Hello! It’s been a while! How are you? Are you staying inside like a smart, responsible person? I hope you’ve taken advantage of the nice weather we have had recently and gotten in some exercise between your Zoom meetings like our runners have been! This past weekend, April 25th and 26th, our athletes participated in ITFC’s first ever virtual race! Well, it wasn’t a race really. Our athletes took to the streets to see how far they could run or bike (without hurting themselves) for a good cause! Our club donated $1 per mile run by a distance runner and $5 per mile run by a non-distance runner (sprinter, thrower, jumper, etc.), up to $1,000 to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank, and we smashed that goal! Distance covered by bikers was half the amount per mile as stated above.
Our athletes ran/biked a combined total of over 730 MILES in those two days! As our outgoing President Bienduga put it eloquently, “That’s pretty crazy”. That is about the distance from Chicago to Philadelphia! However, the story does not end there. Our generous athletes were also given the option to donate some of their refunded seasonal fees on-top-off the $1,000, making the overall donation over $1,600 with more rolling in! With all the bad things that have been happening in the world, this is our team’s effort to try and help those less fortunate that are struggling during these difficult times. We hope all of our athletes, and readers, are staying safe and abiding by the CDC guidelines so that we all may be reunited in the fall.
There were some outstanding performances this past weekend! As expected, distance runners went to the extreme, running anywhere from half marathons to 18+ miles! We had a few surprises on the sprinters side as well! Let’s dive into the results from our virtual charity run, just to see how far we all ran and biked this weekend.
Usually we would go through each event throughout the course of the day, but since this was just one event, we’ll be going through the performances based on the time they entered their results. That being said, Evan Patel was our first entry, busting out a solid 13.14 miles! Being a pro distance runner and McChicken fanatic, this was most likely a walk in the park for him. Jeffrey Hesselbein was next at a respectable 12 mile effort! Once again a member of the mid-distance/distance crew, this should have been a typical long run for the future webmaster of IXC. Sprinter alumni Kaleigh Evans took to her bike and busted out a solid 20 mile ride! She also went against her doctor’s orders and busted out a 7 mile run! Outgoing social coordinator, sprinter, and thrower Shantanu Amin got to get a feel for what distance runners go through and ran a respectable 2 miles! See you in the 5k next year Shan? Future social coordinator and sprinter, PJ Coleman, ran an impressive 6.19 miles! Stated in his report, “Distance runners deserve a beer and psychological support”. Agreed PJ.
Distance alumni Lindsey Schmidt pulled through a solid 9.27 mile run! Nice job! Sprinter Alton Barbehenn went from sprinting a measly 60 meters to over 6 miles! 6.27 to be exact! What a performance! Another strong performance by a fellow sprinter was Katherine Vande Pol with an incredible 5 mile run! Another showing by an alumni, sprinter Malorie Moore got out on Saturday and ran a nice 2 mile run! Nicely done! What do you know, another alumni participating! Adriana Miltko was a distance runner on IXC and ITFC and cranked out a solid 6 mile run! She also stated she would like to donate additional money to the cause! Thank you Adriana!
Swedish phenom Malin Ekblad put on a solid performance of 6 miles completed! Well done! Former travel coordinator and sprinter alumni, Michael Jang ran an incredible 9.02 miles! That”s nuts for a former jumping and sprinting athlete! I hope your legs are feeling better. Another sprinter and jumper, Desarae Echevarria contributed a solid 7.52 miles! You sprinters have more endurance in you than I thought! This old cross country man was able to bust the arthritis out from his joints and finish on top with our farthest single effort! Ryan Somerfield ran a whopping 18 miles! Props to you big guy! Ryan also ran an additional 9 miles on Sunday! Making his combined total 27 miles! Outgoing webmaster and yours truly Matthew Beckerman contributed a solid 10.29 miles in the cold rain on Saturday afternoon.
Distance star Jacob Fleck put in some honest work and came out with a solid 5 mile run! Well done! Another member of the distance crew Lauren Bartels was another one of the runners to run a half marathon this weekend, at 13.1 miles. Nicely done! Former distance runner and 2019 GLR Mega Red teammate, Austin Keuhr ran a solid combined 6 miles to help donate to charity! Great job Austin! Natalie Maguire, another distance runner got out on her bike this weekend and logged a decent combined ride of 28 miles! Well done Natalie! Former sprinter and jumper, Ben Junkroski logged an impressive 6 miles! Accompanied by Ben was former distance runner Callie Rukavina, who obviously also ran 6 miles. Great job you two!
Incoming webmaster for the 2021 track season, sprinter Jalen Frazier came out of nowhere and decided to be the sprinter that runs 10 miles! Incredible! Along with the new board theme, the incoming president for next year, Ciara Ward with an impressive 4 mile run, claiming she was very fast while blocking out her time. I’d keep an eye on her next year, who knows what she can do with all that power. Cross country runner Zoe Jacquat had a solid performance of 6.26 miles! Happy to have your support for the charity! Justin Baysore put in a solid combined 15 mile effort this weekend, love to see it! Former cross country runner, Mega Bed founding father, and coolest man you will ever meet from Denmark was Jean Khavaquiah Rasmusen with a converted distance of 10.44 miles! He’s one of those weird metric people over there.
Natasha Ferrero, a sprinter on the club, cranked out a solid 5.25 mile effort! Nicely done! Distance alumni, Emily Foley got in on some of the action and contributed 5.5 miles to the fundraiser! Great job Emily! Freshman distance runner Mikeelie Jensen ran a solid 6.87 mile run, rounding it up to 7 for the benefit of the charity. I don’t think Rhode will make you run the additional .13 but who knows what goes on in his head. Senior distance runner Michael Gerkin ran a nice half-marathon! Another senior distance runner, Eli Walker also ran a solid half! Nicely done gentlemen!
Continuing with the mileage, Clare Oehler-O’Sullivan, a distance star ran a nice 9 miles this weekend. Well done! Unit Mackenzie Bach, famously known for his participation in the grueling Bicentennial last August came out and contributed 11.12 miles! Nicely done Mack! Old grandpa Beau Barber must’ve felt it on this one. His only remarks after his solid 5 mile effort was “ouchy”. Former travel coordinator, sprinter Andy Marszewski threw in a nice 3 mile run this weekend. Sprinters rarely run more than 1 mile during their workouts so all of them are really putting in some work! Tiffany Yathaputanon, a former distance runner for IXC and ITFC contributed a meaty 10.27 mile run!
MaryBeth Feeley a freshman distance runner, put in some solid work and ran a solid 5 miles this weekend! Love to see it MaryBeth! Another freshman distance runner putting in some good mileage for a great cause was Isaac Schifferer, pumping out 8 great miles! Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise? I thought not. If you would like to know a story the Jedi would not tell you, hit up distance runner Connor Farrell and he’d be glad to let you know while simultaneously running a half-marathon. Continuing on…sprinter Andre Ells Jr. had a solid showing of 2.01 miles this weekend! Not bad for a super fast sprinter! Lauren Gapinske had a great showing with an impressive 8 mile effort! Nicely done!
Local beans fanatic and urban legend Alex Hanskat cranked out a beefy 15 miler this weekend. Not bad for a washed-up distance runner! You’re lucky we’re donating your mileage even though you were irresponsible and broke CDC guidelines. Shame! Upcoming IXC president, former home-meet coordinator, spent 45-minutes lost in a forest during GLR, Bryan Himmel had a great run this weekend. Getting into the double digits with a solid 10 mile effort! Thank you Mr. President! Junior distance runner and heir to the Bruyere throne was Olan Bruyere with a 6 mile run. Nicely done Olan! 2019 NIRCA MVP and former sprints coach, Becky Haight ran an incredible combined 11 miles! We hope you’re doing well and good luck on your finals! Former treasurer and mile-specialist was Andrew Rhode with a decent 4.35 mile run on a “no worky” ankle. You get an A for effort Rhode <3.
Wheaton North alumni and current sprinter/hurdler, Josh James hopped on his bike this weekend and got in a solid 17.9 mile ride! Nicely done Josh! Distance runner and super star, Mia Bertaud clocked an impressive 9.9 miles this weekend! Yes, it’s ok you used your phone Mia! Senior distance runner, Brianna Legner had some watch difficulties but persevered for a combined 10 mile effort! Nicely done Brianna! Junior distance runner, Grace McDonough also busted out a solid 10-miler. Well done ladies! Former president, Alex Bienduga had an impressive day with 8.8 miles on the clock! Must’ve been hard getting those horse legs to move that far! Maybe next year you’ll be able to beat Jang and Jalen.
Former IXC treasurer, and Mr. Money Man, Alex Kogen put in a solid 10 miles this weekend! Love to see it Kogen! Also, I think Daniel wants to discuss more about a high risk, low yield investment with you. Eli Decker, sprinter for ITFC, wishes everyone to stay healthy and busted out a solid 4.09 mile run! Thanks Eli! Distance runner Mahum Chaudhary contributed a whopping 14.15 miles! Nicely done Mahum! Distance coach, Josh Mollway got out there and finished a monster 16 mile run! He also ran an additional 5 miles on Saturday so that”s a combined 21 miles! Great job Josh! Another distance runner, Grace Gudwien also got out after it and ran an incredible 15.05 miles! Nicely done Grace!
Another distance runner came to run for the cause, and that was Liam Bots with his solid run of 10.09 miles! Awesome job Bots! Haus dweller, Daniel Engel put in a solid 5 mile effort out there! Talk to him if you want an “in” on the stock market, especially in times like these! Distance junior, high-roller, as well as another haus dweller, Nikita Smyrnov got out there and ran a solid half marathon. Nicely done Nikita! Former ITFC throws coach and musically gifted Inga Augustaitis represented the throwing crew and ran 4.68 miles! That’s what I love to see! Thanks for the support Inga! Another distance star came out to support the cause, representing the bike gang was John Kellum with his casual ride of 4.7 miles! Nicely done Kellum!
Local comedian, future Stanford grad student, and IXC cult leader, Jarod Meyer cranked out a solid half marathon while injuring his hip! If you see this man, you may confuse him with Tom Hanks from the famous movie, Castaway. Quarantine affects us all in different ways. Former mid-distance coach and future head coach Patrick Wilhalm continued on the struggle bus but managed a solid 10.01 mile effort! Thanks coach! Former head coach and prom king Cody Lund ran an immaculate half marathon, wishing he could taste that sweet NIRCA paper at Nats this year. Me too buddy, me too. Another distance runner, Garrett Minich had a solid 4.2 mile out-n-back run! Nicely done!
Future travel coordinator and steeple-chase fanatic, Justin Ostrem ran a combined mileage of 23.21 miles! Rumor has it he’s been preparing for this weekend with his underground training crew back in Wheaton, IL. Fellow distance runner Henry Hornbrook got in a hefty 8 mile run this weekend! Nicely done Henry! Junior distance runner, Angela Wu busted out 16 miles this weekend! She also wants everyone to know how proud she is of all of you and that teammates are the best. Aww shucks, thanks Angela! Former sprinter, John Brandenburg went on a nice walk/run this weekend! 4.5 miles of running and 11 miles total! Love to see it John! Thanks for participating! IXC legend Leonel Rodriguez put in some solid effort this weekend, contributing 7 miles to the cause! Great job Leonel! Freshman distance runner, Cade Baker was another one of the members to run a half-marathon! His only concern was that it hurt. Sorry Cade! Hope you recover soon!
Another freshman distance runner was Brisa McGrath with a solid 11 mile effort! Well done Brisa! Former sprinter, Sonia Zhang participated and ran a solid 12 miles! That’s nuts for a sprinter! Excellent job Sonia! Distance runner, Lauren Brunk contributed a nice 5.71 miles to the charity! She also says hi Cody. Former distance runner, Anna Welton-Arndt ran a solid half marathon, or a little over at 13.18 miles! Nicely done Anna! Our last entry of the charity was former distance runner, Zach Mesplay at an astounding 15.54 miles! Nice job bringing it home Zach!
A final round of applause to all of our athletes that went out and ran for a good cause! You all should be proud of that. It is important, in times like these, to remember what you have to be thankful for. There are countless people in the world who are in far worse situations than you, so doing whatever you can to help will go a long way. I hope you all are staying safe and staying healthy during these times, and together we will get through it! Continue to run and be active, stay positive, and we’re all here for each other! I’ll see you all very soon for our final write-up of the year!