Marquette alums set to run an Olympic pace in Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon
Nick Szczech plans to waste little time making the transition from collegiate runner to top marathoner.
His debut over 26.2 miles will be the 31st annual Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon on Sunday, and with a little help, the former Marquette Golden Eagle plans to chase the 2:19 time that would put him into the trials for the U.S. Olympic marathon team.
First-timers, Team Jennipede run to victories in Lakefront Marathon
Nick Szczech missed the mark for reaching the Olympic trials, but came away from the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon with a win and a lesson.
"I feel really good, so I kind of wish I would have pushed it a little harder," he told Dan Murphy at the finish. "That was more of a mental thing, so the next time I'll know that the last six miles I can push it a little harder."
Marking the finish of the Great American Beer Run
My belated congratulations go to Tim Cigelske on the completion of his year-long Beer Run.
The local runner/blogger/beer drinker launched his streak, a run and a beer every day for 365 days, in part to find routine in the chaos of his hectic life.
Off the Couch turns onto new path
For those who missed the news on Facebook last week, I left my full-time job at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to become a stay-at-home Dad and blogger.
It was a difficult decision to leave the paper after 26 years, but I found this advice from my wife to be compelling: “You can keep running the same route you’ve always run because you know where all the bathroom stops are; or you can go check out the new trail.”
I'm a sucker for sporting metaphors when making major life decisions.
If all goes well, I will successfully nurture twin daughters and Off the Couch over the long run.
Please be patient. Dirty dirty diapers take precedent over sweaty running shorts, and I’m still perfecting the talents needed to type one-handed while burping a baby. Look for an occasional fatherhood experience mixed in with the posts on bike rides, ski races and training plans.
This is what came out of the keyboard on day one from the home couch.
It’s hard to get work done when you’re having work done. Not that they were a huge distraction, but the guys blowing insulation into the 104-year-old walls of our house/office made a serious racket, outdoing the girls in full squawk.
Stripping, drilling, blowing and hammering resonates through this old house. Plus, being largely incapable of doing such work, I kept wanting to check out how they were doing what they were doing.
I’ve had bigger distractions in the newsroom, of course. The occasional “name that artist” soul music sing-along comes first to mind. Those lasted until someone performed a successful Google Search. The insulation clatter went on all day.
I quickly realized on day one of my stay-at-home Dad life, that the toughest adjustments will be internal. I am a creature of habit. I’ve eaten a sandwich and a bowl of soup for lunch in the Journal cafeteria roughly 3,500 times in the last 15 years, sitting alone, in the same seat, reading the sports section and comics.
Fellow reporters gazed in awe (and nervousness) at my file cabinets, their contents and order. Our dining table and chairs now serve as my temporary file system. It’s unnerving to be so disorganized.
I did go for a run on my usual route. Probably the first time I hit the pavement at 2 p.m. on a Monday. Thankfully, my significant body functions made the necessary adjustment. It’s a start.
Larson ride for bike path on Hoan Bridge has been cancelled
Organizers have cancelled the bike ride today due to the incident on the Hoan Bridge this morning.
From the JSonline Newswatch: Investigators are trying to determine whether a person jumped from the Hoan Bridge or whether the person was knocked from the bridge after a collision with a vehicle.
Sheriff Clarke makes it clear: no bike lane on the Hoan Bridge
In talking about the death of a man on the Hoan Bridge Tuesday, Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. staked out his position on the proposal to add a bike lane on the elevated roadway: an emphatic no.
Clarke called it the "dumbest thing I ever heard" during a news conference.
Daylight diminishes, but not the slate of charitable events
Cooler weather and fewer hours of daylight do nothing to slow the pace of runs and bike rides for good causes in this area.
It almost seems as if the reverse is true; that athletes and event organizers are scrambling like squirrels to stockpile endorphins and pledges before winter.
For runners, going bare may be no paradise
Stripping down to the bare essentials, in footwear, may not be the panacea for runners that some have suggested, according to research conducted by John Porcari, at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
From a sample of 16 females, recreational runners aged 19 to 25, Porcari found that half of them failed to make the stride changes necessary to run properly in Vibram FiveFingers Bikilas. His analysis of their stride showed that runners who use FiveFingers and other minimalist shoes but continue to run with a heel-first foot strike increase the impact on their lower legs and the risk of injury.
Dangerbird Records founder returns home, starts Pablove ride to New Orleans
Milwaukee music fans will remember Jeff Castelaz as an integral part of the band Citizen King and a manager who went on to launch his own label, Dangerbird Records, in Los Angeles.
The one-time WMSE disc jockey has new pursuits - biking across the country - inspired by the death of his son Pablo Thrailkill Castelaz, who died of cancer at age 6.
Triathletes hit their season pinnacle this weekend: Ironman Kona and USA Elite Series finale
For dozens of Wisconsin athletes, the Ford Ironman Triathlon in Kona will be the culmination of years of diligent effort.
For Gwen Jorgensen, the USA Triathlon Elite Race Series Finale will be another chance to establish her position among the best in the country, and take home a big paycheck.
Progress on the Hank Aaron State Trail
Mike Cauble, from Elm Grove, sent a note reporting some progress on the Hank Aaron State Trail extension, from S. 94th Pl. to the Underwood Parkway.
Weiland, 78 others beat UWM Chancellor Lovell in Panther Prowl
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Chancellor Mike Lovell graciously handed out t-shirts and handshakes to the 79 runners who beat him Sunday morning in the seventh annual Panther Prowl.
One of the school's own, assistant track coach Nate Weiland, paced the field with a 15:06 that put him 24 seconds ahead of Scott Mueller, an alum of the cross-town rival. Dan Held, of Pewaukee, was third in 16 minutes.
Jorgensen wins in Myrtle Beach to claim USA Triathlon Elite Series title
Gwen Jorgensen ran away with a victory in the Myrtle Beach Triathlon on Sunday and the overall title in the USA Triathlon Elite Race Series.
The Waukesha native was a track All-American at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and her speed has been a huge factor in her rapid rise to the top of USA triathlon rankings. Jorgensen qualified for the 2012 Olympics earlier this year and added the Elite Race Series title to an already successful sophomore season in the sport.
Riding with Jeff Castelaz. Pablove Foundation founder pedals through grief
If Jeff Castelaz was a man of few words, his answer would have been simply no.
If he was less gracious, he would have added an obscenity.
Illinois woman delivers baby hours after finishing Chicago Marathon
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon needed a special division for Amber Miller, or any other woman who went into labor while covering the 26.2 miles.
The results show Miller, 27, finished the marathon in six hours, 25, minutes, 50 seconds, but fail to list the labor time to deliver baby June, who arrived at 10:29 p.m.
La Crosse teacher commutes by canoe
Justin Steinback worries more about currents than congestion on his commute via canoe to his job teaching at Three Rivers Waldorf School in La Crosse.
Both soothing and physically demanding, the alternate form of transportation affords the 30-year-old a unique way to unwind. There's no road rage among the riffles and eddies on his four-mile journey.
Wisconsin town considers banning bicycles from its roads
On the Town of Hull web site, Chairman John Holdridge writes about embracing the 21st century.
British marathoner caught taking the Rosie Ruiz route
When the going gets tough, cheaters take the bus.
And, in the case of British marathoner Rob Sloan, get caught, villified and humiliated.
Bicyclist dies from injuries suffered in crash; fatality total reaches 11
Police in Mount Pleasant reported Thursday that Ray E. Fliess, 88, died of the injuries he suffered when a car hit him while he biked along Sunny Slope Rd. Dr. Saturday morning.
ATV’ers make inroads in Vilas County
The following is the Editor's Letter that appeared in the November 2011 issue of the print magazine.
One can’t help feeling confused reading the Vilas County New Review lately. Is sustainable, environmentally friendly tourism in this northernmost county of Wisconsin on the rise? Or are those efforts being undermined by desperate attempts to attract the kind of visitors who inevitably chase many others away?