My only comment on the Quarryman Challenge is “That was a bummer.” Official statements have been and will continue to come from the race director.
So what else is coming up in and around Lemont? Well plenty. The Lemont Park District (LPD) has both a 10K and 5K race on July 4th. If you have trained for the Quarryman and want to show off that fitness level, all you need to do is maintain it until these races. If you are running the 10K, my one word of advice is to train running up Julia Street at least once so it does not surprise you on race day. For more information you can go to the LPD website or look up the information in you Summer 2012 LPD brochure The Memory Maker on page 39.
The LPD is offering a new race this year for the younger folks, a mini-triathlon. The race is designed for tweens and teens ages 11-16 and is set to take place on Friday July 20th. It involves a 200 meter swim (8 lengths of the pool) followed by a 1 mile bike followed by a 1 mile run. When I look at new fitness endeavors, the first thing I try to calculate is “how long will it take me to do this and am I in shape or can I get in shape to elevate my heart rate for that amount of time”. Using that thought process, most kids should be able to complete this in 30 minutes or less. If that seems doable for your kids, I’d encourage you to let them give it a “tri”. You never know what it might lead to. Information on this event can be found on page 23 of The Memory Maker.
Finally, I wanted to put in a plug for a vastly underused facility in Lemont, the Heritage Quarry Trails. Everyone who runs knows that it is better for your entire musculo-skeletal system to have as much cushion as possible when running. And the best way to do this outside of your shoes is to run on something other than concrete or asphalt. Well right in downtown Lemont (use the Safety Village as a starting point) we have access to 5 miles of nicely maintained crushed limestone trails. And on top of the softer surface, much of the trailways are under tree cover, to protect you from the sun.
I was on the trails for an hour last Sunday morning and did not see another runner, walker or biker the entire time. There were plenty of folks fishing, but no one else using the trails for exercise. If I had gone to Waterfall Glen at the same time, the parking lot would have been full of folks using their facility. I would love to use the Heritage Quarry trails as a home venue for a running club in Lemont. Is anyone else up for that? If so, drop me an email or leave a comment and we will see what transpires. If I get 10 folks expressing interest I’ll take the next steps (pun intended) to make something happen.
To steal a phrase from the “most interesting man in the world,” keep fit my friends.
