Race for the Bacon 5k/10k--awesome new Wisconsin race. Check it out

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Chris Ponteri, Race Director at 262-758-9226 or chris@longrunathletics.com

Race for the Bacon Coming to Milwaukee

In what promises to be one of the most unique and entertaining fitness events of the summer, organizers have announced the inaugural Race for the Bacon 5k and 10k race to be held at Wisconsin State Fair Park on Thursday, June 14 at 7 p.m.

The race is just the appetizer for a night of bacon-themed fun. Event organizers are lining up an all-star roster of local food and drink companies and chefs to produce bacon-inspired dishes.  And the winners of the race will receive bacon, giving new meaning to the phrase “bringing home the bacon”.

“Contrary to what many people think, runners aren’t all about eating healthy,” said event organizer Chris Ponteri.  “We like to indulge in guilty pleasures, and I can’t think of any food that fits that description more than bacon.”

Ponteri, who also organizes the Icebreaker Indoor Marathon at the Pettit Center, came up with the idea for the Race for the Bacon early last year and approached Wisconsin State Fair Park officials with his idea over the summer.  “They were immediately sold,” he said.  “It goes well with the fair and some of the other events they do there.”

The race will start and finish right outside the Cousin’s Amphitheater in the center of the park grounds. The course will go through the grounds and also feature a lap on the famed Milwaukee Mile race track for the 5k runners and two laps for 10k runners.  The Mile is the oldest auto racing track in the United States.

The post-race party and awards ceremony will be held at the Cousin’s Amphitheater immediately following the race.  Organizers are in the process of lining up food vendors and will be working with a well-known local caterer to coordinate the party.  Live music will also be featured on the amphitheater stage.

The Race for Bacon has selected MS Run the US to be its charity partner.  A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to MS Run the US, which is a non-profit founded by Ashley Kumlien of Brookfield.  For more information on MS Run the US, visit its website at www.msruntheus.com.

Sponsors on board so far include Performance Running Outfitters, Fit Milwaukee, ThunderDome Running, and Running in the USA.  Additional sponsors will be announced when they become available.

Registration for the Race for the Bacon will open on Friday, February 24 at http://baconrace.zapevent.com.  The race website is www.baconrace.com.  More information can be found on the Race for Bacon Facebook page.

ThunderDome Running Race Team Action (Records & Medal Performances)

2012 has gotten off to a blazing start for the ThunderDome Running race team. Through mid-February the race team already has one race record in the books and two top 5 individual race performances in USATF National meets.

The ThunderDome Running team of Eamon McKenna (Milwaukee), Cal Kromm (Oshkosh), Aaron Nodolf (Menomonee Falls), and Matt Thull (Milwaukee) set the Ice Breaker Indoor Marathon relay record placing first in the 110 team relay field in a time of 2:12:44.The race took place on Jan 21 at the Pettit National Ice Center in West Allis, WI.

Over this past weekend Keith Mulhollon, fresh off his 5th place finish at the USATF National Master's 1/2 marathon champs in Florida the previous weekend, raced to a 3rd place finish at the Master's 8k Cross Country National champs in St Louis. A crazy double for Keith a week apart coming from the 70 degree race temps & high humidity of Florida to St Louis where on race day it was 18 degrees and 25 MPH winds.  Keith took control of the 8k cc race early on and pushed the pace working to take the kick out the the field but just came up a bit short finishing 3rd in a time of 26:15. A national USATF medal stand performance and an awesome way to wrap the week.

Next up for the ThunderDome team is the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k (the worlds largest 8k) in Chicago on Sunday March 25 and the Martian Invasion of races in Dearborn, MI. If you ever wanted to see first hand one of the most organized and well run races in the entire Midwest check out the Martian Invasion of races on April 14 this year.

The 2012 ThunderDome Running Race team is out of the gates

This past Sunday the United States Master's road race 1/2 marathon championships took place in Melbourne, Florida.  ThunderDome Running's Keith Mulhollon (Lake Geneva, WI) raced to a 5th place finish in 71:29 in some pretty tough race temps and humidity.  Big congrats to Keith especially going from the 30 degree temps here to the hotbox that was Florida over the weekend. The overall master's 1/2 marathon champ was Mbarak Hussein of Albuquerque, New Mexico finishing in 69:39.  Keith's next race has him hitting the United States Master's 8k cross country championships this upcoming weekend in Saint Louis.

New for 2012 the ThunderDome Running Race team is a USATF registered club. We are accepting individual runner team applications for the 2012 race season---so please inquire about our new racing team & individualized coaching opportunities through ThunderDome Running.

Another ThunderDome Running PR

Over the weekend the 2012 edition of the Icebreaker indoor marathon and half marathon took place at the Pettit National Ice Center in West Allis, WI. The event sold out again this year with five total races that include a 5k, marathon relay, two heats of the half marathon, and the marathon to wrap up the racing on Sunday.  Race director Chris Ponteri and his race team do an amazing job with the event and the fourth year event is now on everyone's race calendar each January.


*photo is courtesy of Bill Flaws of Running in the USA. www.runningintheusa.com

Marek Kotrly, Brookfield, WI, raced to a 3rd place finish in the fast section of the half marathon Saturday morning. Marek's time of 75:39 was a PR and kept him on track for his key race of 2012. Marek is racing in the 2012 USA National Marathon Master's Championships held in conjunction with the Twin Cities Marathon this fall.

We are going to feature Marek next week in our ThunderDome Running blog section with an interview finding out how he balances his busy life schedule with his running goals. Marek is an amazing example of how it can be done with the right dedication and planning.  Hopefully everyone can take something away from Marek's secret to solid running as he continues to PR after turning 40!!

OnMilwaukee.com Article on Barefoot/Minimalistic Running - Making Strides

Check it out great piece/story from OnMilwaukee.com entitled Get Your Feet Naked on how everyone can improve their running and most importantly stay healthy while doing it.  Another example of how doing some of the little things outside of running workouts that can help without having to run 120 miles a week!

Light Weight Training Shoes--Go Get Some

With winter here it is harder and harder to get to a track to do your harder intervals so many times harder workouts fall out of the training schedule with the change in seasons.  Those hard tempo or steady progression runs do not need to be forgotten, those workout days just need to stay flexible in your training schedule.  Normally the winter weather is not a challenge for an entire week (cold temps or unsure footing) so stay flexible on the day you can do your outside tempo or progression run. That way you can actually get in the workout with manageable outside temps and sure footing conditions.  When you get out there for the faster work make sure you have the right shoes on.

Make sure once you are able to finally get out for that solid strength type/faster workout you have the right kind of shoes for these workouts?  Are you still wearing the same heavy trainers you wear for every single one of your other training miles?  It would be great to have a pair of lighter weight trainers you can put on for these type of faster outside workouts. We have all read and heard the varying research on wearing a more minimalistic shoe which is one good reason to have a pair of lighter, less-cushioned trainers, but another reason would be to just be able to run faster without slogging around heavy training shoes all the time. You do not have to go as far as getting a pair of Vibram 5-finger shoes but a pair of trainers that is maybe 2-3 ounces lighter compared to your regular shoes work great. It also can be a mental thing too knowing when you lace up the light weight trainers you know and are prepping in your mind that it is going to be a hard workout day. 

Just one of those simple change ups in your training routine, but that light weight trainer will go a long way in helping you become faster.  A good change of pace as well is lacing up the light weight trainers for your long run every other week.  An example of this type of shoe on the men's side would be the New Balance 690 that is pictured.  After work today get to your local running store and try some light weight trainers on immedietely!

What do you do for your first WINTER WORKOUT?

Runners are often in a bit of a dilemma about when to start workouts and what harder workouts to begin with after their fall marathon or half marathon. These first few workouts should be used as springboards into winter training and should be positive experiences to build workout confidence. A couple of questions you have to ask yourself before beginning that first winter workout is, "Do I even feel like doing the hard workout and am I ready mentally and physically?"  That extra pressure to rush back into structured workouts leads to a lot of long faces and questions after the first few workouts.  Runners usually end up with sad faces after those first few strict workouts where they are trying to hit specific times end badly. Don't fall into that timed workout trap.

Would love to hear about some of those first workouts that allow everyone to ease themselves back into training after their marathon or key 1/2 marathon.  It is pretty much a given runners do not need to go to the track for that first workout so let's look at some ideas for workouts for the roads. A progression run is a simple workout based solely on effort, you do not have to be tied to or pressured to running a certain time - just try to run a solid effort to finish off the run with each mile getting faster.  Or what about just running a negative split on your LONG RUN for the week. Another example of a safe first workout idea might be to do 5-6 (3) minute faster pickups within your 6-10 mile run every couple of minutes of the run.  After the confidence is there from these mini-harder workouts it is time to really get down to business, but skipping over these first few EFFORT workouts and confidence builders gets many runners into trouble.

If you keep things simple and take the pressure off of yourself in those first few post big race workouts you will be more happy with those first few weeks of training. Until that time comes for timed workouts listen to your body and just go the workout route that is all effort based until you have the confidence to really get after faster workouts or moving them to the track.