Most of today’s update will be devoted to race results but first I want to remind you of a couple things.  Don’t forget our astronaut egg breakfast on July 18.  Bring a dry shirt and $5.00 and give yourself some extra time.

I believe in this program.  This program will work if you take it seriously.  Running one time per week on Saturday is not taking it seriously. 

Next week I will continue the talk I started a few weeks ago.  If you were paying any attention I left off with a question I get often.  The question was “can I do this?” My reply is always the same “yes if you want to” I will pick up there on Saturday.

We had runners all over the place in recent weeks.  I want to say good job to a few of our runners who competed in the Metlife Dualthon.  Our young friend Tyler Thelen won his age group.  Mark Reilly got an age group award, and Shannon Javaras and the professional biker she brings in each year continue their dominance in the co-ed group.  We all need to do some biking its good cross training.

On July 1st there was a race in Oak Forest and a few Yankee Runners took part.  When Yankee Runners take part they normally take some awards and this race was no different. 
      Monica Czajkowski age award in her first 5k
     Jackie Burns age award and PR
     Jerry Raumen age award
     James Getz age award

July 4 race in Tinley Park
     Sarah Grzbek 1st women
     Ricster 2nd overall
     Kathy Doyle age award
     Joni Gliwa age award
     Hillary Tydd age award
     Mike Yuhasz age award
     Mark Reilly age award
     Jillian Wiora did not win an age award but did something more special.  She finished her first 5k.  I know her Mom & Dad are very      proud.

The first question he asked was “is running a marathon as hard as you claim it is?”  My reply was “only if you do everything right, if you don’t it is much worse”.  Then came the second question “can I do this?”  Of course I replied, “If you REALLY want to.”

I have not seen anything in five weeks that would suggest that any of you cannot finish this quest we are on.  At this time you do not have to be physically able to run 26.2 miles.  What you need at this time is the mental toughness to follow through with this program.  You need support at home. You need is the fire in your belly that all the water in the world can’t put out.  You need to hear the voice that pushes you further and further when all you want to do is stop.

If you have the support at home, the fire, and you hear the voice, I envy and pity you.  In two weeks I will tell you why.

There was much discussion Saturday about the distance for this coming Saturday’s run.  We all know this is a cutback week, however for the advanced distance that is not reflected on the schedule.  It was either a typo or a change to the schedule from all the years I have been involved in this program.  In all past years the distance has been 10 miles (I looked at last years booklet to be sure).  Group leaders will be doing 10 miles then returning for astronaut eggs.  With this being America you are free to do whatever distance you like.

One of our runners has offered to pick up Todd’s, Ashley’s and one other runner’s packet from the Cara office.  The problem I have is I can’t remember who the third runner was.  If I spoke with you about this Saturday morning please e-mail me today.

Now some reminders to upcoming events.

Astronaut eggs breakfast on Saturday.  Don’t forget a dry shirt and $5.00.

Every Tuesday we have a run from 159th & Ridgeland.  We do the longest run of the week other then our Saturday run.  Attendance has been very poor.  As the mileage increases you will want to be part of the group.  Start showing up now to ensure there will be a group when you need it.  Those high mileage weeks are not far.

Monday July 27 a representative from Brooks Shoe Company will be at Running for Kicks for our 6:00pm Monday night run. (Everybody welcome)  There will be pizza and two pair of shoes will be raffled after we finish our run.

Don’t forget to sign up for Cara’s ready to run 20 mile run. 

Keep an eye on the website for information about our mid season pizza party.  Everything has been changed.  We will get it posted as soon as we have things confirmed.  What we know now is it will be at Buca di Beppo in Orland Park.

I will be sending particulars soon to Jen to add to our events page about our “Bike with Spero” ride.

It was a great morning for a run.  Let’s hope we get that kind of weather for our long runs.  The runs will start to get real soon.  We are six weeks into an 18-week journey.  We have yet to see anything close to what the enemy has in store for us.  Mileage we complained about in the past couple weeks will become our cut back mileage.  12-14 miles is nothing when you compare it to what is coming.  Stick to the program, put in the mileage and over 1,000,000 spectators will be in awe of you as you pass them on your way to doing something that not too long ago seemed impossible.  They will be in awe of you when you finish a MARATHON.

I want to thank those of you who attended our third annual Astronaut egg breakfast.  We had to work through a couple of equipment issues but I hope overall you had good breakfast but more important had a few minutes to spend with your fellow runners.  I want that especially thank Mark, Paul and Meg for coming even though they were not running and helping set up and keep things moving.  I am already thinking of ways of taking next year’s event to another level.  I was a little disappointed with the turnout.  We had more runners last year in a driving rainstorm.  It is what it is.

I will now go on to start and plan our manned water stops.  This event will take place on Aug 22.  Check our events page for more information in the coming days.

Watch for information on our mid season party which I hope to get this week.  It will be at Buca de Beppo in Orland and the date may be Tuesday, August 11.  Stay tuned. 

If you have not already done so sign up for the R2R 20 mile run at Cara’s website.

I felt the fire inside.  I heard the voice that pushed me when all I wanted to do was stop.  I made no excuses. I stayed with the program.  I put in the work and ran the miles.  All of this together allowed me to know what it is like to finish a marathon.  When they placed that medal around my neck it was like winning the Olympics.

Do you feel the fire?  Do you listen to the voice?  Are you making excuses or are you doing the work?  The real question is will you know what it feels like to finish a marathon?  It’s up to you.

I am sure your group leaders have told you this is the time to be trying different things to eat.  Try different things for breakfast and different things during the run.  The more you can eat before you run the better it will be late in the race.  Try getting used to Gatorade full strength.  If Gatorade could add more water and still have their product beneficial believe me they would.  Water is cheaper then the other ingredients.

Remember next week I will have a sign up sheet for our mid season pasta party at Buca di Beppo in Orland Park.  Check the events page for details.

Keep on eye on our manned water stops.  We still are in need of volunteers.

13-15-17 next week I can hardly wait to get at it.