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ARCÕs Holiday Party Ð DonÕt Miss It!

The third annual Holiday Party will be on Thursday, December 17 at Papa
Passero\'s in Darien (Cass Avenue, just south of 63rd Street). The
festivities, which include all-you-can-eat pizza, beverage (either soda
or fermented malted barley drink), and scintillating conversation, start
at 5:00 and last until about 7:30 or so (or until they kick us out). The
cost for

this mega-extravaganza is just \$3 for a PAID club member and \$5 for a
non-member guest.

In addition, the running club is waving all fees for all those wonderful
folks that worked the Argonne table at the Chicago marathon. Since no
reservations are being accepted before the party, would you please pay
either Paul Eident or Karl Grimm when you arrive. (If you don\'t know
us, we will be the ones with all the bills sticking out of our pockets.)

Furthermore, since we will be collecting money at the door, please try
and bring the exact amount; it will be appreciated. One last thing - do
NOT park in the parking lot for the Home Economist, your car has a high
probability of being towed, which entails a \$105 fee (at least, which
is not reimbursable by the ARC) to get it back. See ya there\...

Karl Grimm

Columbus Marathon

I know that when people around Chicago hear the word ÔmarathonÕ, they
tend to think of only one thing: The Chicago Marathon. True, many
runners have heard of the Boston Marathon, and a few other big name
events, but many people would be surprised to know that there will be
over 250 marathons held in the US next year.

I have run the Chicago Marathon a few times, and agree that it is a
great event to be at. The race is huge, with over 15,000 runners this
year. I would guess that at least 10 times that number of people line
ChicagoÕs streets in October to watch the endless line of runners wind
through our streets. Living so near to Chicago, we are somewhat spoiled
to have a world class event like this occurring at our doorstep that
everyone can be a part of (as a runner, volunteer, or spectator).

Today, I am writing to encourage our marathon runners to look beyond our
great marathon to other, smaller marathons around the Midwest and US. On
November 8, I went to Columbus, OH to run the 19^th^ annual Columbus
Marathon. This race is much smaller than Chicago, which is an advantage
in several ways. I reached the start line 1:30 after the gun went off.
This may seem like a long time to first-timers, but the last time I ran
Chicago, it took me between 5 and 10 minutes to reach the start line. I
can remember dodging runners for the first several miles last time I ran
Chicago, but at Columbus, the pack thinned out quick enough that I could
reach a natural stride after about 1/2 mile and not continually be
bumped by fellow runners. The Columbus Marathon has about 3500 runners
and I had wondered if this was too small of a race. I can report that I
found this to be a very comfortable number of runners Ð there were
runners around me for the whole race (which is an important
psychological factor). I have run the Paavo Nurmi Marathon in Hurley, WI
which has only 300 runners, and I felt that that race was a little small
because I was running by myself after 13 miles.

There are a lot of spectators at Columbus also. It helped that the
course was a cloverleaf shape and circled back to near the start/finish
twice before finishing. This brought the runners through the downtown
crowds where we could hear the announcer reading the names of finishing
runners.

The Columbus Marathon was ranked by Runners World as one of the 10
fastest US marathons, and was rated 10 of 10 by The Ultimate Guide to
Marathons. All runners received a very nice long sleeved running shirt
made of Dri-Release fabric, which was nicer than the traditional
long-sleeved race shirts. Finishers received a Finisher Medal and hat.

The weather for this yearÕs race was fairly good. Although the skies
were gray, with an occasional sprinkle and temperatures near 40 degrees,
there were no winds to speak of Ð which makes a big difference when
running that far.

I would like to encourage all our marathon runners to look beyond
Chicago and try some of the other marathons around the US. I think it is
a great way to see other cities. As always, crossing the finish line of
a marathon is an unbelievable feeling regardless of your time. For a
short time, you donÕt feel any pain, and only feel a deep sense of
accomplishment.

John Schlueter

Runners Beware!

The week of 11/2/98, while riding my bike near Railroad Dr at lunchtime
I noticed that ANL-E Security had Railroad Dr. blocked off at the
Eastwood Rd. intersection. I also heard a deer crying in the background
when 2 dogs, one very large white pit bull and the other a medium size
brown dog, came from Sawmill Creek on to Railroad Dr. and starting
heading for me. I left the area.

After talking to ANL-E Security verifying what I witnessed they gave me
the name of Dage Blixt. I talked to him on November 11^th^ and he
informed me that there are 4 dogs and they had taken down 2 deer the day
I seen them. He was able to catch 2 of the dogs, one being the very
large white pit bull. He also said that this pack of dogs are thought to
have killed other deer at ANL and should be considered wild. If anyone
can provide additional information regarding these dogs please contact
ANL-E Security at 2-5737 or Dage Blixt at 2-9934.

Don Bohringer

Are you signed-up for this year??

In December, the Argonne Running Club is sponsoring its annual holiday
pizza bash (see adjoining article). To obtain the special rate for this
party, you have to be a PAID club member for THIS year. So, if you have
not as yet paid your dues for this year and are planning on attending
the party, please send your dues to Karl Grimm (Building 208 room A205A)
along with a filled-out membership application form (see attachment to
this newsletter). If you are currently not a paid member, paying now
will both get you into the party at a reduced rate, and automatically
make you a paid member for all of next year ( 99). Even if you are
currently a paid member, you can use this opportunity to pay your dues
for next year before you forget about it. Thanks\...and see you at the
party.

Karl Grimm

Turkey Trot & Walk

The November club run started and finished at the APS Gallery and
featured a 3.1-mile run and a 2-mile walk. The weather was what you
would expect for November, cool and windy.

Aziz Uras, co-host for the event, brought pumpkin pies for the after run
treat. Don Bohringer measured the coarse and led the runners on his
bike. Aaron Hata out raced the wind to gain first place at 19 minutes
and 26 seconds. He also won the apple pie that was raffled off to
non-club members. Only club members we eligible for the three Jewel
gifts certificates; \$15 (Gloria Bannon), \$10 (Karl Grimm) and \$5
(Jack Picciolo). Jack said that this was the first time that he had ever
won a club raffle. Also, Marty Thomas graced us with his presence.

Paul Eident

Rudolf Romp

The Argonne Running ClubÕs December Fun Run will be held on Wednesday,
December 9 at noon. The 5 K race will start and end at the APS Gallery
where runners will be able to warm up in case of cold weather. There
will also be a 2-mile course for our walkers. Refreshments will be
served at the finish. We hope that you can come out and join us for the
final Fun Run of this year.

Quote

Another year has come and gone. All of us, no matter how young or old,
have added one more year and (probably) several hundred miles in our
logbooks. As 1998 comes to an end, most of us tend to cut back on our
miles, try to heal our injuries, and look back on the runs and races we
did in the year just finished. For many of us there are good memories of
goals accomplished and the satisfaction of many enjoyable runs. This
past year has seen several of our members leave Argonne, retire, or
realize that they have passed the peak of their running career. Below
are a few quotes about ÒThe Finish LineÓ of some great runners who after
years of running realize that they are not the runners they once were.

Sometime after his two Olympic appearances, his training often
interrupted by various injuries and professional demands on his time,
Frank Shorter ran a race in Seattle. He finished somewhere out of the
top 20 and was in the process of vacating the premises, when a mid-pack
runner wide-eyed with enthusiastic discovery declared: ÒHey arenÕt you
Frank Shorter?Ó To which Shorter wryly replied: ÒNo, but I used to be.Ó

David Moorcroft, an Englishman, was at the top of his form in 1982 when
he set a world record for 5000 meters. But by the middle of the decade,
slowed by the usual wear and tear of running at a world class level,
Moorcroft was struggling. One time during this difficult period,
Moorcroft was laboring near the back of the pack in a cross-country
race, whereupon his young son, perhaps 5 or 6 at the time, turned to
MoorcroftÕs wife and, in a conspiratory whisper, said: ÒShall we pretend
that we donÕt know him Mummy?Ó

Athletes, privileged lot that they are, even get to die twice Ð once
like everybody else, but first when they experience the end of their
competitive careers. Great runners burst onto the scene, shatter world
records, win gold metals, bring thousands into the stadium to their
feet, and then, finally, inevitably, they disappear, as mere mortals
must. There are framed pictures (sometimes, even statues), medals in
bank vaults, or forgotten in the bottom of some cluttered desk drawer;
and even the memories of such greatness can seem so elusive. Such is the
transitory nature of success. In the later years of his life, Jack
Lovelock of New Zealand, the middle distance star of the 1930Õs, once
said to his wife: ÒI donÕt know why I did it. All that running round and
round a track.Ó

The moral of this story is to keep running in perspective Ð to do it
because you enjoy it. None of us will be able to run fast times forever.
Enjoy running for the thrill and satisfaction it gives you regardless of
the time on the clock as you cross the finish line.

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:
schlueter@anchx4.chm.anl.gov; Phone: 2-3588. ARC president: Paul Eident,
Bldg. 200, Rm. L175, 2-3579, eident@anlchm.chm.anl.gov. ARC webmaster:
Chuck Jonah, Bldg. 200, Rm. B157, 2-3471, jonah@anlchm.chm.anl.gov. For
membership information, contact Karl Grimm, Bldg. 208 Rm. A205A, 2-6721,
b23921@ra.anl.gov.