March 2003

Don’t fret—spring is ALMOST here. Some of the Pacer “girls” have decided to celebrate the coming of spring with a get-together dinner and game night at Carol Petron’s house. These events have proved to enlighten minds and lift spirits. There have been several Pacerette get-togethers so far; one took place at Duffy’s, the loud and smokey bar and grill on Diversey, and another was spent bowling, where the top score of the evening was 95!!. Yes, the girls can do something besides run!!!…..I suppose the guys will be envious, and try to be included!! For the record, it’s GIRL’S ONLY!!…..John Parisi had his first signing party for his book “Choices” at Borders out in Colorado, and sold 30 copies. Several Pacers checked out the Borders on Broadway to purchase his book, and discovered that “Choices” had been sold out. (Also available at Amazon.com ) Way to go John!……  I understand that Ted Kleine has been commissioned to write a book about horse racing and the racetrack. He has been spending considerable time hanging out at the track and getting to know his subject first hand…….Some of the Pacers have been training hard for spring marathons through this gruesome Chicago winter. Congrats to Dean Battistella for completing the Napa Valley Marathon and for taking super photos along the way.  Photos viewed @  http://lincolnparkpacers.org/PhotosNapaMarathon2003.htm . I think he can reasonably take about 30 minutes off his finish time for the effort he put into creating his great photos. That gives Dean a time of under 4 hours!!!! Hey, don’t we all figure our real time by taking into consideration: occasional walking, potty stops, shoe tying, liquid and gel refreshments, blister repair, high-fiving with spectators, muscle cramps, chatting with family and friends?? After putting all these factors into the mix on marathon day, we can all boast a time way under the official clock time!! Dean’s next races are the Earth Day Half-Marathon on April 19^th in St. Cloud, Minnesota and the Journey’s End Half Marathon in Eagle River, Wisconsin.  Anyone interested in running either  drop a note at  [email protected]. Would be a fun idea to get a small group together on these. Mike Ward is running better than ever…He has completed several marathons and ultras this winter, and is still running strong. He not only runs 50K’s, and 50-milers, but does the 100-milers too! As a master runner, he is “kicking butt”!!! ……. Mark Hylen went to Australia in February to help with a leadership conference in Sydney. While he was there he wanted to learn scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef, and hike the Sydney Bridge. Hopefully he will update us on the details of that trip for the next newsletter…..Last summer it was the Black Hills in South Dakota that was the popular vacation spot for many Pacers—this winter it’s been Oaxaca, Mexico.  This charming colonial Mexican city has been blessed with Pacers since mid December; Jim Larson and wife, Gabe Minc, wife and daughter, Gordon McIntosh and wife, Meredyth, Joanne Kaeding, Cary Adams, and in April, it will be Jack and Amy Euske on their honeymoon. How many of these Pacers were brave enough to try the local favorite, champalinas (gourmet grasshoppers)?… Deborah Bear recently met up with her Inca Trail Peruvian guide, Santiago, while on a trip in Colorado. Santiago, who is working throughout the winter at a ski resort, plans to pay a visit to Chicago and visit the “Inca Trail Girls” this spring before returning to Peru. The Pacer Inca Girls will be able to return the favor and be Santiago’s guide around Chicago!!….Check out Hal Olin’s ski photos on our Pacer web-site. Hal just returned from his looooonng holiday, skiing everyday, and entertaining his constant flow of guests, including Pacer Jack Euske. Jack, who is getting married to Amy Schauwecker on March 29 has been dog sitting for Amy’s dog, Mattie, since Amy had a job transfer out to California. Jack and Mattie have joined the Pacers for several runs, and it looks like Jack is being led by Mattie! With Amy working in California, and Jack and Mattie here in Chicago, where in the world will they call home after the honeymoon?…..Russ Ramaswamy is spending quite an extended holiday in Guatemala this winter. Is he visiting his sick mom or is this just an excuse for yet another travel adventure??!!!! He’ll be back in time to run the Boston Marathon in April for sure!!……Stuart Schulman and girlfriend Diane spent a long weekend in Canana. The purpose was to go skiing at Whistler, the well know ski resort outside of Vancouver, however, they never even laid eyes on the mountain. Stuart’s old navy friend who lives out west picked them up at the airport in his camping trailer, and was to accompany Stuart and Diane on the adventure. On the drive to Whistler, the camper broke down, and after much “to do”, Stuart and Diane ended up having to high tail it by bus back to Vancouver in time to catch their flight to Chicago. There is more excitement to the story, so ask Stuart for the details!!….Gene and Barbara Scheckman spent a week in China in late February. Let’s hope Gene stayed away from food that causes problems, as he is prone to picking up microscopic little creatures on his overseas adventures!!!  A word of advice from someone who’s been there; third world travel is really adventurous and exciting, but keep your mouth tightly pursed while taking a shower.…..Jennifer Leslie and Monica O’Hara both visited Phoenix, Arizona the weekend of March 7^th! Jennifer was paying a visit to our Scottsdale Pacer’s, Marshall Craig and Kate Fitzgerald, who own a fabulous luxury home with a pool in Scottsdale. Jennifer diligently remembered to shake out her shoes each morning, as Kate and Marshall boasted scorpions and tarantulas aplenty, but alas, none were to be seen?! Monica went out west to run a half-marathon outside of Phoenix. Joining Monica was her “good friend”, Mark (a Pacer in the early ‘90’s), who ran the marathon. Monica boasts a half-marathon time of around 1:30 and something, and was using this as a training run for the London Marathon in April. While out in Arizona, they ALL met up for a dinner together Saturday night!…….Kate Handley has been traveling extensively with her job, including an exciting business trip to Scotland. Kate managed to find the time to do some sightseeing and reports Scotland to be absolutely beautiful. Kate also ran the Las Vegas half-marathon last month, and set a new PR of 1:53. She also finished in under 2 hours at Cary March Madness, and that’s after only 4 hours of sleep. Greg Domantey’s strenuous speed training program is really showing results for Kate! She will be joining Monica to run the London Marathon in April. They also plan to travel over there afterwards……  Tim Marsh has been making it to Saturday morning breakfast with the Pacers lately. He is engaged to be married to long time girl friend Debbie, but there seemed to be a slight delay on a ring purchase? Actually Tim and Debbie recently paid a visit to a “special” ring designer, as Tim is most anxious to win the heart of his beloved. We are waiting to see this fabulous ring and hear when the wedding will actually take place??!!!….Where or where has Dan Stohr been hanging out lately?? He seems to be otherwise occupied?! Hey Dan, come around and let us know what’s going on with your new interest. In addition to our curiosity about your life, if you wait too long to join us, we will be forced to hear about how slow, fat, and out of shape you are….. Urs Weber and Lori Soderholm were in Chicago to visit again the weekend of March 14^th. It’s always great to see them, and it sometimes feels like they’ve never moved!….Kristin Horvat has not been running much with the Pacers. She claims it’s because she’s been busy playing basketball this winter?? Is that all there is to it, or has she been otherwise entertained?  She has also been training for Boston with Greg Domantey, so guess she’s excused!!……Monica O’Hara had her annual St. Patty’s Day party at her place on the evening of March 15. The word is that the party was loads of fun, however the # of guests were down a tad due to races on Sunday morning. One was the Cary, March Madness, about an hour’s drive from the city. Quite a few Pacers were there to run what used to be considered the “toughest race on the Chicago Circuit”. It is no longer on the CARA race circuit, however, it is still a barnburner, with hills galore! Since it is one of the best training races around for a spring marathon, there were still plenty of super runners there who were interested in competition. Age group winners include Frank Nicholson with a 2^nd, and then Joanne Kaeding 1^st, Janet Omer 2^nd , and Pat Knabe 3^rd, all in the same age group.(NO, we don’t have to mention what that age group is!!!!) The weather was way to perfect for March Madness, but then nobody was complaining about that!….Another hill run, the River to River Relay race in southern Illinois is coming up in April. If you want to have the most fun weekend ever, running with friends on a beautiful but hilly course, sign up for this one…not to be missed if you’ve never participated. Contact Wayne Smith, who is in the Pacer directory……HAPPY SPRING TRAINING to all the Pacers!!!!

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