FOXTALES - February 2008

The Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) is a non-profit organization devoted to expanding, motivating, supporting and celebrating the running community of Chicagoland. CARA connects runners to resources that enable them to run - further, faster, better, for life.

Due to CARA's advocacy efforts, runners in the Chicago area enjoy some of the highest quality road races in the country. This race has partnered with CARA and, on behalf of its runners, has agreed to comply with and uphold CARA's road race standards. The object of CARA's Race Standards is accuracy, safety and comfort for runners. To view those Standards and to learn more about CARA, visit www.cararuns.org.

Dear Tom,

You are receiving this email as a member of the Fox River Trail Runners, or you may have signed up for this newsletter from our web site. If you are receiving this from a forwarded email and would like to join this list, you go to ww.foxrivertrailrunners.org. Also, please keep us informed of any changes to your email address so that we can be sure you are getting all club communications. For any email address changes, email Gene Boehm. Please add w.rasmussen@comcast.net to your list of "Safe Senders."

Rocky Raccoon 100 - A DNF!

By Steve Richey

The Rocky Raccoon 100 mile run is a trail race in Huntsville State Park, about 70 miles north of Houston, Texas. For 2008, there were about 270 starters and in the 6 a.m. 100-mile event and maybe another 170 in the 7 a.m. 50-mile event. Around two-thirds of the starters were able to finish.

While not a "championship" event, the relative easiness of the course draws a number of the faster ultra runners in the country and would be considered a national event. This year it was held on February 2-3 with a Friday night packet pick-up and pasta dinner.

A Word from the Editor~

Running Through Cold and Flu Season

Jennifer Zuri

To run or not to run? That is the question when the alarm goes off in the morning, ending a long night of a fuzzy head and inability to breathe. A recent article in Runner's World says a good rule to follow is - if your ailment is above the neck, you can run. But if you're achy below the neck, better to stay in bed.

And so I've thought about that as I've battled a persistent head cold the past couple weeks. But a girl can only do so much and when I can't breathe properly I know my muscles won't get the oxygen needed to perform efficiently.

Runner's Bio~ Tom Spadafora

How long have you been running and how did you get started?

I got my start in 1972 as a 5^th grader. Our school had a mock Olympics and I entered the "marathon" (it was only a half mile). I placed 2^nd and got hooked. I continued to run through high schools in New Jersey and Connecticut participating in both cross country and track. I was a cross country walk-on at Bradley University in Peoria and was a top seven runner by the end of my freshman year.

How long have you been a member of FRTR and what do you enjoy about it?

I've been a club member since 2006. It's great meeting new fellow runners from time to time at the Wednesday and Saturday club runs. I especially enjoy the camaraderie between members who all share common goals and challenges while running.

Prevent Sports Injuries with Early Detection of Biomechanical Imbalances

By Dave Ginsberg

This is the time of year all athletes should be working on improving technique and becoming more fit and balanced. Sports injuries are the result of forces that become too much for bone or soft tissue to absorb and adapt to, and therefore cause failure. All sports injuries result from an acute or sudden force that is too much for the tissue to overcome (e.g. a sprained ankle or broken bone), or from repetitive forces that over time create so much stress that the tissues finally fail partially or completely.

These are most commonly known as overuse injuries or repetitive motion injuries. It is these types of injuries that most parents, coaches and athletes do not understand or know how to prevent. For this reason these are the types of injuries that we will focus our preventitive techniques on.

The Race Place

Here are some races in and around the Fox Valley. For a full listing, visit www.cararuns.org.

03/16 St. Paddys Day 5k Run-Walk, Chicago

03/29 Blackberry Farms 5k Spring Gallop, Aurora

04/05 Healthy Hop 5k, Geneva

04/13 Dewey Dash 5k, Elburn

04/13 The Race Thats Good for Life, Oak Park, 5k

04/19 Promise Run for Wellness, Aurora, 10k, 5k

04/27 Fox Trot, Batavia, 5k

05/04 Great Western Half Marathon, St. Charles

February Birthdays

Happy Birthday to Brian Ahern, Deb Anderson, Katie Boehm, Luke Boehm, Keith Breslich, Robert Brown, Terry Bucki, Chris Schmidt, Craig Collins, Phyllis Cosentino, Elizabeth Cummings, Matt Dalpiaz, Sarah Derylo, Al Edgecombe, Sarah Ganster, Shawn Ginsberg, Claire Ginsberg, Lauren Gurnik, Becky Hill, Paul Jurgens, Steve Kaptan, James Mathewson, Robert McKeague, Jim Newman, Jessica Nolte, Kelsey Pate, Mary Pellico, Sheryl Piro, Tracy Polaski, Kelly Scoville, Noel Storm, Bob Unger, Nathalie Vignaux, Denise Waldron, John Weitz, and Jennifer Zuri.

New and Renewed Members

Congratulations to the following new and renewed members:

New Individual Members: Stephen Femau, Thomas Dieter, Gillian Leananh.

Renewed Individual Members: Robert McKeague, Eric Bahe, Steve Richey, Steve Boots, Patricia Stoltenberg, Michael Noonan, Mark Maleski, Daniel Warren, Joe Arnold, Joe Roth.

New Family Members: Eugene "JJ", Katie, and Chris Schmidt; Dale, Noel, and Christine Storm; the Mike Woldyla family; the Vicki Wagonis family.

Renewed Family Members: The Karl Johnson family, the David Helmick family, the R.C. Fagan family, the Philip Vitkus family, the Kaori Maeshima family.