ARTICLES IN THE LOPERGRAM

Note:
A separate TEXT ONLY version for those with slow connections is also available.

CONTENTS

• MARKING THE MILES
• CLINIC DIRECTORS REPORT
• TALKIN' WALKIN'
• WALKING
• AARP TRIUMPH
• KEEPING YOUR COOL AT THE LA MARATHON
• 2001 MISSION INN RUN
• 12'TH ANNUAL LOMA LINDA LOPERS HOLIDAY CLASSIC
• LOMA LINDA LOPERS ANNUAL BANQUET
• MARATHON MAN JERRY DUNN
• BE GOOD TO YOUR FEET (Courtesy of Road Runner Sports)
• UPCOMING RACES
• MT WHITNEY ADVENTURE
• LOPER SPEED GROUP
• A HIGH AND A LOW
• THE 25,000 MILE MAN
• THE KEY TO A GREAT ICE CREAM SOCIAL

In Memory of  ART DE LEON October 6, 1915 - September 16, 2001 Farewell to a Friend of twenty-three years, your smile, your presence and your inspiration will be greatly missed The Loma Linda Lopers "I have run a good race, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith"  Paul (2 Timothy 4:7)

MARKING THE MILES

by Jim Walling

It’s a new year and for many of you it will be the year you complete your first full marathon.  Congratulations to all of you who have survived the Holidays and are still on track with your training! You’re showing the commitment, determination and tenacity that will pay rich dividends at mile 26 next March 3rd.

For those of you who ‘fell off the wagon’ in your training schedule over the Holidays and year-end rush, don’t despair.  Just pick up where you left off and you will be surprised how fast you are back in the groove.  All is not lost.  You can still do it and we’re still here to help.

I’m going to keep this article short. Our Editors  have an over-flow of interesting and important articles they would like to get in this issue of the Lopergram.  I would like to thank and congratulate everyone who volunteered for December’s Holiday Classic beginning with Wayne Wible on down the list.  We missed Art DeLeon this year but he would have been delighted with the success of it.

Please re-read my article in the last issue of the Lopergram.  Paragraphs 3 and 4 are important to you.  Especially take to heart the part dealing with your safety on the road.  Congratulations again!  See you Sunday.
 

Wow, can you believe all the mileage you have been putting on the road?  Believe it or not, this week-in and week-out training is going to get you through the 26.2 miles in L.A.  Like Mel Hill says, “You are putting it in the bank”. You’ll be able to draw it out on March 3. Remember the first time you ran/walked 10 miles?  I do. I even bragged to my astonished friends about it. I hope you experience the feeling that now it is a relief when we only have to do 10 miles, because that’s an easy day.  Keep up the good work!

Because of the change in the date of the Holiday Classic, some of the training schedule has changed also. Listed below are the miles and the scheduled speakers for the remainder of the clinic:
 

Date	Mileage	Speaker	Topic
Jan 6	12	Dr. Brent Kay	Race Preparation
Jan 13	19-20	No Speaker
Jan 20	NA	NA	Highland Half-Marathon/10K
Jan 27	12	Ingrid Sell	Nutrition, Endurance, and Exercise
Feb 3	20-21	No Speaker
Feb 10	14	Dr. Brent Kay	"Putting It All Together"
Feb 17	12	Jerry & Elaine Dunn	A Day With Mr. Marathon Man
Feb 24	10	Jim Waling	Marathon Day
Mar 3	26.2!!!!!	Thousands of Spectators!!!	2002 LA Marathon, "You Can Do It"!!!!!!!

You will notice that there are no speakers on the days the schedule calls for mileage over 15 miles. That is because we want to get out on the road earlier than the usual 7:00 A.M. Make sure that you continue to arrive at the clinic at 6:30 A.M. or you may miss your group. On the days we do have speakers, please, be a good audience. These people are experts in their field. They are getting up very early on a Sunday morning and volunteering their time because they want you to have the latest information regarding your health, safety, and training. This is a valuable part of the training clinic.

There are some very long miles scheduled for this period of time. You should definitely set your sight on completing the scheduled miles. If you are on the road, you feel good, and your body says, “Go for it.” Then GO FOR IT! However, if you are out on the road and your body doesn’t feel good, don’t feel bad about turning around at the 18-mile mark. You can successfully complete a marathon with 18 miles under your belt. It is better to be healthy and possibly shoot for a slower marathon time than to get injured during training and not be able do the marathon at all.

Remember that your training schedule also calls for training your digestive system to accept liquids and food during your long run/walks. Since the L.A. Marathon will be serving Gatorade along the route, you should be conditioning your system to accept this drink. Gatorade replaces the electrolytes you will be losing as you complete your race. If you plan to use a different sport drink for the marathon, make sure you are taking it now, and that you carry it with you in the race. The same advice goes for food. Start taking food items now on your long runs. Find out which ones work best for you out on the road and plan to carry them with you at the marathon. At the marathon, eat and drink only the foods and brands of liquids you have trained with.

The same information applies to your clothes and shoes. Once you start doing the long miles (over 15) things start changing with how your clothing feels. That cotton shirt that was just fine when you ran/walked 10 miles is now heavily clinging to your body. Those socks you borrowed from your kids are now causing blisters. Talk to your clinic directors and pace leaders for advice regarding clothing including underwear, shirts, shorts, hats, shoes, glasses, fanny packs, in other words: anything you plan to have with you during the marathon. Train with those items. If they work for you during the long miles, that will be your outfit for the marathon.

There will be buses available for you to ride to Los Angeles on the day of the marathon. More information will be provided as we get closer to March 3. For those of you who are planning to stay in a hotel in Los Angeles, reservations are necessary. Pick up a list of the hotels and the phone numbers at the booth any Sunday.

Keep up the good work! You look terrific out there on the road! Go Lopers!
 
 

So much activity since the last Lopergram. We have enjoyed Sunday morning speakers before completing our miles. We have enjoyed our traditional pancake breakfast and, of course, the delicious ice cream served up by our own Chuck Harget. Not to mention all the fruit and muffins that are put out for us to enjoy as we return to the gym. In November, we all had a great time at the Mission Inn Run (well, most of us did, see Brenda Miller’s article).  Most recently we had the Loper’s Holiday Classic. Many of you came out to participate in one of the four Classic races, and many of you walked away with an award. Congratulations to you all. So now, we are focusing on the L.A. Marathon. It is not that far off according to my calendar. If the holidays have taken you off your normal routine, like maybe eating too much and exercising too little, it’s time to get back to where you know you want to be and that is feeling good about yourself.

On April 28, 2002, the Lopers. along with the city of Yucaipa, will be conducting a 5K walk and a 10K run as part of the first annual “Iris Days” festival. The Loper’s board was asked by Yuciapa city council member Diane Smith to plan and conduct the race.  Finances were approved, and we are in the early stages of planning what we hope to be a very successful event. We will need help, so anyone who can volunteer please contact the Remele’s or the Selberg’s.

On September 16, we lost a good friend and Loper of 23 years, Mr. Art De Leon. I know many of you will agree with me when I say I really miss seeing him out on the road in his Loper pink shirt. He was a Loper hero.
 
 

Lopers would never do this, but…

As a walker, I find it sad that competitors will enter races in the walk division then proceed to run either as soon as they turn the first corner or at various points in the race (including the finish line) and finish in the walkers chute. Sometimes I find myself inspired to run.  I admit I am slow (yes, slower than the Penguin) but I aspire to be a runner and when I enter a race in which I feel I can run part of it, I enter as a runner.  I know I am more likely to receive an award if I entered the walk division, but I cannot in good conscience say I walked if I ran just one step.  It is not easy to walk an entire race – for most people it means being out on the course for a long time.  One time I entered a race as a runner, walked the entire way, and placed third in my age group, in the run division.  I believe that runners these days have more respect for walkers and realize that walkers are entitled to win trophies and medals.  Walkers train just as hard and often longer than runners.  So remember runners, one day you may find yourself walking a race, because of injury, illness or age and you will appreciate that walkers are recognized by event organizers and that trophy will be just as well-deserved by that 15 minutes per mile walker as it would be by the 8 minutes per mile runner.

For anyone who is interested in trying a triathlon but is nervous about completing all three legs, the AARP brought their TRIumph to California for the first time on November 4 and offered relay team participation. They provided a 12-week training program and experienced Ironman Triathletes as coaches.  The swim was 400 yards, bike 20K and run 5K.  Several Lopers participated as relay team members.  Our Men’s team which included Hal Orshall (runner) and Jay Fisgus (swimmer) took First Place and our Women’s team consisting of Ruth Homan (runner), Jenny Dean (cyclist) and Christine Timms (swimmer) took Second Place.  We competed against veteran triathletes and other novices.  Our teams beat Bruce Jenner’s team, despite Bruce “helping” Hal fumble his chip handover.  Although only “Over 50’s” were allowed to compete for trophies, under-50’s were welcome to participate.  Jay & Christine trained for the 400-yard swim at the Drayson pool (83 degrees) so it was quite a shock to swim in Puddingstone Lake (68 degrees).  Next year we will have wetsuits!  Most of us are ready now to compete as individuals.  AARP put together a small, well-organized event.  There were also excellent raffle prizes, and our team members won prizes including Amtrak tickets to Seattle, Birkenstocks shoes and National Park Passes.  The Grand Prize was a fabulous new bike!  Remember, cycling and swimming are great cross-training activities for marathoners.  Check the AARP website for next year’s event location.

LA Marathon day is fast approaching, therefore I would like to share with you some invaluable information that I learned while training for my first marathon a few years back. If your body is short of water, your performance will bomb. This is because of three things: overheating, disruption of the chemical balances and dehydration.

When we do heavy exercise, even when we’ve had plenty of water and are running in cool weather, the body heats up to 103 degrees within 15 minutes. However the body tries to maintain it’s resting temp of 98.6. It does this by sending the heat to the skin via the blood where it dissipates into the air through sweat. But the blood has other functions! It must carry all the nutrients & oxygen to the muscles and remove the wastes of muscle metabolism. So the blood is doing a lot of different tasks and tries to "do it all" (like a lot of working moms I know). The hotter your core temp becomes the more blood is allotted to the task of cooling you down and the less blood goes to feeding the muscles. Your body will always sacrifice muscle function for temperature regulation, because a decline in muscle function, even to complete immobility, is not life threatening, but if body core temperature rises a mere 9 degrees, normal biochemistry ceases and you die. So the performance rule is: the cooler you stay during exercise, short of being cold, the better your muscle function.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that endurance events longer than 10 miles should not be held when the ambient temperature exceeds 82.4 degrees. Unfortunately, the weather does not always cooperate and we can find ourselves running a race on a very warm day.

Here are three steps that will boost your hydration for the next race.

I. LOAD CARBOHYDRATES: For six days before the marathon ‘carbo load’. After digestion, these extra carbohydrates are converted to glycogen and stored in the muscles and liver for use as fuel. For each gram of glycogen stored the body stores 2.5 grams of water. Basic biochemistry, but great news for athletes!

II PRE-HYDRATE: The studies support the fact that pre-event water loading yields lower performance temperatures. The rule is—drink extra water for two days before the event/then the morning of the event drink 8oz. glasses every 15 minutes.

III DRINK DURING PERFORMANCE: Even if you take water at every opportunity during a race, it is never enough. You’ll get about 40oz of water if you take a cup at every water stop. The body, however, loses about 160oz during the marathon so aim to grab two cups at each water station!

Final tips:

Water is your best choice over sweet drinks

Avoid the carbonated beverages,

Sip rather then gulp your drink and take it as cold as possible to dissipate heat in the gut and facilitate absorption.

Make sure you use these tips in training, don’t wait until the marathon to find your personal preferences.

Sunday, November 11, hinted at being a great day for a race.  In the first place, I did not have to get up at my usual Sunday morning dark-thirty.  I was just healing from a moderately sprained left ankle (incurred while I was involved in the dangerous activity of walking!).  I thought, no sweat, only 6 miles, I’m going to do this.  So I jumped into my Sunday Morning Uniform, hopped into the family car, and was off to Riverside.  The mood in the car was joyous, especially when we arrived at Ted’s house 10 minute’s early.  I had recently been admonished by Ted for tardiness, so even though I wasn’t driving I felt happy and wondered if I could put those 10 minutes in the bank!  Anyway, I had plans on meeting the other 2 members of the 18-minute walker group at the starting line.  I got my number and my T-shirt and headed to the long lines waiting at the port-a-potty.  I saw everyone there.  I found Carol, one of my group members.  She was looking for Shoji, who we did not find until we got to the start line.  I wished my brother-in-law Alan good-luck, bid goodbye to my sister Judy and friend Ted and found a spot in the lineup next to Rosemary and Ruth where we had a funny little conversation about how our group has stuck together and how we are going to do the marathon together.  Just then we heard a “pop” and we were off. At the first mile, we had our time read to us by some of the volunteers; 18:49 they told us.  Wow, that’s kind of slow I thought.  Neither of my group-mates had been in a race before, and even though we were walking, I knew that the balloons and the fans would be at the finish line cheering us on just like they do the first place guy so I really was hoping we could “turn it on” and maybe do some 17 or 16 minute miles too.  Carol and I had each brought a Carb Boom or two and I found a Chocolate Gu in the street someone had dropped and I gave it to Shoji (to whoever dropped their Gu, we want you to know that it went to a good cause!)  I said to my group, “You guys, this race is only 6 miles so lets boogie.”  We were happy that we were able to keep up with the other walkers, and in some cases, passed a few.  We were practicing the pick-a-target-then-pass-it strategy!  Usually on Sundays we are the last lonely females on the road, and we were having none of that today!  That is, until we went straight when everyone else went right!  Let me tell you about the long, fully enclosed bike trail the City of Riverside maintains!  We walked and walked; we weren’t worried because there were 5 other people who didn’t see the turn off either.  I was a little worried and exclaimed several times, “I don’t think this is the way, I think we’re off course”.  But every time I turned around and saw the other walkers behind me, I thought I was OK.  Oh yeah, and we were still maintaining our 16-17 minute pace.  About 9 miles into the race, I was starting to get tired!  You know, when you are truly lost, one has no conception of what a mile feels like anymore.  I had given my watch to Alan, my brother-in-law, because he had forgotten his.

We stopped and asked a cyclist for directions to Fairmont Park.  He looked at us with grave astonishment.  I knew immediately we were in trouble just by the look on his face.  He tried as best he could to soften the blow as to how far off course we really were.  He told us the next exit off the bike path was Van Buren, and that we should turn around and start making our way back.  One of the girls from the group walking behind us had caught up by then, and she lay down on the bike path and started screaming.  I was worried about the young boy who had trustingly followed us into this fire.  He had no water or food with him.  I was mad; this was supposed to be a fun 6-mile walk.  I had never been on a 10K that had no directions posted.  What made it worse; someone had told us to go the direction we did.  It didn’t help when I noticed that person was one of the persons lost with us.  After I was done being mad, I immediately slipped into my survival mode.  Let’s slow down, I said, the race is probably over by now.  Besides, we’re used to the mileage.  Let’s just make our way back at our regular pace.  We decided that on the way back, we would try to keep the three groups of walkers together as much as possible.  On the way back, we started talking about how we had power-walked our way into getting lost and we started laughing.  Finally we asked someone for the time and they told us it was 11:45am.  We had just gone out on a two-hour tour!  We started to wonder if anyone would miss us, and if they would have left already to eat breakfast.  We were all really hungry by then, and getting mad at our loved ones for eating breakfast without us.  Then I realized that I had the key to the family car in my fanny pack, and a measure of joy returned to my face.  They’re not going anywhere, I said, and besides, we’re assured of a search party now.  Just then a low flying single engine plane flew overhead and I jokingly started jumping up and down and waving my arms.  “Look, they’ve sent a search plane for us.”  Little did I know that there was a full search including a helicopter, two squad cars and four motorcycle CHP’s looking for us.  The plane that I saw belonged to the air show that was going on somewhere in Riverside.  Here is the really funny part.  I don’t understand human beings sometime because we all go against exactly what we are told not to do when we are lost.  When we all got back to the area we originally got lost in, we all went our separate ways.  Shoji, Carol and I were out in front and made a right turn up towards the street.  The young boy and the lady walking with him went straight, and the three young girls followed us for a few blocks, then went straight when we made a left turn back to Rubidoux Mtn.  Our goal was to get on a main road hoping someone would find us.  None of us were familiar with the area and had no idea where we were.  30 minutes later a CHP officer on a motorcycle stopped and asked if we were lost and if one of us was the one with the keys to the family car.  We were ecstatic!  Not so much that we were found, but that we were missed!  The office told us to walk down to the end of the block and wait for the black and white that was picking up the lady and young boy.  We told him to go check on the three young girls, to make sure they got back OK too.  Safely in the back seat of the squad car, I asked how far we were from the Mission Inn.  The officer told us it was still about three miles away.  We laughed and felt just a little funny riding in the back seat of the barred squad car.  When we got to the Mission Inn, I asked him if we could roll code three.  We didn’t get to.  And then, there was my sister and Shoji’s husband taken pictures and waving.  We met the young boy’s mother who had been worried to death and listened to my sister’s heroic efforts to get somebody to come look for us.  Thanks for your persistence Judy; we’re forever indebted to you.  This is what we learned about ourselves today:

1. follow your instincts, if you think your lost, you probably are
2. always carry food and water, you never know when 2 hours will turn into 4
3. be grateful for those long Sunday training miles, they saved us today
4. your pace group is a great source of support, learn to love them
5. we were worried that we wouldn’t be ready for the marathon, but after Sunday, we know we have what it takes!

On December 9th, the Lopers and the City of Loma Linda hosted the 12th annual Holiday Classic race, featuring 5K and 15K runs and walks and an “Elves Trot”.  In the early stages of planning this race, Race Director Wayne Wible had the idea to center it around a “Run for America” theme. Whether it was the theme, advertising, great weather, tradition, or just plain hard work by Wayne and his staff; we had a record number of participants, over 1500 runners and walkers!

Race day weather was perfect, clear and cool, but a little dark when the first volunteers began arriving at 4:00 a.m. to set-up their areas. The several months of planning, plus some excellent “lessons learned” documentation from last year’s director Donna Dawson, all came together in time for registration to begin at 6:00 am. Alan Remele’s live band (Rock and Roll Marathon ain’t got nothing on us!) provided Christmas music that boosted the energy level and the spirit of the crowd.  Our registration area was much expanded over last year, good thing since we had to handle over 1500 participants in just over an hour.

The first race group assembled just after 7:00.  They were welcomed by the mayor Pro-Tem Karen Gaio , the Mayor of Loma Linda, Floyd Peterson,  and the Mayor of San Bernardino, Judith Valles. Race director, Wayne Wible spoke and then led us in a prayer. The crowd listened to race and safety instructions, and then were reminded of the really important things going on in the world by a “goose bumps” rendition of our national anthem sung by Michelle Schrattenholzer.

The races were great, with participants ranging in age from 3 year old Elves to a 93 year old young lady who completed the 5K walk! Awards were presented to the first three men and women in each age division along with overall winners in each race. The top finishers were:
 

Complete results are posted on the Lopers Web Site.

A special and big thank you for all of those people who came together to give of their time, donations, ideas, support, those who got up early and physically put in many hours to make this Holiday Classic our biggest ever in its 12 year history. As many of you know, this race almost didn’t happen. Wayne Wible made it happen and he did it on very short notice.  Well done Wayne!
 

As tradition has it, we always have a banquet after the L.A. Marathon to  dress up, share road stories, and of course have a great meal. Once again our banquet will be held at the Wong Kerlee Pavillion at the Loma Linda University. It will be on March 24, 2002 at 6 p.m. You are invited as a Loper even if you choose not to complete the L.A. Marathon. We will be giving more details next month.  The banquet is a must; you are guaranteed a fun evening.

On February l7, Jerry and his wife Elaine will be in Loma Linda to visit with the Lopers. He will be our speaker that Sunday morning, then he and Elain will go out on the course and “run with the pack.” There is talk that he will also run with those who want to come out and run on Saturday the l6th. These two are absolutely amazing; you will love listening to them.

More information about Jerry Dunn is available at http://www.marathonman.org/

Some runners and walkers, particularly those who’re training for a marathon, proudly display their black toenails like a badge of honor. Not only are they proud of their discolored appendages, they think that they’re a normal by-product of the sport. Nothing could be further from the truth! In reality, wearing shoes that are too small causes black toenails; they’re also caused by spending too much time training on downhill courses.  What happens is your nails (particularly on your big toe and second toe) are being constantly pried upward with every step. This causes the nail to bleed at its base as it separates from the underlying tissue. The blood forms a clot, which eventually turns black. Besides looking quite unattractive, black toenails are often extremely painful.

If your nail doesn’t hurt, leave it alone and it will eventually fall off. However, if the pressure and pain affects your walking or running, try boring through the nail with a sterilized, unfolded paper clip. Heat the clip until it’s red-hot and allow it to cool only long enough so you can safely hold onto it. Then gently press the hot end against the nail deeply enough that it makes a hole. The blood will escape through the hole, which will immediately stop the discomfort. Don’t be squeamish! If the nail hurts a lot, you’ll feel an excruciatingly delightful sense of relief once you’ve relieved the pressure. If the blood has pooled for more than 72 hours, it may be too dry to use this technique. In that case, you may have to visit a podiatrist to have the nail removed.

When I was ten or eleven years old my family went on a camping trip to Sequoia. During one of the evening campfire programs, two young rangers spoke and shared their slides of a recent hike they had taken up Mt. Whitney. The pictures they showed that evening left a lasting impression. I was bound and determined that one day I too would make that climb.

Many years have passed. My husband, Alan, and I started climbing the local mountains with the younger teachers at my elementary school. The talk on the trail eventually got around to, “Let’s climb Whitney.” A year after that statement we were no closer to climbing the mountain. I realized that if we were ever going to see the top of Whitney, I had better get busy and organize the trip.

 I e-mailed a permit application to www.r5.fs.fed.us/inyo, collected $15.00 from each of the hikers, and sent in the completed application on February 1st, the first day the Forest Service would accept applications. Two months later we received our notice that we would have permits issued for September 1, 2001. We were all ecstatic, but overwhelmed at the task ahead of us. How would we ever get in shape to hike this mountain?

First, I set up a training calendar much like the one we use here at Lopers. We did our individual homework mileage during the week;  then got together on the weekends to climb local mountains two to three times a month. We started with easy climbs and eventually progressed to Mt. San Gorgonio, which we did twice. The first San Gorgonio hike started at the Vivian Creek Trail and was for speed and quick elevation. The second San G. hike originated at South Fork. This was the longest of the hikes at 24 miles round trip. We started out at 3:00 A.M. so that we could experience hiking in darkness using our headlamps. We all decided that this was a great way to hike.

We also did a lot of reading. If you are considering climbing Mt. Whitney, I recommend the books, The Mt. Whitney Guide and Climbing Mt. Whitney in One Day. We also found a great website, “The Mt. Whitney Day Hike Page”. And we did a lot of shopping.  The best thing we bought was our hiking poles. If you are climbing this mountain, they are a must! The books you read will have plenty of lists of recommended gear.

We stayed at the Whitney Portal Campground. It is an absolutely beautiful place. There are 40 campsites. most of them are reservations only, the rest are first come, first served. We drove right in and got two sites.

The day of the climb had finally arrived. We had planned to start off on our journey at 3:00 A.M., but we were so excited and couldn’t sleep, so we got up and started at 2:00 A.M. The moon was full.  The night was clear and incredibly beautiful with the perfect chill in the air for the hike. Our spirits were high. We had worked hard and were ready for whatever lay ahead of us.

On September 1, 2001, the seven members of our team successfully climbed to the top of the highest peak in the contiguous United States. I realized a dream that day.
 

The Loper Speed Group meets every Wednesday Night at 6:30 PM at the Drayson Center Track. Get there about 20 minutes early to warm up. And bring your Loper card. Note: We will not be working out Wednesday, December 26th.

We generally have 10 -15 members show up for our sessions, so it’s a small group with lots of room for more Lopers.  Speed training with the group has really helped me.  In the twelve weeks that I have been attending, I have gone from an average of 7:40 for two 1-mile repeats to 7:22 for two 1-mile repeats.  That is 18 seconds faster in just 12 weeks.  I know that I will probably not be able to keep that rate of improvement up every 12 weeks since the amount of improvement for the same period of time diminishes a little as time goes on.  But even that initial 18 second improvement would reduce my 5K time by about 1 minute, my 10K time by about 2 minutes, and my full marathon time by almost 8 minutes!

My running career began in 1980 when I joined the Lopers.  At that time there were only 50 members and they were all runners.  Over the years I ran 6 marathons with the Lopers: the Honolulu Marathon three times and the L.A. Marathon three times.  I reached my peak in running when I was 50+ and ran my best times ever.  In my late 50's I began to develop back problems, herniated disks (3) and spinal stenosis.  This forced my running days into retirement.  It was very depressing to give up running.  However; I knew I needed to stay fit so I decided to take up walking.  A little hard on the ego initially, but with time I grew to enjoy walking.  With speed workouts and consistent training, I developed a fast walking pace and was able to take awards in my age division.  So I went on to walk 6 more Marathons, Santa Clarita, Alaska's Mayor Midnight Sun, San Diego Rock N Roll, L.A., (twice), and the Portland Marathon.

There are three age division trophies on my shelf...all from the Run Thru Redlands 10K:  5th place in 1990, 3rd place in 1991 and 4th place 1992.   On April 22nd 2001 I took first place in my age division in the Run Thru Redlands.  WHAT A HIGH.  The very next day on April 23rd 2001, I was told by my Doctor I have breast cancer.  WHAT A LOW!!!  Again I have to pick myself up and start all over.  This is going to be one difficult marathon.

Seven months passed, and on December 9 I walked the Holiday Classic 15K. I was so thrilled when I came across the finish line!  My first event since my diagnosis.   I have now started training for the Nashville Country Music marathon in April, 2002.  I am walking much slower but I am out there............

A special thanks to the Lopers and the many friends that have come into my life since I joined the Lopers in 1980.  There is a quotation:  "Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched , and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives”.

Wasn’t it great to come back from your Sunday run on October 14th and finding some super ice cream, whoops, I mean gelato, ready and waiting for you?  Gelato is the Italian version of ice cream and has a really smooth texture and lots of flavor.  There were scrumptious chocolate and vanilla gelato flavors with lots of good stuff mixed in.  And there was even some tasty sorbet.

You can thank Loper members German and Caroline Garberoglio for donating the gelato.  German ( pronounced Herrman) operates the Piemonte Creamery and Ice Cream Factory in Redlands.

Actually, you should really thank German's grandfather who started an Italian gelato store in Argentina.  Yes, Argentina!  We all should be thankful that the delicious flavors made their way to the Inland Empire, after a short stop at the L.A. County Fair to win dozens of Gold Medals.

But the October 14th Ice Cream Social almost wasn't.  Early that morning,  I went to meet German at the store to pick up the gelato .   He drove up in his car, hopped out, walked to the door, and then stopped dead in its tracks.  He turned around and ran back to his car.   "My keys!  I forgot my keys!", he yelled,  "I'll be back in 10 minutes."

Well, 10 minutes stretched to 20.   Then 20 minutes stretched to 40.  What had happened to poor German?  Would there be an Ice Cream Social?

The story goes like this: When he got home, just a short 5 minute drive from the store, he couldn't find the keys.   Then he remembered, he had left them in Caroline's car the previous night.  Where was Caroline?   Somewhere on the road with the Lopers on her Sunday run.  German rushed from his home in Redlands to the Gentry Gym parking lot.  Then he drove up and down and around the parking lot until he finally found his wife's car.  He grabbed the store keys and then zipped back to Redlands just in time to make sure that everyone had a fantastic Ice Cream Social.

We should all say thanks to Caroline and German for donating the tasty Gelato.  And German deserves a special medal for his quick thinking and hard work in getting the store keys and making sure all the Lopers had such a great treat at the end of a hard run.

Show them your appreciation by stopping by the Piemonte Creamery, located just south of Interstate 10 at 625 Orange St. in Redlands.   Call 909-307-8895 for their current list of flavors.

Bob Windver has been a dedicated runner since he joined the Loma Linda Lopers on Sunday, March 26, 1978.  That was 23 years ago and he has never missed a month of running since that day.  Bob has kept a careful log and scrapbook of all his running exploits since then. It has now expanded into two big books because of the number of races and other events in which he has participated.  He has completed 155 5K races, 97 10K’s, 14 Half Marathons, and 4 Marathons, a total of 270 races. He has been very consistent in placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in his age division in most of these races.

Bob has also been in Triathalons and bike races, but it is running that is his one true love.  The license plate on his Mustang reads  “BOB (heart) RUN”; yes, Bob loves running.  He started running when he was 39 years old and he is now 62.  He still runs over 100 miles a month and sometimes as much as 150.  Eating healthy and a strong program of exercising has kept Bob trim and very active. He has a special exercise room in his home with a weight lifting set and many other pieces of equipment.

Luckily, no serious injury has ever sidelined this dedicated runner.  He has avoided knee injuries and other common runner complaints.  He says his style of running may partially attribute to his injury free career.  Lifting his feet only a little off the ground when he runs eliminates the hard jarring effect on the body.  Plus wearing $100 shoes and a real quality insole gives him a safer and smoother ride.  He says the investment is worth it.  So for all you Loma Linda Loper runners out there, take a tip from Bob and run smart and run forever.