at the St. Greg's Great Race. I wanted to beat 21:30, and ran a 21:21 thanks to the help of my brother Jim, pacing me. I don’t know if I'll never be able to top it! John Moore qualified for the 2009 World Duathlon Championships. Dennis Hall was first in his age group in the 2008 Fabulous Five Race Series and the 2008 Running with Jesus Triple Crown. Chuck Tokarz logged his 1,000 footrace. Bonnie Bathurst got back to the track workouts with Checkers after health issues and ran Turkey Trot with an old dear friend. Bobby Heard-Run 25 miles/week, bike 75 per week & race 30 times a year. John McGuire-The Turkey Trot marked my return to running after being unable to run during all of 2008. Goal for 2009 is the Muskoka Half Ironman in September. The infectious enthusiasm sort of swept me up, time to get back in shape. Cathy Haight completed 2 marathons (including a PR at Cleveland) and an Ironman. Melissa Melnik - Running with my 2 year old daughter Kirsten, at Chestnut Ridge Sunday morning. Tony Garrow– I remember seeing Diane’s face as she crossed the line in Kona, her 2nd Ironman in 6 weeks, that is toughness. Emily Zuppelli ran 24 races this year! Maddison Zuppelli ran 23 races this year! Kim Zuppelli was not the last one to finish the NYC Marathon Chelsey Schweikert -completed her first marathon in Buffalo, she had a 4:55:20 Linda Gerbec-The best part of running for me is to be able to run with my daughter Amy who is one of my greatest motivators AND in 2008, I ran my second marathon and had a 23 minute pr from the previous year. Chuck & Darlene Schweikert started competing in triathlon events. Matt Phillips-The most significant thing for me in the year of running has been 12 races, 9 have been a lifetime PR. Gary Lew finished a marathon in under four hours. Herman VanLeeuwen completed my first Tri, competed in a triennial race and did 10 Joannie’s at Chestnut Ridge in 40 minutes. Gary Hackbush completed his first marathon at the Fallsview Casino Marathon. Jerry Bergman Checkers (geezer division)- Lots o' miles, lots o' smiles, better than a co-pay. Jim Lovallo recovering from shoulder surgery, found he could ease back into training by semi-immobilizing his right arm - with sights on returning to competitive running in 2009. Carol Joseph had a personal best time of 26:57 in the 911 first responders 5K race on 9/11/08 Kathy Reynolds-After a recent return to running in 2008, Kathy completed in two Marathons. John Teuscher-I just completed my 20th marathon on Oct. 26th,I also completed in 6 marathons since May of 2007. Alan Wrobel did his first marathon in 10 years at Harrisburg, Pa on Nov 7th, in 3:49. Paul Hassel was on his 99th race in 2008 last time I we saw him at Reindeer! Derek Dunstan will run his 4th marathon this year in December and 10th overall. Gloria Santarpia was happy to see Sharon Daniels daughter come in from Brooklyn to run The Turkey Trot with her and Christa Maria went to Connecticut to visit her daughter and run a race there. Amy Fakterowitz finally turning 40 and being able to run in the Upstate XC Master's races and the National Masters 5K champs’ with some great teammates! Cole Fakterowitz - being in almost as many Checker's photos as Sam Spritzer, hanging out with Roger in the sausage tent at Canalfest, eating my mom's sock, and running more miles than Jerry Irving this year. Don Seitz has gratitude for all the friends who make running fun and a huge smile watching the high school runners find the fun in doing this crazy running stuff. Susan Ballard’s second best thing was breaking 20 by running a 19:28 5K; second only to joining Checkers was the very best ! John Moore bought a new fancy bike so he could beat a certain female by more than 2 seconds in the next time trial.

On Sunday, October 5, David Oja and the Syracuse Chargers were host to the USATF Na-tional Masters 5K Championships. It was also the Niagara Association Masters 5K Champi-onships. With Henry Sypniewski setting 90-94 age group records locally, I suggested he should go to get the national exposure he wanted and I knew David Oja always puts on a great race. Henry's wife, Helen, doesn't like him to be away from home overnight but Helen Botti and I convinced her we would look after him. So Saturday afternoon we journeyed to Syracuse. (A side note for all the Buffalo runners who go to the Utica Boilermaker. We had dinner at Grimaldi's right next to our motel. This is a branch of the one in Utica where all the Buffalo runners go before the Boilermaker. Same great food!) Sunday morning dawned bright and cold - a great day for running. After getting lost a few times we arrived at the race site and picked up our packets. Henry was interviewed and had his picture taken. The men's race was at 9:00 AM and the women's race was as 9:45 AM. It was a nice out and back course, mostly flat, and closed to vehicular traffic. So I came back to Buffalo with two national champions!! In the 90-94 age group Henry ran a 33:46, taking three seconds off his previous best and beating everyone in the 80-84 and 85-89 age groups as well. Helen Botti won the 70-74 age group with a time of 26:01 and also placed 6th overall in the women's age-graded awards (good for $200.) She claimed she didn't do well as she had a bad cold and was having trouble with her breathing. These times were also good for 1st place in the Niagara Association awards. We ran into another group of Checkers runners there. Amy Fakterowitz 19:09, Brenda Spillman 19:35 and Judy Arlington 20:18 took third in the national 40+ team awards and 1st in the Niagara Association team awards. Amy took 1st and Brenda took 2nd in the individual 40-44 Niagara Association awards also. They were 5th and 6th in the National USATF 40-44 indi-vidual awards. (Judy was 4th and 8th respectively.) Brenda also teamed with her husband, David Spillman, 19:00 to take 1st in the husband and wife team awards. Afterwards, all the runners were treated to a great brunch and award ceremony at the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel. All in all a great weekend for Checkers!! Edna Hyer

Photos custody of Dustin Angell

Thanks to Dave Oja for emailing the photos!

YOUNGSTERS!

November 2008. It’s a bright morning, a cool thirty-four degrees at nine o’clock. It feels a bit warmer though, with the sun rising through the leafless trees and very little breeze. It’s one of those mornings made for running. As I make my way up Englewood Avenue, facing traffic, I run as close to the curb as the leaves piled along it allow. I’m about a mile and a half into my run when I spot her coming toward me. As she approaches and her features become clearer to me, I think to myself, “is she the one?” She’s getting closer now, and I start to get a little nervous. Should I motion to her, should I say something? Then I finally de-cide to make my move. Without breaking stride, I step over the curb and run onto the grass. You see, she is driving half way into the parking lane, close enough to the curb that, one little slip of the wheel and I’m road kill. “Is she the one?” The first and most important of Ray’s road running rules says: On every run someone could kill you. It’s how I remind myself to pay attention and respect my surroundings. “Is she the one?” Even though this person had the whole road to herself, she didn’t give me the comfort zone she should have. I wasn’t in the driving lane, and she was nowhere near the center double yellow line, but I wasn’t about to argue the point. Behind the wheel of her car, she out weighed me by three thousand pounds. It’s not an argument I could win. “She is not the one” today. As I run the roads around western New York, I think about everything, and nothing, just like every other runner does. And when circumstances dictate, I add to the list of Ray’s road running rules (Rrrr). It’s kind of serious, but it’s fun too. Like the rule about Buicks. If your running on the shoulder of a two lane, and a Buick is approaching, be extra cautious! There’s a good chance there’s an old person behind the wheel. Old people just love those Buicks. Old people don’t give you any room. It’s not that they’re mean or are trying to hurt you; they just don’t know what to make of these people running on the road. Now I must stop here and make my apologies to those of you who own Buicks, or who are old. Obviously I’m not talking about you, because you are runners, or know runners, and you probably know what I’m talking about. And it not just Buicks either. Ford Crown Victoria (and the Mercury equivalent), the newer Ford 500, Oldsmobile's (even though they’re not produced any more, you know who still owns them), and the big old land cruising Cadillac's. These are very much the vehicles of choice of our aged population. I joke, but there is truth in what I say. Another Rrrr says, if you’re approaching a cross street to your left, and a car is waiting to make a right turn onto your road, they don’t see you! They’re not looking your way! They’re looking left, for an opening in traffic. We say to our children, “look both ways before you go into the street,” but we forget that when we get behind the wheel. So if you think that person sees you and you just keep on running; well, may I refer you to rule number one? For the most part I find that truck drivers are very courteous, but a word of caution here. Trucks, especially pickup trucks, can have mirrors that are just the right height to do some damage. Truck drivers seem very willing to share the road, but I think some-times they don’t realize how far out the mirrors protrude from their vehicles. Mirrors are objects that may be closer than they appear. Man’s best friend. I’m not a dog owner, but I like dogs. My wife and I are on the go quite a bit, and I don’t think it would be fair to the dog to leave him alone so much. There’s also that poop thing with pets, and I’m not really a poop kind of guy. But if I were a dog owner I wouldn’t let him run free, unless we were at a dog park. I’ve encountered my share of free run-ning dogs in my travels, and I’m always amazed at how casual some owners are when it comes to leash laws. Dogs like to play, and runners make good playmates; they sure like to chase me, and maybe they want me to chase them too. They might not want to bite me, but how do I know? And what if a dog startles me and I veer into the path of a car, or if Fido runs into the street? He could get hit, or cause the driver to swerve and hit someone or something. If a dog is chasing you and you can’t tell his intentions, turn and face him. Yell, raise your arms up and make yourself as big as you can. To animals, sometimes size matters. I had the most unusual encounter with a dog as I was running on Highland Parkway in Kenmore. I had just crossed Colvin heading east, and was passing a line of cars waiting for the light to change. The third vehicle in line had its right rear window open. As I passed, a golden retriever lunged out at me, and almost caught my forearm in its mouth. He must have been looking the other way and noticed me at the last second. He didn’t seem vicious; I don’t think he was trying to bite me, but just bark at me. It just hap-pened that at the moment he opened his mouth, my arm was there. Talk about being startled. In spite of what I stated earlier, I was almost a poop kind of guy! There’s gold in them thar hills! I’m a decent runner, but I’m not going to win any money at races. If it’s a small race I may place, or show. I even won my age group once. But in any race that offers cash prizes, the competition is way ahead of me. When I go for my daily run around town, sometimes I win the cash prize. The sparkle of coin in the road always catches my eye. I usually notice the coin as I pass over it. If it’s a silvery coin I stop my watch and go back to retrieve it, being careful to note whether any Buicks are approaching. Part of this Rrrr says don’t stop to pick up pennies, unless of course there are a lot of them! Once, on Starin Avenue, I picked up twenty seven pennies in one spot. I don’t know if someone broke their piggy bank there or what, but twenty seven pennies is a decent amount of pennies. It paid for half of my newspaper that day. And just today I picked up a Canadian quarter on Hertel Avenue. (I do accept Canadian money at par) I’m really not a frugal guy, but if people are going to be throwing their money away, well I see no reason why I shouldn’t pick it up. I haven’t kept a book on my ‘winnings’, but I’ve been running for nine years now, so I’ve probably done okay. I run past a number of banks during the week; dream big…dream big. I’ve got plenty more Rrrrs. To be continued?

Ray Ernst

Checkers Interview with Kevin and Lori Lozano December, 2008 By Paul Wandel

The west side streets of Buffalo were host to a special event in 1984. The Father Bell 5 mile road race included Kevin Lozano as a participant. After winning a medal for his age group, Lozano was hooked forever with a new passion, distance running. Kevin’s running career had its beginnings on the track. “I was a sprinter from early childhood. Then I ran sprints in high school track.” With a forte of quick energy and sprinter speed, Kevin eventually discovered the sport of distance running. “I was a track runner who fell in love with distance. But I really ran distance to stay in shape for track.” Translating sprinter speed to the road races produced noticeable results for Kevin. He accomplished a 5 mile PR of 27:00 flat. This was a product of very intense training and his introduction to Checkers Running Club back in the early 1980s. Kevin was searching for new running shoes at Runners Roost on Hertel Ave in Buffalo and met Tom Courtney. A former middle distance track star from Tennessee, Courtney encouraged Kevin to attend Checkers track workouts which he coached. “The workouts became a ritual for me. I met a lot of friends and the club was about 120 people back then. Crosby Field had a cinder track. Tom trained us pretty hard. We would run 12/ 63-65 second quarters.” Memories of Checkers Running Club remain close to Kevin. He developed camaraderie with his Checkers running buddies. They included Steve English, Jim Schaffstall, Jeff Abrahm, Terry Lee, Tom Tobias, Danny Dangler and Dave Walsh. “Some club members would meet at Delaware Park every Sun-day Morning for a 20 mile run. We looped the park a few times and then took it downtown and finished up with a few more laps back at the park. We consistently ran 20 miles in 2:20- 2:30. Our group ran together for 10 years straight.” Competition between clubs at the races was another notable recollection. “We raced against the Greater Buffalo Track Club, Belle Watling and the Syracuse Chargers.” Kevin’s competitive ability was well represented when he ran track meets in the old Buffalo State Bubble and travelled with The Buffalo Belles and Braun Track Club. He has also earned gold medals in the Empire State Games on the track (100, 200, 400 and 4x400). An annual fa-vorite was the Utica Boilermaker 15KM Race. “The crowds were so motivating.” Kevin had been a steady and consistent attendee of Checkers track workouts for many years until 2007. While investigating a fire 1.5 years ago, he injured his knee. “I had a meniscus tear and underwent a micro fracture surgical operation. The idea is to regenerate my cartilage but it is a lengthy process.” Kevin has found an alternative training sport while he recovers, "I started riding the bike and logged 1200 miles in 2008.” He is now just starting to run again. Another challenge that Kevin has had to confront was shared with his wife Lori. “Our daughter Marcena was born with a heart defect. She had open heart surgery twice as an infant and two heart transplants later in life.” Marcena was a student at Buffalo State College and aspired to be a social worker when her life was tragically cut short at age 25. “For 13 years we traveled to the Pittsburgh Children’s and Presbyterian Hospitals for Mar-cena’s medical care, sometimes staying for months at a time. The costs wiped out our savings and our finances for Marcena’s college educa-tion. There were no scholarships awarded to courageous students who beat the odds.” Lori recollects the struggles that her daughter encountered. “Marcena had many complications after her second transplant at age 23 but she was strong and determined and rarely slowed down.” For Marcena it was a struggle to live a normal life and yet deal with her medical complications. “Marcena would say ‘I just want to be a normal kid and be treated like everyone else.’” In spite of all her issues, “Marcena lived life to the fullest and through every challenge she faced, she remained focused on completing her college education.” Dealing with the grief of loosing their zestful and courageous daughter, Kevin and Lori wanted to honor her and organ donors in some way. Thus, The Elephant Run 4 Mile Race was birthed on Mothers Day 2007. “We had perfect sunny weather, attracted 430 participants, had 100 volunteers and received very positive feedback. We try to make it a family event. It’s great to see families coming together!” Kevin and Lori took special care to make it a family event with special emphasis on kids and family fun. “We had a special kid’s race and they all got ribbons, along with a family fun walk. We also had an auction, craft tables for kids, a bounce house and drum circle.” This event served some very important and practical purposes. Lori commented that “This was a place to invest our grief. It helped us all to pull to-gether and deal with the loss of Marcena. We also wanted to help other young courageous transplant recipients pursue their education and honor organ donors who gave them new life.” The Elephant Run benefits the Marcena Lozano Memorial Scholarship Fund awarded to college bound students who, like Marcena, are organ transplant recipients. In its first two years the Elephant Run has been enormously successful. “We generated $15,000 each year, and were able to donate 4 x $3,000 schol-arships to organ transplant recipients with financial need.” Lori adds “We have been thrilled with the race. It’s a great way for a family to be to-gether on Mothers Day.” Why call it the Elephant Run? “Marcena loved elephants. She was fascinated by them and had them everywhere, even tattooed on her shoulder. Just as an elephant never forgets, we will never forget Marcena and the organ donors who gave her a new chance at life…twice.”

Age Group: 50-54 Checkers member: 24 years Running: 29 years

Personal: Married to Lori/ 3 Children: Marcena, Marcus (25), Lauren (22) Professional: City of Buffalo Fire Investigator- Arson Bureau Interests: Fishing, Outdoor activities, Walking his 2 dogs

The Hamilton Marathon November 2nd, 2008

As Marathons go, I’d have to give Hamilton a solid B+ overall. I didn’t ask Rick Queeno, or our running friend Greg Andrews their official opinions, but I suspect we’re close to agreement. It’s a relatively quick, 1 hour plus drive up to Hamilton, in light traffic, on an early Sunday morning. No need to stay over for this drive. I have business in Canada as well as locally, so I ran up Friday before to pick up race packets, eliminating the need for an ultra early start to our day. Parking was no problem, and we quickly found a shuttle bus to take us out to the starting line. One thing I did when picking up the race packet, is drive the course. If you are running a new race for the first time, I highly recommend this, especially for long distance races where psychology is as important as conditioning late in the race. Doing this with my Garmin on, allowed me to generate a fantastic elevation of the course, and at least try to plan a strategy to run negative splits (which I ended up doing). The race - I should point out, that some of the things many people view as favorable in Marathons, I view as annoyances at best, and in some cases, outright nuisances. For example, I do not care for crowd support. Now I don’t mind the occa-sional ‘go runner’! Good for you, keep cheering on the runners, we appreciate it. The challenge is most spectators really don’t understand the power of their cheers, and the infamous ‘you’re almost there’ type cheers really take you out of your groove. No. I’m the guy who in the big races, where they print your first name on your bib to help the crowd cheer you on, hides his bib so no one can see it. Or, better yet, I avoid the really large races, or even enter so intentionally late that they can’t get my name printed! Odd? If you know me, you know this is the least of my oddities. For me, however, running is solitary, and cathartic. Almost hypnotic at times. As my kids say, ‘its not easy to get into the zone, but it’s easy to get kicked out of it’, and too much idle, well intentioned, yet misdirected cheering, always brings me back to the harsh reality of what I’m do-ing, and how many more thousands of footfalls separate me from the finish line. So, in Hamilton, bonus points for limited crowd support! Something many of you might take points off for! Now the course, is another matter. As many of you might realize, Hamilton isn’t exactly about to challenge Paris France, or Vienna Austria as one of the most picturesque cities in the country. Far from it. Yet the course managed to cover some nice back country farm land, avoid some of the nastier industrial wastelands that ring much of Hamil-ton, and then take advantage of a beautiful stretch of lake front. The course was advertised as one of the fastest Boston courses, and it was that, enabling Rick to qualify for Boston, and me to edge closer by improving my marathon PR by 15 minutes! While overall it’s a mostly downhill run, miles 12, to perhaps mile 20, are actually undulating. Traveling overall downhill, but also including several steep climbs along exit ramps of a temporarily shut down highway (which, I must say, is quite cool, if a bit off putting!). In addi-tion, this section is straight on into a headwind blowing directly off Lake Ontario, which the marathon runs up to, un-til a sharp left turn at mile 20. I suspect this section alone, cost most of us at least 5 minutes, or 20-30 seconds a mile. The next section includes a portion from the early part of the famous Around the Bay race, though not a hilly section. From this point on, it’s a flat course, paralleling the Lake, yet with an out and back section to mile 23, then around the bend and back on to the finish, I’d love to see eliminated in future years. Race organization was good, if less then stellar. Water stops were well placed, though additional porta potties along the course wouldn’t have hurt. However, I could not find any food at all at the finish, and had to look long and hard to find a water bottle. In addition, there was no official race photography, a minor point, but as we Checkerians know, we love to check back and see all the great pictures from our races. (perhaps this is a business opportunity for Joan, Garry and Diane to look into?) Finally, like many Canadian courses, it’s marked in Kilometers, which I adore, yet I know many of you, aren’t fans of. While not even close to a 2:1 ratio, a kilometer does go by almost twice as fast as a mile in a race (a marathon is just over 42km), and I need ever bit of psychological edge I can get. I know some, like my daughter Eden who ran the half while we were running the whole, struggled during the race to do the conversions, my Garmin, ever the trusted running buddy never failed to keep my pace, time, speed, and even elevation. The conclusion? I’ll consider doing this race again next year, since I’m about Casino’d out for this decade, and do like to run a fall local marathon. Yet if you only run one Canadian marathon this year, I’d suggest Mississauga over Hamilton ( Miss is a Spring marathon however).

CHUCK FRIED

Yet another book review, by Chuck Fried Ultra Marathon Man Confessions of an all-night runner Dean Karnazes 2006 (now in paperback) This article could alternately be titled “Beware suggestions made at post run breakfasts”. It wasn’t too many Saturday’s ago that Tom Droz said innocently enough to me: “you know, I just read a great book you’d love…” An obsessive and impulsive group we runners tend to be. It was a line much like that, which led me to run and complete my first ultra marathon last spring (actually, the line Nancy Sheehan used was “you should do it, you get a really nice sweatshirt”). No sooner had we left breakfast, and said our good byes, that I found myself walking into Barnes and Noble and asking for Dean Karnazes book. Part autobiography, part confessional, this is the story of a wholly remarkable man. Man, inso-far as he meets the fundamental biological description of our species. Beyond that however, things begin to blur. Simply put, Dean Karnazes, as many of us who follow running know, is no man by most definitions. Karnazes first came to my attention last year, as word spread of his plan to run 50 marathons in 50 states, over 50 con-secutive days (to eliminate any possible suspense for you tender hearts, he easily accomplished this feat). Yet this was only among the more recent feats of endurance he came to be known for. Karnazes, you see, is fanatical about distance running. What drew me to this story, was that starting point. As many of you reading this know, I’m considered something of a ‘nut job’ myself, frequently competing nearly back to back marathons, and lately, tossing in some triathlons for good measure. I suspect Tom Droz’ point in suggesting this book to me was the perspective others would gain on how grounded in real-ity I truly am. Karnazes, however, is certifiable. Certifiably insane that is. Karnazes tells a compelling tale, that I confess I finished in less than two days. Distance runner or not, there are great lessons to be learned from this man. This is the story of a driven man, and a tortured man. The close knit family of Greek decent, raised in northern California, was torn, and nearly destroyed by the tragic loss of Karnazes younger sister at the age of 18 in a car accident. Yet while this might explain much of Karnazes (friends call him Karno) drive, it’s only after completing the book that we come close to realizing the depths of the personnel hell he puts himself through on his endurance challenges. Karnazes doesn’t come close to realizing what perhaps many readers of his book will eventually surmise. The 200 mile non stop runs, the runs to a marathon start, finishing the marathon in 3:05, then running home, for a total of 60 or 80 miles, the finishing, and ultimately winning of Badwater, widely regarded as the single most difficult endurance race in the world (a 135 mile run through the heart of death valley, where temperatures are so high, shoes melt off ones feet if one doesn’t run on the white line), the 100 mile western states trail race (which he has not only won, but completed several times in under 24 hours), and so on. This is an entertaining story also, like the pizza shops he has found around his San Francisco home, that will deliver pizza to him while he’s out on the road running, and meet him anywhere (he frequently runs all night long, and has mastered the art of running while balancing a pizza box in one hand, and shoveling pizza into his mouth with the other!). Yet Karnazes seems to need to feel pain, to feel alive. Is he punishing himself for his sisters passing? The reader must make their own judgment there. Yet perhaps a telling quote from an inspirational coach in Karnazes high school years sums up his drive. Upon finishing one of his first races, his coach asked him how he felt. Heaving after winning the event, and nearly passing out, Karnazes paused, and replied “feels pretty good”. To which his coach replied simply “then you aren’t pushing hard enough. Its supposed to hurt like hell”. Pick up the book, but hide it from your non running family and friends. It will scare the heck out of them.

It seems like just yesterday when I was leading the club, now its six years later and another President of Checkers has come to the end of his reign. To be inse-cure and have thoughts of the club failing because of a leadership or coaching issue would be a waste of time since truly none of us are indispensible. This is just a running club and we are not leading the country so we have to lighten up! I’m looking forward and getting excited to meet the next person who will bleed green as we have. Call it a fresh start. There comes a point when there is nothing more you can do in a certain posi-tion and you must move on. When volunteers step down in Checkers they usually just move aside and help in other ways, that’s just one of the many things that make our club so special, dedicated people who stay around and just move over into another position. Just as Bob and Becky get ready to move to Maine, we must move on too. We all keep special thoughts of how we were helped by our Coach. I personally will never forget a race we did in the south towns in the late 90’s. It was the very first race that my 5K speed came out. I can still see Bob at the end of the finish line wait-ing, holding out a bottle of water for me. He was so proud that his coaching proved something positive, I know he is proud of a lot of you too!

There will be many positive changes that will be made in 2009. Along with a new President and Coach, there are board members who have come to the end of their term. These changes will move smoothly as they have in the past. Many of us have stayed around because of our sincere loyalty to Checkers which we consider the Best Club with the most awesome people enjoying the simple pleasures of fitness. Thank you Roger for asking me to write this column for December. (Roger Roll is recuperating from me-niscus surgery.) I would never turn Roger down, he didn’t turn me down when I asked him to take over my President’s position. There is only one problem though, I don’t think the next Pres. will be able to bench press the weight that Roger does! There should not be any doubts. It’s time to support a new club President who will step in and take the place of us not so indispensible ones. But as I men-tioned, some of us will be in the background some-where helping out, not really leaving and still bleeding green, always.

Have a Wonderful Holiday and May your New Year have much happiness!

Checkers Athletic Club 340 Puritan Road Tonawanda, New York 14150

Past President’s Corner by Diane Sardes

Santa Claus and his Reindeers The North Pole Heaven on Earth, Good Will 122508