Member Highlight: John Volkman

I'm starting a new push for content moving into 2010.  This is in from John Volkman.  Please send all race feedback, observations, tips, etc. that may be of interest to members and I'll put them up on our site!

John Pius and I have been running together for as long as I’ve been running (close to 30 years). We both started when we were teachers at Sanger High School and joined fellow Sanger High teachers, Jack Ainger, Augie Caldera, and Jim McKittrick in running marathons. After so many years of running, Detroit was to be a mission marathon. John was originally from Detroit and had recently turned 70; he wanted to win his age group and figured 3:45 would do it. I had recently signed up for the Boston Marathon/Big Sur Marathon Challenge for 2010; I still needed to qualify for Boston by running a sub 3:45 to be eligible to do it..

    "Veni, Vidi, Vici"

As John, who used to teach Latin at Sanger High, would translate for those who aren’t familiar with that phrase uttered by a victorious Julius Caesar, "I came, I saw, I conquered." Those were our feelings when we finished the race. We had met our dual goals and felt strong doing them.
   
As marathoners would always hope-- but rarely achieve-- all things worked out perfectly for us. The weather was in the low 30s; cold for spectators, but great for serious racing. All the aid stations were perfect; the course was overall fast with only a few hills; there was enough crowd support to motivate; we were both healthy and rested: all systems were “GO!” The one concern that I wrestled with was whether or not to wear a long sleeve shirt under my singlet or a throwaway over it. Saturday had been windy and overcast, but Sunday dawned clear and windless so I opted to wear the throwaway-- a crucial decision for me because I hate running too hot and had promised myself never to wear more than a singlet in a marathon because when the sun comes up, it does tend to get warm racing. So I wore gloves and cap with ear flaps and the throwaway shirt which I shed by mile 4.
   
John and I got in place in Wave 3 and ran the first 3 miles just under 9 minute pace as we eased into the race. By mile 4 we were into an 8:25 pace which we held most of the race. Mile 3-4 took us over the Ambassador Bridge and into Canada. (We had to show our passports at the expo to get our race numbers.) After about 3 miles in Canada, running alongside the Detroit River, we went back into the US via the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel which is an old tunnel with only one lane in each direction. John remembers going through it during WWII and seeing it being guarded by Marines. Along the river, Canadians were in various places cheering us, and when we got out of the tunnel we were greeted by a large crowd of Americans. Great to have the bi-national support.:) As we went through about mile 8 near the Joe Louis Arena, we heard my cousin, Paul, cheering for us, which was also a great boost.
   
As you probably have heard, 3 runners died during the marathon, most likely from heart failure. As we were around mile 12 we heard the serious refrain moving through the runners of “Medic” and a couple of minutes later, “Move right; runner down on the left.” We had no thought at the time other than runners had fallen; only later did we realize the serious nature of those incidents. The runners who died were 26, 36, and 65. With the race conditions being cool and not extreme, the runners died from underlying conditions and not from the running.
   
We hit halfway at 1:52:35 which, doubled, equals 3:45:10 so we right on target for sub 3:45, but knew that we would have to keep pushing and run negative splits. My heart rate had stayed in the 150-154 range for the first half and it steadily added a beat per mile rising to 159 at mile 20 and then continuing its climb to 162 through 24 miles and then going to 167 for mile 26 and 171 at the end. Anything over 160 is well into the 90% range for me so we were definitely pushing those last 6 miles--and it felt great to be going for it!
   
We saw beautiful old homes (similar to those in Fresno in the Old Figarden/Van Ness area) as we ran through Indian Village during miles 16-18. Around 18, I heard the tuneful word “Help!” as I recognized the start of one of my top 10 favorite songs of all time, the Beatles’ classic. John reined me in as I got some “happy feet.” Earlier I had heard “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey and Hanford lead singer, Steve Perry so there were a number of places playing tunes, both recorded and live.
   
We crossed the MacArthur Bridge and entered Belle Isle at mile 20 to the sounds of “Beat It”, running a couple of miles around the scenic island playground. Crossing the bridge back into the city, we ran a couple of miles on the boardwalk along the Detroit River heading toward downtown. Mile 20 was an 8:20 and we averaged around 8:30 coming in with an 8:21 at 24. As we entered mile 26, we turned a corner and look up at a hill about 200 yards long. John was overjoyed (not), but since I’ve been preaching to my runners that “hills are our friends” I had to pretend it didn’t bother me, and we finally separated. Knowing I had a chance to get in the 3:43’s (my secret goal), I found a new spring in my legs and ran the last mile in 8:25 and the last .2 at 7:38 pace.
   
John finished seconds behind me and we celebrated our successful-in-so-many-ways marathon! After getting our medals, post-race food, and sweats, we were joined by cousin, Paul Koopmans. We felt so good that we decided to walk the mile back to the hotel rather than take the People-Mover monorail. Back at the hotel I took my ice bath and convinced John to take his first-ever (after 30+ years of running) ice bath. Paul and I went to lunch in Greek Town while John met with his cousin whom he hadn’t seen in 30+ years.
   
Friday John and I had arrived at the airport and took the 20 minute cab ride into Detroit as there is no shuttle service. We tested out the People-Mover which circles downtown Detroit for a $.50 fare, going to Hockey Town for dinner. We walked around that downtown area and felt very safe. Saturday morning we did a 15 minute jog along the river and met a local biking club who enthusiastically told us about their weekly rides (which were ending next weekend for the winter). After going to the expo we relaxed at the hotel until Paul drove into town from his home in Michigan about 3 hours south. He drove us around John’s old neighborhood seeing where his house used to be and seeing churches and schools he remembered. Back at the host hotel we had the best pasta party ever with a fantastic buffet where I was sorely tested to keep my intake to 3 small pieces of the many scrumptious desserts.
   
Then John and I went to the Joe Louis Arena to see John’s beloved Red Wings skate against the Colorado Avalanche. Interestingly we entered the arena as the Wings took the ice to warm-up to the sounds of “Born to Run”—a good omen! It was exciting to see the classic arena with all the banners and history. The Wings dominated the game for the first 49 minutes, but then blew 2-0 and 3-2 leads, eventually losing in a shootout—the only negative of the weekend.:)
   
Arriving back in Fresno on Monday evening, we ran into another Sanger High connection: former teacher and football coach, Roy Tanimoto, was there and we got to reminisce for a short time. And then as we exited the security area, we noticed a TV camera was filming. John commented that “Some celebrities must be coming in”. Low and behold he and I were those celebrities. John’s son, Brent, had called Channel 30 news to come out and film because of the storyline of John running his hometown marathon and winning…and doing it on his wedding anniversary. Bonnie, who had graciously given her blessing to John to run the marathon on their anniversary, was there with Brent to totally surprise us. Since they live in Shaver Lake, John had been dreading a long, hour drive home before seeing her. So he was surprised in a couple of ways.

Pictures at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=957803644805%

Shawna Kilbert Cervical  Cancer Family Fun Run

The Shawna Kilbert Cervical Cancer Family Fun Run will take place on September 19, 2009 at Harlan Ranch, in Clovis.  This event will be a family event with something for everyone including a vendor’s market for shopping, raffle prizes, food booths, children’s activities, live entertainment, a teal ribbon boutique and MUCH more!  We hope to raise awareness to cervical cancer, HPV, give information on Gardasil, and let people know that the “pink” ribbon is NOT the only symbol of female cancer, but the “teal ribbon” will represent those suffering with cervical cancer. 

Visit www.theshawnakilbertproject.org for more information, upcoming fundraisers and helpful links for cervical cancer patients.  You can also download the race application on our site.  Thank you for your support.

1st Annual Clovis West Cross Country Pancake Run

They will still be serving breakfast at 9:00 or later to accomodate the runners at Coach's saturday practice and the TNT runners that are also out on saturday.

Cost $5.00 at Clovis West and it supports the CW cross-country. Martin Palavicini and Barbara Bethel ran the start and finish for the Samanski Track Challenge and this would be a great way to support their efforts and local high school running program.  Fun Run Details!

Samansky Track Meet

It was great seeing everyone at the Samansky Track Meet!  Special thanks to all the volunteers (Rachel Amundsen too!) who made this such a successful event!  Click here to access results and see photos here.

USATF Youth Nationals

The Sierra Challenge Express team from Fresno, California earned two Team 3rd place finishes in the Intermediate Girls and Young Woman divisions during the 2009 USATF Youth National Championships held at Eastern Michigan University on June 30 thru July 5.