Merry Christmas to all of our visitors and a wonderful, blessed 2010.

The 2009 racing season is over for us. Lynn and Jamie ran 19 races (thirteen 5Ks, two 5-milers, one 4-miler, one 1/2 marathon, one marathon relay of 7 1/4 miles and one duathlon which had a 2-mile run, 11-mile bike & 2-mile run). We got age group awards in 14 of the 19 races.

Annalyn ran 12 races (ten 5Ks, one 5-miler and one duathlon <2-mile run, 11-mile bike, 2-mile run>). She got age group awards in 8 of her 12 races which is very impressive because she is usually in the 14 & under age group and she just turned 10). She set her 5K best time of 28:47 in July.

11/15 was the last race of the year for Lynn and Jamie. It was the Red Eye 8K (5 miles) in Joliet. Our main goal was to try and beat last year's time of 32:01. We got off to a slow start because the first 1 1/4 miles was against the wind and slightly uphill. After a 6:30 and 6:37 first two miles, we picked up the pace a bit and did 6:22 and 6:28 the next two. We came back into Memorial Stadium and saw that the clock was still under 32:00. Jamie put the hammer down and we hit the line in 31:58, 3 seconds better than last year! I'm not sure if the course miles were slightly off but according to Jamie's watch, we did 6:00 for the last mile. We were 17th of 342 finishers and 3rd in the 45-49 age group (got some socks).

11/8 was race #200 for Lynn and Jamie since we started at the Heart & Sole 10K back in July of 1991. We started out a bit quick with a 6:02 first mile and just tried to hang on. We slowed a bit on the second lap of the course but still finished less than half a second off of last year with a time of 19:09.82. This was Annalyn's last race of the year and she finished in 31:11, just 16 seconds off of last year's time. Our 14-year-old niece, Shannon came in with a time of 29:05.

We hit a big milestone on 10/21 when the two of us ran our 15,000th mile together. Our FIRST mile together was on July 11, 1991 when we decided to train for the Heart & Sole 10K race.

On 10/27, we did our 2,000th mile since we got our racing chair from A Step Ahead Prosthetics and Orthotics. We've had a lot of great runs and races (and 2 flat tires) with this chair.

We had a great time in Milwaukee on the weekend of 10/2-4. We were honored to be the Keynote speakers at the expo the day before the Lakefront Marathon (thanks Kris Hinrichs & Co.). We got to meet some of the race volunteers and other runners at In Step, a running store on Friday night. We were pleasantly surprised with an appearance by Jenny Crain at the store. Jenny is the Olympic Women's Marathon Trials competitor who was tragically struck by a car while training in downtown Milwaukee two years ago. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and is still on the road to recovery. Since she and Lynn have this in common, they could talk about their experiences. Because of all of the crowd noise, it was difficult for them at the running store but the next morning we visited Jenny where she lives and our 30-minute meeting turned into 90 minutes. We wish it could have lasted longer. We met and got to talk with Jenny's Mom, Donna, along with some of her close friends who have stuck by her side throughout her recovery. Jenny still has some work to do but I think Lynn inspired her with her words of encouragement. The reason we couldn't stay longer with Jenny was that we had to get to the Marathon Expo where we were speaking twice that afternoon. Our talks were well received and well attended. Of course, Lynn and Annalyn got all of the best laughs while I had to try and stay with the "script" so we'd finish on time. We hung out at a booth that was provided to us where we could meet and greet folks and sell a few of our "Marathon Love" DVDs. We spent the evening enjoying pizza with the race organizers. Race day was great. Lynn and I were running as part of the Marathon Relay. We ran the last 7.25 miles as part of Team Running For Jenny. Annalyn and our other relay partners joined us for the last mile. It was a fun time. We hung out and handed out a few awards afterwards. All in all, a great trip. Special thanks go out to my brother, Jason, who helped in a million ways and to Dennis Wantland who squired us around town and made sure we were where we were supposed to be when we were supposed to be there.  

We had three more races in September.

First was the Monee In Motion 5K which Annalyn also ran. Once again, we beat our best time for the year with a 19:06. It's a nice flat course. They do need a few more people at the turns instead of relying on the runners to look out for arrows. Annalyn finished in 31:25 which beat her time from last year and got her 3rd in the 17 & under girls age group.

Lynn and Jamie did back-to-back races on the weekend of 9/26-27. First was the Cougar 5K at St. Xavier University in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood on the far south side of Chicago. We love this race because the course is so flat. We had great weather too. 60 degrees, cloudy, no wind or humidity to deal with. Jamie was trying to see if we could go under 19:00 for the first time since August of 2004. We hit the first mile in 5:54, maybe a bit too fast. The next two were dialed down a little (6:15 & 6:15). Jamie gave it all he had coming in to the finish but we just missed our goal, finishing in 19:02.64. They had a huge turnout with 847 finishers and we came in 5th Overall. I believe that is the best we've ever finished percentage-wise in any race (not counting the ones that we won outright). We also won the 45-49 age group.

9/27 was the Harvest 5K in Plainfield. Jamie wasn't sure how we'd do because of going so hard yesterday at St. Xavier's. Annalyn and niece Shannon were running this one too. Like yesterday, we had great weather. 55 and sunny. We hit Mile 1 in 6:08 and Jamie felt suprisingly good. After a 6:18 second mile, the course doubles back on itself so you cross paths with runners that are behind you. We were watching for Annalyn and Shannon. Shannon came by first which is unusual because Annalyn has always beaten her. Then Lynn saw Annalyn about a minute later and she was struggling. We went on to the finish and came in with a time of 19:17, WAY better than we thought we'd do. We waited for the girls. Shannon came by and finished in a new best 5K time for her, 28:53. All right, Shannon! Annalyn came in a few minutes later in 32:14. She told us that her legs felt stiff for the whole race and she got knocked off her stride when someone accidentally bumped into her near the start. Oh well. Can't do great every time.

We had two races on Labor Day weekend. The first was the Erin Olmstead Memorial 5K in Orland Park. Jamie held back a bit to save himself for the following day's race but we still took 10th Overall in 21:11. Labor Day was the Park Forest Scenic 5-Miler. Annalyn has been training for this one too. The day didn't start out well when we were late to the start by about 90 seconds. A combination of things caused us to get to the race about 10 minutes later than we would have wanted. One good thing about this race is that they use chip timing, or in this case tag timing. You just peel the tag and wrap in around your shoelaces. I put Annalyn's on while a nice gentleman was helping her with her number. The gun went off while we were doing this and we had to run to behind the start line and then go. As soon as We got over the timing mat, Annalyn's tag fell off her shoe. I told her to pick it up and hold it during the race. After that, she was on her own. Lynn and I took off and spent the rest of the race winding through traffic and passing other runners who started before us. This may have helped Jamie psychologically because it gave him a lift due to the fact that he kept passing people. Last year, we did this race in 32:56, a 6:37/mile pace. We wanted to try and do around 6:30/mile if we could but the craziness in getting to the start threatened to take the wind out of Jamie's sails. We didn't see the Mile 1 clock but we hit Mile 2 in 12:56. Good. Right on pace. Jamie was worried that he went out too fast to try and catch up. He also kept looking down at HIS timing tag to make sure that it didn't fall off. We did Mile 3 in 6:33 and Mile 4 in 6:37 so we were very close to our goal. We knew from last year that there are two hills in the last mile and the second one is pretty steep. Jamie thought this would kill his time but we actually did our fastest mile of the race in the 5th Mile (6:26). We hit the finish in 32:34, 22 seconds faster than last year. Very surprising. We turned around and waited for Annalyn to come in. It was a pretty humid morning although the temperature wasn't bad (65). We walked back down the course to the top of the last hill. Then we saw Annalyn coming and we cheered for her as loud as we could. As soon as she got to us, we ran with her the rest of the way. She finished! Her time was 1:00:50, a bit slower than she had done in practice but  our main goal was just for her to finish. She said she had to walk a little during the hardest points but she still averaged just over 12:00/mile. We are SO proud of her. We checked results later and saw that Lynn and I were 60th Overall of just under 400 and 7th in our age group. We looked on the list for Annalyn and she wasn't in there. I asked and was told that her tag had to be on her shoe or it wouldn't register on their computer. A very nice woman from CARA who was doing the timing manually put in Annalyn's time because she saw her finish. Annalyn was the youngest finisher and the only one under 14 among the girls. So she WON her age group!  She got a nice cloth outdoor folding chair.

After 13 years doing the same mail route in Lansing, Jamie is "movin' on up and taking another route. It has less than half of the walking that he does now and a lot more driving. It will help to save his legs over the next few years until retirement. Winters will be easier too. It will be hard to leave the customers he's gotten to know over the years. He has a lot of friends on his route and they will be missed.

Annalyn finished a two-week Running Camp in early August at Grissom Middle School. She did great, finishing every run without stopping (her coach, Mr. Heenan, said that had she been entering 6th Grade this year, she would have made the cross-country team. Way to go, Annalyn! She spent most of her time helping her friends Claire and Alyssa complete their runs.

Jamie spent 32 hours at South Suburban Hospital on 8/10-11 due to a combination of factors resulting in severe dehydration. It started the week before when he was having chills, fever, body aches and headache. He went to see his doctor and she looked at his sinuses and throat and determined that it was an Upper Respiratory Infection. Jamie disagreed because he didn't have any congestion or other things usually associated with that kind of infection. Can't argue with the doc. She put him on antibiotics. By Friday evening, 8/7, Jamie realized that the infection he had was a bit "farther south." But he figured that the antibiotics the doc put him on might get rid of that too. We had a race coming up in Shorewood on Sunday, 8/9, and Annalyn and our niece, Shannon, were signed up to run it too. Jamie told himself that if he felt lousy before the race, he would just take the girls and watch them run. He felt good that morning but it was a very warm and humid day. The race is mostly flat to downhill for the first two miles before it starts to go back up. There is one really huge hill about 3/4 mile from the finish. Jamie went out conservatively in 6:15 for each of the first two miles. The hills, heat and his health combined to knock him for a loop at the end of the race and we crossed the finish line in 20:43, our slowest 5K this year by far. He still didn't feel any worse than normal after the race and we got Gatorade and water and waited for the girls to come in. Annalyn finished in 32:07 and Shannon just 3 seconds later. They were 91st and 92nd Overall and 4th and 5th in their age group. Lynn and Jamie were 10th Overall and 2nd in the 45-49 group. After awards, we went to church and then to Jamie's Mom's house for lunch. He still wasn't feeling any worse than he usually does after a race. Then, when we got home, Annalyn noticed that it felt warm in the house. It was 85. The Air Conditioner was broken. We put all of the ceiling fans on and the portable fan wherever we were at the time. Jamie tried to get someone out but no one could get there the rest of the day. We all took cool showers and pulled the shades closed to try and keep the hot air out. It got up to at least 88 in the house before nightfall. Lynn and Annalyn went to bed but Jamie couldn't sleep. What he didn't know was that the infection was worsened by running the 5K in hot, humid conditions and then compounded by the lack of AC in the house. He was slowly dehydrating but didn't realize it. Monday morning was Annalyn's first day of Running Camp. We all walked there since it was only 3 blocks away. We stayed while the kids did their stretching, warmups and 1 1/2 mile run. We talked with Mr. Heenan, the coach. Nice guy. After practice, we walked back home. Lynn and Annalyn ate breakfast but Jamie had no appetite. He got on the couch (mind you, the AC was still out) and things progressively got worse. He knew he'd have to go back to the doctor so he asked Lynn to call her Mom at work so she could come over while Jamie was gone. He got an earlier appointment than he thought he'd get so his sister-in-law, Lisa, came over so he could leave right away. He got to the doctor's office and after she saw the sample he gave, she said, "You need to go to the hospital." His Mom said she'd drive him and would meet him at home. He got there before she did and then did something only an obsessed runner with a 17 1/2 year running streak going would do. He ran. If you call it that. He shuffled a mile (must do at least a mile to keep the streak alive) in 11:06. By that time, his Mom was there and she and Lynn read him the riot act for doing his run. We headed to South Suburban Hospital where he was admitted and spent the next 32 hours getting IV fluids and antibiotics dripped into him. Doctor said that his white blood cell count was nearly triple what it normally is and that he could have gone into Renal Failure, where his organs start to shut down. He felt much better the next day and talked the doctor into letting him go home that evening. His Dad picked him up and dropped him at home. So what did he do before he picked up his prescriptions at the drug store? He went outside and ran a mile. Streak intact.

Before we get to the July Race Report, we need to mention that on 7/6, Lynn's Grandpa, John Kennebeck, passed away in St. Louis. He was just 22 days short of his 100th birthday. He will be greatly missed. John was a retired Postal Clerk. He and his wife we married 75 years in April and she is coming up on her 99th birthday this November.

JULY RACE REPORT

July 4th was the Stars & Stripes 5K in Tinley. Weather was beautiful. 68 & cloudy. We started out quick, going 6:08 and 6:05 the first two miles. I think we were using the women's leader, Sarah Grzybek, as a rabbit because she was about 20 yards ahead of us until we hit the hills at the end. The hills around the reservoir always slow us down but we held it together OK and hit the finish in 19:21, our fastest there in about 10 years! Annalyn did great too, coming in with a time of 29:45, her 3rd best 5K. Neither of us got age group awards. That race SHOULD have 5-year age groups seeing as they had close to 600 finishers. I guess they want to save money on awards so they keep the 10-year groups. We were 4th in the 45-49 group and 22nd of 560 overall. Annalyn was 11th of 23 in her group and 291st Overall.

On 7/12, Annalyn zipped through her fastest mile ever on our home course. 7:36.57. We have to enjoy the time when we can still beat her because our paths will cross in opposite directions before we know it.

On 7/16, we did the Sundowner 5K at Pilcher Park in Joliet. Jamie's sister, Jodi, and niece, Shannon, we running their first 5K races ever. Jamie's folks and brother Mike and his family came out to cheer us on along with Jodi's husband and girls. Jodi and her family were in from San Jose for a family reunion picnic and Shannon's 8th Grade graduation party. As we stood at the start line with about 5 minutes until race time, the skies opened up and we all got drenched. After waiting in the rain for about 20 minutes, we heard that the race was delayed 35 minutes. We found shelter with about 100 other runners and waited out the storm.  This is another race with a fast start and a couple of hills at the end that beat you up (along with some loose gravel that the wheelchair didn't appreciate). We finished in 19:47 and caught 3rd in our age group. Shannon came in with a time of 33:00 and Jodi in 33:09. We were 36th Overall of 478.

Two days later, Annalyn joined Jodi and Shannon in a 5K cross-country race at Prairie State University in Chicago Heights. Annalyn finished 44th of 67 in a time of 29:58. Shannon was 3 places and 36 seconds slower and Jodi was 51st in 30:44. They all got age group awards.

7/23 was the Proud American Days 5K in New Lenox. 2 years ago, there were 22 runners. Last year, there were 37. This year, they're up to 66. We did OK, coming in 9th Overall in 19:40 and winning our age group. Our friends, Mitch and Luke Alvarez also won their age groups but Annalyn was the star of this day. She CRUSHED her previous best 5K time, coming in with a time of 28:47. Not only that, but she ran EIGHT MINUTES faster than she did the same race last year. Way to go, Annalyn!

7/26 saw us do our 9th race in a 7-week span. It was the Get Your Rear In Gear 5K in Tinley Park. Another race (like the 4th of July) where we could walk to the start. The course was around the Tinley Rec Center once, down a bike path for a mile and one more time around the Rec Center. The start and finish were on grass for about 50 yards (which the wheelchair doesn't really like) and there was a 20-yard stretch of grass at the turnaround at 1 1/2 miles. It was here that Jamie nearly dumped Lynn out of the chair. He cut the turn too tight and clipped one of the orange cones, sending the chair way off balance. Lynn's seat belt kept her from eating some grass. We recovered and ended up finishing in 7th overall of probably 140 or so with a time of 19:57.

We did pretty well in that 7-week span. In the 9 races, we finished 8th, 17th, 12th, 13th, 22nd, 22nd, 36th, 9th and 7th Overall. We won age group awards in all but the 4th of July (4th in 45-49) and the Rec Center race where they only gave overall awards to the top 3 male and female (we were 6th male).

2 weeks until our next race. It's the Shorewood Fest 5K on 8/9.

6/28 was the MetLife Duathlon in Tinley Park. It consists of a 2-Mile run, followed by an 11-Mile bike ride and another 2-Mile run. We got there about 7:20 and got the bikes racked.  I got the bike pump out and as I was about to do our bikes and the racing chair tires, a lady asked if I could do the tires on her bike. I said OK and did them. She thanked me and left. I did our tires and then ran to the van to put the pump in there. Back to the start area and we saw my Dad. We still had to get our timing chips. We got those and I put Annalyn's on her and went to put mine on. It wasn't in the bag they gave me. I thought that maybe it fell out and looked all around. Couldn't find it. Crap. It's Boston all over again. Gil Hannon (Race Director) just happened to be going by and I told him and he went to the starter and they got me another bib number and chip. The whole process only took about 5 minutes. By the time I was strapping mine on, the first wave of racers was starting. We were in the second wave and Annalyn was in the third. Weather was pretty good. It was 70 but not humid. There was some wind to deal with out of the west but most of the course was north/south. It was also very sunny. We got up to the start line and within a minute, we were off. Dad and Annalyn cheered us on. I got into a good rhythm pretty quickly. On the way back after the turnaround, we saw Annalyn and cheered for her. We also saw Lori McGraw (my cousin Ken's wife). We did our first two mile run in 12:44. As I got to the bike rack, I turned the chair and the front wheel bumped Annalyn's bike and knocked it over. I told my Dad to pick that up for me so I could get on my bike right away. I got my bike and ran it down to the place where I could get on it. Then I took off. I had the bike in the biggest gear I have the whole way. I felt pretty good but there were still probably 25 guys that passed me on the bike. Turning west onto Vollmer was where the wind affected everyone. I just tried to stay low and get through it. I was praying that Annalyn was doing OK on her bike. I got back to the transition after a 32:24 bike ride. I got off the bike and ran it to the rack. Lynn wasn't there. Then I saw her with my Dad just outside the transition area. I racked the bike and took off my helmet, knocking my shades on the ground. I got those and got Lynn and started the run. It took a couple of minutes to get my legs back but by the time we were over the little hill after the turnaround, I was feeling pretty good and passing a few runners. I caught Gil Hannon, (whom I've never beaten in this race) about halfway down Sayre. After we made the last turn about 1/4 mile from the finish, there was one more guy maybe 50 yards ahead. I didn't think I could catch him but I just gave it whatever I had left. I caught him in the last 100 yards. Good thing. He was in our age group. I hit the line with a second run of 12:51. Not bad. What was really great was that my goal was to beat an hour since last year I only missed it by 23 seconds. We finished in 59:49. A few people congratulated us and we walked back to the bike area where my Dad was watching for Annalyn. We decided to walk to the last turn before you get off the bike. That way we could see all the way down the last 1/2 mile of the bike as she came in. I ran to the van to get the camcorder. I ran back and within 5 or 10 minutes, we saw Annalyn coming down the street. We cheered her as she went by and I taped her going into the transition. We ran to the exit of the bike area and waited for her. I taped her as she started her run. Then we got some food and waited for her to come back. Looking at where she was on time, it looked like she would easily beat our goal time for her which was two hours. I gave my Dad the camcorder and I got the still camera to get a picture of her as she came in to the finish. I moved down a bit to see her on the long straightaway into the finish. Pretty soon, I saw her and yelled for Dad to start the camcorder. I got a picture as she ran by me and Dad taped her going into the finish. Her time was 1:52:11. Wow! She did it!!!! We all congratulated her and we walked to the train station where they were about to do the awards. After the overall male and female winners, they started with Girls 14 & Under. We saw two sisters finish ahead of Annalyn and I knew at least one of them was in her group. Well, they both were but that was it. Annalyn got THIRD in her age group!!! Woo Hoo!!! They did the other groups leading up to ours. We've never gotten an age group award in this race and really haven't been that close. There are a lot of good cyclists in this race and many of them are in our group. When I heard, "In Third Place from Tinley Park," I thought, "No way," but it was us. We also got 3rd in our age group. All right! In checking the results later online, I saw that the guy we caught and passed at the very end was in our group. I also saw that we only missed 2nd in our age group by 13 seconds and I know I lost more than that in dealing with knocking over Annalyn's bike. I found out from Annalyn that I was paid back for my act of kindness before the race when I pumped up that lady's tires for her. Apparently when I knocked over Annalyn's bike, I knocked her chain off. She got to the place to get on her bike and when she started pedaling, it wouldn't move. She couldn't understand why and asked some people who were by the side of the road. One guy told her that he chain was off and fixed it for her. Wow! That is SO COOL! That REALLY saved the day for her. We were debating about leaving after they did our age group but stuck around for the last few awards. Then they had special awards for team competition, fastest Tinley Park finisher (We were 4th) and youngest finishers. Annalyn was the youngest girl and got a trophy and the youngest boy was Tyler Thelen, the son of some friends of ours. Annalyn was stoked! She did better than we did and on her first try. My Dad was so proud of her and so were we. We ended up 22nd of 386 finishers overall.

On 6/18, we all did the Short Run On A Long Day 5K in Frankfort. It was 82 with very high humidity. Lynn and I went out too fast (6:02-Mile 1) and paid for it in the last mile. About 3/4 mile of the course is on a paved bike path through a forest preserve. This was right around the 2-mile mark. It felt like someone threw a blanket over us going through those trees. The only good thing was that it affected everyone, not just us. We finished in a respectable 19:29. We got 13th of 242 Overall and 2nd in our 45-49 age group. Annalyn also struggled with the heat and humidity. She was hoping to break her best 5K time because this course is very flat. The weather conditions prevented that but she did come in about a minute faster than she did at the same race last year. Her time was 32:55 and she got 3rd in her age group and won an award. Way to go, Annalyn. 

The Parks Family Racing Team had a pretty good weekend at the races on June 13 & 14.

On 6/13, we did the Munster (Indiana) Rotary Run-A-Round 5K. Rain was forecast and it looked like we might get wet. It held off though. Course was dead flat. Weather turned out great. Cloudy and 60. No wind. Race finished on the track of Munster High School. We ran it in 19:32. I was trying to save a little for our race the next day in Frankfort. We came in 17th of 147 Overall and 1st in the 45-49 age group.

6/14, was Michelle's Race To Recovery 4-Miler in Frankfort. The purpose of this race was to raise funds to offset medical bills for a woman who was in her 3rd bout with breast cancer. Sad to say that she passed away on June 3rd. She definitely had a lot of friends because they had a great turnout. The course was mostly on forest preserve bike trails and a bit hilly. We finished in 26:49 and somewhere around 11th or 12th overall. We got 3rd in out age group.

On 6/6, Annalyn raced at the Pink Ribbon 5K in Palos Heights. Her girlfriend from school, Claire Dolan, talked her into doing the race (Claire forgot to tell Annalyn that she was only doing the one-mile run). Jamie had to work so this was the first time that Annalyn had done a race without her parents being there. Well, she did great. She ran 29:38 on a course with a few good-sized hills (according to Annalyn). That's her 2nd-best 5K ever and only 7 seconds off her fastest. She finished 61st of 127 Overall. That's her first time ever in the top half of the finishers. She finished FIRST in the 13 & Under Girls age group and got a nice trophy.

Lynn and Jamie raced the next morning in Oak Lawn at the Running For Hope 5K. Weather was good. 63 and cloudy. Rain was in the forecast but held off until the awards. Annalyn came with to cheer on her parents. There was a huge turnout. Probably because the Band On The Run 5K in Orland is no more and was usually on that weekend. We got off the line OK and settled into a good rhythm. Or what felt like one. It was hard to tell because we hadn't really done any speedwork this year. We trained for the 1/2 marathon a month ago and had been doing some duathlon training with Annalyn recently so speedwork wasn't high on the list. We hit Mile 1 in 6:08. That's kind of quick but not too much. The course was dead flat. Not even a bump. Mile two came in another 6:17 and it looked like we might be close to the top 10 overall. A guy passed us in the second mile but we caught him back (and two other guys) on a long straightaway about 1/2 mile from the finish. We held our position with a 6:43 for the last 1.1 miles and hit the finish in 19:09.42. I put the hundredths in there because, in looking at recent runner's logs, I found that this was our fastest 5K since September of 2006. Our previous best since then was at last year's Tinley Turkey Trot when we ran 19:09.44. So we beat that by 2/100ths of a second. Annalyn cheered us in and it was great to hear her. We stayed for awards and found that we were first in our 45-49 age group. We didn't get a big trophy like Annalyn. Maybe a bit jealous. Overall, we came in 8th out of 715 finishers. That's the top 1.1%. Not too bad for an old guy pushing his wife.

Lynn and Jamie are now sponsored by Schwalbe racing tires. These are the tires that we have on the racing wheelchair and we love them! We put nearly 1500 miles on them before we ever had a flat tire. The flat was caused by road resurfacing debris that we picked up on a run in our neighborhood. A week later, we got a flat on the other rear tire. You'd think we would have learned and not run that course until the resurfacing was finished. Live and learn, I guess. We had one spare which the great guys at Orland Schwinn Cyclery put on for us but when we got the second flat, we were in a pickle. No bike shops anywhere in Illinois carried the kind of tire we needed and we had a race coming up in 3 days. After giving up on the local bike shops, Jamie called the manufacturer, Schwalbe in Washington state. He talked to a great guy named Jeff and explained our dilemma. Jeff said that they had the tires in stock and could overnight them to us. Thank you, Jesus! He took down our shipping info and then asked Jamie for our Visa number. Uh oh. Last Monday, as Jamie was trying to sign up for some races online, his card was declined. After a late night call to Chase, it was determined that someone had used our Visa number to make long distance phone calls. We had to cancel the card and were waiting on the new one. After a long pause for effect (and probably to check with his boss), Jeff came back on the line and said that Schwalbe would sponsor us this year. Wow! Talk about divine intervention. We were thisclose to having to race with the old, beat up chair that we haven't raced with in nearly two years. Jamie told Jeff to send us their logo and we'll put it up on our website. The tires came the next day and we had them in time for our race.

"Marathon Love" is now an award-winning documentary!! The US International Film and Video Festival in LA named it a Gold Camera winner for 2009 and it was nominated for "Best in Festival."

We spoke at High Road Bible Church in Romeoville on 5/24. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. Our presentation seemed to go well (and a bit long, of course). Thanks to Pastor Tim Ratliff for inviting us. He said they'd like to have us back for their movie night in June (I believe the 19th). They are going to show our documentary in full. We plan on being there.

The day started off on a bad note. As Jamie was getting everyone and everything loaded into the car for the trip to Romeoville, Lulu accidentally knocked over one of our Olympic Torches. It hit the carpet and the glass section at the top shattered. Now, we have to try and figure out how to get that replaced.

We did the Palos Bank Southwest 1/2 Marathon in Palos Heights on 5/3. Weather was great. Course was nice (a little more rolling than I thought it would be). Our goal was to try and break 1:30:00 (about a 6:52/mile pace). We got a little caught up in the excitement at the start and went out in 6:14 the first mile (uh oh). Mile 2 was still a bit quick in 6:32 but then we settled into a nicer rhythm around 6:50/mile through Mile 6. There was a larger hill near the turnaround at the halfway point and doing that twice in just over a mile knocked us down a little (7:21 & 7:02 for miles 7 and 8). We regained our pace as Jamie used his math skills to figure what splits we needed on the way in to hit our goal. We were under but not by much until a 6:38 mile in Mile 12 gave us some confidence. One more hill with about 3/4 mile to go slowed us us bit (6:51) but a good kick in the last .1 (33 seconds) got us to the finish in 1:29:00. We finished in 58th of 1098 overall, 8th of 81 in the 45-49 age group and 12th of 171 in the Masters group. Thanks to Mel Diab for having us speak the day before at their Health Fitness Expo at Trinity Christian College. 

We were in Cumberland, Maryland on April 18th & 19th as honorary starters of the Mountain Maryland Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, 5K and Kids' Marathon. Thanks to Race Director Kevin Spradlin for inviting us. We spoke at their pre-race dinner on the 18th and fired the starting gun on the 19th. Annalyn ran the 5K and finished in 29:31, her best 5K ever by 1:24. She was 70th of 137 Overall and 2nd in her age group. Weather turned out great.

On April 25th we spoke just before the start of the Novacare Rehabilitation Lakefront 10-Miler in Chicago at Montrose Avenue and the lakefront. Novacare was where Jamie went to rehab his various running injuries in the weeks leading up to last year's Boston Marathon. Jamie's therapist, Jerry Davis, is one of the best in his field. A picture of us there is on our "Picture Page."

After we left there, we went to meet Phil Keoghan of "The Amazing Race" at a Bike MS event in Chicago. What a nice, approachable guy. He signed autographs for us and we took pictures and video before he shot a segment for the Bonnie Hunt Show. We hung out with his Dad, John, for probably 20 minutes while Phil was doing his "thing" for his sponsors. Incredibly nice man. We can see where Phil gets it from. He invited us to the Bed & Breakfast that he and his wife run in New Zealand just south of Christchurch. Better start saving now. We also talked with Greg, the motorcycle driver for Phil's Ride Across America. Funny guy. He shared some stories with us of things that have happened so far since they left Santa Monica on 3/28. We put up a few pictures of our time with them on our "Picture Page." Check it out.

Due to an overwhelming demand for copies, "Marathon Love" is now available for purchase on DVD. Send e-mail to Lynjameracing@sbcglobal.net to request a copy. $5.00 from each DVD sale will go to Midwest Brain Injury Clubhouse in Chicago.

Lynn and Jamie are now on Facebook.

Jamie's Facebook

Lynn's Facebook

You can also join the group Marathon Love Fans

You can now follow us on Twitter too. Look for JamieParks1.

Here's the interview we did on February 11th with Linda Lawson. "A Way With Words"

Lynn and Jamie were interviewed on the Nancy Turner Show on Moody Radio (90.1 FM) on Tuesday, February 10th. It went great except Jamie said "you know" about 100 times, you know?

Here's the audio of the interview. 2009-02-10Jamie&LynParks.mp3

Here is the official press release and promo put out by Discovery Health Channel (Jamie had to tweak it slightly just to fix a few incorrect numbers).
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Katie Crockett: 240-662-2707
November 18, 2008 Katie_Crockett@discovery.com

MARATHON LOVE CHRONICLES TINLEY PARK COUPLE’S MIRACULOUS JOURNEY FROM A PARALYZING ACCIDENT TO THE BOSTON MARATHON
-- Hour-Long Special Following the Tragedy-to-Triumph Fairy Tale of Jamie and Lynn Parks. Encore Presentation Saturday February 14, at 8 PM (ET/PT) on Discovery Health --

(Silver Spring, Md.)—Just before her wedding day in 1987, Lynn Parks’ dream of walking down the aisle was shattered when a devastating car accident left her comatose and clinging to life. Miraculously, she awoke seven months later to find that her fiancé, Jamie, had never left her side. However, her struggle was not nearly over, as she had suffered a brain stem injury rendering her unable to ever stand or walk on her own again.

Fast-forward to 2008—this amazing husband-and-wife team has now run more than 14,000 miles and completed several marathons—and are the proud parents of a 9-year-old daughter. On Sunday, December 14, at 8 PM (ET/PT), Discovery Health premieres MARATHON LOVE, an engrossing hour-long special that weaves together professional footage with Jamie’s personal home videos to tell a tale of true love, perseverance and the power of the human spirit.

Even during the darkest days after the accident, Jamie’s faith never wavered—and after seven years of grueling physical and speech therapy, he and Lynn finally walked down the aisle on their wedding day. An avid runner, Jamie began to push Lynn in her wheelchair as he ran the one-mile loop through their Tinley Park neighborhood. Soon after, the couple began entering races, eventually qualifying for the ultracompetitive 2008 Boston Marathon.

While the Boston Marathon was a lifelong dream for Jamie and Lynn, they will tell you that it doesn’t compare with another miracle that occurred nine years ago. Doctors had told Lynn that because of her injuries, she would not be able to have children—but in 1999, Lynn gave birth to a healthy and happy girl, Annalyn. As a baby, Annalyn sat on her mother’s lap as Jamie pushed them in more than 50 races. Now 9 years old, Annalyn shares her parents’ passion and often accompanies them on their daily runs.

MARATHON LOVE is an inspiring account of a family coming together that serves as a moving reminder of the power of love and the strength of the human spirit.

MARATHON LOVE is a co-production between Discovery Health and LMNO. For Discovery Health, Wendy Douglas is executive producer, and for LMNO, Ruth Rivin and Eric Schotz are executive producers.

###

Jamie's cousin, Matt McGraw, passed away in late October in LA. Matt was a very accomplished musician and finishing up his first solo album when he died. Here is a link to his myspace page with samples of his music. He will be greatly missed.

www.MySpace.com/mattmcgrawmusic

The totals are in for 2008. Jamie ran 1733.37 miles for the year and 1060.17 with Lynn. He did 659 miles on the treadmill (505 of those were training for the 4/21 Boston Marathon). We did 12 races totaling 65 miles. Annalyn ran 369.95 miles for the year of which 106.75 were on the treadmill. She did 8 races totaling 21.6 miles.

Lynn and Jamie have completed their first racing season with the racing chair built for them by A Step Ahead Prosthetics and Orthotics on Long Island, New York. It took a little getting used to the different arm position for Jamie (maybe a foot higher than the old chair). It held up great though. We did 12 races this year, starting off with the Boston Marathon in April and ending with the Red Eye 8K in Joliet on 11/16. In that race, we finished 13th Overall in 32:01 and 2nd in our 45-49 age group, despite a wind chill of around 20 degrees. Finishing that race gave us a total of over 1000 miles this year on the new chair. We did one marathon, one duathlon, two 5-mile races and eight 5K (3.1 mile) races. The last three 5Ks we did this year were the fastest we've run in over two years. It HAD to be the chair because Jamie isn't getting any younger. Better looking maybe, but not younger. We caught age group awards in 6 races. Thanks A Step Ahead!

Annalyn has finished her first season of racing by herself. She ran a total of six 5K races, a one-mile race and ran 2 miles and biked 8.2 in the Ride & Tie she did with her Dad. She improved her 5K time from 33:45 in her first race back in May to 30:55 at the Tinley Turkey Trot in November. WAY TO GO ANNALYN!

Annalyn has just completed Fourth Grade at Bannes Elementary. Her teacher is Mrs. Lucca and Annalyn says she's great. Mrs. Lucca returns the compliment.

Annalyn will be 10 on August 23rd. WOW! She is 4 feet, 1 inch tall and weighs 67 pounds. She is now in 4th Grade. She is very talkative and loves to sing and dance. She has a great sense of humor. She loves High School Musical (and especially Zac Efron) Hannah Montana, Zach and Cody, Drake and Josh, Mythbusters, Stormchasers, Dancing With The Stars, iCarly, John and Kate plus 8 and Dirty Jobs. Her new favorite shows are on the Weather Channel and WWE wrestling. She watches them all the time. Weird kid.

Our Yellow Lab, Lulu, will turn 4 on 8/26. There have been a few times when I wasn't sure she would survive until then (chewing everything in the house, etc.).

Lynn and Jamie have now entered their 3rd decade together. May 18th, 2005 was 20 years since we met at a party neither of us was planning on going to. July 18th, 2005 was 20 years since we were engaged.

We have some other important people in our lives who need prayer for various issues. If you have the time throw a few out for Mike, Jason, Butch, Marilyn and Jack.

Jamie's obsessive running streak reached the 17-year mark on 1/28. To keep the streak alive, he has to run at least a mile every day (although he still does 30 miles a week). There have been several times when the streak nearly ended due to the flu or nagging minor injuries (plantar fasciitis, ITB syndrome, broken elbow) and hernia surgery. There was one time where it nearly ended because Jamie fell asleep. He was planning on doing his run late at night around 11:00. He fell asleep in the recliner and woke up just in time to get it done before midnight.

ANNALYN is nearly 10 years old now. We want her to stay like this. Forever.

My youngest bro, Jason, helped set up and design our new website. Thanks, J!

Lynn and Jamie were EACH given the honor of carrying the Olympic Torch when the Torch Relay came through Chicago in January, 2002. It was an incredible experience for both of us.


From 8/2-8/9/08, the three of us joined with the rest of Jamie's family and went to Wisconsin Dells. Jamie's sister, Jodi, and her family flew in from California. This was the first trip that we all took together since any of us can remember. There were 17 of us. Two families were at a cabin at Christmas Mountain Village and the rest were at a hotel nearby. Surprisingly, we all didn't hate each other after a week together.

DAY 1:

We dropped off Lulu, our Lab, at Jamie's Aunt Pat's house. She's watching her and Dude and Lisa's Lab-Chow mix, Sammy, while we're gone. We got together with everyone at Jamie's Mom's house. Jamie's sister, Jodi, has been on Weight Watchers for some time now and has lost a LOT of weight. She looks great! We took 4 vehicles and left. We caravanned up there without incident (apart from a truck nearly running Lisa's convertible off the road ). The non-cottage people stayed at a Best Western about 5 miles from the cottage at Christmas Mountain Village. Dude, Lisa, their son, Joey and Jamie's Dad, Charlie all stayed with Lynn and Jamie in the cottage (Annalyn stayed at the hotel with the rest of her cousins). Nice place. Big kitchen, fireplace, two bathrooms, two bedrooms and two TVs. We all hooked up later for dinner at Applebee's.

DAY 2:

Dude had put the thermostat at 62 overnight so Lynn and Jamie froze. Jodi and Aaron dropped off Annalyn so we could all run and keep our streaks alive. We ran an out-and-back course. It was 1/2 mile out and back the same way. One huge hill at the beginning (and the end coming back). We ran and Lynn walked behind her chair (we used the old racing chair all week because the new one took up too much space). We met everyone for breakfast at IHOP and then went to Chula Vista, an indoor/outdoor waterpark. We reserved a couple of private changing tents that had TVs in them. The kids had a ball and Jamie and Aaron cheated death by going down a near vertical waterslide with a 50-foot drop from the top. Annalyn was offered $250 by three of the adults to try it and chickened out. After drying off, we went to a buffet inside and Lynn and Jamie picked up the tab. $447! Yowza! Back to the cottage for a friendly(?) game of cards.

DAY 3:

We went to an indoor amusement park/arcade/bowling alley/go-cart track called "Knuckleheads." It was pouring rain when we got there and we all got soaked running in from the cars. After a quick lunch, we headed for the bowling alley. As we walked in, up walked a friend of ours from our church, Diane Filipiak, and two of her daughters! What are the odds? They were in the Dells for a few days visiting Diane's sister who lives nearby. We bowled for an hour. We had 15 bowlers and only one strike was thrown. By Lynn! They had a ramp that she could put the ball on and aim. Then just push it and watch it roll. After bowling, we went to the arcade and Annalyn beat Jamie 7-4 in Air Hockey. And will remind him of this FOREVER. We were there for about 3 hours and then went back to the hotel for fast food and outdoor swimming for the kids. Later, while back in the cottage, we saw that some wicked storms had hit the Chicago area. There were several tornado warnings (one near Wrigley Field where the Cubs game had a near 3-hour rain delay). After everyone went to bed, Jamie turned on the Cubs game just as they resumed play. They played two innings and then lightning hit the scoreboard out in center field. They cancelled the rest of the game.

DAY 4:

After our early morning run with Annalyn, we all met for breakfast at Country Kitchen. Next stop was Pirate's Cove for mini-golf. It was a (mostly) accessible course (17 of the 19 holes). Jamie helped Lynn to stand and balance but she did all of the aiming and actually beat him. And will remind him of this FOREVER. Cold Stone Creamery was the next stop (excellent shakes). The kids went swimming (after the mandatory 30-minute wait) at the indoor pool at Christmas Mountain Village. Lynn and Jamie and a few others took this chance to catch a quick nap. Later on, Jamie's Dad grilled burgers, dogs and chicken and we all ate at the cottage. Jamie's Mom stayed at the cottage with the kids and the rest of us went to Ho-Chunk Casino about 15 minutes away. We were there for a couple of hours and Lynn lost a whopping $7.25 playing the Wheel Of Fortune game. The others did OK.

DAY 5:

We started the day with the usual run with our daughter and Lynn's behind the wheelchair walking. We had breakfast in the cottage and met the rest at the hotel. Then we went to Noah's Ark, another waterpark. Most of the adults sat this one out and just let the kids go nuts (and they did). They had a lazy river, a jillion waterslides and a HUGE wave pool. Later on, some of the adults had to make a laundry stop. The ones who brought enough clothes for the whole week (Lynn and Jamie) got to rest. Dinner that evening was at Pizza Pub.

DAY 6 (White Sox 0):

We ran/walked. Jamie and his Dad and two brothers went golfing. Lynn and Jamie's Mom came with to watch and mock them (they had their own cart). The course was right there at Christmas Mountain Village. It was the hardest course any of us has ever played. Very narrow fairways, tons of trees, lots of water and other hazards. We had a lot of fun despite Lynn and Jamie's Mom getting a flat tire on their golf cart, Jason nearly getting beaned on consecutive shots by Jamie's Dad and Dude and the course ranger yelling at us MANY times for playing so slowly. We had a good reason for that. We spent a lot of time looking for our golf balls. Between the four of us, we lost FORTY-ONE balls! Jamie got the only par of the day (a 3) and Jason won $25 from Dude by sinking a twisting up and down 25-foot putt on the 9th Hole. While we golfed, the rest of the group went souvenir shopping. Later on, we went on the Jet Boat Tour. That was a blast! All 17 of us (and a few others) took a tour of the Upper Dells on the Wisconsin River. Those who sat in the front row got soaked. Lynn and Jamie were smart enough to sit in row six (still got a little wet). Dinner was at Culver's.

DAY 7:

Run/walk. Breakfast at Mr. Pancake. Voting was taken for what to do for our last day in the Dells. We ended up going to the main strip of attractions/stores/souvenir shops. Everyone but Jamie, Lynn and Jamie's folks went into Wizard Quest, a puzzle-solving role-playing adventure place. Lynn and Jamie wandered up and down the "strip" and also went to the Riverwalk, a scenic overlook by the Wisconsin River. Most of the kids (and some of the adults) were in the Dino 4-D movie while we did this. Back to the hotel to figure out our next move. It was horseback riding/petting zoo. That was fun. Jamie's Mom stayed at the hotel and Lynn, Jamie, Dude and Jamie's Dad didn't go on the horses. The petting zoo was fun. They had cows, goats, donkeys and horses. We got to feed them. A cow stepped on Dude's foot. The horses and goats liked Lynn but not the cows. It looked like they were afraid of the wheelchair. Annalyn was horseback riding with the rest of the group. At one point, they were near a farm and one of the horses (Jodi's) got spooked by a tractor. This caused some of the other horses (including Annalyn's) to react. Her horse (ironically named "Horse"), started trotting and Annalyn was holding on for dear life. Things calmed down and they all made it back alive. The kids stopped in at the petting zoo and two of the goats tried to eat Annalyn's pants. Really. There are nibble marks on them. Back to the cottage for pizza and poker. Of course, the one who we had to teach how to play Texas Hold 'Em (Jamie's Mom) had the most chips at the end.

DAY 8:

No run/walk (we waited until we got home). We packed and left about 8. Breakfast was on the road at a McD's in Janesville. Back to Jamie's Mom's in New Lenox by about 1:00. Jodi and Aaron were flying out later in the day and Dude and Jason each had music gigs they had to get to. We stayed until around 4 and then drove through a torrential rain back to Aunt Pat's to pick up Lulu. She was very happy to see us and the feeling was mutual. Aunt Pat said she is a nut. That much we knew. Back to our humble abode by 5:00.

THE END


VIDEO FROM BOSTON MARATHON

There are several videos that we appear in. The first one is here http://wbztv.com/video/?id=61686@wbz.dayport.com . It shows us crossing the finish line. We appear on there about 30 seconds after it starts. Keep watching to see how close Lance Armstrong came to catching us. Next, go to www.youtube.com  and find the "search" box. There are 5 YouTube videos that we appear in. For the first one, type in Boston Marathon 08 Elite Runners Technique. We pass through the shot at 46 seconds into the video. For the second one, type in Boston Marathon 2008-Natick. Starting at 13 seconds, there is an interview with one of the camera guys who shot for the documentary. They show us on screen as he is interviewed for 30 seconds. For the next one, type in Boston Marathon 2008 Get Boston. This video shows us for just 6 seconds starting at 1:15. For the fourth video, type in Vectrix at Boston Marathon. This will bring up two videos. The top one shows us from :15 to :39 and the bottom one (titled "Vectrix at Marathon Weekend") is the best one. It shows the three of us as we came up Hereford Street and turning onto Boylston for the run to the finish line. We're on from the 8:40 mark for a full minute.

ANNALYN'S FIRST 5K RACE

Annalyn ran her first 5K race on 5/4. It was in Romeoville. She has trained for 4 months and done up to 3 miles in practice but she was still worried that she would finish last. Well, that didn't happen. On a sunny, somewhat chilly Sunday morning (40 degrees when we left the house), she had an outstanding race. Lynn and Jamie ran with her the whole way and were able to videotape her entire race (we had an HD camera rigged to Lynn's wheelchair). She paced herself well considering that this was her first race. Her first mile was in 10:57 on the only slightly uphill section of the course. Mile two went by in a brisk 10:42 (what goes up must come down). Towards the end of mile 2, she started to get a side stitch and some pain in her left shoulder. This can be frustrating for any runner knowing that you still have nearly half the race to go and now you have this pain to deal with. Jamie has run many races so he knows that a side stitch, while annoying, can't do any physical harm to a runner. Annalyn's frustration was showing because she started to get a bit whiny. After praise and encouragement didn't work, he had to resort to a little "tough love" to help her through. Mom was being "good cop" the whole time which helped. Since Mom and Dad had run this race several times before, they knew how many turns were left and how close to the finish she was getting. As you get near the finish, the course makes a left turn away from the finish line and the runners go about 50 yards, do a u-turn and head down a straightaway to the finish. At the left turn, Jamie handed off the camcorder to his friend Mitch Alvarez who ran it to the finish so Jamie's brother, Jason, could put it on a tripod and get the three of them as they came to the finish. It worked perfectly. Once Annalyn knew she was near the finish, the whining stopped and she started smiling. Mile 3 was done in 11:07 and she covered the last 1/10th of a mile in 58 seconds.

She crossed the finish line in 33:45 to a roar of cheers from the crowd. She got flowers and a stuffed animal from Grandma and got to pick where she wanted to go for lunch from Mom and Dad.

Her best prize came shortly after the finish when it was announced that she came in 3rd place in her age group.

She got a medal on a ribbon and wouldn't take it off for two days. And as far as her worry about finishing last? She was 112th of 132 Overall.

A NOT-SO-WELCOME CHALLENGE

After we got back from Boston, we were home for three days before making an overnight trip to St. Louis to visit Lynn's Grandparents. Grandpa is going to be 99 in July and Grandma will be 98 in November. Grandpa took a fall a little while back and is rehabbing. We visited him on Sunday, 4/27. Lynn's Mom took Amtrak down there when we went to Boston so we were giving her a ride home. When we got back, while bringing in luggage, Jamie tripped going down some stairs into his laundry room and landed hard on the tile. The stuff he was carrying broke most of his fall but there was some pain in his left arm. He tried to shake it off but it persisted. The next day, he went to a local Urgent Care facility and got x-rays. Broken elbow. It's a hairline fracture and doesn't require a cast but he has to keep it in a sling for 4 weeks. To make matters worse, it's his left elbow and he's left-handed. UPDATE: It's healed.

THE BOSTON MARATHON STORY

What a way to run your last marathon. And what a place. We ran the pinnacle of all the marathons, the Boston Marathon, on April 21st. The weekend didn't start out too great when on Friday, the 18th, Lynn and Jamie got some bad news. Jamie's brother, Jason, was in the hospital with some unexplained internal bleeding and might not be able to make the trip with us. Jason did a boatload of work on this project and deserved to be there. His doctor asked if he could wait a day and fly out Sunday so they could do some tests. He would miss our course recon that we planned for Saturday and early Sunday but his health is more important so we said OK. In his place, at least initially, would be Ruth Rivin, the Executive Producer of the documentary for LMNO Productions. Ruth called Jamie Friday afternoon and said, "Can I crash on your couch tonight?" Not exactly the accommodations she's used to I'm sure. Jamie said, "Sure." Ruth got there about 11 PM.

Saturday 4/19

We had to get up at 4 AM because we had an early flight and we had to deal with getting the new chair on the plane. Jamie's sister-in-law, Jen (Jason's wife) had spent 1 1/2 hours bubble-wrapping the chair the night before to make sure it wouldn't be damaged on the trip. Southwest Airlines didn't like that. They needed to inspect it to make sure there was no damage. Jamie finally signed off on the fact that it was new and undamaged. Our flight was uneventful and after we landed, we took a shuttle to the Holiday Inn in Manchester, New Hampshire (where we landed). We got our 12-passenger van that we rented and drove to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Natick, Massachusetts. It was about 17 miles from Boston and very near to the marathon course. We checked in and then went to downtown Boston to meet up with the rest of our documentary crew. We knew Kathy Williamson, the director, because we had worked with her years ago on the "Miracle Babies" show that featured Annalyn when she was born. We only knew Melissa Tallerine through dozens of e-mails that we had sent back and forth trying to get things set up ahead of time. I think Jason's wife thought he had a girlfriend with all of the Melissa e-mails he was getting every day (just kidding-she's married too). We also met the Director of the Boston Marathon TV Production. He was very nice as was Adam, our liaison to the BAA (Boston Athletic Association). Boylston Street (where the finish line is) was closed down so we decided to do our run for the day right there. Annalyn ran with us and we did a mile and then walked over to the place where we were planning on sneaking our daughter onto the course on Sunday. We want her to finish the race with us as a family. The documentary crew thought it was a great idea. I doubt that the BAA would agree but since it's our last marathon, we want to go out on a high note. The place we picked was on Commonwealth Avenue, about 30 feet before you get to the turn onto Hereford Street. It's about 1/2 mile from the finish but we knew that Annalyn could make it. 1/2 mile is nothing to her anymore since she had already done 3 miles in training for her first 5K that she did on 5/4 in Romeoville. After a nice meal with Ruth and Kathy, we were done for the night. Earlier in the day, we got the official word that Jason would not be out of the hospital in time to join us in Boston. We were bummed.

Sunday 4/20

This was our sleep in day. We got up at 8:15 and had room service breakfast. Then we went down to the hotel fitness center and Lynn walked on their treadmill and did some stationary bike work too.

Top left to right: Jamie's Dad Charlie, Kathy Williamson,

Jamie, Annalyn, Melissa Tallerine. Bottom: Ruth Rivin and Lynn.

We met the crew in the lobby and drove to Hopkinton. That's where the race starts 26 miles west of Boston. We parked at a church and walked to the start area. A very nice police officer actually stopped traffic both ways on Route 135 so LMNO could get some video footage of us looking at the start line. We did pictures and video and went back to the cars by the church. We hadn't run yet so we decided to just do it right there. We did a mile and Kathy shot footage of us running. We met more of the crew there, including Dan Franks, our Boston go-to guy. He has run Boston before and worked in the TV production of the race too so he was invaluable to us in this project. There was an idea to use a lipstick camera to get a point-of-view shot from the chair as we came in to Boston at the end of the race. The camera was very small but the battery pack and monitor weighed too much. So that idea was out the window. It was decided that an HD camcorder would be taped to the left handle of the chair and Jamie was instructed to turn it on with a mile to go in the race. We left and went back downtown so Jamie could get his race number and packet. Then expo was at the Hynes Convention Center. David Willey, the Editor-In-Chief at Runner's World Magazine (and a great guy), was giving a seminar on "Real Runners" at the expo and Lynn and Jamie were invited weeks earlier to drop by and be introduced. We found the room where he was and went in. There were 6 athletes on the stage, each with a fascinating story about survival or perseverance. We were about 10 minutes late so we hung out in the back. David saw us and asked all three of us to come up. He introduced us and mentioned some of our running accomplishments. He asked us a few questions and then a few questions from the audience were taken. One person asked the panel who their favorite running partner was and most everyone said their dog, a relative, a friend or their music. Jamie said that it's great having Lynn and Annalyn as running partners but as much as he prays during runs, his favorite partner is Jesus Christ. After the seminar, we went to pick up our race number. It was temporarily misplaced but eventually found by Barb Mancuso, the head of registration for the marathon. She got us our race shirts and then we went and met Dick and Rick Hoyt.

Dick and Rick are the guys who we got the idea from about Jamie pushing Lynn in her wheelchair in races. They've done nearly 1000 races together since 1977 and this will be their 26th Boston Marathon. Dick said that he thought they'd finish somewhere around 4 hours because he has been so busy lately that his training has suffered. We took pictures and video and met their "people," Kathy Boyer. Jamie and Kathy had been e-mailing each other over the last few months since we knew that we'd be doing Boston and were getting a new racing chair. They were all very nice. Jamie got Dick to sign a poster and one of their books. Dick didn't want Jamie to pay for either but Jamie insisted and we settled on $20 for both. After that, we met up with the crew again and did a little souvenir shopping for us and Annalyn. We went back out and walked to the spot where Annalyn would enter the course. The barriers were up but not very high. That would make it much easier to pick her up and over them. Back to the hotel and just as we were about to leave to go to Olive Garden for Jamie's carbo-loading dinner, we realized that the keys to the van were locked inside. Ruth called AAA and the guy was across the street at a local mall. He was there in about 5 minutes. He got the lock open with a coat hanger. We stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for Jamie's pre-race breakfast (2 bagels). We had a great dinner with the folks (Mom and Dad flew with us). After we got back to the hotel, Melissa gave Jamie an index card that showed where the cameras would be along the course and which side of the road to be on at certain points.

Monday 4/21

It's Boston Marathon Day!!!

We had to be at the start area at 5:30 AM to meet up with the camera people and assistants who would be working with us at the race. That meant we had to get up by 4:00 (3:00 Chicago time). Jamie had his pre-race breakfast of 2 bagels and Gatorade. We drove out to Hopkinton and met the rest of the crew at a different church from yesterday. The crew and the LMNO girls worked out all of their logistics as we waited in the van (mind you, the start wasn't for another 4 hours). It looked like the weather was going to be ideal for the race. It was overcast and about 45 with no wind and no rain. After everything was coordinated with the crew, we drove back to the church we were at yesterday (sensing a theme here?). The crew wanted to film us getting ready before the start so they shot Jamie putting the racing chair together, Lynn getting out of the van and into the chair, Jamie preparing his energy gels and water bottles and Annalyn joining them for the walk towards the start. We did that in one take. There was a little pre-race interview and then a near disaster happened. In the bigger races, runners wear a little black plastic timing chip that they tie to their shoelace. It's like a little homing device that triggers a sensor when you go past various points along the course. This sends the information to a computer so they know that you completed the course and didn't cut it like Rosie Ruiz did a few years ago. Jamie thought he had put his in a bag with all of the things he would need for race day. It wasn't in the bag, it wasn't in the van, it wasn't at the hotel and no one had it. This was bad. No timing chip means no official time or place in the marathon. Jamie asked Kathy, the Director, to send someone to the start line area to see if there was a way to replace it. After a tense 15 minutes of waiting while we drew closer to the race start, we were told they could replace it. Jamie was given the new chip and in the process of putting it on, he stripped down to his racing shorts. As he took off his sweatpants, he could see something tucked into the top of his sock. You guessed it. The missing timing chip. He said that he had absolutely no recollection of putting it there. So he put it on and double-knotted his shoelace so it wouldn't come off. He kissed his Mom and we headed to the start. Many people came up to us to wish us good luck. We saw Dave McGillivray, the Race Director, and thanked him for helping to make this happen. We hugged and kissed Annalyn and Jamie's Dad and they went up to a spot in the bleachers where they could see us off. We lined up behind the wheelchair racers along with Dick and Rick Hoyt and Mark and Amanda Collis (the other pusher teams). For some unknown reason, Jamie was visibly shaking as we waited for the gun. It wasn't nerves or weather. John Kerry was there and made the rounds wishing the athletes good luck. He fired the starter's pistol and we were off. The first few miles of the race are mostly downhill so it's important not to go out too hard or you'll pay for it later on when you hit the Newton Hills. We ran the first 1 1/2 miles with the Hoyts and Collis' but before we knew it, we were way ahead. The spectators along the sides of the road were amazing. They really can carry you through some tough spots. It was hard to concentrate on running with all of the waving and smiling that we were doing. It was really fun, though. It was like we were in a 26.2-mile parade. After we ran in Toronto and qualified for Boston, we agreed that we weren't going to worry about our finishing time in Boston. We were going to have a good time and enjoy ourselves. We had a cameraperson filming us from the back of a motorcycle for the first 6 miles for the documentary. Jamie was doing well physically but it was hard to get a good idea of just how well we were doing with our pace. With all of the rolling terrain, you just had to try and maintain a good rhythm. Jamie's goal was to try and hold a 7:30/mile pace until we got to the Newton Hills at 16 miles. Miles 2-4 we did in 7:12, 7:05 and 7:04. The motorcycle pulled off at the 6-mile mark to go back to the start. The cameraperson had to be back to film that. Just about this time, the elite women passed us. Apart from the start, this was the only other time that we were shown on the TV coverage. As the women passed us, Jamie applauded them. Jamie was taking his energy gels every 5 miles and staying hydrated with water and Gatorade. Lynn was enjoying the scenery and the chair was rolling perfectly. At around the 8-mile mark, the motorcycle guy pulled up alongside us. He had nothing left to do after he dropped off the cameraperson at the start. So he decided to come back to us and ride alongside us. That was cool. Jamie told him that we had people ahead filming for the documentary who would be running along with us while filming for as long as they could. He suggested that the motorcycle guy ask one of them if they wanted to ride and film from the bike. By this point, we were nearing the 10-mile mark. That was where Jamie's first instruction was on his index card. He was supposed to stay on the left side of the street because there was someone positioned on the right in a building to film us for the show. Not long after that, we went past our first running cameraperson. He stayed with us for maybe 50 yards or so before peeling off. The course took a dip down a hill here and you could see an uphill section ahead around a curve. What you REALLY couldn't miss was this huge wall of sound. We were probably 1/2 mile away but we knew it had to be Wellesley College. Wellesley is an all-women's school and they have a reputation of being very loud and enthusiastic as the marathon runners pass by. As we neared Wellesley, we saw Melissa, our other running cameraperson. Melissa is a Lead Producer of the documentary but also a marathon runner and triathlete. She ran with us and filmed as we went past Wellesley. Jamie moved over to the right side of Lynn's chair and held on with his left hand so he could slap hands with everyone lined up behind the barriers. That was fun. One of those pictures is on the Runner's World website in their Boston Marathon coverage section. Just after we passed Wellesley, the motorcycle caught up with us and there was Melissa on the back grinning from ear to ear. Not only was she getting a ride to the finish but she was going to tape us while doing it. That wasn't planned at all. We were just past halfway and the Newton Hills were coming up so Jamie just concentrated on staying within himself and conserving energy. The gels and liquids were working perfectly so far but the worst was yet to come. The first hill you hit when you get into Newton is a long, gradual incline that's not too steep. It goes over Route 128 and leads you to the first turn on the course. Yes, I said the FIRST turn. In fact, in the entire 26.2 miles, there were only three turns and the last two are in the last 1/2 mile of the race. You make a right turn onto Commonwealth Avenue right by the Newton Fire Station. At Mile 18, you hit a nasty hill that is fairly long and steep and makes you wonder just how bad Heartbreak Hill is. That was still 2 miles ahead. Jamie had a hard time keeping the chair going forward on one section that was really steep but we got over it. He was just trying to keep an even effort and not overcook himself. We got a respite of maybe a mile before we saw the 20-mile mark sign. Heartbreak Hill dead ahead. There aren't a lot of hills in the Chicago area so we don't get to train or race on many. There is one on Western Avenue in Joliet that we've raced on that is actually worse than Heartbreak Hill. It's very steep and just when you think you've topped it, it kicks up again even steeper. But that is in a 5-mile race. Heartbreak Hill is 20.5 miles into a marathon, right at the point where the majority of runners "hit the wall." Jamie has played that game a time or two so that's why it was so important to stay hydrated and keep using the energy gels even in the early part of the race when he felt good. For lack of a better word, Heartbreak Hill sucked. Jamie has a habit of praying during his training and racing and the prayers were a huge part of making this whole thing happen. Well, the prayers were flowing fast and furious on Heartbreak Hill. He kept looking at his feet and praying to just keep them moving forward. He wanted to do this race without stopping but it was very close to happening here. It seemed like the top would never come. The spectators REALLY pull you through here and the cheering lifts you up. It felt like it took 10 minutes to get over it when it was probably 3 or 4 but we made it. Before you get to celebrate too much, you're going downhill and holding back on the chair is murder on the triceps. We knew we had 6 miles to go and no more huge hills so now it was time to make sure we finished. Jamie was taking water from the aide stations along the course and pouring it on his head to stay cool even though it was only in the mid-50s. The crowds grew even thicker as we neared Boston. We had a camcorder duct-taped to the left side of the chair and Jamie was supposed to turn it on and hit "record" as they went past the Citgo sign with one mile to go. This would give the viewer the perspective that we had as we neared the finish. The 25-mile mark was at the top of a small rise on an overpass. Jamie thought this would be a good time to start the camera so he could concentrate on his next project, sneaking our daughter onto the course. We went underneath Massachusetts Avenue and we knew that Annalyn was not far away. We came up from under the viaduct, went around a small curve and saw a bunch of orange hats waving along the barriers. These were the Discovery Health Channel hats that our crew was wearing. We knew that Annalyn was with them and Jamie's Dad. We pulled up to the curb and Jamie lifted Annalyn over the barriers and said, "Let's go to the finish!" This was about 20 feet before the second turn on the course, from Commonwealth onto Hereford Street. We don't know if Annalyn got caught up in all the excitement or if Jamie was just slowing down but it seemed like she was flying that last 1/2 mile to the finish line. She held onto the left side of the chair while Jamie held the right. The cheers were so loud it almost hurt your ears. We made the last turn onto Boylston Street and you could see the finish line 4 blocks away. Our 26.2-mile parade was nearly over but we were going to enjoy every last moment. And we did. This was one of those moments in life that you want to freeze and last forever. We were briefly misidentified by the race announcer as the Hoyts but he corrected himself before we finished. We knew that Lance Armstrong was not far behind us because his name was called out too. With about 100 yards to go, we all raised our arms for the finish line photos.

The three of us crossed the finish line in a moment that we'll never forget. Jamie stopped his watch and it said 3:25:45. Not bad considering how much we were enjoying ourselves. WE DID IT!!!! We ran the Granddaddy of them all, the Boston Marathon and finished as a family, as the Parks Family Racing Team. Oh, and we beat Lance Armstrong by 13 seconds. After we crossed the line, we got our finisher medals and headed to our pre-planned meeting point, the Jury Hotel. It was 5 blocks from the finish but we were so stoked that it didn't feel like it. Jamie realized that he actually didn't feel sore. This has never happened in any of our other marathons. Thanks NuBound! Dozens of people congratulated us as we made our way through the crowds including Dave McGillivray, the Race Director. Melissa found us and taped us walking to the hotel. After freshening up a bit and making a few cellphone calls, we found Jamie's Mom and Dad and did much hugging, sweat and all. There was a big group from the Discovery Health Channel that came out to cheer us on and we saw many of them there at the hotel. The crew wanted to do one more interview to get our post-race reaction and thoughts. The very last question we were asked was, "So now that you've run and finished the Boston Marathon, is this truly going to be your LAST one?" Jamie said, "The ONLY way we'll ever do another one is if we run it with Annalyn."
 

We would like to dedicate this achievement to Jesus Christ. Special thanks go out to Jason Parks, Ruth Rivin, Kathy Williamson, Melissa Tallerine, Dan Franks, Jerry Davis, Marty Ozinga and the guys at A Step Ahead Prosthetics. Without all of their efforts this never would have happened. Jamie would like to thank his Mom and Dad too for making the trip to Boston and shlepping around town with us even though it was physically demanding on them. And an EXTRA special thanks to our awesome daughter, Annalyn.

YOU ROCK!!!

We retired the old racing wheelchair on Sunday, March 2nd. We finally got a day with temps in the low 50s and decided to go out and do Annalyn's long run for the week outside. It was 2 1/3 miles. It took her 25:05 Jason was there to capture it on tape to possibly be used in the documentary. The Lord was really watching out for us because it started raining right after we finished. We ended up doing nearly 8600 miles with that chair. Later that day, we put the new racing chair together. It looks sweet.
                    


On 2/12 of last year, Lynn, Jamie and his brother Jason flew out to Long Island to A Step Ahead Prosthetics where they were presented with Lynn's new racing wheelchair. Wow! The seat looks like something out of a Formula One race car and has a 5-point safety harness. It has an adjustable height in back for Jamie to find a comfortable level to push the chair. All Jamie has to do is add the water bottle holders in the back and a place for his energy gels. We took it out on a test run with Amy Palmiero-Winters (world-class marathoner now training for the Olympic Trials). Very smooth ride. Lynn loved it. Jason was along to shoot all of this for the documentary (see next paragraph). LMNO shipped an HD Broadcast-ready camera for him to use to shoot some extra things for the show. He has also taped us on the treadmill (Annalyn too) and singing with the church choir. We had a heck of a time trying to bring the new chair back home. Even after taking wheels and the front fork off of it, it was still bigger than is normally allowed for a checked bag. After pleading our case with the ticket agent at Southwest Airlines, we were allowed to bring it home with us.

A very cool thing happened on 2/7 of last year when we got the official word from Ruth Rivin at LMNO Productions that they will be shooting a documentary about us (tentatively titled "Marathon Love") for the Discovery Health Channel. It will show us training for and eventually running in this year's Boston Marathon on April 21st. It will also include footage of us receiving, tweaking, modifying, training and ultimately racing with Lynn's new racing wheelchair that was put together by A Step Ahead Prosthetics in New York.

Our Runner's World issue turned out great. It was the December issue of 2007 and there was a great picture of us running with Annalyn and a wonderful story written by Gail Kislevitz of Runner's World. There was a picture of us in the current February 2008 issue. It's a small one from the Heroes Awards Banquet at the bottom of David Willey's column. There's a short blurb about us in the Heroes Awards wrapup on Page 75. There's also a brief mention of us in the March '08 issue explaining how A Step Ahead Prosthetics is making Lynn's new racing chair for free.

Well, we did it! We needed to break 3:30:00 at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon on 9/30/07 to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Our training said we should finish somewhere around 3:15:00 and we came in with a time of 3:15:24. Not without a few anxious moments, though. Then again, we ALWAYS have anxious moments when we're doing a big race.

New video/slide show presentation of the Toronto Waterfront Marathon put together by Jamie's brother, Jason. Check it out here.

Toronto Marathon 3.wmv (may take a couple of minutes to load).

We did an interview with the Globe and Mail (Canada's equivalent to USA Today). It turned out surprisingly well. Usually, when we do a phone interview, the reporter gets a few things mixed up. Not this time. Check it out on the "Articles" link.



THE TORONTO STORY

The story starts on Friday, 9/28/07, when the three of us drove along with Jamie's brother, Jason, and his family 10 hours to Toronto. We actually checked in to our hotel after midnight so technically it was Saturday when we got there. On Saturday we picked up Jamie's Dad from the airport (can't imagine why he didn't want to drive with us). Then we all went to the Marathon Expo at the Convention Center so we could get our race number (602) and timing chip for the race. We went back to the hotel so we could do our workouts. Lynn and I did a 1.8 mile tuneup running around the block 4 times. A guy pulled up next to us during this and said that he saw the article that was in Friday's Globe and Mail. It was very well written. One of the best articles ever done about us.

We met up with Lynn's brother, Mike and his wife, Rosalee and went to the CN Tower. That was awesome. Up until a few weeks earlier, it was the tallest free-standing structure in the world. On one level, you can stand on a plexiglass floor and see all the way to the ground. Kind of freaky. Not for Annalyn, though. She was walking on it, lying down on it for pictures and even jumping on it. Weird kid. We went out for a nice dinner afterwards and then went back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep before the marathon on Sunday. Here's where the mistake was made that led to anxious moment number one. Jamie has a habit of not setting his watch forward or backward if we travel to a different time zone. He just figures out what time it is by adding or subtracting from his watch or alarm clock. He brought the clock from home because he didn't want to risk something happening like the hotel alarm not going off or the front desk forgetting to do the wakeup call. The plan was to get up at 5:00 A.M. Toronto time and meet up with Jason and his family at 5:40 so we could be down at the start area by 6:00. That would give us an hour to take care of anything else that might come up before the race started at 7:00. So instead of setting the alarm for 4:00 (5:00 Toronto time), Jamie set it for 5:00 and went to sleep. Everyone was still asleep when Jason knocked on the door at 5:40. Much freaking out ensued but we all managed to get ready in record time and we got to the start area about 6:25.

Jason and his family dropped us off along with Jamie's Dad and Annalyn. Jamie's Dad, Jason and his wife, Jen were all going to videotape Lynn and Jamie at several points during the race. Jason had it all planned out ahead of time with maps and directions for everyone. After we were dropped off, Charlie (Jamie's Dad) and Annalyn had to go and find a good place to tape the start from because they weren't allowed in the start area. Lynn and Jamie found the start corral where they would begin from (the organizers have runners line up according to their projected finish times so we went in the 3:10-3:20 section). It was 6:35 and Jamie still needed to find a port-a-john to "take care of business" before the race. Lynn stayed at the start and Jamie searched for one with a short line. This is where anxious moment number two comes in. The lines were snaking around all over the place so Jamie just picked what looked like the shortest. He kept checking his watch and at 6:55 there were still maybe 15 people in line in front of him so he had to bail out and head back to Lynn (who was freaking out herself wondering why Jamie wasn't back yet). Jamie was convinced that he would have to find a port-a-john at some point on the course and stop to go. There wasn't even time to stretch before the gun went off.

Weather was absolutely perfect for a race. It was 58 degrees and overcast with no wind, humidity or any chance of rain. The temperature did climb as the race went along which became a factor closer to the end. A marathon is 26.2 miles long but in Canada, they use the metric system so the course was marked every kilometer (42.2 of them). This actually worked in our favor because it made it easier to deal with mentally when your next split is coming just over a half mile away. The plan was to try and hold a pace of 4:30 per kilometer for as long as possible. This would have us finish around 3:10:00 but we knew we would probably slow a bit towards the end so it would give us enough of a cushion to get our goal of 3:15:00. Our training went so well that we knew that barring something unforseen, we should easily break the 3:30:00 that we needed to qualify for the Boston Marathon. A few unforseen things did come up. Of course they did. They always do. The course is advertised as flat and fast and a great Boston qualifier. I would amend that to say that it's MOSTLY flat. There were a couple of good-sized hills that we had to deal with. Nothing huge but just long and gradual. Then there were the train and trolley tracks. They don't mix very well with wheelchair wheels. I'm guessing that we went over at least 50 sets of these. Last, but not least, were the speed bumps. Out on the Leslie Spit (a landfill at the east end of the course), there were probably 15-20 speed bumps that we had to go over on the way out and then again on the way back.

The start corral that we were in was maybe 50 yards from the start line so it took us about 20 seconds from the time the gun went off until we got to the line. There were over 2000 runners so it took us some time to weave our way through and find some open space. Several runners told us during the race that they had seen the Globe and Mail story. We held our 4:30/kilometer pace pretty well until we got out to the speed bumps. Jamie was alternating drinking water and Gatorade while taking an energy gel every 5 kilometers (3 miles). That system worked well until the temperature started to rise and the water and Gatorade bottles started to empty. Starting at around 35K (21 miles), Jamie started taking Gatorade from the volunteers at the aid stations and then dumping water over his head (a few times dousing Lynn). It was around here that our pace started to slow slightly. We started doing kilometers closer to the 4:40-4:50 range. Then with about 3 miles (5K) to go, Jamie's left calf started to cramp up. ANOTHER anxious moment. We were well inside our Boston qualifying time so unless he stopped and walked the rest of the way, we would make it. He told himself that he wanted to run the whole way so he just put his head down and kept pushing. The spectators along the course were wonderful, cheering us and our fellows runners along. There were a few sections where there weren't very many spectators and from 37-40K was one of them. The cheering can really help you through a rough spot physically so with no one there to cheer, it made it all the more difficult to deal with the leg cramps. There was a very rough patch of road on this section also. It was like asphalt with gravel mixed in. We went over the same stretch near the beginning of the race and got through it OK, but when we hit it near the end, it felt like we were going through sand. Jamie was praying a lot during the race but it was more focused at this point. It started to seem like the kilometer flags were farther and farther apart as we got closer to the finish. We saw Jamie's family videotaping at I think 9 points along the course. From 40K to the finish (the last 1 1/2 miles) was back downtown so there were many more people cheering on the sides of the road. That helped a lot. At about 200 yards to the finish, there was a small rise in the road. Nothing major but as we went up, it felt like someone had reached down and grabbed Jamie's left calf muscle and twisted it as hard as they could. It nearly brought Jamie to a walk momentarily but just then he saw Charlie and Annalyn cheering. That was all he needed. They crossed the line in 3:15:24. Lynn's brother, Mike and Jamie's brother, Jason were there to congratulate us.

We hooked up with everyone else within a few minutes and high fives were all around. Lynn and Jamie each called their moms and Jamie called his brother, Mike to let them know we made it. We needed to get back to the hotel because, even with them granting us a late checkout because of the marathon, after 1:00 we would be charged for an extra day. We still had to shower and Annalyn had to do her run (she did 1/2 mile Saturday and Sunday on the street behind the hotel). Traffic was pretty congested as we headed back and then about 2 blocks from the hotel, police were turning cars around because the street ahead was blocked off for a Walk For The Cure fundraising walk for breast cancer. Jason dropped off the three of us and we walked (Jamie limped) back to the hotel. Annalyn did her run and we had just enough time to shower and load up the van before 1:00 rolled around. We met up with Lynn's brother, Mike one more time at a nearby McDonald's for lunch and then hit the road back. Charlie had taken a shuttle back to the airport for his flight back to Chicago. 10 hours later, we were back at home sweet home.

THE END

We got some very cool news on 8/20/07. It started with an e-mail I received on 8/14 from Runner's World Magazine. It was from Katie Neitz, their Senior Editor. It said, "We are amazed by your athletic achievements and think your story would be inspiring for our readers to hear. We'd like to cover you in an upcoming issue of Runner's World." She went on to say that a writer would be contacting us in the near future for an interview. Well that's pretty cool. It gets better. We didn't hear anything for nearly a week but then one morning, I got a phone call from Debbie Maish, the Church Secretary at our church, Eagle Rock Community. She said that there was a message in her voice mail from a woman at Runner's World who was trying to contact me (if you scroll down a bit, you'll see a link to the Eagle Rock website. She must have gotten the phone number from that and called Debbie). She said in the voice mail message that she had been trying to e-mail us and they kept getting returned to her. It turns out she had been adding an "s" to our e-mail address and it kept getting sent back to her as "unknown." Later on in the day, I was able to contact Katie and she said that we would be getting a call from David Willey. She didn't go into much detail though. David Willey is Editor-In-Chief of Runner's World. Maybe an hour later, he called and said that Lynn and I are going to be honored (along with a few others) in their December issue as "Heroes Of The Year." WOW!! They sent a photographer out on 9/13. We did a 20-minute interview with the writer, Gail Kislevitz. It gets even better. On top of that, they will be flying us out to New York City to be honored at their Heroes Banquet on November 3rd. We've received a few honors over the years (Olympic Torchbearers, TV appearances, magazine and newspaper articles), and it's always very humbling. I'm not always sure why these things happen but I think it may have to do with what happened to Lynn 20 years ago. Maybe this is the Lord's way of giving Lynn a little pleasure to offset the struggles that she goes through every day.

After 2007's Cinco De Mayo 5K, we visited a local church where a friend of mine, Mitch Alvarez, is the Worship Leader (Music Leader). He told me that we were going to freak when we saw the Youth Pastor's message. Mind you, no one else knew that we were coming to visit this church. It was only because it's near my Mom's new house and she and my youngest brother and his family want to see if it's a place that they would enjoy going. The last part of the sermon was about togetherness and perserverance through tough times in a relationship. Then they showed a video of Dick and Rick Hoyt. They are the father/son team that race together the same way we do with Dick pushing Rick because he has Cerebral Palsy. They've done many Boston Marathons, the Ironman Triathlon and have even ridden across the country on a specially made bike. They were our inspiration for starting to run together back in 1991. Amazing that this video ran on the Sunday that we visited because as far as I know, Lynn and I are the only other couple in the US (and maybe the WORLD) to race this way and finish a marathon. We've since found out that there is a man in Canada who pushes his daughter in her wheelchair and also does marathons. IN fact, they ALSO did the Waterfront Marathon in Toronto last year.

We were planning on doing the Chicago Marathon in 2007 and trying to finish in under 3:30 so that we could qualify for and run last year's Boston Marathon. After initially missing the registration deadline due to it hitting the limit of 45,000 runners by mid-April, we were able to snag a spot in exchange for raising funds for a charity that we know well, Restoration Ministries in Harvey, IL. Our church has had a longstanding relationship with them and their Director, Ray Banks, has visited our church and spoken on many occasions. We thought we would have no problem because we only needed to raise $500 for them by October. Then I got an e-mail a couple of weeks later from my contact at Restoration Ministries. After sending in our race application, she got a call telling her that we would not be allowed to do the race with me pushing Lynn. We have done it twice previously so I don't see what the problem would be. After a few calls back and forth with Carey Pinkowski, the Race Director, he told us that because the size of the race has grown from 12,000 to 45,000 since we last did the race, their new Insurance Liability policy does not allow for wheelchair pushers or anything like that. Crud. Well, so much for that idea.


Jamie had hernia surgery in January 2007 and it went well. AND the running streak continued (thank God and Vicodin). It is now coming up to the 17-year mark. For his 15th "anniversary" his family surprised him with a dinner in his honor and gave him a very nice shadow box with an engraving commemorating the achievement (all while we were watching the Bears lose the Super Bowl). He had to cut way back on his running. Only a mile a day the first week after the surgery (and at around 10:00 miles). Up to two miles a day for the second week, three for the third, four for the fourth, etc. He was off work for about a month. Then 5 days after we did the Boston Marathon, Jamie tripped and fell down some stairs at home and broke his right elbow. Fortunately, it was not a severe break and he was able to keep his arm in a sling for a few weeks. He kept running every day too. Nutball.


We had a Letter To The Editor in the July 2006 issue of Runner's World magazine. They had written an article about the father-son running team of Dick and Rick Hoyt and we dropped them a line saying how that's where we got the idea to start running and racing together (Rick has Cerebral Palsy and is in a wheelchair).

In the fall of 2005, we all had been grieving for the people of the Gulf coast and wondering what we could do to help. Well, the Lord put it on Jamie's heart to try and help out in a big way. We organized a 5K Run/Walk with ALL of the proceeds going to help these fine Americans. Lynn came up with the name, the Katrina Relief 5K. It was held on October 15th of 2005 at the Tweeter Center in Tinley Park. We managed to get everyone involved to donate their time, services, materials, or cash so that everything we took in on race day could go out immediately. We raised over $5100 for the American Red Cross. Not bad for a month's planning. We had a couple hundred of our race t-shirts left over after the event so we donated them to the State Of Hope (where the Hurricane Katrina evacuees are staying at the Tinley Mental Health Center).

The race itself went well. We had good weather and because of that, 75 people signed up the morning of the race. We had a total of 172 people registered and 165 participated and finished.

It's very obvious that the Lord had his hand in this project by the way that things fell into place.

On 11/14/04, at the finish line of the Tinley Turkey Trot 5K, Lynn and Jamie crossed the 10,000 mile mark of running together. We started in the summer of 1991 on a lark after Jamie was inspired by seeing Dick and Rick Hoyt doing the Boston Marathon together with one pushing the other in a wheelchair. We trained for a local 10K and finished and now, over 17 years (and several wheelchairs) later, we've made it to 10,000 (now over 14,000). Over 4000 of those miles came with our daughter, Annalyn, riding on her Mom's lap. She's too big now to do that anymore.


Annalyn made her television debut on 5/1/00 on Miracle Babies. It ran on the PAX-TV network. Hope you got to see it. It was great.

Our story was mentioned in the 2/8/00 issue of Variety.

It's a small world again. The guy that edited the TV show out in Hollywood is the son of the receptionist at our former dentist's office.