News for final week
Eisenhower Marathon

Eisenhower Marathon participants will be traveling from 30 states across the United States to run in the sixth-annual marathon, half marathon, 5K and 10K races in Abilene April 5, with added runners joining from Canada.

“We have some fascinating runners coming to Abilene this weekend,” race director Joyce Viola Dana said. “For example, Richard Friedrichsen from Clarks, Nebraska, is 65 years old and has run in 112 marathons, his most recent being a marathon in Africa on March 2 this year.”

Friedrichsen will wear bib No. 140 when the marathon race begins at 7 a.m. on south Buckeye between the St. Andrews Catholic Church and the Eisenhower Center. Friedrichsen hopes to finish the Eisenhower in 4 hours and 15 minutes.

Also running in Abilene will be Brian Miller who coordinated the 5K and 10K Eisenhower races in Iraq last year. Miller had planned to participate in Abilene’s marathon last year but was called to serve in Iraq and thus organized races there with runners wearing Eisenhower Marathon T-shirts and receiving winning Eisenhower medals like runners earn in Abilene. Miller, from Derby, KS, will wear bib No. 5 when running in Abilene.

Another runner, Glenden Riddle, 60, from Albuquerque, NM, started training at age 54, ran his first marathon at 55, and the Eisenhower will be his 46th marathon in five and a half years. Riddle will wear bib No. 13.

“We will have lists available for the public inside Parish Hall that will detail the runners entered as of March 30, where they are from and their running number,” Dana said. “We won’t be able to list all runners as we register up to 200 participants Friday and Saturday before the races begin, but I’m sure the public will enjoy knowing how far some of these runners have traveled to participate in our Abilene event and what numbers they will wear.”

Several runners have chosen to run a marathon in Kansas because they are members of the 50 States Club which involves trying to run a marathon in all 50 states. Members traveling to Abilene include Tim Chesko from Lockport, NY, bib No. 12; Deborah Lazaroff, who has run more than 100 marathons, from Jackson, MI, bib No. 26; Tom Huberty, Manitou Springs, CO, bib No. 102; Leann Myers, Metairie, LA, bib No. 111; Nancy Goodnight, McGregor, TX, bib No. 124 and Jennifer Browning from Columbus, OH, bib No. 35, among others.

Returning to Abilene for the third year will be Gannon White, Greeley, CO, who has won the Eisenhower Marathon in the past two years. White will soon complete his doctorates degree and hopes to finish this year’s race in Abilene in two and a half hours. White will wear bib No. 1.

White’s closest competitor, Matthew Lavine from Crystal Lake, IL, bib No. 19, plans to run the Eisenhower in 2:35. The fastest woman marathoner as of March 30 is Debbie Cropper, Anchorage, Alaska, who hopes to break her personal record of 3 hours and 14 minutes. Cropper will wear bib No. 8.

“We should have a pretty exciting finish line about 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning,” Dana said. “We hope many folks from the Abilene area will come to the finish line to cheer these fine runners.”

Spectators often gather also at Brown’s Park and at Rural Center School to watch and cheer runners. A spectator map will be available inside Parish Hall Friday and Saturday of race weekend and will appear in the Abilene Reflector Chronicle during the week before the race.

Several runners will participate in the Eisenhower Marathon April 5 and then travel to St. Louis to run their marathon April 6.

“The dedication of these marathon runners is admirable,” Dana said. “They have endured months of training and are fine athletes, each in his or her own way. To continue to run 26.2 miles at age 60 and 70 is impressive! My husband Duke will participate and he is 67.”

The oldest marathon runner coming to Abilene, as of March 30, is Chuck Van Duzee, 70, from Bradenton, FL, who will wear bib No 82.

Marathon and half-marathon races begin at 7 a.m. this Saturday, and 5K/10K races begin at 7:30 a.m. The community walk begins at 9 a.m. and the children’s walk/jog will begin at 11 a.m.
Children will be participating as a part of the Healthy Habits, Healthy Lives mini-grant received by the Eisenhower Marathon from the Community Foundation of Dickinson County. As a part of the grant, elementary youth will be encouraged to participate in a week of walking/jogging at school and earn colorful certificates and ribbons in their effort to build a healthy habit of daily exercise.

Members of the public are invited to attend the pasta dinner on Friday evening from 6-8 p.m. in Parish Hall, with motivational speaker Howard Shore from Canada speaking at 6:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $6 for adults and $3 for children.

Likewise the public can participate in the all-you-can-eat sausage and pancake brunch in Parish Hall from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on race day, with tickets selling at the door for $5.

More than a dozen non-profit organizations will benefit from the revenue generated by the event.

“Our Viola family’s goal is to assist those agencies who are serving needy individuals and families in Dickinson County,” Dana said. “That is the entire motivation behind our family’s organization of the Eisenhower Marathon and we enjoy our annual effort of helping those people in need right here in our county.”
Awards for the various races will be scattered throughout the morning as runners in each area finish running, with 5K awards beginning at 8:30 a.m. in Parish Hall, 10K at 9 a.m., half marathon at 9:30 and marathon at 10 a.m. or as soon as the top three overall finishers have come across the finish line.

Further event information may be gained by calling event coordinator June Viola DeWeese at 785-263-3474.

Editors:
Listed below are marathon runners from your area (who had registered by March 31) that you might like to contact to localize this story.
Lawrence, KS: Cody Brunner, 785-643-0671
Manhattan, KS: Benjamin Meade 603-724-7828
Andrew Barkley 785-776-3789
Jules Myers, 931-233-0111
Kyle Merklein, 785-302-1274
Topeka, KS: Daniel Schneider 785-845-9914
Joseph Leiker, 785-235-8395
Wichita, KS: Cathy Peters, 316-260-5475
Lacy Hansen, 316-684-8720
Jessica Trotter, 316-640-6948
Elden Galano, 316-721-1432
Paul Genilo, 316-630-9412
Marie Hampton, 316-733-5096
Salina, KS: Andrew O’Neill, 316-253-3155
Julia Crawford, 785-493-0236
Rick O’Neill, 785-823-5524
Abilene, KS: Julie and Mike Mohn, 263-3461
Chris Bacon, 263-2083 (principal of St. Andrew’s Elementary School)
Maurice Flynn, 263-2610—participated every year in Abilene since 2003

Springfield, MO: Our timers are from Springfield--Ridge Runner Sports (Ozark Racing Systems) and may be contacted by calling Mary Goss Crowson at 417-882-5590. In addition, our race director, Joyce Viola Dana is from Marshfield, MO, as is her husband Duke Dana who will be running in the Eisenhower Marathon. They may be reached at 417-859-5170.