Route for Saturday, Sept. 1

We will be running the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon course this Saturday, September 1. We ran a good portion of this route this past Saturday. The only change from the actual LM course is that we'll start/finish at the Old State Capitol instead of starting at the Presidential Library and ending at St. John's.

Since Wendy and I will not be there this weekend, several people have indicated they would put out water. It would be nice if we could have water about every two miles. We probably have enough people so each person would only have to put out one or two water stops. Post something if you are willing to put out water and we'll get it divided up for everyone with water stop assignments in advance of Saturday.

We'll miss ya Saturday...this promises to be fun, but we'll be slogging through a half marathon in Wisconsin on Sunday!

Here's a link to the map of Saturday's route: www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=158409

Good Days, Bad Days, & Hydration

Well...sounds like the Half Wits had some interesting experiences on Saturday. As one who has experienced both the good days and the bad days (I've posted about that before)...and as someone who has had heat/humidity problems several times, I know that it it no fun whatsoever.

I thought yesterday was going to be a really bad day and I did not feel well at all during the first four miles. But once we stopped at Washington Park I really felt good (except for my drenched clothes!) the rest of the way. Running most of the rest of the course with Pam, Russ, and Tim Mu was a huge help, except for the flatulance problems of one un-named fuel belt wearer! In the end, I had a better run than I did for our 11 miler two weeks ago and also better than Abe's Amble!

Hydration is a huge key, especially during these long runs...and that's why we put out the drinks. I don't mind doing it at all...and having the group to run with makes it much more fun!

Hey Pam: it sounds like we have to have you stand up before the group and have everyone yell at you next week! LOL!

Downtown parking this Saturday!

Just a helpful note for Saturday's run...

Downtown Springfield will see some action this weekend with a couple events in town. Due to these events there are some street closures scheduled around the Old State Capitol. These closures could impact your parking as you come downtown for the run Saturday morning.

5th Street will be closed between Jefferson and Adams (that means no parking on the west side of the Old State Capitol). Also, Washington will be closed between 4th and 6th .

A good bet for parking will probably be 6th Street or Adams Street east of the Old State Capitol plaza. Other good spots are on Adams west of the railroad tracks (3rd Street) on the west side of the Farmer's Market or on 4th Street south or north of the Farmer's Market (these are closer to Cafe Moxo!).

See ya Saturday!

Route for Sat., Aug. 25--12 miles

Our Fall for the Half Wits training has us running 12 miles this Saturday morning. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for us a little...but hey, this is the Half Wits and weather is part of our fun!

This route will incorporate a good portion of the Lincoln Memorial course as well as a few other stretches of routes we have run over the past few weeks.

There are several stops for water/gatorade/restrooms.

Feel free to join us this Saturday. We leave from the Old State Capitol Plaza at 6:30 a.m.

And don't forget to join us at Cafe Moxo after the run!

Click here for a map of this Saturday's route.

Abe's Amble pics from SJ-R

Click here for a link to the State Journal-Register's State Fair photo gallery for August 19. There are several Abe's Amble photos included in this gallery.

Abe's Amble results

Congrats to all the Abe's Amble runners and volunteers today! Boy...that humidity sucks, but at least we did not get poured on as I thought we were going to about half way through the race.

Click here to check out your results at onlineraceresults.com

Birthdays in Baghdad...6.2 miles closer to home!

Our own Half Wit Anne Armitage is featured in a great story on the front page of today's State Journal-Register.

Anne's nephew, R.J. Smith, is a Marine stationed in Iraq's Anbar Province. R.J. will celebrate his 21st birthday on August 26 and Anne has helped organize a fundraiser for Springfield's Marine Support Group in honor of her nephew. R.J. has also run Abe's Amble in the past.

If you see any "Birthdays in Baghdad" t-shirts at Abe's Amble tomorrow, that is Anne's handiwork in honor of R.J. Over 90 of these shirts have been sold for that fundraiser

Go read the story on the SJR website and remember that it is the folks like R.J. who have made it possible for us to freely assemble on Sunday to do things like run Abe's Amble.

From all the Half Wits, we say: "Happy Birthday R.J. We'll raise one for you and make it back safe!"

Abe's Amble talk

Hello to any new visitors to our blog! If you have any questions, thoughts, or comments regarding this Sunday's Abe's Amble, click on "comments" and please share them here and we'll see if we can answer your questions.

Please feel free to see the post below for Abe's FAQs and a course map!

This weekend's route: Abe's Amble

For those training for the Lewis & Clark Half Marathon, this is a cut-back week, so our plan has us running Abe's Amble this Sunday, August 19 (10K, 6.2 miles) for our long run. We are not organizing a run on Saturday.

Abe's Amble is the largest race on the SRRC series and it is a lot of fun. The State Fair, Lincoln Park, the northend, and Oak Ridge Cemetery with Lincoln's Tomb and the war memorials make for a great race experience. And nothing beats that State Fair smell when you re-enter the fairgrounds after running about 5.5 hilly miles!!

Abe's starts at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday. Packet pick-up and late registration is Saturday, 12-5 pm at Athleticare on South Sixth Street. Registration is also available race morning in the Bud tent from 6:30 to 7:15 a.m.

Click here to avoid the hassles by registering online through GetMeRegistered.

For more information visit the SRRC website and view the Abe's Amble FAQs!

Click here for a map of the Abe's Amble route.

Happy Birthday to Uncle Jack!

Uncle Jack Bellmer had a birthday last week and it looks like he had a good time at a party this past weekend. Karaoke...really, Jack? Ouch! And that Ketel One tastes good in your coffee!! We know Jack...and Jack knows partying!

Howl at the Moon

Half Wits Roger German (41.48 miles), Tim Mullady (34.9 miles), and Carl Benton (44.27 miles) participated in the Howl at the Moon endurance race this past Saturday.

The largest timed ultra in the United States, Howl at the Moon is held at Kennekuk Cove County Park near Danville on a 3.29 mile loop. Participants run as little or as much as they can in eight hours.

Check the results here and congrats to our Half Wits on a tremendous performance!

Post-run Half Wits!

We've had some great fun after our runs the last couple weeks by hanging outside of Cafe Moxo at the tables on the sidewalk. They have great food and a wonderful atmosphere. And Mary R. was absolutely AMAZED by the farmer's market on Adams Street.

This past Saturday's run was pretty tough...the humidity really zapped me, but dealing with this weather only makes it that much better when we get those great cool September mornings!

The State Fair Parade Run 2 Mile - Post Race

A big THANKS to race directors Marcia Grant, Helen Cooper and all the volunteers that helped out in this years race. I am sure its such a daunting task to coordinate with the state fair officials and traffic coordinators. This race is usually the hottest event to run in the SRRC schedule but somehow we always find crazy Half Wit minded runners participating. Kudos to all that were involved.

Great job to all Half Wits who participated!

Half Wits Route for Saturday 8/11

Our Fall for the Half Wits crew has 11 miles scheduled for this Saturday. We'll again meet at the Old State Capitol plaza, 6:30 a.m. this Saturday. We have a nice route around the Capitol, up to Oak Ridge Cemetery, through Lincoln Park and Indian Hills on the northend, then back to downtown. We have stops at some parks with water fountains and I'll have Gatorade at a few stops.

Even if you did not join us last week, feel free to join us for this run!

Click here for the map of this week's route.

Uh...I have a request

Sometimes all you have to do is ask. If you wonder how we figure out our routes and distance, we use a mapping tool provided by USATF. Look on the right side of the page and you will see a link.
USATF Running Routes

Here you can find various routes throughout the U.S. or create your very own and share it with the running community.

My point of this posting, don't be afraid to ask questions or post comments. Today, I e-mailed the USATF webmaster and pointed how annoying it was to create a route, go back to the main page and do a look-up to find the link. The link would be useful to copy and paste it in an e-mail or blog. Well, within hours he e-mailed me back and thought it was a great suggestion. He modified the submission page to display a link from a route you just created. Pretty cool! A peon like me from Springfield, Illinois was able to make a contribution to the running community.

So, if you see anything you like to add in the HalfWits Blog, SRRC, L.M. Half Marathon website or any sites, contact the webmaster and just ask. You will always get a response.

Frost Toes kicks off September 29!

Thanks to Barry House and Dwayne Blisset for organizing our first-ever training program for the Frostbite 10 miler!

The plan is for the program to begin on Saturday, September 29, 7:00 a.m. at Panera West for a 5 mile run.

By Barry and Dwayne stepping forward with this program local runners can choose from training programs for a 10k (Abe's Army for Abe's Amble), a 10 miler (Frost Toes for the Frostbite), and a half marathon (Half Wits for the LM).

This means we now have progressive training programs throughout the year which take people from a 10k to a half marathon in about 10 months! Just keep it with us folks. We'll get ya through it!

This is all done through the great volunteers we have with the SRRC!

Check out the Frost Toes blog and get ready to FREEZE!


Oh...and another thing...don't forget to check out Barry's letter to the editor--Confessing an awful truth--in the latest Illinois Times!!!

Upcoming races

State Fair time means two of the SRRC's best races are upon us!

This Thursday, August 9, is the annual State Fair Parade Run 2 miler. This is a great--though hot and fast--race. It kicks off the State Fair Parade so you get to run in front of the biggest crowd you will see at any Springfield race. And there is always the obligatory "Run Forest Run" from someone on the crowd. Registration is still open and you get signed up on race night. Click here for the application.

Springfield's biggest race, Abe's Amble, is Sunday, August 19. As you all know, this is a wonderful race with a great crowd. The 10k has a few hills, and the 2k is a quick event. Register online for Abe's Amble by clicking here.

HalfWits---Fall 2007!

We had a great crew show up Saturday morning for our Fall for the Half Wits program. Our first run--10 miles--was a little muggy, but the temp was not too bad.

Several of us grabbed coffee and breakfast at Cafe Moxo after the run. The cafe is on Adams by the Farmer's Market and they have some outdoor tables which made for a fun morning.

Through Sept. 8, we'll be meeting every Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m., south side of the Old State Capitol plaza, for our long runs. Our only exception will be Saturday, August 18. We won't run that day, but instead we'll run Abe's Amble on Sunday, August 19. And Sunday, September 16 is race day in St. Charles, MO.

Next Saturday we'll be running 11 miles. Feel free to join us for any of our runs, even if you are not training for the Lewis & Clark Half Marathon. If you are running the Lewis & Clark, get registered for the race! We also have the OK from the Lewis & Clark directors to set up "camp" near the post-race area after the race for some of our usual Half Wits fun!

Thanks to everyone who showed up yesterday and we'll see ya next Saturday!

Just a little motivation!

Just a little reminder for y'all as we get our summer/fall Half Wits program underway!

Saturday looks to be a hot and muggy day, but hey, just stick with us. We'll have icicles on your eye lashes before long!

Brrrrrr!!!!!!

Join us at the Saturday Social

The SRRC's Saturday Social is back this weekend! We'll be at Floyd's Thirst Parlor (5th Street downtown between Adams and Monroe). The festivities kick off at 6:00 pm and will last until ????? It has been rumored that the marathon crew will be making a fashion (drinking?) statement with their fuel belts!

Come out and join us for some mid-summer fun!

Our thoughts are with the Sommer family

Half Wit Eric Sommer and his wife Nicole were involved in the acccident Sunday morning which held up the start of the triathlon. For those of you who don't know them, they are wonderful people and tremendous athletes. Eric is one of the top SRRC runners and has joined us for several of the Half Wits runs.

Here is the story from the Wednesday edition of the State Journal-Register:

Three injured motorists released from hospital

By JAYETTE BOLINSKISTAFF WRITER
Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Three motorists injured in a two-vehicle crash near Lake Springfield Sunday morning have been released from St. John’s Hospital.

Eric B. Sommer, 35, Nicole Sommer, 37, and Nicholas Ramirez, 20, all of Springfield, were all in the same vehicle. The other driver, Lathan Montgomery, 57, of Springfield, remained hospitalized Tuesday in serious condition.

Firefighters worked for more than an hour to extricate victims from the wreckage of the crash, which happened about 7 a.m. on East Lake Shore Drive at Linden Lane near the entrance to the Springfield Muni Opera. The accident tied up traffic for some time as people were trying to get to the Iron Abe and Stoneman Sprint triathlons at Lake Springfield.

According to police, Montgomery was driving a 2006 Honda Ridgeline north from the Muni entrance and for some reason crossed the centerline, striking an oncoming 2006 Honda Odyssey driven by Eric Sommer. According to the accident report, Sommer said he was on his way to compete in the triathlon, when he and his wife, who was a passenger, saw a vehicle coming at them in their lane. Sommer swerved to the right to try to avoid a collision but didn’t want to go down an embankment, so he braked to a nearly complete stop by the time the Ridgeline struck them.

Montgomery later spoke to police at the hospital but said he couldn’t remember what happened, other than to say he’d been at work and was on his way home at the time. His wife told police he’d had recent medical issues, according to the crash report. Montgomery was ticketed for improper lane usage.

Jayette Bolinski can be reached at 788-1530 or jayette.bolinski@sj-r.com.