Humpy’s Marathon Anchorage, Alaska, 2007 · Will you be the one to push our marathon count over...

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Volume 7 • Issue 3 • September 2008

Pictured Above:

Humpy’s MarathonAnchorage, Alaska, 2007

Pictured Above:

Humpy’s MarathonAnchorage, Alaska, 2007

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Board of Directors PresidentTom Adair

[email protected]

Vice President/ReunionsCharles Sayles

[email protected]

SecretarySusan Sinclair

[email protected]

TreasurerSteve Boone

[email protected]

MembershipPaula Boone

[email protected]

NewsletterLois Berkowitz

[email protected]

Table of contentsStats, Facts, New Members . . . . . . . 3Finishers & Milestones . . . . . . . . . . 4Member Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5In Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650 State Completions. . . . . . . . . . . . 7Book Review & Lincoln Marathon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Adventures in Marathoning . . . . . . . 935 on our 35th & Gold Coast . . . . 10MS Blues Marathon Application . . 11Breakers Marathon Application. . . 13Two Cities Marathon Application . 15Choosing a Multivitamin & Shorts 17Everest & Shorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Coeur d’Alene & Shorts . . . . . . . . 19Running Gave Me Time & Shorts . 20Eugene Reunion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Doubles & Deals for Members . . . 22Merchandise & Member Events . . 23Reunions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

50 States Marathon Club • PO Box 15638, Houston, TX 77220 • www.50statesmarathonclub.com

NEWSLETTERMembers,

New things are happening on the club web site. Make sure you check it out period-ically to see updates. We have been working on a new Membership page that is real-ly a great tool to look up stats about our club members. We add updates nearly everyday, so make sure that you email in your marathon/ultra, state totals, and photos tohave them included. Our members have nearly 100,000 combined marathons/ultras.Will your marathon/ultra total be the one to put us over that mark? Under“Membership” on the dropdown menu you can find membership demographicsincluding: members, new members, finishers, demographics, and lots of other funstatistics. There are many different ways the membership lists are sorted including:by state/country, by marathon count, by gender, by birthdays. The finishers lists arealso sorted in several ways including: by date, by state/country, multiple finishes,Canadian provinces, Australian states, continents, and by where members finishedthe states.

If you haven’t renewed for 2008 and the mailing label on your newsletter has 2007(or earlier), then make sure you mail in your renewal form that was included in thelast newsletter. Please complete and return the renewal form even if you don’t owedues for 2008. We update your file from the form. We have the form online if youhave misplaced yours.

-Board of Directors

50 STATE FINISHERS

This complimentary custom finisher’s certificate will be sent to all members whohave completed the states. This includes everyone who has completed the states andall members who complete the states in the future. To receive your certificate, youmust be a member in good standing (current on your dues) and contact Susan Sinclairat [email protected] or 502 Pence, Webster, TX 77598. Please include: yourname as you want it printed on the certificate, your hometown city and state (whenyou finished), the number of times you finished, the name of your finishing marathon,the location (city, state), the date of your finish, and your mailing address. You maygo to the club web site and print out an order form and see samples under the dropdown menu of “Procedures.”

Certified Finisher’s Certificate Finisher’s Certificate

Welcome to our New Members:

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Stats, Facts & DemographicsMembership - 1,634 Female - 578 Male - 1,056

Our members have a combined total of more than 99,365 marathons and counting…

If everyone updates their statistics, our count will be even higher!

Will you be the one to push our marathon count over 100,000?Email updates to your schedule and your marathon total count to [email protected].

Help us out by including your first and last name! Thanks!

AL-23AK-7AZ-13AR-12CA-121CO-50CT-27DE-2DC-5FL-101GA-68

HI-4ID-10IL-85IN-48IA-22KS-22KY-30LA-28ME-8MD-32MA-21

MI-46MN-59MS-6MO-49MT-5NE-17NV-7NH-10NJ-42NM-8NY-65

NC-36ND-2OH-77OK-15OR-21PA-53RI-2SC-16SD-3TN-22TX-148

UT-9VT-5VA-45WA-39WV-14WI-37WY-7

AROUND THEWORLDAustralia-1Austria-2

Bermuda-1Canada-16Germany-3

Japan-1Sweden-1Thailand-1

UK-4

Kevin Abraszek-NYBic Aki-CAJim Alexander-ILJohn Ryan Almeida-OHGina Armenini-PARichard Baber-CTAmy Barcus-PALawrence Batten-VAJoseph Bearss-COChris Benyo-ILKaren Berglund-TXRon Berglund-TXBill Bonetz-FLMichael Brandt-CAAnnette Brenner-NYJames BurlinghamDiana Burton-NJBarrett Butlien-NYThomas Chaves-PAGary Circosta-MADaniel Clapper-SCTheodore Collins-WARandy Cox-ARTerry CurellaBarb Damon-ORGreg Damon-ORTony Dant-VAElaine DeLong-GANancy Dillon-OHToni Draper-CTMichael Duquette-ILSamy El-Guebaly-NHAlbert Elises-CATerri Ernst-GAMike Evans-MNJennifer Everett-MO

Brad Feld-COScott Finnell-PAMieka Tomko-Gerard-FLTom Glen-VAMarcia Godwin-TXPaul Grinvalds-IASarah Gross-OHJR Growney-KSChristopher Haeckler-TXErin Hammond-COTami Harmon-AZMiles Haven-MDCorrine Haynes-NYJürgen Heilbock-GermanyGregory Helbig-NMJane Herzog-WASteve Hibbs-MNJill Hill-FLSteve Hillman-ON, CanadaMark Hirsh-CAHeidi Hogan-CTNathan Hogan-CTChristy HotalingMonica Huff-GASteve Hughes-ILTroy Ivey-IALien James-DCErin Johnson-MTLeslye Bass Johnson-LATerri Jones-COKen Juhl-NEDan Kieling-WANatalie Kik-Brown-MIPaul Kilvington-ARRick King-CATina King-OK

Wayne King-OKBob Kovell-MNPaige Kurtz-VALeo Ladner, Jr.-MSWendell Lafave-ON, CanadaKevin Liau-NYLeonardo Lopez-ILCasey Luicart-ILSebastian Mahfood-MOWolfe Mahfood-TXRichard Mangold-ILJulie Marshall-COWarren Marshall-COMichael James McDermott-ILPat McDonnell-VATom McIntyre-OKJoseph McKenna-CAPatricia Cote-Miles-GACathy (Mary) Minshall-CARomina Mok-FLChristopher Morris-COSteve Neibergall-MDDavid Nelson-IASteve Noone-PAMichael Nusblat-NYThomas “T.O.” Okazaki-TXKevin O’Neill-ON, CanadaDonna Ornosky-PAMark Ott-MIBeverly Paquin-IAAaron Pendergraft-OHCourtney Barden Peterson-NYJoseph Poliquin-CTMaria Poranski-VANancy Pratt-MOSheila Prevou-KS

Alan Priest-MIBeth Proffitt-PADavid Purcell-GABob Rall-FLJohn Rankin-WAMelissa Rankin-TXCarlton Ray-INAndrew Readinger-TXJohana Reed-PAJean Reid-KYFrancine Robinson-MIDaryl Rodriguez-CALarry RubensteinPeter Schwanke-OHRay “McGyver” Shaw-WAMary Sheehan-CTShannon Shen-NVJack Sullivan-NEMike Thams-CAJason Tung-ON, CanadaAngela Upton-NYSusan Spence-NCJohn Van Steenbergh-GABrian Wade-INGregg Walchli-WAQuintin Walline-COEd Walsh-CAMarsha White-FLAndrea Widberg-MACecile Williams-CAMark Williams-INLucille Wing-CACraig Withers-CAMandy Yelvington-AR

Demographics:

FINISHER*Certified Finishers have provided hard copies of atleast one item of proof for each of the 50 states:

*Certificate* Results* Bib and Medal

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www.50statesmarathonclub.comPO Box 15638, Houston, TX 77220

Finishers and MilestonesCongratulations Finishers * Certified Finisher

Eugene Bruckert 2nd time Honolulu Honolulu, Hi 12/09/07*Steve Hibbs Brookings Brookings, SD 5/10/08*Denise Thomas Delaware Wilmington, DE 5/18/08Alan Steggles 3rd time Vermont City Burlington, VT 5/25/08*Constance Mazgaj Mad City Madison, WI 5/25/08*Ariane Lyons Coeur d’Alene Coeur d’Alene, ID 5/25/08Brendan Cournane Sunburst South Bend, IN 5/31/08*Kathy Cronin Sunburst South Bend, IN 5/31/08*Monika Roth Nipmuck Trail Ashford, CT 6/1/08*Doug Henschel Governor’s Cup Helena, MT 6/7/08*Jeff Johnston Deadwood-Mickelson Deadwood, SD 6/8/08Jim Simpson 7th time Bear Lake Idaho Bear Lake, ID 6/13/08*Ken Hart Grandma’s Duluth, MN 6/21/08*Bill Brown Mayor’s Anchorage, AK 6/21/08*Garry Cox Mayor’s Anchorage, AK 6/21/08*Lichu Sloan Mayor’s Anchorage, AK 6/21/08*Michael Goolkasian Ironman Coeur d’Alene Coeur d’Alene, ID 6/22/08*Annie King 2nd time King Salmon Cordova, AK 7/12/08Eugene DeFronzo 6th time King Salmon Cordova, AK 7/12/08*Holly Koester Frank Maier Juneau, AK 8/2/08

150 Milestones 250

Female Member Finishers – 102Male Member Finishers – 254

28 Members finished in 2001







So far... 24 members havefinished in 2008


Preparing for your 50 States FinishWhen you have your upcoming completion of the 50 states planned, please let the club know so that we can post your upcoming finish on the clubweb site. Please mail or email ([email protected] or [email protected] ) a list of the races you completed in each of the 50 states with thename of the race, date and your finish time that we can produce your complimentary finisher award. We cannot produce your trophy without the list.You may send this list when you have at least 45 states completed and have scheduled the remaining five. Additionally, if you'd like your finish“Certified” and have “Certified” printed on your finisher trophy, please make a hard copy of at least one item of proof of completing each state. Thisinformation is on the club web site.

Mail to: 50 States Marathon Club Verification Committee, PO Box 15638, Houston, TX 77220-5638

Eddie Hahn 100th Country Music Nashville, TN 4/26/08

Yen Nguyen 300th Tacoma Tacoma, WA 5/10/08

Mark Stodghill 200th Med City Rochester, MN 5/25/08

Dave Bell 200th Steamboat Steamboat Springs, CO 6/1/08

Deo Jaravata 150th Rock ‘N’ Roll San Diego, CA 6/1/08

Amy Yanni 100th Deadwood-Mickelson Deadwood, SD 6/8/08

Jeff Johnston 100th Grandma’s Duluth, MN 6/21/08

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Profile for Beth Davenport, NMBeth finished her first tour of the states in 2006 at the

Clarence DeMar in New Hampshire. She has 18 states thesecond timearound, for a totalof 90 marathons.She would like torun at least onemarathon a monthin 2008 so that shecan reach #100 byApril 2009. Shehas qualified forBoston twice, fin-ished the stateswhile still 45, andhopes to finish 100

before she is 50, at Yakima, WA. She has been marathoningfor 15 1/2 years. She Pr’d at Twin cities in 1993 with a3:36:13 and PW’d at Myrtle Beach in 2008 with a 6:16:09.

Her favorite race is Twin Cities—15 years later, she can’tthink of anything she would tell them to do differently. Thiswas also her easiest marathon. She cites Pike’s Peak as herfavorite trail race, and for having the best giveaways. Her besttrip was Walt Disney’s because of the great vacation after-wards. She also loved the medal. She likes running on dirt.During a race she eats Cheez-its, and afterwards, burgers atOKC. Beth says, “I met Steve and Paula Boone at the 1998Columbus Marathon. It was my 13th state, and I alreadyknew I wanted to run a marathon in each state. At that timethe 50 States Marathon Club did not exist, and the 50 & DCgroup required 20 states to join. I reached 20 states at the2001 B & A Trail Marathon in Maryland, where I again metup with Steve and Paula. They had recently started the 50States Marathon Club. I mailed in my membership applica-tion right after I got home! I have met so many fun and fan-tastic people in this group, and it, as well as my nearly patho-logical task persistence, is a part of what keeps me at it.”

Beth works as a pet sitter, personal assistant, and writer.She has also volunteered to be the 50 States Marathon Clubadvisor on New Mexico marathons. Test her out!

Profile for Bill Brown, MABill finished his 50th state in Alaska on June 21st of this

year. That gives him a total of 99 marathons and threeultras. His friendshave demanded thathis 100th marathon beat Cape Cod inOctober, so he’ll havea couple of monthsrest. His PR was at theAvenue of the Giantsin 2002, a 3:17:37, andhis PW was atHonolulu, a 4:47:45.For ultras, he countsthe Vermont 50 asboth his PR (10:55 in1995). Bill has also

completed two Canadian provinces. He counts the TahoeTriple as his marathon accomplishment (this event meansthree tough marathons in three days). He has also com-pleted 13 Ironman distance triathalons.

Bill has been working on the 50 states for about fiveyears. He says, “The idea of doing 50 states just kind ofdeveloped. I think it started in New Orleans. Me and a fewbuddies figured we would follow the Mississippi for goodmusic, good food and a sleazy. After awhile we had a dozenstates under our belts. Hey, why not keep going? Its been agood run. The problem with finishing the 50 states is, nowwhat? I haven’t come up with that one yet. Maybe theCanadian providences. We will see.” During a race he eatsGu, and after a race, he eats beer. He credits St. George asbeing his best trip, best medal, and easiest race. He recom-mends the Martian (MI), Med-City (MN), St. George (UT),and Ocean Drive (NJ). He likes to run on asphalt because itis more stable.

Bill lives on Martha’s Vineyard and is an insurancebroker. He also directs the Martha’s Vineyard 50 Miler.

Profile for Julie Astrachan, TXJulie Astrachan has run 23 marathons (14 states). She Pr’ed

at Grandma’s in 2005 with a 3:56, and that remains her besttime. She has spent nine years working on the 50 states, but

her goal for 2008 isto complete four-sixmarathons. Her person-al worst was at AbileneKansas, though shedoesn’t mention a time.As a marathoningaccomplishment, shefinished fourmarathons in fourmonths. She citesGrandma’s for herfriendliest marathon,its great course andsupport. For a trail race,she enjoyed the NapaTrail, thanks to gor-geous scenery.

Julie likes a runningsurface which is a mix

of road and trail. During a race, she eats jelly beans andafter, she eats pasta and protein. She gives Mobile,Alabama high marks on its medal, its t-shirt design, and itssmall town feel and great cause. Newport, Oregon was hereasiest marathon and Atlanta, Georgia was her most diffi-cult. Julie says, “I love what running does for my mind,body and soul. I’ve made some of my closest friends andshared incredible memories across the states. I hope to runthe rest of my life and will definitely complete the 50 statesduring the course of my lifetime. I’ve suffered a fewinjuries along the way, but I’ve learned to respect my bodyand allow time to heal...I always come back stronger. Mostimportantly, I enjoy God’s beauty every day and am sograteful for the joy running gives me...”

Julie is a USAF officer.

Profile for Anthony Anderson, FLAnthony ran his first marathon on the Big Island in

Hawaii on the 25th of June 2000. Since that time he hascompleted 40 marathons in 20 different states. His PR was

at Cocoa Beach,Florida where his timewas 4:01:08 inNovember 2006. HisPW was at Salt LakeCity, Utah where histime was 6:58:23. Hegot lost on the coursethus causing the delayin finishing. He hopesto run all 50 statesbefore he is 50, and torun 100 marathonsbefore he is 60. Heloves to run marathons

in small sites off the beaten path. His goal for 2008 is tocomplete five more states.

Anthony’s favorite road race was the Country MusicMarathon, since he’s run quite a few races in Nashvile, hishometown. His favorite running surface is pavement, becausehe enjoys the bounce off the pavement (!) - now that’s a newanswer! During a marathon he eats M&Ms, and afterwards hegoes for meat. His friendliest marathon was in Green Bay, WI;best medal, Tupelo, MS; his best trip and favorite t-shirt designwere at Maui in 2008. His easiest marathon was Chicago, andhis hardest was Salt Lake City. He started running marathonsafter running several half marathons. Running has always beenhis favorite hobby. He found it a great way to relieve stressfrom his auditing job. When he is not auditing, he is running.

Anthony is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Florida ArmyNational Guard. He also works full time for the FloridaArmy National Guard as the Supervisory Auditor. He hascompleted 30 years of military service and is looking for-ward to retiring and taking up his favorite hobby full time.

Member Profiles


Raef Guirges, CA, receives his finisher’s award fromLois Berkowitz. The RD of the Rite Aid ClevelandMarathon was present. Raef is the first Egyptian-American finisher of the 50 states.

SHORSHORTS:TS:


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Don was a 50 state marathoner for many years and one ofour charter members. He completed the states four times andalso completed the Australian states and the Canadianprovinces. He had completed over 400 marathons. Hepassed away in early May.

Lois Berkowitz, MI says: I always enjoyed meeting Donon the run. He always hadpithy comments and strongopinions about everything.He was fun to be around.We shared a love of cats.Don will be long remem-bered for his sharp wit.

Don passed away inspring of this year. Hisdaughter, Kerry Belles, sentthis note: I’d be happy toshare the circumstances ofmy father’s passing. I’mglad to hear he had peoplewho cared about him.

He had two carcinomasremoved—one from his leg, the other from his back.Apparently, he was aware of them for over 20 years, but thedoctor ultimately talked him into having them removed inApril 2008. He had some home healthcare workers comingto the house to change the dressings, and in early May hedidn’t answer the door. They called his emergency contactwho told them to call the police. The police tried to breakdown his front door, but for some reason my dad had bar-ricaded it by drilling 2 x 4’s into it. They hopped over thegate and went around to the back. They could see himthrough the sliding glass doors on the floor. Unfortunately,my dad didn’t have many friends so we don’t know howlong he was there. The death certificate states that he diedfrom a heart attack. For someone who was so seeminglyhealthy, I think the stress of the surgery must have hadsomething to do with it.

Thank you for the message. If any of the people inquiringabout him want to contact me, feel free to give them my e-mail address. I would also love to hear some stories abouthim if anyone wants to share them with me!

Contact Kerry at: [email protected].

In Remembrance Of...

Pete Golding passed away in June. His wife Beth says, “Ibelieve his last marathon was in Little Rock. He then ran theCapon Valley 50k in West Virginia. He was killed while wewere vacationing in Sweden. He was hit by a bicyclist whilerunning. I think he had finished 47 states. Is there anyonewho might have all the states, dates, and times compiled? Ifso I would love to have a copy.”

Don Lang, CA

Pete Golding, ME

“I have met my hero, and he is me.”—George Sheehan

“It’s at the borders of pain and sufferingthat the men are separated from the boys.”

—Emil Zatopek

“Now if you are going to win any battle youhave to do one thing. You have to make themind run the body. Never let the body tellthe mind what to do. The body will alwaysgive up. It is always tired morning, noon,

and night. But the body is never tired if themind is not tired. When you were youngerthe mind could make you dance all night,

and the body was never tired...You’ve always got to make the mind

take over and keep going.”—George S. Patton,

U.S. Army General and 1912 Olympian

“We run, not because we think it is doingus good, but because we enjoy it and

cannot help ourselves...The more restrictedour society and work become, the more

necessary it will be to find some outlet forthis craving for freedom. No one can

say, ‘You must not run faster than this,or jump higher than that.’ The human

spirit is indomitable.”—Sir Roger Bannister

“Rapid motion through space elates one.”—James Joyce

Michael Goolkasian, MA writes this about his friend,Tim Chesko:

Dear 50 States Marathon Club Members:It is with heartfelt words that I must report that a dear

friend of ours has passed on. There are no words which canexpress what my heart and mind feel at this time. Tim wasonly 42 and had just completed the Goofy Challenge atDisney in Florida on January 13.

I met Tim back at the Yakima Marathon in 2006 and weshared a common bond. Fellow 50 stater Bill Brown and Iencouraged him to complete his first ironman in Lake Placidin 2007. He was scheduled to compete in the ironman inJune at Coeur d’Alene and the Wisconsin Ironman in Sept.and planed to run the Boston Marathon this year.

I am shaken by this tragedy. I often ask how? Why? I canonly think of those whom he leaves behind as the onesstripped from the life essence of a beautiful man who gaveall of himself for his family.

Tim lived life and expressed that the 50 staters was a greatgroup of people to associate with, people that dreamed big.He was generous in his appetite for health and sharing, invit-ing us to Buffalo for the Patriots game this year. I thank Godfor his gift and I was blessed to know him.

I want to dedicate the finishing of my 50 states to TimChesko, may you enjoy everlasting peace my friend. I knowyou will finish your 50 states in heaven running faster thanever and I will see you on the running roads of life. I am sovery lost, sad, bewildered and awfully lonely without you.In God’s name.

Tim Chesko, NY

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by Jeff JohnsonThe big day arrived June 8, 2008 in Deadwood, SD—My

50th state marathon. Accompanied by members of the NewRichmond, WI Running Club and most of my family, I set outto conquer the Mickelson Trail. Jerry Dunn had graciouslyassigned me bib number 50 to commemorate the event.

The weather was beautiful—cool and sunny to start—abig change from the 31 straight days of rain that Deadwoodhad leading up to race day. Needless to say the scenery wasgreen and in full bloom! Being somewhat familiar with thearea I knew I was in for a challenge due to the elevation andfirst half climb up through the valley. The first few milespassed without incident and I felt strong, knowing that I wasclosing in on my goal of completing the 50 states.

At mile 8, I was met by several family members dressedin their “Go Jeff Go” shirts. I had no idea that they were allgoing to wear those bright neon green shirts, and when I sawthe message on the front I truly got tears in my eyes. It wasthen that it finally hit me as to what I had accomplished.However, that was not the place to get all emotional as Iknew I had a lot of running left to do!

The next few miles were a struggle, but when I reached

the summit I knew I had a chance to run a BQ (one of mygoals was to run a BQ in every state the first time around).Through mile 19 the miles flew by—then there was the “lit-tle hill” that I had been warned about. Ouch! Once past thatI was on my way, winding through the valley past the goldmine in Lead.

Around mile 23 the weather abruptly changed as cloudsmoved in and a brief shower including sleet pellets made fora chilly mile or so. The sun quickly returned and I motoredin to Deadwood, finishing in 3:35:49, finishing my 50th stateand making my BQ. Greeting me at the finish line were Jerryand Elaine Dunn, and my green shirted family and friends.Ok, now it was time for a good cry and hugs all around.

I started my 50 state quest in October 2002 and managedto complete 68 marathons in 69 months, including three dou-bles, averaging around 3:23, and 42 of the 50 states wereBQ. June was a big month as I also completed my 100thmarathon at Grandma’s two weeks later.

The Dunns put on a great race, and I highly recommendthe Mickelson Trail for a South Dakota marathon. For thefemale runners, try the Leading Ladies Marathon throughSpearfish Canyon—another beautiful venue.

Jeff Johnson Completes 50th at Deadwood

by Rob Toonkel

One day, everything’s fine, we’re young and able,striving forward with a goal in mind. The next day westand at the top of the hill and wonder—is there life after50? With the significant growth in the size of the 50States Marathon Club, more and more of us are meetingthis question head on. We spend many years and manythousands of dollars picking up the states, seeing newplaces and meeting new people. Then one day we crossthe finish line in that 50th state and we’re left with thequestion, what now? To those who have recently sur-passed or are making their way to this point, fear not.

There’s plenty of life after 50. The best part of thisnew life is the freedom from obligations—no more needto go to Connecticut in the second week of October, nomore worrying about whether you should stay out on theopposite coast for back-to-back weekends. There’s nomore pit in your stomach when you hear about a flightdelay that could keep you from doing Nebraska untilnext year. There’s no more finding a reason to justify that$700 flight to some obscure city. Even better than thethings you don’t have to worry about are the things youcan now feel free to pursue. After at least 50 marathons,most of us can’t just put the brakes on and go back towhatever it is we used to do before we found the joys of26.21875 miles. The following challenges will ensurethat you don’t have to:

• Doubles, as in marathons on back-to-back days. It’sa daunting prospect, but what 50 Stater can resist a chal-lenge?

• Continents. Sure, it’s more expensive, but at leastthere are only seven.

• Ultras. Why stop at 26 miles? Longer races, includ-ing distances of 50K, 50 miles, 100K and even 100 milesare just dangling the carrot, waiting for you.

• Long Relays. Grab a few friends and conquer longerdistances than you can ever imagine solo. Go frommountains to coast, market to market, north to south as ateam.

• Trail running. Get off the road and run through thewoods. Or through swamps and streams. Or over rocks.Or in some races, all of the above.

• Canadian provinces. 42.2 kilometers might seemlonger than 26.2 miles. But you pass each kilometermarker quicker. And there’s some beautiful country upthere.

• Long-Distance Hiking. Try the entire AppalachianTrail, or try the challenge of a single day event such asthe Rachel Carson Challenge.

• All the races in a certain state. Become the expertof all the offerings in a given jurisdiction. Vermont andNew Hampshire are easier targets. Texas and Californiacan take years.

• 50 Again. Do it without repeats or with repeats.Soon you’ll find yourself on the same tortured highwayyou just left. But like the first time, you’ll love everyminute of it.

Is There LifeAfter 50?

Jeff Johnson, WI, completes his 50th at Deadwood, surrounded by adoring fans.

Monika Roth was the firstEuropean woman to finish the

50 states at Nipmuck Trail,Connecticut, this June. Hereshe is pictured with her hus-

band, Edwin, at NipmuckTrail, Connecticut.

SHORSHORTS:TS:

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From Tom Adair, GA: I was beginningto lose my enthusiasm for running earlierthis year: I failed to finish a marathon forthe first time in my life when I fell and suf-fered an injury in Antarctica and myaggressive racing schedule was put on hia-tus until the injury healed. I’ll be the first toadmit I wasn’t my usual self when I lacedup my running shoes—I had a horrific caseof the “blahs.” That all changed after I readScott Ludwig’s autobiography Runningthrough My Mind: Confessions of an EveryDay Runner. His book has restored my pas-sion for running and the camaraderie of myfriends, and has motivated me to reach myrunning goals.

Scott does a lot of his writing in his headwhile he runs—perhaps providing the ulti-mate answer to the question, “What do you think aboutwhile you run?” and he has a consecutive days’ runningstreak of almost 30 years. In the last 14 years his trainingmiles averaged over 90 per week. He considers himself notonly an every day runner but an everyday runner as well.Scott first realized his potential as a runner while in highschool after finishing third in one 600 yard run P.E. finalexam, but finishing “first among those that didn’t throw upafterwards.” It would be eight years until he ran again whileattending the University of Florida. He ran with the FloridaTrack Club one evening in 1978, hoping to fall in with theslower group as they ran through campus. It wasn’t longuntil he found the slower group was...just him.

Now, after running more than 105,000 miles, Scott doesnot take the easy path to maintain his streak. Whether it beshredding the balls of his feet at Western States...or passingout from exhaustion/dehydration after finishingBadwater...or running across the state of Georgia in six days

with a stress fracture...he has continued torun day after day.

Scott talks about his problems with “pre-mature acceleration” (starting too fast andfinishing too slow). He continues with his“premeditated moments of spontaneity”(PMS)—such as his run across Georgia.Scott’s training philosophy includes “run-ning to the edge of exhaustion” (to preparefor ultra distances). As an example, for his2003 “Boston Marathon Double” he ranfrom the finish to the start, and then fromthe start to the finish. He has a special tal-ent for writing which makes me laugh outloud; and yet, when he writes about the lossof a good friend, his dog Magic, or his lovefor his family, I cry a bit as well.

Scott currently writes a monthly columnfor www.georgiarunner.com, and publishes the quarterlynewsletter of the Darkside Running Club, AbsolutelyTrue...Tales from the Darkside (he is the president). His arti-cles have appeared in UltraRunning and The RunningJournal. All royalties from the sale of Scott’s book aredivided between the American Cancer Society and theAmerican Heart Association—a tribute to his parents whopassed away before the book was published. It was theirdream to see Scott realize his dream of writing a book abouthis love for running.

The target audiences for this book are marathon runnerswith 20 or more marathons and ultra marathon runners.More than anything, after reading the book, it will make youwant to run. After all, that was Scott’s primary intention forwriting the book in the first place. Overall, I see the benefitsof this autobiography as a way for marathon and ultramarathon runners to laugh, cry and enjoy their sport withanother every day runner like themselves. I’d like to tell you

more, but I’ve got to lace up my running shoes and head outthe door.

Comments from other runners:“The marathon distance and beyond, allows us to experi-

ence life to the fullest while blending mind, body and spir-it. Scott’s book is full of real-life experiences that highlightthe positive aspects of this journey. This book has the powerto motivate and renew the treasury of benefits bestowed bythe long-distance experience.”

—Jeff Galloway, Olympic Champion

“Scott writes as Everyman...the regular guy who livesnext door and is always wel-come at your home and you athis, and the only issue is whoprovides the beer. An amusingand clever guy to begin with,but WAY beyond that is his far-from-regular-guy achieve-ments. This book would beenjoyable (and jaw-dropping)to nonrunners, but especially torunners or wannabes of anylevel. It is a sobering and inspi-rational reminder of what disci-pline and focus can accomplish.”

—Michael Sklar

“Scott’s book has reinvigorated my running and given mea license to run as much as I want, and work out as often asI wish. When people give me grief about limping, saying Ishouldn’t run, I beat them over the head with Scott’s book,pointing out his training practices, limited sleep, and evenhis bologna sandwich lunches as my defense.”

—Kevin Hatfield

by Mary Steinhauser, Michigan

Lincoln, NE hosted a great marathon/halfmarathon the first weekend in May 2008.The two loop course showcased classichomes, the skyscraper capitol building, greatvolunteers (military and civilian), the cityzoo and hidden gardens, the bike trail, andsome of the city’s parks. The idyllic city ofLincoln had calm streets. My husband, Cy,noted that there was more traffic in myhometown of Upper Sandusky, Ohio.

Technical shirts both in men and women’sversions and free posters were given the run-ners as well as many bottles of water at thevery busy, small expo at the Embassy Suites,the host hotel. There was adequate parkingfor marathoners/half marathoners on thecollege campus of the University of

Nebraska, where the race began. Figuringout the way to the lots on the one way streetscaused some complications. The airport todowntown was a five minute drive on CornHuskers Highway to I-80.

The six thousand participant goal (noactive.com charge) was met with some runnersturned away for the 7 a.m. start. MissNebraska sang the national anthem and themayor of the city promised us repaired pot-holes before the gun/chip mat start. The racewith a six-hour time limit started in front of theUniversity of Nebraska Coliseum, which isused for many simultaneous volleyball match-es. This brick roadway in front of the buildingalso boasted of a football stadium, track facili-ties, swimming area, and basketball stadium.

The police guarded all corners. One evenfollowed me for miles 20 – 25. Volunteers

handed out water or sport drink in papercups with caps and straws every 2.5 miles.Orange quarters and candies were availableon the final twenty miles. Commemorativesingle use souvenir chips with AbeLincoln’s image recorded the start, mid, andfinish times. (Imagine keeping a chip with-out penalty!)

We shared rotini, salad, roll, and ice creamthe night before at U of N’s posh ChampionsClub near the start of the race. At the afterrace party at the same location, we weregiven pork sandwiches, rotini salad, and fivetypes of cookies. Lincoln’s marathons anddelicious free meals shouldn’t be missed.

Even the 90-year-old man who managedthe half marathon in four hours was aninspiration. I hope to duplicate that feat inthirty years.

Book Review: Running Through My Mind

National Guard MarathonFrom Lois Berkowitz, MI:

Life was very exciting after theEugene Marathon. Martha Corazzini,NV, and friend Phil got back at about2:30. We went to get gelato and I tookthem to the airport. Next day I took offfor the coast to see the town ofFlorence and the sea lion cave—got aticket ($350) on the way to thePortland airport, missed my flight.Frontier was able to get me as far asDenver Monday night, and I spent thenight in the Denver Airport. 7 a.m.Tuesday morning, I got a flight toDetroit. I wish to report that the Denverairport is not very interesting.

SHORSHORTS:TS:

Confessions of an Every Day Runner—By Scott Ludwig


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by Ed Nikowitz, IL

I know for some of our members running a marathon fourweeks in a row would be no big deal. But to me it was. Sowhat happens when you run four marathons in four weeks?I was about to find out. This year I should complete my 50state marathon quest. In order to do that, I would have to runa marathon every weekend in May along with one two weeksbefore and one two weeks after. It’s not that I am doing amillion marathons this year. I am doing nine. They just allhappen to fall in a very short period of time.

Now I have always believed you can do quantity or qual-ity, but not both. So my plan was simply to complete themarathons in whatever time it took. I had to finish them all.I have used the run/walk strategy before and was looking atit for this string.

I had already planned to finish the 50 states in Denver inOctober. And some of my running buddies jumped the gunby signing up for the Denver race and one even booked herairfare. So it was even more important that I finish all myraces. I also needed to keep my streak alive. I have neverDNF’d in a marathon.

The May Madness started in Providence, RI on May 4. Iwas traveling with Mary, Steve, Mark and Paul. Mary, Steveand I can usually run together for part of the race. On a goodday, I can keep up with Steve. But Mary had been runningreally well for the previous year. So she had consistentlykicked both our asses. Off we went. I planned on hangingwith them for as long as I could. We ran together more or lessfor about 15 miles. Mary was not having a good day. At thispoint, she had fallen behind a little bit. Steve and I decidedto wait for her, sort of. After about a minute, I became impa-tient and ran ahead. I felt good, so I continued to run. Theplan changed. I would run ahead until I got fatigued. Theywould catch me while I was taking walk breaks. Around mile20, I realized I would probably finish in the 4:20’s. Thiswould be my best time in about 15 marathons. So I had to gofor it. My next marathon was six days later. I would go easythen. I would definitely run/walk that race. I finished at 4:24and felt relatively good considering I had just run 26 miles.

The week went by quickly. Besides my normal busyschedule, I had to complete all my weekend chores duringthe week. It was Friday before I knew it. Off to Brookings,SD. No fellow idiots with me this time. I couldn’t talk any ofthem into coming to all four marathons.

On six days rest I was still kind of tired. Part of me said,go easy; we still have a lot to do. The other part (the idiot)remembered that Nancy had PR’d on the course a year ago.I would go easy. It was pouring rain. It rained all day. I wasin no hurry. I started off with some other 50 Staters. We werejust chatting away. I had settled into a very nice pace. AgainI felt pretty good. But I would not push it. I would simply gowith the flow. As I approached the half, I realized I wasahead of last week’s pace. But last week I finished strong. Iwould be happy if I broke 4:30 again. Around 20 miles, Irealized I could break 4:20. Again I decided I would go forit. Again I finished strong—4:14. It was my fastest marathonin about 20 races. Holy cow! I would definitely go easy nextweek.

I was happy that I had eight days rest. I would be fullyrecuperated by then. I knew Wilmington, DE was very flat.

But after two races, I just hoped to have a decent time. Theweather was perfect. I thought I would have a good day. Istarted out nice and easy. 9:27—a good first mile. Before Iknew it I was running 9’s. But I felt okay. So I would go withit for a while. I relaxed and went with the flow. Then at milesix, I did an 8:35. I forced myself to slow down. If I didn’t, Iwould pay the price later. The next few miles were aroundnine. My time at the half was 1:57. Not a PR. But I can’tremember the last time I broke two for the half. I was sure Iwould pay for it later. I continued at a good clip until around20. Then fatigue set in. But so did the adrenaline. I realizedI had a shot at finishing around 4:05. I haven’t run amarathon that fast since 1995. So I had to go for it. I ranmostly, but took a couple of short walk breaks. I couldn’tbelieve it. I finished in 4:04. Unbelievable! Although, I haveto say that Mary told me ahead of time that I would run a4:05 soon. My running has improved this year, but whatabout the fatigue factor.

Back at home, the gang that was following my exploitswas somewhat surprised, but not shocked. One question Ikept getting: Was a 3:54 next? I knew it wasn’t. I was goingto Burlington, VT. Not the flattest place in the world. Theweather would be warmer. And Mark would be there. Thismeant many beers the night before the marathon. My planwas to run to 20 and just combine walking and running therest of the way. Mile 15 was right in front of our hotel. So

was a huge hill. I had already decided I would walk it beforethe race even started. Again I just went out nice and easy.

The course started out down hill for what seemed likemany miles. Well, that would make sense based on the hillat mile 15. I hit the halfway point around 2:06. I wasrelieved. No reason to push it today. I walked the hill atmile 15 as planned. Then I started trotting along. I was sureI would take it easy the rest of the way. Around mile 18,this girl named Amber pulled up along side me. She com-mented on my shirt. I had 46 states marked off on the back.We started running together. It was her first marathon. Aftera while, she said she needed a walk break. I wished herluck and moved ahead. At the next water stop, I reach for aGu from a volunteer, but missed. I stopped and walkedback. I finished the Gu and got some water. Amber had got-ten ahead of me. So we chatted some more. It becameapparent that she would like me to run the rest of the racewith her. I thought, no big deal. It was her first marathon.She would fade after 20. No such luck. We clicked off 9’sfor the rest of the race. So much for taking it easy. I finishedin 4:21.

So apparently recovering and tapering are for rookies. Iran another 4:29 two weeks later in Helena, MT at elevationwith hills and 20 mile an hour winds. My next marathon isn’tuntil October 11. I will probably go crazy by then. But howdoes an idiot go crazy?

Adventures in Marathoning—May Madness

SHORSHORTS:TS:From Tom Adair, GA:

Sunday my Eugene Marathon split at the half waypoint was 2:56:05 and my finish line time was 5:45:50.This means my second half was a negative split with a2:49:45 which only proves IF you fool around and runslow enough in the first half you can have a negativesplit. Overall, I was happy with my run after two-and-a-half months layoff and how I felt at the finish line.Because of the concrete course (90%) my body wasvery achy Monday morning.

Concrete (as compared to asphalt) is EVIL. I hope I NEVERrun on concrete again. Concrete is absolutely unforgiving.Concrete is 10 times harder than asphalt as reported on the Website below. The only surfaces harder are brick, steel and stone.

Today I Googled the words concrete vs asphalt. There weremany hits. Check the one below that references running on bothsurfaces. Website: http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2006/07/con-crete-vs-asphalt-which-is-the-better-running-surface/.

From Tom Knoll, HI:Aloha! A quick e-mail in between getting in today’s miles.

The cross-USA Charity run will be completed on July 4, at10:30 a.m. at the Iwo Jima Memorial Statue in Wahington, DC.Have been on the road since the March 1 start in San Diego.

For sure everything is going great and the body has held upin fantastic fashion. At 75 years young that is something to bevery thankful for. One for the over-the-hill gang! En route I gotto run the Oklahoma City marathon, so I can cross that state offmy 50 state list. That’s it for now. Regards and aloha to all.

Above, left to right: Ken Hart, MD (Ken fin-ished the states this day); Amy Murphy, MD;Marius Hansen, MN (behind Amy); Dave Bell,CO; “Grannie” Ann Singer, NY; Ron Knecht,OR; Mike Swanson, TX; Dave (friend of DaveM’s); Dave MacBean, CO relax afterGrandma’s Marathon.

Ken Hart, MD,completes his50th atGrandma’sMarathon,June 21, 2008.


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by Karen Berglund, TX

Most couples celebrate their wedding anniversary with agathering of their many close friends and relatives for a niceparty or perhaps a quiet dinner at a memorable restaurant, or,my personal choice, an exotic cruise. 35 years ago when I was21 years old, just out of college and planning my wedding, Icould barely look 35 minutes into the future, much less 35years. I certainly would not have seen running 26.2 miles onmy 35th anniversary. We were engaged on Friday, April 13th(Ron’s notion) and we were subsequently married on Friday,July 13th (my choice). We celebrate all Friday the 13ths asspecial anniversaries. In June 2008, we celebrated our 60thFriday the 13th together.

We started along this bizarre path to our 35th anniversarywhen after I had walked the 2004 Houston Marathon withseveral of the other teachers at my school, I invited my hus-band to join me in training for the 2005 Houston Marathon.We planned to simply walk the marathon again and move on.After completing the 20, 25 and 30k races in the ‘warm-up’series, we decided to try to complete the race within the sixhour time limit, and we did. Our friends Steve and PaulaBoone convinced us that we could improve our training byrunning multiple marathons in a year. We followed theiradvice and ran three more marathons in 2005, and ten morein 2006. We also completed Roger Soler’s Texas MarathonChallenge in 2006, 2007 and again in 2008, and becamemembers of the 50 States Marathon Club.

Ron’s commented on our 34th anniversary in 2007 thatnext year’s Grandfather Mountain Marathon would occur onour 35th anniversary. He further proposed that it might beentertaining if we ran this race on our 35th anniversary as our35th marathon together. This proposal also occurred on aFriday the 13th. “Uh oh,” I thought. “Entertaining” wouldnot have been my choice of words. We had only completed20 marathons, which was pretty good in two and a half years.But this meant that we would need to run another 15marathons in a single year. We finished 2007 by runningGMM (#21), Twin Cities (#22), San Antonio (#23), BatonRouge (#24) and SunMart (#25).

Ron began telling anyone who would listen that we wereworking towards running our 35th marathon on our 35thanniversary. Our son Ryan agreed to foot the tab for the trip.My friend Mihaela Mullin from our Kingwood running groupvolunteered to design a special “35th on our 35th” logo for ananniversary t-shirt. We began 2008 by running the Texas (#26)and Houston (#27) marathons, and then hit a snag. Ron need-ed eye surgery. He needed both a lens and cornea transplant onhis right eye. The operation occurred only one week before theSurfside Beach Marathon (#28), and the doctor forbid Ron torun in a marathon; but suggested that he could walk themarathon, a condition that Ron gleefully accepted. He walkedSurfside slowly, finishing in 6:59, one minute before the cutoff.As we prepared for the Seabrook Marathon (#29), I had adilemma. I contracted food poisoning (or some kind of gas-trointestinal problem) the day before the race and becameweak, dehydrated and nauseous. I did not cancel out ofSeabrook. Rather, I suffered through the race. I walked most ofit and Ron was happy to walk with me through to the finish.

Ron accepted a new position in Denver and moved there atthe end of February. His return trips to Texas coincided withSeabrook and The Davy Crockett Bear Chase (#30), so by

mid April we only had five marathons to go, but only threemonths to finish, and no marathons left in Texas. At the endof April we met at Nashville for the Country Music Marathon(#31), and three weeks later, I flew to Denver for theColorado Colfax Marathon (#32). In packing to go to Denver,my son’s bulldog tripped me and I banged my little toeagainst the dresser. It really hurt and caused problems forboth this race and our run (two weeks later) in the San DiegoRock and Roll Marathon (#33), where I flew in from Houstonand Ron flew in from Denver. I found out after that race thatI had in fact broken the toe. At this point in the 32 marathonswe had so far completed, I had finished ahead of Ron in all32, sometimes by more than an hour as he walked along tothe finish. At the San Diego Rock and Roll, Ron set a PR andbeat me by 15 minutes. I blame the dog. Ron had a confer-ence in Portland, Oregon, (my hometown) in mid June. At theend of the conference we drove to Seattle for the SeaFairMarathon (#34), which was another hot one.

As we approached our 35th anniversary weekend, we hadcompleted the requisite 34 marathons. Ron flew into Houstonfrom Denver and we picked up our shirts. We set off forGrandfather Mountain, so named by pioneers who recognizedthe face of an old man in one of the cliffs. We had run up thismountain the previous year, so we knew what to expect—atough course, few amenities and great volunteers. One runnersuggested that the slogan for the race should be “if you are notrunning uphill, you are off course.” Ron claims that if he hadremembered just how difficult the course was, he would havepicked another location. The marathon course started at thecampus of Appalachian State University at Boone, NC. Thecourse then wound its way around the nearby hills until at mile13; it went 13.1 miles straight uphill to the top of GrandfatherMountain, which was the tallest mountain in the Blue RidgeMountain chain. We were both wearing our anniversary shirts,and drew all kinds of questions, comments and congratulationsat the dinner the night before and during the race. Ron finished14 minutes after me and claimed that he was slowed up at thewater stops by having to discuss the logos on our shirts.

I have been asked why I would want to try this 35th on our35th thing at my age, when many of my fellow teachers havealready retired. I really have no clue, but did have a fewthoughts that came to me during this climb.

• Because I could. You really do not know whether or notyou are able to take on a difficult challenge until you try.

• Because I can’t. The time is fast approaching when, for reasons of health, illness, age or injury, I can only look

back at this unique endeavor with amazement. • Because it has made me tougher and more resolute. I

could have given up at any point but did not. This built up an inner confidence.

• Because we did it together. Neither of us are athletes. By supporting one another, we have completed this unique series of athletic events that neither of us would have conceived of doing on our own; and

• Because Ron promised that we can take the exotic cruise on our 40th anniversary.

Ron has suggested that perhaps we could plan to complete100 marathons by that time. He is already setting up theschedule. “Only 13 a year,” he says. I am not sure about that.But perhaps I will propose 200 marathons by our 50thanniversary. One marathon at a time. First, I need to preparefor our next marathon, Pikes Peak.

SHORSHORTS:TS:

Our 35th Marathon on our 35th Wedding Anniversary

Karen and Ron Berglund

The Gold Coast Marathon runners from the 50 StatesMarathon Club enjoyed dinner together at the Holiday InnSurfers Paradise on 07-05-08. We had 18 people together forour 2008 World Wide Tour for dinner which included 9 Clubmarathon runners. Each Club member introduced them-selves with their name, city, state and a brief background oftheir running career with the 50 States Marathon Club.

Some of our members traveled with Kathy Loper Events orMarathon Tours and Travel and some traveled on their own.There were other Club members at Gold Coast Marathon buttheir schedule would not allow them to be at the Club dinner.Tom Adair served as the host for the dinner meeting.

The Gold Coast Marathon celebrated its 30th anniver-sary on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 7:00 am in Gold Coast,Australia. It was a beautiful sunny day with wonderfultemps. The course was a northbound out and back fromthe start/finish followed by a southbound out and backfrom the start/finish. The time limit was 7-hours. It wasflat with a scenic view of the South Pacific Ocean about70% of the time. There were 3,935 registered runnerswith 3,660 official finishers. There were 1,235 femalesand 2,425 male finishers. The RD provided each finish-er with a beautiful finisher tee shirt, finishers medal andfinisher certificate. Gold Coast Marathon website:www.goldcoastmarathon.com.au/

Seated Left to Right: John Blanchar, Michele Smith-Harden,Chuck Rea, Jeannette Roostai, Tom Adair, Pat Ondrovic, LarryOndrovic, Brent Weigner and Sue Weigner. Standing Left toRight: Sue Blanchar, Trina Blanchar, Jean Adair, KathyLoper, Tom Brandt, Mary Croft, Dave Croft, Ena Brandt,Mohammed Zaatari


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Registration FeesDate Mara Half RelayBy August 31 $60 $40 $140By October 31 $65 $45 $160By November 8 $75 $55 $180

Our relay is the full marathon distance.

Extras for 2008!• First 1,000 entrants will receive an Inaugural Two Cities Marathon racer’s hat, to

be picked up at our Health & Fitness Expo.• Register by October 31st for Personalized Bib

A wonderful memento of your race, REGISTER NOW!• Registrant’s first name printed on the bib. Team name will be used on the Relay

members’ bibs.• Yosemite National Park tours made available for participants and their guests.

(See HOTEL and AREA INFO page – RESERVE NOW!)

• Pasta Dinner — $10 per person. See Expo for dinner times. Guest FinishersVillage Entry, $5 per guest. Now your guest(s) can enjoy your accomplishmentsand breakfast inside with you. (Race participant is FREE).

Guest Post-Party Entry, $5 per guest. Your family/friends can enjoy our Post RaceParty. (Race participant is FREE)

Your Race Fee Includes:

• Race Entry• Chip-Timing including Splits• Goody Bag• Technical Event Shirt• Post-Race Refreshments including a

hot breakfast, fruit, Starbucks, JambaJuice and our signature ice creamsundae

• On-Line Results (immediately afterrace: remember to REFRESH yourbrowser)

• Results Newspaper by mail anddownloadable from web site

• Medallion and Sweatshirt for EventFinishers

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by Terry Nelson, MO

Is this the basis on which you choose your multiple vita-min-mineral (MVM) supplement? Maybe you don’t takevitamins at all, believing that a “balanced” diet will provideall the nutrients that your body could possibly need.Everyone should take a MVM supplement. One double-blind study of healthy volunteers published inPsychopharmacology 2000; 150: 220–5, found that anMVM supplement significantly reduced anxiety and per-ceived stress levels, and possibly improved energy and theability to concentrate. Preliminary and double-blind trialshave shown that women who use an MVM containing folicacid, beginning three months before becoming pregnantand continuing through the first three months of pregnancy,have a significantly lower risk of having babies with neuraltube defects (e.g., spina bifida) and other congenitaldefects. In another double-blind trial, schoolchildrenreceived a daily low-potency vitamin-mineral tablet con-taining only 50% of the USRDA for most essential vita-mins and the minerals for three months. Dramatic gains incertain measures of IQ were observed in about 20% of thesupplemented children. These gains may have been due tothe correction of specific nutrient deficiencies (for exam-ple, iron) found in these children.

The primary purpose of an MVM supplement is to pro-vide a convenient way to get a good variety of nutrientsfrom a single product. They are not meant to replace ahealthy diet. They only serve to enhance the nutritionalquality of your diet. Micronutrients that should be includ-ed in a complete MVM are vitamin A (or beta-carotene),vitamin B-complex (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and/orniacinamide, vitamin B6, folic acid (folate), vitamin B12,pantothenic acid, and biotin), vitamin C, vitamin D3, andvitamin E (as d-alpha tocopherol or mixed tocopherols),and the minerals calcium, magnesium, zinc, iodine, seleni-um, copper, manganese, chromium, and molybdenum.Phosphorus is another essential dietary mineral, but is soabundant in the diet that it does not need to be included inan MVM formula. The only exception is for elderly people,whose diets tend to be lower in phosphorus or haveimpaired digestion. Calcium interferes with phosphorus’absorption, so older people who are taking a calcium sup-plement might benefit from taking additional phosphorus.Both potassium and iron are efficiently recycled by thebody. If potassium is included in an MVM, it usually hasonly trivial amounts. Most people get enough potassiumfrom their diets if they include at least two servings per dayof broccoli, bananas, sweet potatoes or avocados. MVMsmay contain iron, but these should be taken only by peoplewho have been diagnosed as having, or being at high riskof iron deficiency, or who have a history of frequent irondeficiency. Some nutrients may be beneficial at levelsabove what is possible to obtain from diet and an MVMalone. Nutrients that may be useful to most people in larg-er amounts include vitamin C, folic acid and B-12 (nevertake folic acid without B-12), magnesium, vitamin D, vita-min E, and calcium. Many MVMs contain other usuallyinsignificant amounts of flavonoids, choline, inositol,quercetin, herbs and various amino acids. These are usual-ly negligible amounts but are otherwise harmless.

What about “one-per-day” multiples?One-per-day MVMs usually do not provide sufficient

amounts of many nutrients such as vitamin E, calcium, mag-nesium, and vitamin C. One-per-day MVMs should there-fore not be viewed as a way to “cover all bases” in the waythat high-potency MVMs, requiring three or more pills perday, are viewed. Because one-per-day formulas typically donot contain even the minimum recommended amounts ofsome of the nutrients listed here, multiples requiring severalcapsules or tablets per day are preferable. With two- to six-per-day multiples, intake should be spread out at two or threemeals each day, instead of taking them all at one sitting. Theamount of vitamins and minerals can be easily increased ordecreased by taking more or fewer of the multiple.

Which is better—capsule or tablet?Multiples are available as a powder or liquid inside a

capsule or that you can mix with water or juice to drink, oras a tablet. Occasionally the B vitamins react with the restof the ingredients in the capsule or tablet. This reaction,which is sped up in the presence of moisture or heat, cancause the B vitamins to “bleed” through the tablet or cap-sule, discoloring it and also making the multiple smell.While the multiple is still safe and effective, the smell canbe a deterrent and usually not very well tolerated. Liquidmultiples in a capsule—or tablets or capsules that are keptdry and cool—do not have this problem. Capsules are usu-ally not as large as tablets, and thus some people find cap-sules easier to swallow. With liquids and powders that youdrink, you need to be concerned about the “other ingredi-ents” in the product.

One concern people have with tablets is whether they willbreak down sufficiently to allow the nutrients to be absorbed.Properly made tablets will dissolve readily in the stomach.To test your supplement, simply put the supplement into aglass of clear vinegar. This creates an acidic environmentmuch like that of your stomach. Stir the solution occasional-ly. If the supplement disintegrates within 30 minutes, itshould dissolve in your stomach, too. If the supplement doesnot completely dissolve, choose another brand.

How To Quickly Tell If You’re Taking A Quality MVMLook at the source of Vitamin D and Vitamin E. The

Vitamin D should be D3 or cholecalciferol. It should not bethe synthetic form D2 or ergocalciferol. The Vitamin Eshould be d-alpha tocopherol or mixed tocopherol. Mixedtocopherols are the best. It should not be the synthetic formdl-alpha tocopherol. Look at the “other ingredients” at thebottom of the label. Are there artificial sweeteners such asaspartame, saccharin or sucralose? Are there artificial colorsor dyes such as FD&C blue #1 or yellow #6? How aboutartificial preservatives? If it contains any of these ingredi-ents, put it back on the shelf. Acceptable sweeteners aresucrose, fructose, stevia or xylitol. Monitor yourself for afew days when you start to take a new MVM. If you havestomach upset, it could be the sweetener being used.

When is the best time to take a multiple?The best time to take vitamins or minerals is with meals.

Multiples taken between meals sometimes cause stomachupset and may not be absorbed as well.

Do I Need More Than Just a Multiple Vitamin?Even if you ate a perfect diet, USDA data has shown that

our food supply is simply not as nutritious as it was 30years ago. Supplementing your diet can help to correctthese short-comings. The only way to know if the supple-ments you’re taking are working or to know exactly whatvitamins/minerals and dosages you need to take is to gettested. Starting with a consultation, the doctor will deter-mine the testing that should be done. Using bloodwork andother diagnostic tools, we do an in-depth analysis of yoursystem. The testing will tell us where the problem areas areoccurring or just developing. During your report of find-ings we will carefully note major and minor conditions thatmay lead to serious illness. This detailed report will explainyour test findings, as well as the nutrient and dietary rec-ommendations based upon your test results.

(Terry Nelson is a Chiropractic physician and owner ofApplied Diagnostic Services-KC. Dr. Nelson can be contactedby phone at 816-569-6555 or by email at [email protected].)

SHORSHORTS:TS:

Choosing a Multiple Vitamin

Barb Wnek, MO, received a 3rd in her age group atDE on 5/18/08. Congratulations, Barb!

50 States team going, and coming at Delaware:(see both pix): Bettie Wailes, FL; Mike Brooks,ME; Ron Knecht, OR; Paula Boone, TX; LarryMacon, TX; Lauri Fauerbach-Adams, PA

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by Helmut Linzbichler, Austria

This is a short review of our expedition. Restrictions onthe mountain due to the Chinese pressure (“request”) onNepal were so harsh that we hardly could contact the outsideworld, let alone communicate on a regular basis. All restric-tions were lifted after the Chinese reached the the summitwith the Olympic torch on May 8. We were more than wor-ried if the remainder of the time would be sufficient to reachthe summit. Nobody knew how long the mountain would be“merciful” in terms of good weather.

We started our summit push on May 20 when we ascent-ed from Base Camp (5350m) to Camp two (6450m) togeth-er with our personal Sherpas. Mine was Pasang who hadalready summited in 2005 and spoke excellent English.Because of my age things were a little different for me. Iwould certainly need more oxygen and possibly be slowerthan most of the younger ones. May 21 we made a final restday in C2. We reached C3 on the lower part of the Lhotseface without problems (7100m) and I put myself on oxygenand slept well.

May 23 we spent climbing the huge Lhotse face first up tothe “Yellow Band” (7600m), a famous limestone formationwhich turned out to be pretty hairy because of the lack ofsnow. After about six hours we reached C4 on South Col(7960m) after we had traversed the so called “Geneva Spur,”a prominent dark rock formation, the “entry ticket” to theSouth Col. The South Col itself is a vast windswept rockyflat between Everest and Lhotse and certainly the last placeyou would like to stay longer than absolutely necessary.From 7500m on you are in the so-called “death zone” whereeven supplementary oxygen cannot save your life when youstay too long—your body starts “eating itself up.”

All my times from BC to here were absolutely within therange of all other climbers; actually in some parts I couldeven pass some slower climbers. Here I suddenly faced aserious problem. I arrived so dehydrated at the South Colthat I felt cramps in my thighs and knew instantly I wouldnot be able to make it to the summit the same night. SoWalter and I decided to split up. He would go with hisSherpa while I would try to recover and follow the nextnight. The only problem was that I would have to spendanother 24 hours in the death zone and most likely would runout of oxygen. And what if the weather would change? Itwas a difficult decision, but I took the risk.

Well, Walter summited at sunrise on the 24th and wasback by noon in the camp. Pasang and I left the South Col at7 p.m. and reached the “balcony,” a common resting place,at 8500m after six hours. I felt really strong. Unfortunately,in front of us there was a Nepali expedition and these guyswere deadly slow (they actually brought a 76-year-old fellowto the summit, entailing frequent stops and every so oftenchanging of the guy’s oxygen bottle). There was no way topass this group and Pasang had constantly to adapt my oxy-gen flow. Now it took us eight hours to the summit, not five.We finally reached the top of the world at exactly 9:07 localtime on May 25. The notorious Hillary Step turned out to bea serious obstacle this year as it was not covered by snow. Itwas a 15m vertical climb eased only by a bunch of fixedropes. Temperature was around minus 35° Celsius and windspeed appoximately 30 to 40 kmh. My downjacket and

backpack were totally frozen.The still camera worked andPasang took all the shots for thesponsors. The Nepali peoplewere around us and after us,there were even more peoplesummiting, and it really gotcrowded. We stayed about 35 –40 minutes on the summit and Idid not use any oxygen duringthat time. I was aware of the riskbut I wanted to save as much aspossible for the descent.Normally Pasang would havestopped me at the South Summit(8700m) on the way up to makesure we would not run out ofoxygen but my performancehad convinced him that despitemy age I would be able to make it down safely without oxygen.A little ways below the South Summit my oxygen was finished. I concentrated completely on each step especiallyin the rocky parts and finally we reached the Balcony. HereI really felt the impact of the thin air for the first time and hadto ask Pasang for a longer rest.

And then the weather turned bad within seconds. Thoughthe sky remained blue, a sudden storm came up and we knewany longer stay up there could be fatal. I hardly rememberhow I managed to make it down to the South Col again. Iremember that I reached our tent and cried for Pasang to helpme. In the tent was my last bottle of oxygen. We turned theregulator to two liters/min instead of only one liter. I knewthe bottle would be empty in the morning, but without sleepI could not imagine making it down to C3 and lower nextmorning.

The oxygen brought back some of my energy, the stormhad ended some time during the night, and we started ourclimb down to C2 in good spirits. Just above the yellow bandI ran out of oxygen again, but I was certain to get into thick-er air with every step down, so I was not concerned anymore.Yet the extended stay in the death zone took its toll. I reachedthe base of the Lhotse face and knew I was safe. It was sucha great relief that I literally collapsed. Then Walter and akitchen boy came up from C2 to bring us some drinks and totake our backpacks. At the camp they put me immediately inmy tent and provided me with food and drinks. A calculatedgamble with death had come to a positive end and the moun-tain had allowed me to touch its crown. It was hard for me toget up next morning and make it down through the ice fall tothe base camp but somehow Walter and I survived that lastcritical stretch and were heartily welcomed by the base campstaff. I have frostbite on some of my toes of both feet due tothe lack of oxygen but this is only minor damage and will notlast long. I still feel some pain when walking and especiallywhen running.

One would think that was it but I had one more commit-ment: Out of respect for the incredible achievement ofTenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary, the two first ascen-ders on May 29, 1953, I had decided long before the start ofthe expedition to run the Tenzing-Hillary Marathon if I sum-

mited. This marathon was introduced in 2003, the year of thefiftieth anniversary of their ascent and is annually run onMay 29 from the base camp “down” to Namche Bazar, cov-ering the full distance of 42.195 km (26.2 mi). And that’swhat I did. Though I could hardly move, I found myself atthe start on the 29th at seven in the morning on a perfect run-ning day. It took me nine hours and 25 minutes to reach thefinish line in Namche. I was the oldest runner ever and thefirst one ever who dared to run this gruelling trace directlyafter summiting Everest. I ended up being 98th overall out of120 runners or 19th out of 38 foreign runners (www.everest-marathon.com). In Kathmandu, finally I was told I was notonly the oldest Austrian to summit Everest but also the old-est person outside Asia. Shall I be proud of it? I don’t knowas I did not have any intent to set any record. I dedicate thissuccess to all who believed in me and I am proud that I couldkeep my promise to hoist the BOYNE banner on top of theworld. Man, it’s such a great feeling, you can’t describe it.Thanks for all your support and your prayers. See you all inDecember at Boyne Highlands.

From “Grannie” Annie Singer, NY:When I was in my 40’s I decided I would attend college in

the daytime to earn a degree. I needed gym credits for thedegree. I signed up for the “Fitness for Life” gym program.My teacher, a very likeable fellow, introduced me to fitnessand exercise. Hmmm...this concept was very, very, new tome. When we ran laps in the gym, he would let the “olderladies,” ME...leave the lap count to use the ladies room.None of the younger students were allowed this privilege. Ialways remember this act of kindness. Today in the mail Ireceived an envelope that looked like a card. Well, after heread a very nice article about me and my completion of my#49th state in this weekend’s local paper (read this slowlynow) he put in the mail a $50 bill...WOW. He wrote on itthat I was his best “Fitness for Life Student” and that thiswas a wonderful achievement.

Thought I would share this idea with you all. If you needmy address to send the $$$$$ let me know..tee..hee..with love!

SHORSHORTS:TS:

2008 Osterreich am Ball Mt. Everest Expedition

Helmut Linzbichler, Austria, climbing Mt. Everest


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SHORSHORTS:TS:From Marie Bartoletti, PA:Marie (or as her crew has nicknamed her: BBB-BadassBadwater Bartoletti), completed the Badwater ultrama-rathon (135 miles) in 35:47:41. The starting line is inBadwater, a basin in California’s Death Valley, whichmarks the lowest elevation in North America at 280 feetbelow sea level. The finish line is at Mt. Whitney, Calif.,at 8,360 feet, which is the trailhead to Mt. WhitneySummit, the highest point in the contiguous UnitedStates. Marie has competed in 115 to 120 marathons,beginning with the Pittsburgh Marathon 14 years ago.Two years ago, she started running ultramarathons. Abig WOO-HOO to Marie!

From Bill Pauls, MO:I’m still planning on finishing my first 50 states at

Skagit Flats, WA on Sept. 7, 2008. I’m also planning onattending the reunion marathon in Des Moines, IA onOct. 19th. After reading in the newsletter the process forpresenting the 50 states completion award, I thoughtmaybe I could save the club some postage and get thetrophy/award in Des Moines.? I’ll be good in anycase...finishing the 50 isn’t really about the award...it’sabout “doing it”!! However, the trophy thing is a reallynice “crowning” of the achievement, and I really appre-ciate the club doing it, as well as the new certificateaward. (Who’d ever thought I would ever be in this posi-tion? Anyway, talking about “finishing” the 50 states,wow. I know it probably seems old hat to you guys(been there and done that, many times, for many peo-ple), but I hope it never gets old watching people get thisaward for the first time because I know you guys knowhow much it means to each one of us and how mucheffort we’ve put into it. It’s truly a life-changing thing.

by Bob and Lenore Dolphin

After years of running the Coeur d’Alene Marathon, I hadbecome complacent. The race headquarters, start/finish area,and parking were clustered together on the campus of theNorth Idaho College. From there the racecourse ran alongthe Spokane River, Lake Coeur d’Alene, the City of Coeurd’Alene and then looped through suburbs and rural country-side. Eventually, there was a long out-and-back by thelakeshore on the Centennial Trail that was followed by a runat the city’s lakeshore to the campus finish line.

This year there were changes that unfolded before andduring the May 25, 2008, race. The name of the event waschanged to Coeur d’Alene Marathon at Riverstone.Riverstone is a real estate development in progress that islocated in the northwest corner of the city betweenNorthwest Boulevard and the Riverstone Park by theSpokane River and the Centennial Trail. There’s a newlyconstructed Hampton Inn in this development that was raceheadquarters and it had a room for packet pickup and for lateregistration of the marathon, half marathon and 5K fun run.

On the morning of the race, I arrived at the start/finish lineon the Centennial Trail by Riverstone Park in time to see the5:30 a.m. start of the 100 or so marathon and half marathonwalkers. As the marathoners gathered for the 7 a.m. start, Ifound that I was comfortable wearing just my MarathonManiacs (MM) singlet and shorts. The yellow MM singletand shirts served as a rallying stimulus, and we had a sizableMM group socializing until the starting gun sounded. JerryMartin, 55, of Spokane had left five minutes earlier as thelone wheelchair athlete. We greeted each other in midcourseas he was headed for the finish line.

In the marathon there was a mile-and-a-half loop throughRiverstone back to the start/finish line and then we ran to theNorth Idaho College and along the West Lake Shore Drivewith our first view of the big lake. At this time there werewalkers approaching me wearing blue bibs, and I was beingpassed by many runners wearing yellow bibs. I was wearing

a red bib and was the only marathon runner in this area.Apparently, the walkers were in the half marathon walkevent and the runners were in the half marathon run and hadmade up my half hour head start. I ran with the halfmarathoners through the city center on Sherman Avenue andthen in the suburbs until the quarter marathon timing matwas reached and the half marathoners turned back. I ran onalone following a few marathoners who were ahead of me.As soon as I reached Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive that wasbordered by the paved Centennial Trail, I was in familiar ter-ritory and enjoyed the lake vistas and the uphill walks.

When the trail ended at a half marathon timing mat andturnaround at Higgens Point, it became clear that I was run-ning on an evenly divided out-and-back course. In bothdirections it had been a pleasure to see many runners whomI knew who were running the half and full marathons, a pos-itive feature of out-and-back courses.

In the second half of the race it became sunnier andwarmer as the temperature crept up to 70 degrees, but someshade and lake breezes made running pleasant. As Iapproached the finish line, I was routed past it and directedonto the one-and-a-half-mile loop that we had run at the startof the race. I ran/walked the loop and reached the finish linewhere Lenore was waiting with a hug and a finisher’s medal.I finished in 5:28:05, my best time in five months. I came in266th of 278 runners, the oldest one in the event, and first oftwo in the 75+ division.

After the race I was told that running the one-and-a-half-mile loop past the finish line will not happen in 2009. Newconstruction of trails will permit the 1.5-mile initial loop tobe double in length so that in the future when runners see thefinish line and cheering crowds several hundred yards away,they’ll be able to run directly to it and claim a finisher’smedal.

Last year at the end of the 30th running of the Coeur d’Alene Marathon there were three runners who had complet-ed all thirty of them—Pat and Sylvia Quinn of Spokane, WA,and Mac Bohlman of Walla Walla, WA. Unfortunately,

Sylvia was hospitalized and couldn’t participate this year.Pat and Mac, both 73, are the only two left who have run all31 of these great races.

A highlight of our marathon day was to visit with Jackand Gunhild Swanson at their Spokane Valley home. Both ofthem are Marathon Maniacs, members of the 100 MarathonClub North America and active in the Bloomsday RunnersClub. Early in the year Jack had a near-fatal viral infection,and we’re pleased and amazed at his miraculous recovery.He had been at the finish line of the marathon to cheerGunhild, 63, who finished the race in 4:15:16 for secondplace in her age group. At their home they showed us Jack’sgorgeous quilt that was made from T-shirts from many oftheir races. The quilt was a celebratory gift from many oftheir friends. At the famous Bloomsday Race in early May,Gunhild pushed Jack in a wheelchair around the 7.5 mile,hilly course in Spokane. Now he can walk up to six milescontinuously as he is recovering.

I like the changes that were made to the Coeur d’AleneMarathon and look forward to next year’s event with an“even better” course.

Coeur d’Alene Marathon—May 25, 2008

Jim Norman, MN at Grandma’sMarathon.

Carol Young, TX (far left) and Ann Page, TX (second from the right) ran the inau-gural 26.2 with Donna, the National Marathon to fight Breast CancerJacksonville Beach, Fla. on February 18, 2008.


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by Dan Jongeling(Dan is the husband of Amy Yanni, SD)

On June 1st, 2008, I found out how I was supposed to die.Happily for me, things did not turn out quite that way, and Ihave running to thank for that. Now it’s up to me to make themost of the additional time I have been given.

That morning my heart stopped without any warning. Iwas closing in on the finish line of a 10K race in SteamboatSprings, Colorado. Suddenly my legs became weak and itseemed like someone was dropping the curtain at a theater.There was no pain, and within two strides I was down on theground, totally uncon-scious. I had time fortwo thoughts, as Irecall: first, “I don’tthink this is supposedto be happening,” andsecond, “I hope thisisn’t the Big One.” Ilater learned that Iwas basically correctin both accounts: no,this was not normal;and yes, although thiswas not technically aheart attack, it wasindeed “sudden car-diac arrest” and wascertainly as serious asany heart attack canbe. Many people diefrom sudden cardiacarrest, which my doctorsdescribed to me as anelectrical short-circuit that causes the heart to stop. The rea-son I didn’t die is because I was within two blocks of a fin-ish line at an organized race event. Paramedics were provid-ing assistance to me within 20 seconds. My heart was restart-ed with an artificial electrical defibrillator (an AED, commonnow in airplanes, airports and other public facilities); CPRwas performed; and I was whisked off to the local ER whereI was quickly stabilized and was in good spirits in remark-ably short order. Yes, good spirits: I wasn’t dead! And I knewI could well be, maybe even should be.

I am 52 years old, born and raised on a farm near SiouxFalls. My parents were good, simple people, providing ourfamily with a good, simple life. Every Saturday night waspancake night, every Sunday dinner a pot roast of some sort.Lots of meat and potatoes with some vegetables and fruit(usually in canned syrup) on the side. We learned later thatthere was a history of heart disease in the family. Indeed, myDad had a minor heart attack at age 54 (which seemed a life-time away for a 16-year-old boy); his second one killed himabout 20 years later. About that time, as a teen-ager, I wasoffered choices that I did not deal with very well, leading upthat beautiful Sunday morning in Colorado when it was sup-posed to be over for me.

Can you imagine Sioux Falls without a single

McDonald’s restaurant? I can, because I remember the firstone opening on South Minnesota Avenue. The same is truefor Pizza Hut and many of the chain franchises that work sohard to attract our business. Believe it or not, when theseplaces opened they held themselves out to be mere treats forthe family. They were places to go on special occasions, notpart of our regular diet. Regular food still came from a gro-cery store and was prepared by somebody at home.

Somehow this changed. I am not here to argue the meritsof lawsuits trying to hold the fast-food industry responsiblefor America’s obesity epidemic. All I know is what happenedto me: I went off to college and took a job delivering pizza,

in the process developing quite a taste for it. Indeed, I devel-oped quite a taste for lots of things that were not good forme, including cigarettes. For no good reason, I interruptedmy studies one day and bought a pack; I finally put the lastone down some 30 years later. But at the time I was a a strap-ping young man with my whole life ahead of me. I knew Ishouldn't smoke, but I had lots of time to quit. My dietaryhabits could also change in time.

But it takes time and energy to quash old habits and formnew ones, and I was devoting my time and energy to a careerand a family. Soon enough I was in my 40’s, still smokingand eating very poorly. In the meantime, the arteries sur-rounding my heart were clogging up. I began to experiencebad numbers from my blood tests and received medicationsto address high cholesterol and blood pressure. I finally start-ed watching my diet and cut way back on my tobacco use.But a couple of the arteries supplying blood to my heart wereclogged and nobody knew that—not until the day after myheart stopped in Colorado.

Running saved my life because it revealed a condition thatexisted before I started running this past January, and alsobecause my heart was better able to deal with the trauma itunderwent. Because I had begun running again, my heartwas in fact quite strong. It avoided the muscle-damaging

“heart attack” in favor of “cardiac arrest,” a tremendousbonus as I begin my rehabilitation. I was immensely pleasedwhen my cardiac surgeon said I had a “runner’s heart”—thisdespite the horrible choices I’d made in the past and the factthat I’d only been running for some five months or so.

I write this in hope of preventing somebody from experi-encing what I have experienced these past several weeks. YetI look around and see that my choices are not all that uncom-mon. Do you really need that extra cheese in your pizza’scrust? I hope you are smarter about all this than I was; in thatcase you won’t need to have the tremendous amount of luckthat I had by having heart failure in a crowd of people andparamedics. In the meantime, I am learning the pleasures ofnew foods and I no longer suspect, deep inside, how I’mgoing to die.

How Running Gave Me the Time to Do Things Right

Brent Weigner, WY:Ran the Gold Coast Marathon on Sunday, July 6th,

2008. With this race, Brent completed marathons on allseven continents for the fourth time around, breakingthe current record of three circuits on the seven conti-nents. On June 21, 2008, he completed the 150 mileDesert RATS Stage Race on the Kokopelli Trail fromFruita, Colorado, to Moab, Utah. He was the oldest fin-isher. He is a 7th grade geography teacher and cross-country coach at McCormick Junior High School inCheyenne, Wyoming. He has run ultra marathons on allseven continents and at the Geographic North andSouth Poles. He has worked as a race director and con-sultant to many of the world’s top adventure travelcompanies. Most recently he served as the on site racedirector for Polar Running Adventures’ Antarctic IceMarathon and 100k. Brent’s running resume includesover 160 marathons and ultras around the world. Forthe past 31 years he has served as the race director forthe Wyoming Marathon Races.

Lichu Wu Sloan, NY:Has recently completed her ambitious quest of running

a marathon on each of the seven continents in sevenweeks. The current Guinness World Record for shortestduration of running a marathon of each of the seven con-tinents by a woman is 113 days. Lichu has done so in 49days. She is waiting for Guinness to review all the docu-ments, and if all meets their criteria, they will send out acertificate declaring Lichu to be the record holder.

From Tom Adair, GA:At Bear Lake Marathon on June 13, 2008, Larry

Macon, TX was the 1st place overall winner of the racewith a 5:49:44. Larry expects to finish the states for the7th time very soon. Jim Simpson, CA, officially complet-ed his 7th time around the 50 States with expectations offinishing his 8th time in the fall of 2008. Cheryl Grosssprinted to the finish line to beat Jim Simpson by one tenthof one second. Go Cheri!! Five of the top seven finisherswere 50 State Marathon Club members.

SHORSHORTS:TS:

Bob Livitz, TX, finished the Andy Payne Marathon, OK, surrounded by admirers.

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Eugene Marathon Second Quarter 2008 Reunion Running Eugene by Martha Corazzini, NV

Eugene is pretty much the Mecca of running and thisyear, host to the Olympic Trials for Track and Field. Intheir second year, Eugene has become a welcome additionto Oregon’s marathon options.

Friday night I left Las Vegas with my friend and 2007LVTC Iron Camel Winner, Phil Weiland, on one of the lastflights going out of McCarran, 11:50 p.m, arriving inEugene at 2 a.m. With an arrival that late in a city the sizeof Eugene all of the car rentals are closed. We had to takea cab to the hotel, which actually proved to be one of themost informative cab rides I’d ever taken. In the space ofa 20 minute ride, our driver, a long time Eugene resident,filled us in on all the history and “goings on” in town. Hottopics for the weekend were Barak Obama’s visit a fewweeks earlier, the Saturday Market, the oldest open aircraft market in the U.S. and of course, the marathoners.We arrived at our hotel–actually a motel, rather on thedreary side, but inexpensive and close to the finish line. I

checked in and I met my roommate for the weekend, Lois,waking her up at 3 a.m.! Next morning, after the hotel’scomplimentary continental breakfast, we were off to therace expo at the host hotel, the Hilton. After picking up ournumbers and a bit of shopping and sampling, we walked afew blocks over to the Saturday Market.

If you are ever in Eugene, this is a must, after all whodoesn’t enjoy live music, fresh food from the FarmersMarket and the chance to shop for some very unique items?Eugene is a very “green” city! Recycling bins abound andyou could see from the farmer’s market and selection ofrestaurants in town, the residents are very health consciousand completely sold on the organic life style. A visit to themarket is something like a trip in time back to the sixties.Except for the ever present cell phones, the atmosphere,music, everything from an impromptu violin solo to a“hippy” with a sitar and a barber shop quartet, and the attireof the locals (teens or seniors) reminded us of Woodstock.The band on center stage played anti-war songs, young girlswore long peasant skirts with strings of dandelions as neck-laces and outside of Jamaica, I have never seen so manyguys with dreadlocks. Everyone seemed very happy andfriendly, so maybe there is something to this simple lifething??? We headed off to a great grocery store somethinglike Whole Foods for provisions. This was a special day forme; although I finished my 50 States last January, I hadnever formally received my trophy. Unless you can make itto one of the quarterly meetings, they just mail it to you.This was my chance to actually have it presented to me bythe club’s president, Tom Adair. This was the first marathonTom has been able to travel to and run since he fell and frac-tured his pelvis on a glacier while running the AntarcticaMarathon in March. He’s fine now as according to him, thefractured bones were not any “really important” bones!About 50 Club members attended the meeting at the Hilton;there were probably about 100 who ran the marathon.

We were up at 4:45 a.m., marathon morning. Lois haddecided to walk to the start with a couple of the guys;Mark, Phil and I opted to drive to the finish and take the

shuttle over to the start – maybe a mile or two away at theUniversity of Oregon’s Hayward Field, which beginningJune 27th will be the scene of the Olympic Track andField trials. Everything went very smoothly, even whenwe got to the starting line—the baggage check was easyto find and port-a-potty lines were not that bad. The racebegins in front of Hayward Field, travels around AmazonPark and the University of Oregon, then crosses theWillamette River three times, makes a loop through AltonBaker Park East and into neighboring Springfield. Thereturn to Eugene follows along bike paths and at least tenmiles of very scenic trails along the river while taking youin and out of six parks! The finish line is at East GateTower in front of Autzen Stadium. I was very happy withthe course, not many hills, beautiful scenery, a sprinklingof spectators and plenty of runners around me to pace off.My only issue was with the temperature. I had expected itwould be chilly in the morning. The race begins at 7 a.m.,but by mile 20 I was still wearing my throw away shirt!Mark and Phil were not too happy with the course. Markhates to run on concrete, and most of the bike trails areconcrete. At mile 16 he decided it wasn’t his day anddropped out. He only needed this race - Oregon andMontana, to complete his 50 States second time finish. Inlooking through my photos from the weekend I noticedMark was wearing the race shirt on Saturday. Could hehave fallen victim to “the curse of wearing the shirt beforethe race”? Unfortunately for Phil, he took a couple ofwrong turns, lost the pack of runners he was followingand added another hour and a half to his time. Finally wemet at the finish line. Mark drove us back to our hotel andquickly left to drive back for his flight out of Portland anhour away.

We left for our flight back to LV from Eugene at about6 p.m., enough time for a stop for a gelato at a downtowncafe. I definitely recommend this race for next year. Seewww.eugenemarathon.com for details. AND check outwww.eugenesaturdaymarket.org for more info on theSaturday Market.

Tom Adair, GA, presents the finishers award to GreggWalchli. WA. Fellow WA 50 stater, Cheri Pompeo, poses

with them.

Dave Bell, CO, our newest board member, receives his finisher’s award.

Mark Ornstein, NV and Robert Bucci, NY.

Martha Corazzini, NV receives her finisher’s awardfrom Tom Adair, GA.

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Seeing DoubleAugust8/31/08 New Mexico—Albuquerque, NM www.newmexicomarathon.org9/1/08Turtle—Roswell, NM www.dfn.com9/1/08American Discovery —Colorado Spgs, CO www.adtmarathon.com

8/31/08 Flatlanders 6/12 Hr.-Fenton, MO www.stlouisultrarunnersgroup.net 9/1/08 Heart of America-Columbia, MO http://ctc.coin.org/hoa

September9/13/08 Little Grand Canyon—Price, UT www.mammothmarathons.org9/14/08 MountainAir—Gunnison, CO www.mountainairmarathon.com

9/20/08 North Country Trail—Manistee, MI www.stridersrun.com9/21/08 Fox Cities—Appleton, WI www.foxcitiesmarathon.org

9/20/08 Top of Utah—Logan, UT www.topofutahmarathon.com9/21/08 Lewis & Clark—Bozeman, MT http://visitmt.com

9/20/08 ND Roughrider—Bismarck, ND www.ndroughridermarathon.com9/21/08 Montana—Billings, MT www.montanamarathon.org

9/26-9/28/08 Tahoe Triple—Lake Tahoe, CA/NV/CA www.laketahoemarathon.com 3 marathons

9/27/08 Hamptons—East Hampton, NY www.hamptonsmarathon.com9/28/08 Clarence DeMar—Keene, NH www.clarencedemar.com

October10/4/08New Hampshire—Bristol, NH www.nhmarathon.com10/5/08Maine—Portland, ME www.mainemarathon.com

10/4/08 Big Sur Trail—Big Sur, CA www.envirosports.com10/5/08 Cow Town—Sacramento, CA www.sacramentocowtownmarathon.com

10/4/08 Leavenworth—Leavenworth, WA www.leavenworthmarathon.com10/5/08 Portland—Portland, OR www.portlandmarathon.org

10/11/08 Golden Hills Trails—Berkeley, CA www.goldenhillsmarathon.net10/12/08 Bizz Johnson—Susanville, CA www.bizzjohnson.com10/12/08 Long Beach—Long Beach, CA www.runlongbeach.com

10/11/08 Hartford—Hartford, CT www.hartfordmarathon.com10/12/08 Steamtown—Scranton, PA www.steamtownmarathon.com10/12/08 Century—Fulton, NY www.oswegoymca.org

10/11/08 Baltimore—Baltimore, MD www.thebaltimoremarathon.com10/12/08 Steamtown—Scranton, PA www.steamtownmarathon.com10/12/08 Towpath—Akron, OH www.towpathmarathon.net10/12/08 Century—Fulton, NY www.oswegoymca.org

10/18/08Green Mountain—South Hero, VT www.gmaa.net/GMMinfo.html10/19/08 Mt. Desert Island—Bar Harbor, ME www.mdimarathon.org

10/18/08 Breakers—Newport, RI www.breakersmarathon.org10/19/08 Bay State—Lowell, MA www.baystatemarathon.com10/19/08 Atlantic City—Atlantic City, NJ www.atlanticcitymarathon.org10/19/08 Mount Desert Island—Bar Harbor, ME www.mdimarathon.org

10/18/08 Indianapolis—Indianapolis, IN www.indianapolismarathon.com10/19/08 Louisville—Louisville, KY www.louisvillemarathon.org10/19/08 Stone Steps 50K—Cincinnati, OH www.stonesteps50k.com10/19/08 Columbus—Columbus, OH www.columbusmarathon.com10/19/08 Detroit—Detroit, MI www.detroitmarathon.com10/19/08 Grand Rapids—Grand Rapids, MI www.grandrapidsmarathon.com

10/18/08 Kansas City—Kansas City, MO www.waddellandreedkcmarathon.org10/18/08 Siouxland Lewis & Clark—Sioux City, IA www.siouxlandmarathon.com10/19/08 Des Moines—Des Moines, IA www.desmoinesmarathon.com

10/18/08 Kansas City—Kansas City, MO www.waddellandreedkcmarathon.org/10/18/08 Siouxland Lewis & Clark—Sioux City, IA www.siouxlandmarathon.com10/19/08 Wichita—Wichita, KS www.wichitamarathon.org

10/25/08 Ridge to Bridge—Morganton, NC http://www.my-bmrc.org/10/26/08 Marine Corps—Arlington, VA www.marinemarathon.com

10/25/08 Napa Wine Country Classic—Calistoga, CA www.envirosports.com10/26/08 Silicon Valley—San Jose, CA www.svmarathon.com

10/25/08 Columbia River—Umatilla, OR www.columbiarivermarathon.com 10/26/08 Tri-Cities– Richland, WA www.3rrr.org

Seeing DoubleDoubles are marathons and/or ultras which can be runon consecutive days with a drive time of 5 hours or so.

Many of our members enjoy running doubles to help cut down onthe costs of traveling to two states separately.

Please check the individual race Web sites before scheduling yourtrip. If you find other doubles let us know so we can include theraces on our schedule. We now have Doubles listed on the club Website under Schedules on the menu bar.

[email protected] Please include race name/date/Web site.

$ Deals for Our Members $Check the Web site regularly for deals

www.50statesmarathonclub.com Skagit Flats Marathon – 9/7/08 Burlington, WA is offering a $5discount for the marathon. Just deduct the $5 from the fee on themail in application. www.skagitflatsmarathon.com

Two Cities Marathon – 11/9/08 Fresno, CA free pasta dinner andfree inaugural runner’s hat Use promo code 50STATESwww.runfresno.com

OBX Marathon – 11/9/08 Outer Banks, NC is offering a $10 dis-count for the full (code: 50-2-OBX26.2) and $5 discount for thehalf (code: 50-2-OBX13.1) Discount available until 11/8/08 www.obxmarathon.org

Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon – 1/18/09 Phoenix, AZ is offer-ing a $10 discount for the full or half Code : 50STATE Discountavailable until 1/9/09. www.rnraz.com

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• Kat’cina Mosa 100K – Provo, UT 8/2/08 John Bozungwww.squawpeak50.com

• Leading Ladies – Spearfish, SD 8/17/08 Elaine Doll-Dunnwww.leadingladiesmarathon.com

• Leanhorse 100M/50M/50K – Hot Springs, SD 8/23-8/24/08 Jerry Dunnwww.leanhorse.com

• Skagit Flats – Burlington, WA 9/7/08 Terry Sentinellawww.skagitflatsmarathon.com

• Century – Fulton, NY 10/12/08 Ruth Ripleywww.oswegoymca.org

• Stone Steps 50K – Cincinnati, OH 10/19/08 David Corfman www.stonesteps50k.com

• Grand Rapids – Grand Rapids, MI 10/19/08 Don Kernwww.grandrapidsmarathon.com

• Spinx Run Fest – Greenville, SC 10/25/08 John Johnsonwww.spinxrunfest.com

• Waco – Waco, TX 10/26/08 Nancy Goodnighthttp://mmm.sw.org

• Two Cities – Fresno, CA 11/9/08 Nancy Talley & Mike Herman www.trailof2cities.com

• Bartram Forest 50K/26.2 – Milledgeville, GA 11/29/08 Kevin Hatfieldhttp://wintertrailrun.net

• Baton Rouge Beach – Baton Rouge, LA 12/6/08 Craig Watsonwww.brbeachmarathon.com

• Texas – Kingwood, TX 1/1/09 Steve & Paula Boonewww.50statesmarathonclub.com/texas.html

• Zoom! Yah! Yah – Northfield, MN 1/11/09 Dick Daymonthttp://www.geocities.com/zoomyahyah/

• Kahtoola Wasatch Winter 50K/5K–Midway, UT 1/31/09 John Bozunghttp://jbozung.host.elfon.com/bigfootmaster.htm

• Tallahassee – Tallahassee, FL 2/3/08 Jack McDermottwww.tallahasseemarathon.com

• Ocala – Ocala, FL 2/?/09 Chuck Savagewww.ocalamarathon.com

• B&A Trail – Severna Park, MD 3/?/09 Tom Bradfordwww.annapolisstriders.org

• Seabrook Lucky Trail – Seabrook, TX 3/15/09 Robby Sabban www.seabrookmarathon.org

Club Merchandise

Members,Have you seen the new shirts, jackets, bags, and other merchandise? Please check outour new “Custom Embroidery.” You can have our logo embroidered on many items.You may also add your name. Give your family your wish list.

There is a link on our club Web site under “Merchandise”called “Custom Embroidery.”

FINISHER

Members:If you are a race director or race organizer and would like tohave your race listed in the next newsletter, please [email protected].

Supporter Your Name

Sport Shirts Nylon Jackets Ladies Jackets Backpacks

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Events Directed by Our Members: August 2008 – March 2009

This publication is printed with soy inks on 50 percent Post-Consumer Recycled Newsprint.

Humpy’s Marathon Anchorage, Alaska, 2007 · Will you be the one to push our marathon count over...

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