## Chicago is Fine in \'99

There we were, standing still in the middle of 29,000 other runners at
7:30 AM waiting for the gun to sound the signal the start of another
26.2 mile romp through the neighborhoods of Chicago. The weather was
cold and we were trying to stay warm before the race started. Body heat
from other runners helped, but finally getting going was better.

While the interminable wait went on, strange thoughts went though my
head, like, have I trained enough?\...I hope I do not get blisters, etc.
But, before I go too far, let me give you some background about what led
up to us being in the middle of Columbus Avenue at that time of the
morning.

This last summer, Richard Page and I decided we would start thinking
about running a fall marathon. (Laurie Culbert, our usual marathon
training partner, has been temporally out-of-action because of an
injury - poor kid.) We were going to do some initial ten mile runs to
see if another marathon was still feasible for a couple of old geezers.
If these runs had not gone well, we were going to kiss-it-off for this
year. After a few of these initial runs seemed to go OK, we decided to
give the marathon another shot. We usually trained in Waterfall Glen on
Friday nights, but we did our longest runs on the Prairie Path. (We also
did speed-training runs on Wednesday nights with the North Central Track
Club.) However, a few weeks before the actual race, a major concern
arose - Richard developed a bum back. A little time off from running,
some anti-inflamitories, and a few beers soon set him straight, at least
for the start of the race. Richard and I had decided beforehand to run
the race together at a pace that was tolerable for each of us, thus the
pressure was off to set some sort of new PR\'s.

Well, there we were, in a mass of greater than 29,000 runners, waiting
for the start on a day that was excellent for running. (There were
24,594 finishers; no telling how many people started the race.) Because
of the large number of people, it took Richard and me more than four
minutes to reach the actual starting point of the race and something
like 11 minutes to \"run\" the first mile. Aziz Uras, another ANL
runner, told us that it took him something like 15 minutes to reach the
starting line!

Through Lincoln Park (or, should I say, Pit-stop Park) and the north
side (with the gay cheerleaders) the miles seem to float by. This is
where most of the spectators were, cheering everyone on; we hoped that
there were similar crowds at 23 miles. The course then snaked southward
down through Greektown, UIC, and Little Italy. After this, the race
headed through Pilsen, Chinatown, and parts of town I would not enter
alone.

We have done other Chicago marathons and this was the most crowded one
ever. There was never any time where we were not within a few feet of
another runner. We were constantly bobbing and weaving around slower
runners. (It seems that at some time they will have to limit the number
of runners allowed in this race.) However, there was one positive aspect
to having a lot of runners - there were more people to talk to and more
opportunities for people watching.

At about 20 miles we reached Comiskey Park and, miraculously, we both
felt relatively OK. This part of the course is always the low point of
the race - running near Comiskey Park and on the Dan Ryan service drive.
It is now 23 miles and I had developed a blister. We didn\'t want to,
but we had to stop for me to put on a Band-Aid - ugh. A lot of people
were hurting at this point, but almost all were still moving forward,
one way or another. Finally the course snaked over to Lake Shore Drive
and then northward to the finish. (While running near McCormick Place we
passed a runner with an artificial leg -unbelievable!)

Finally, the end was in sight, the crowds were thick, and the cheering
was deafening - no stopping now for anything. We picked up the pace
because we both felt pretty good. Finally we crossed the finish line and
stopped. Now it was time to celebrate. Another marathon was history and
we survived; the feeling of exhilaration is unexplainable. That was the
time to take stock in how our bodies felt - the very thing we had been
ignoring for the last 10 miles. The end point is where runners mingle,
tell lies about how good they felt throughout the race, and generally
have a good time.

It was nice to see the familiar faces at the end of the race. For
example, I saw Corrie Patterson, Laurie Culbert, Mark Kamiya, Walt
McFall, Pat Dombrowski, Gloria Bannon, John Koss (all from the Argonne
Running Club), plus other ANL people that I did not know, working
bananas in the finish area. (All runners should thank these volunteers,
and those volunteers manning water stations along the course, because
these people are the backbone of the race, and without their help, there
is no way this race would be run.) While in this area we also came
across Kristi Wood and Aziz Uras, other ANL finishers. (This is
Kristi\'s first marathon - so congratulations, Kristi!) Although Kelsey
Forsythe, Keith Knepper, Tom Buffington, and Joe Mavec ran the race, I
did not see them at the finish. Furthermore, it does not hurt at all to
see your own family come to the race to cheer you on. (Both my wife and
Richard\'s wife worked the finish area with the ANL group, and one of my
daughters cheered me on at a couple of spots along the course.)

After a quick stop at the ANL table, we headed to the Sam Adams truck
for the most important post-race activity - having a good beer. Although
we had assorted problems with our legs (sore muscles, etc.) and feet
(blisters and blackened toenails), we will probably be on Columbus Drive
next year when the gun goes off. I know, however, one of these days
mother nature, or father time, is going to tell us to stop doing these
foolish things.

Karl Grimm

Club Membership Privileges

Last week I obtained a list of all the people that receive the running
club newsletter. Since I was the club treasurer from \'95 - \'99, and
took care of membership dues, I have listings of all paid members since
that date. I took these paid member listings and coordinated them with
the newsletter distribution list. Was I ever surprised. There are
numerous people that receive the newsletter that are way behind on
paying their dues. In fact, there are two people on the distribution
list that are not on any of my listings! After all, what is the
incentive to pay dues if you get the benefits of the club without
keeping up your membership? (Dues, which are currently only \$7 per
year, are what pay for fun run expenses, club parties, etc.)
Regrettably, things are going to have to change. Starting as soon as we
can update the distribution list, the people that are not currently paid
members will not be able to receive the newsletter.

If you are not interested in supporting the club, that is fine, but let
us know so that we can remove you from our distribution list. Club
membership forms for next year will soon be appearing on the back of the
newsletter, so if you like reading the newsletter and/or participating
in fun runs and not feeling guilty, be sure to send in your dues for the
upcoming year. It should also be noted that at several of our runs, only
paid members of the running club are eligible for the raffle prizes.

A special note to DOE members. The dues of DOE members used to be paid
by DOE. Starting last year the committee that authorized this payment
decided not to continue this practice. Therefore, now it is up to DOE
members to pay their own dues.

Karl Grimm

Annual NBL Director\'s Run & Walk

The Annual NBL Director's Run & Walk were held Wednesday, October 27,
1999. The weather was great, sunny, temperature around 60 degrees, and a
little breeze. Dr. Wanda Mitchell, Deputy Director of NBL, celebrated
her birthday by acting as the official starter in NBL in Director Dr.
Margaret Tolbert's absence. There was a very good turn out: 18 runners
and 18 walkers. Geof Bodwin, HEP, had the best time for the 3.3 mile run
with 21:05, Donna Green, DOE/ARG, posted the best time for the 2 mile
walk with a 23:53.

Bagels, bananas, and apples were provided by Corrie Paterson, TD-DES,
who once again volunteered to work the Chicago Marathon and was able to
secure the refreshments for the NBL Run/Walk. Thanks again, Corrie.

John Sickels

ThanksGIVING Fun Run and Walk

The ARC\'s November fun run will have a slightly new theme this year.
Rather than having a traditional \'Turkey Trot\' fun run, Kristi Wood
has decided to organize an event to put the giving back in Thanksgiving.
Thus, on Tuesday, November 23, the Running Club will sponsor a \'Put
Giving Back in Thanksgiving\' Fun Run and Walk. The 3 mile run and 2
mile walk will begin at noon at the APS Gallery. To be eligible for
raffle prizes, runners must bring a non-perishable food item to donate.

Y2K 5K

The December Fun Run will be held on Thursday, December 9^th^ at noon
starting at the APS Gallery. Be sure to mark your calendars for this
event because sometimes the newsletter does not get sent out until the
middle of the month. This may be your last formal reminder! This is
another good reason to check our web-page regularly: Chuck Jonah keeps
the page up to date with the most current information on running club
events. As you can see from the title, the theme of this race will be
Y2K. For walkers, there will also be a 2K course.

Christmas Party!

The ARC is planning to have a Christmas party in December. More details
will be provided in the December newsletter, but as always, be sure to
check our web-page at: http://chemistry.anl.gov/ARC/ in order to get the
latest information.

Area Races

Isn\'t it a great feeling when you go to a local road race and run into
someone you know? This has been happening more and more for me. The ARC
seems to be having a larger presence at local races, and we hope to keep
up that trend. But in order to do this, it is important that we know
what races others are running. What are the races we shouldn\'t miss?
The best way to pass along this information is to write a paragraph or
two about local races that you have run and send them to me to be
included in the newsletter. I\'ll try to include tips that I\'ve heard
in the past about good races to run, but I need your help. I know that
we all enjoy our local lunch-time fun runs, but sometimes it is good to
get out and bump shoulders with other runners.

Cool Down

The Argonne Running Club Newsletter is edited by John Schlueter. Please
send your stories, photos, tips, race reports, race entry forms,
comments, etc. to me. Mail: Bldg. 200, Rm. A185; Internet:
JASchlueter@anl.gov; Phone: 2-3588. ARC president: Karl Grimm, Bldg.
208, Rm. A205A, 2-6721, b23921@ra.anl.gov. ARC webpage:
chemistry.anl.gov/ARC/ webmaster: Chuck Jonah, Bldg. 200, Rm. B157,
2-3471, CDJonah@anl.gov. For membership information, contact Paul
Eident, Bldg. 200 Rm. L175, 2-3579, eident@anlchm.chm.anl.gov.