Must See/Must Avoid

AST CENTRAL Wisconsin’s Fox

Cities boast 200,000 residents. This community of 14 towns, cities, and villages is one of Wisconsin’s fastest growing areas but appears to be absorbing the expansion gracefully. The Fox Cities doesn’t feel touristy like sections of its neighbor to the west, the Wisconsin Dells. Each of the 14 communities celebrates a distinct personality yet embraces its place within the collective Fox Cities network. We didn’t really find any areas you should avoid. Besides being called the “Paper Valley,” the Fox Cities are also known as “ Happy Valley.” The unemployment rate is very low, the schools are excellent, and everyone is polite and friendly . . . unless the Packers lose, thatis. Here’s asampling of some sights to take in while you’re visiting the Fox Cities.

GO SEE IT

Octoberfest. This 18-year-old community festival kicks off on Friday evening and runs all day on Saturday along College Avenue in Appleton. You can feast on food from over 120 vendors, listen to live music from five different stages, stroll through the picturesque campus of Lawrence University to check out the wares of 200 local artisans, and treat the kids to live entertainment, rides, games, and clowns. Shuttle buses to and from Octoberfest are available from the UW-Fox Valley campus, where Saturday’s prerace activities take

July/August 1999

place. Octoberfest Hotline: 920/ 734-3377.

License to Cruise. The official kickoff to Octoberfest, License to Cruise is your ticket to the past. Come to town early on Friday to catch the 6:00 P.M. parade of over 300 classic cars. You’ll see everything from turn-ofthe-century Model Ts to souped up Corvettes and sparkling Porches. After the parade, the cars are parked along College Avenue until 9:00 p.m. The car’s owners will be happy to answer all your questions or just soak up your adoration. A car lover’s paradise.

Victoria’s on College Ave. Bring a cooler with you when you dine at Victoria’s, not because it’s BYOB but because you’ll need it to haul away the leftovers. You’ll take home more than you’ll eat. You’ll find a very diverse menu, quite tasty meals, and very reasonable prices. The servings are the biggest we’ve EVER seen ina restaurant. 920/730-9595.

Outagamie Museum/Houdini Historical Center at 330 East College Ave., Appleton. World-renowned escape artist Harry Houdini—born Ehrich Weiss—came from Appleton, and the center in his name features the world’s finest collection of artifacts once owned and used by Houdini. Prior to 1988, the Houdini collection and its secrets were hiddenin the basement of Sidney Radner of Holyoke, Mass. 920/733-8445. continued

FOX CITIES MARATHON 123

pee 20 000 square-foot children’ 5S ‘museum. ‘Sixteen hands-on. exhibits

shower and drive 30 ie northeast to vintage Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Start scrounging for tickets immediately.

ward view ‘of the world as three-di- – mensional projections explain the wonders of the stars. The planetarium Le es

VoID IT

a , Appleton. on 2expoorraceday €¢ ra trip to the im- Str

Conover, will pump you up for the Bridge, adjacent to the Trinity race. Lutheran Church in Appleton. Major construction on one of Kaukauna’s two bridges forced a course change forthe 1998 race. Younger notes, “For the race to take the other bridge away during the race would have caused a

WHAT’S UP WITH THE COURSE?

Yet another new course will be unveiled for the 1999 Fox Cities Marathon. Some race veterans may be a bit miffed to see a third course in nine years, but good reasons precipitated the changes. The same course was used for the first seven years, starting in Riverside Park in Neenah and ending just north of the Oneida Street

real hardship for the citizens of Kaukauna. We’re very cognizant of how the race affects the communities we run through.”

Since the course had to be changed anyway, Younger took the opportunity to address other concerns voiced over the years about the first course—

July/August 1999

namely, hills, wind, and the late start.

The race’s original ending point precluded an earlier start time because the finish would have interrupted church services. The “new” course repositioned the finish line at the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley on Midway Road in Menasha. The new venue is centrally located and provides a good staging area for the expo, seminars, pasta loading, and Lamers Bus Lines, which provide efficient transportation for the weekend. More important to the runners, the new course skirted the church issue—hence, the earlier start time. With bridge construction now completed in Kaukauna, that community is back in the mix again this year,

which meant another “new” course. The newest new course will combine much of what folks liked about the original course, with a few added twists.

The marathon will pass through 10 Fox Cities communities. Starting in the city of Neenah, the course then acquaints you with the city of Menasha, the town of Menasha, the city of Appleton, the villages of Kimberly and Little Chute, the city of Kaukauna, the village of Combined Locks, the town of Buchanan (locally knownas “Darboy”), and, last but not least, the town of Harrison. You’ll touch Appleton again on the way back before returning to the city of Menasha for the finish at the UW-Fox Cities

Main st. Riverside Dr.

Wisconsin Ave.

Appleton

College Ave.

Prospect Ave..

Memorial Dr. —>

Lake Shore Ave.

Wisconsin’ ‘Ave.

July/August 1999

® Harrison Plank Rd. 55]

Lake Winnebago

Course Map

campus. The course features six bridge crossings and, new for 1999, banners will stretch across roads to announce each city, town, or village you enter during the race.

THE “NEW” “NEW” COURSE

As it has every year since 1991, the Fox Cities Marathon will startin beautiful, tree-filled Riverside Park in Neenah, right along the Fox River. New for 1999 is a first-mile loop around a section of mansion-lined Lake Winnebago, quite possibly the most scenic area in the Fox Cities. The 1-mile marker is the old course’s start line. Mile 1 to 2 will pass along Wisconsin Avenue, with miles 2 to 3 touring the commercial areas of Neenah and Menasha. Two bridges punctuate this section.

Miles 3 to 5 take you into the quiet residential area along Little Lake Butte Des Morts. You turn on Racine, and then again on Valley to enter an unexciting industrial section of the course, which ends at mile 6.5, when the course turns onto Memorial Drive. Bridge number three greets you at mile 7.5, right before the right-hand turn onto Prospect. Keep an eye out on this comer for the Hearthstone Historic House Museum, a Victorian mansion that was the world’s firsthome lighted by hydroelectric power.

At mile 8.5, you’ll pass the old course’s finish line and turn toward downtown Appleton. The nice downtown area quickly becomes Lawrence University Campus at mile 9. After a fourth bridge crossing at mile 9.5, you’re back in residential area for the next 3 miles. After that, you enter the village of Kimberly business district, which is followed by a loop around Triangle Park at the 13.1-mile point. At this point you begin to chase the half-marathoners, who started their race at 8:45 a.m. A short climb to the Community Bridge brings you into the Dutch community of Little Chute, where you might see little Dutch girls dancing along the street.

Between miles 14 and 15 is the famous Packer-inspired Sue Street water station. Drink it up! After mile 15, you’ll follow the Fox River through a residential area and head down a hill toward the river, where, between miles 16 and 17, you’ll encounter that pesky bridge in Kaukauna that caused the course change in 1998. As you climb up from the low spot on the course by the river, you’ll be on Third Street and then around Lafollete Park and onto Kenneth Avenue. Miles 18 to 22 are completely residential, with mile 19 passing through Combined Lock and miles 20 and 21 in Buchanan, or “Darboy,” USA. Mile 23 is very rural, and you’re now heading back into Appleton. Mile 24 brings you to the award-winning Appleton Papers water stop (see page 127), and along-distance view of the finish area. The last two miles are residential. Miles 9 through 22 of the 1999 course will be part of the original course but now run in the opposite direction.

July/August 1999

WILD WATERSTOPS

Without question, some of the coolest features of the Fox Cities Marathon are the water stations. The 22 stations are each hosted by a different community group or business, who pays for the privilege of anchoring the stop. One lucky company earns bragging rights for the year by winning the annual Best Water Station award. (Gloria West, the race’s first director, is credited with the water stationcompetition idea.)

Since 1995, the residents of 521 Sue Street in Little Chute have orchestrated one very memorable watering hole. Dawn Franzke and her grandfather Eugene Vandehey, whose home is “headquarters” for this stop, are the organizers. In 1997 Vandehey and Franzke used a Green Bay Packers theme, transforming their neighborhood street into a mini Lambeau Field, using leaf blowers to dry the ground so that yard markers can be put down. “We wanted to change the theme for the 1998 race,” says Franzke, “maybe to a Haunted Sue Street— but no one would let us because of what the Packers have meant to this area.”

Back in 1995, 10to 15 neighbors staffed the water station. “Last

July/August 1999

year, the number swelled to 100,” says Franzke. It’s not uncommon for afew runners to stop for a beer with the Sue Street neighbors before continuing to the finish line.

Appleton Papers, a frequent winner of the top-water-stop award, also puts on quite a show. One year they created Gilligan’s Island, complete with palm trees, a volcano, the professor, Marianne, and the whole gang. In 1998, their theme was Halloween. Two-hundred and fifty Appleton Paper employees worked the stop, which was so elaborate they needed two semitrucks to haul all the props to the station. Look for the Appleton Paper water station at the corner of Kernan Avenue and Midway Road in Appleton, about mile 24 and within eyesight of the finish line at UW-Fox Valley.

FOX CITIES MARATHON 127

Runner’s High/Runner’s Low

Excellent finish line operation, comrsninnpe oan dinner 5 Festive waterstops —™

MIDWESTERN HOSPITALITY

Race weekendin the Fox Cities is truly atreat. You’ ll soak up warm Midwestern hospitality, from the cheery volunteers at packet pickup and the supportive community members along the race course to your personal escort through the finish chute. The area’s well-oiled local running club, the Pacesetters, will be leading pacing groups in the 1999 marathon.

“HISTORY RADITIO

LS ate the ra

No postrace results book

Hotels are abundant, anda free shuttle bus will pick you up at your hotel on race morning and take you to the start (don’tbe late for your hotel’s assigned pickup—the shuttle buses are very prompt). You’ ll get more than you can eat and drink at the finish line, exhibit your handsome finisher’s medal proudly, and take home a “keeper” race shirt. And, if you really want to make some friends in the Fox Cities,

be sure to load up on your i

Packers gear at the border!

runners at the race were x Cities Marathon.) The

sense of btoy oe tradition. [Possible points: 30 FCM score: a

July/August 1999

2. ENTRY FORM Isthe race entry form clear, concise, attractive, complete, and easy to fill out? [Possible points: 20 FCM score: 20]

3. ENTRY COST

For most races, the entry fee covers between 30 and 50 percent of the cost of putting on the event. Rate the value of your dollar relative to this race. [Possible points: 30 FCM score: 30]

4. LOCALE/SCENICS

Is the race held in an area that is easy to get to and scenic, offers adequate food and housing services, and nonrace activities for family and friends? [Possible points: 50 FCM score: 50]

5. REGISTRATION Is registration well organized and efficient? Does it bog down unnecessarily? [Possible points: 20 FCM score: 20]

6. PRERACE ACTIVITIES

Evaluate activities such as pasta feeds, parties, and so on, during the days before the race.

[Possible points: 50 FCM score: 35]

7. EXPO

Does the expo offer a fair number and variety of booths relative to the race’s size? Are there quality exhibitors and good guest speakers?

[Possible points: 50 FCM score: 20]

8. COURSE

Take into consideration the following: degree of difficulty, certified, sanctioned, quality of road or trail surface, adequate mileage and directional markers, aid stations, medical coverage, race communications, accessibility to course for friends and family, typical weather, and so on.

[Possible points: 400 FCM score: 340]

9. RACE AMENITIES

This category includes race T-shirt, finisher’s medal, finisher’s certificate, adequate and efficient finish area, ease of sweatbag retrieval, showers, postrace refreshments, awards ceremony, raffles, results postcard, results book, and so on.

[Possible points: 250 FCM score: 225]

10. VOLUNTEERS Are the volunteers experienced and adequate in number? [Possible points: 100 FCM score: 100]

TOTAL SCORE FOR FOX CITIES MARATHON 865 points (out of 1,000)

The Rest of the Pack

September/October Marathon & Beyond

Here are just some of the features you can expect in the September/ October 1999 issue: ¢ The East Lyme Marathon

High Expectations: The Truth About Altitude Training

Cautionary Tales: Intimations from a Would-Be Marathoner

A Specialist to Match Your Injury

Race Profile: Steamtown Marathon

Part VII of Clarence DeMar’s Autobiography, Marathon

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Letters

BEST OF THE BEST

Congratulations to M&B for having the courage to rank the best of the best in marathoners (March/April 1998). While I have no argument with the majority of your top 10 males, [would like to make the case for the inclusion of the UK’s Ron Hill. Ron was an inspiration to many of us who took up running during the first boom. While he has run (and been victorious) in many marathons, his “purple patch”

on July 20, 1969, by winning the trial race for European Championship selection incorporated into the Maxol Marathon in Manchester. His time was 2:13:40, a PB at the time, and he defeated Derek Clayton, who recorded 2:15:40. This earned Ron the right to represent the UK in the European Championship, which took place on September 21 of that year. Ron won in a time of 2:16:48.

On December 7, 1969, he participated in the famous Fukuoka Marathon, recording a new PB of 2:11:54 but being pipped for first place by Canadian Jerome Drayton, who recorded 2:11:13. Ron then began training hard, as he had received an invitation to compete at Boston on April 20, 1970, where he became the first UK winner of this event in a record time of 2:10:30. For once, the English

selectors took notice of Ron’s form and preselected him for the Commonwealth Marathon, which took place in Edinburgh in July of that year. Ron was once again victorious (again beating Derek Clayton) in a time of 2:09:28. I believe that over this 12month period Ron was the world’s top marathon runner.

His lack of success at the Olympics was often due to British selectors forcing him to take part in trial marathons, which frequently took place only 6 to 8 weeks before the Olympic marathon.

In 1980, Ron set the still-standing UK veteran over-40 marathon best of 2:15:16. He has continued to be an inspiration to many, having completed 2,000 races and appeared in 60 countries before his sixtieth birthday. A worthy contender fora place in the 10 best of the best, I feel.

Dr. Phil Turner Cheshire, England

I thoroughly enjoyed your “Best of the Best” articlerating the 10 best male and female marathoners of all time. I’m sure it will generate a lot of response and controversy. With that said, let me add my two cents:

That one of your panelists would actually rate Clarence DeMar number three is ludicrous. And, haven’t any of your experts ever heard of

July/August 1999

Toshihiko Seko? How he could be left out is beyond me.

Dave Cavall

South Wales, NY

On your “Best of the Best” lists, I agree with the choice of the top three in both the men’s and the women’s lists. However, Fatuma Roba has just won her third straight Boston Marathon this week, andif she continues to win a major marathon every year (as she has done since 1996), I can’t see her being left out of the top three in an update of the women’s list. If she should do well in Sydney, she must surely be number one.

Harold Or

Singapore

FAIR COMPETITION?

The controversial nature of the 2:20 marathon run by Tegla Loroupe aided by male pacers last year was brought into sharper focus by the win of Philip Tanui in the Rome Marathon on March 21. Tanui was in the race to pace his fellow Kenyan Philip Chirchir to win the race. Instead, with five miles to go, Tanui broke away and won the race himself in 2:09:56.

Thus, having a same-sex pacemaker in a race is a double-edged sword. Yes, they do help the leading group of runners, or even an individual, but they can also win the race. In other words, such a pacer is an integral part of the race and cannot be ignored as a competitive element within that race.

July/August 1999

However, female runners being paced by male runners do not have to face such a double-edge sword. They get all the benefits, with no fear of losing out to their pacers. Such male pacers can shelter their female charges from headwinds and so on, all the way to the finish line, providing them with a massive advantage over the other runners in the race, male and female. Such a practice makes a mockery of the idea of a level playing field for all. If competitive running is not about that, then what is the point?

Andy Milroy Wiltshire, England

NEW SOLUTION FOR ACHILLES TROUBLE?

avidly read Dr. Perry Julien’s excellent article on the Achilles tendon in the May/June issue. I progressed from acute to chronic tendinitis in my left leg about three years ago, which made the NYC marathon a painful experience. I exhausted research on the subject (including magnets, crystals, acupuncture, and witch doctors) and had pretty much consigned myself to a life of intermittent running. Then I discovered a book on running and injuries by a British physician, Dr. Vivian Grisogono. A significant portion of her chapter on the Achilles tendon discussed something she terms “Achilles tendon friction syndrome.” The problem is directly related to the height of the backs of modern running shoes. I followed her instruction

on reducing the height on the back on my shoes and, voila!, the tendinitis has virtually disappeared. I believe you would do your readers a great service by noting this problem and how toresolveit. Down with the backs of running shoes! Don Brophy Waltham, Mass.

Dr. Perry Julien responds:

T estimate that in our office, approximately 15 percent of the overuse injuries I see are directly or indirectly related to footwear. I have not read Dr. Grisogono’s book, but “Achille’s Tendon Friction Syndrome” likely represents an irritation to the tendon sheath surrounding the Achille’s tendon or to the retrocalcaneal bursa that lies between the heel bone (cal-

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caneus) and tendon. Depending on your foot structure and biomechanics, the height of the back of your running shoe can certainly cause this.

In treating both acute and chronic running injuries, one must always assess current and past footwear (both athletic and everyday shoes) and their possible contribution to your pain. This includes worn-out shoes and footwear that is not compatible with your running biomechanics or foot type.

Great job in helping yourself over this injury.

Send your letters to Marathon & Beyond

@ CHAT BOARD

July/August 1999

On THE Mark

HILLS, HILLS, HILLS. I live in Pennsylvania and have access to lots of mountains, which I greatly enjoy running all year round. I’m 38 and have run a dozen marathons, none of them faster than 3:33.A friend keeps telling me that I’d bea lot faster in marathons if I gave up some of my mountain running and concentrated on doing hill work at a more modest angle than the mountainsides I love. Is there any evidence that this guy’s right?

Larry Lordes, Scranton, Penn.

HILLS ARE great for strength, for flexibility, for the views, and for the sheer enjoyment, which I entirely share. But the only way to run faster is by running faster. You have to include some sessions at race speed, and some at faster than race speed. I did my best training in Wellington, New Zealand, and ran big hills several times a week; but I also ran twice a week fast intervals on grass or road. There is no way I could have run a 2:18 marathon at age 41 without that leg speed and practice at race-pace breathing. Roger Robinson, a former M&B columnist, is a world-class

age-group marathoner and professor of English living in New Zealand.

MANY YEARS ago I had a coach whose axiom was “the best thing for running’s running.” Similarly, I think the best thing for running (faster) marathons is training over terrain similar to the average marathon course. I suspect that Larry would be formidable over the Pike’s Peak Marathon course. But most marathon courses these days are relatively flat. I would even include the Boston course, which has a few little hills. Therefore, I suspect that Larry’s friend is right. I personally train some of the time over a long, hilly course above Stanford University, which I much enjoy. But! find this increases stamina rather than speed in the marathon. So include shorter, faster runs over flat terrain in my training program. Dr. Peter Wood is the chairman of this magazine’s Science Advisory Board, a former

professor at Stanford, and the veteran of 100+ marathons.

OPTIMAL TRAINING occurs when the body is allowed adequate rest following more difficult workouts. Overtraining occurs when too much arduous running takes place at the expense of slower, easier recovery runs. Thus, too much hill running will have an adverse effect on your marathon racing because you’ Il show upat the starting line as damaged goods. To obtain your best results, mix in one or two

July/August 1999

ON THE MARK 135