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SHOULDERS 2004:
RACE DIRECTORS MESSAGE
Big Shoulders 2004 proved
to be another successful endeavor for Chicago area masters
swimmers and Chicago Masters Swim Club. The weather was
very hospitable, with an air temperature of 68 at the race
start, and a water temperature of 70. After giving their
GPS tracking equipment a year off last year, co-sponsor the
Chicago Park District's life guarding crew guaranteed an
accurate 2.5k loop. While most swimmers indicated a general
approval for accuracy, many at the start were fairly daunted
by the speck on the Eastern horizon that was a 3 foot
inflated triangular buoy marking the first turn. The
difficulty in seeing the buoy far off under the rising sun
was complicated by the presence of over 250 like colored
orange caps splashing through the early morning waters, but
the challenge only heightened the accomplishment.
The
race drew 439 competitors this year, growing another 10% over
last year. In 1998, Big Shoulders had only 110 swimmers, to
give an idea of how this event has grown into a National event
that showcases the best Chicago has to offer in open water
competition.
Despite its emergence as a national competition, CMSA swimmers
showed home lake advantage is key. Naperville swimmers swept
the men's and women's 5k titles. Richard Kramer continued his
dominance of Big Shoulders, winning the 5k swim for the 7th time
in the past 10 years in a time of 1:02:18, with adopted Chicago
Masters swimmer Seb Neumayer in second at 1:04:40 and Carlsbad,
California's Mason Bailey in third at 1:05:55. Naperville
swimmer Liz Dillman was the women's top finisher at 1:07:10,
with Kelly Perry of St. Charles following at 1:08:05,
and transplant Kansan Joy Stover rounding out the top three at
1:09:00.
The
2.5k competition was no less spirited. North Shore star Phil
Dodson shone brightly as the top male finisher at 36:23, just
edging out Hoosier Mark Spratt at 36:36 and Randall Brezina of
Bollingbrook at 38 minutes even. On the women's side, last
year's champ Peggy Dempsey decided to give someone else a
chance, choosing instead to take pity on the organizing crew and
lend a huge hand of support behind the scenes. Taking advantage
of Peggy's absence, Indianapolis' Raena Latina (38:38) just held
off Kim Lynch (38:40), with Alexandra Wendt-Constantine (40:37)
rounding out the top three.
There were several other tales of success this year. Blind
swimmer Heidi Musser returned to Big Shoulders after a few
years' absence, finishing the 2.5k with the help of her UIC
guides. Several local stars continued prowess in their age
groups: Chicago Masters' lane leader George Wendt won the 55-59
age group by over 20 minutes; Tim Griffin of Beverly Shores
finished first in the 60-64 age bracket by nearly 16 minutes;
Stephen Gentes of San Diego beat his fellow 50-54 year olds by
more than 10 minutes; and Chicago star Sarah Randag eclipsed her
fellow 30-34 year olds by over 5 minutes. In
addition, 5k butterflyer Tom Boettcher returned, and was joined
in his feat of athleticisim and insanity by Masters coach Dan
Projansky.
The
post-race sentiment on the beach was very positive, with
swimmers enjoying the company of fellow finishers, while wolfing
down Powerbars and guzzling Gatorade. Several competitors
commented that Big Shoulders 2004 proved again to be a great cap
to a summer of long course training. But this event would not
be possible without significant contributions from several who
must be recognized. Most importantly, the outstanding support
provided by co-sponsor, the Chicago Park District life guarding
crew. Thanks must also go out to our sponsors, Kiefer, Red Roof
Inn, Hostelling International, Party Time Productions, Infolocus,
Powerbar, Marathon Sportswear, Arena swimwear. In addition,
Boyd Black, Molly Quinners, Pam Smith, Tim Kelly Ramon Nayar,
Casey Platt, Mike Prangle, Coach Paul Moniak and the UIC
swimmers made significant contributions to insure the success of
this year's event.
Be
sure to circle September 10, 2005 on your calendar. The 15th
annual installment of Big Shoulders will be the USMS National
Championship for the 2.5k distance! See you again next year.
Chris Sheean,
Big Shoulders Race Director
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A
View from the Beach...
Big Shoulders 2004:
Role Models and Chocolate Wind
“Hey, I smell chocolate. Where is that coming from?” Its pretty
likely that some of Big Shoulders 420 or so swimmers asked
themselves that question as they rounded turn 1 and headed down
the long straightaway towards the city.
Ever since its conception by Olympic Gold Medalist Bill Mulliken,
through its first national media placement in a 1998 Swimmer
magazine article, and with the apt stewardship of Chris Sheean and
his cast, the Big Shoulders trajectory has been up and away. No
question that our beloved local race is now a national destination
event. Big Shoulders has a certain aura, a quality that brings out
special performances and asks for the best in all of us.
But what about the chocolate? In the city of Big Shoulders, a
one-time tough industrial dynamo with some remnants still going
strong, the chocolate aroma means only one thing: strong west
winds. A strong westerly land breeze wafts the aroma of Fulton
area chocolate factories across Chicago to Lake Michigan.
No doubt, that wind also adds a few strokes to our 5 K as we fight
the surface push on our relentless drive towards the 990 white
condo at the far corner of the city wall. Fair to say we Big
Shoulders swimmers earned our distance this year. Fact is, we were
very fortunate to have relatively calm surface water and
relatively temperate waters. Seems we’ve hit the sweet spot on
weather with the September race date, first Saturday after Labor
Day. Speaking of Turn One, how did that cone get so far away
anyway?
Chris and Pam were overheard conferring with one another:
“So where do we place the first cone this year?”
“I don’t know, you want to vex them?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Ok, lets place it in ohhh…say…somewhere near the shores of
Michigan?”
“OK. We’ll tell ‘em GPS made us do it!”
“Right. Each year we’ll move it further away until we reach our
ultimate goal: the Big Shoulders 10 K!”
“Its utterly diabolical. I love it!”
[Just kidding, with a tip of the hat to all race volunteers and
sponsors for another job well done.]
Once again, Big Shoulders rounded up all the usual suspects for
its highlights list. Perennial speedster Richard Kramer took the
men’s race in his slowest time to date, but his margin of victory
was still strong and his time a testament to the difficulty of
this year’s race. Family man Kramer continually sets a fine
example of how to balance life’s responsibilities with attention
to physical fitness. Liz Dillman took the female race, and the top
finishing spots on both sides were populated by familiar names
like George Wendt, Dave Ackerman, Joy Stover and Candace Cham,
with a sprinkling of Californians for flavor. In the One-Lapper,
four men duked it out to the finish with local favorite Phil
Dodson emerging victorious. Raena Latina won the 2.5 K for the
women.
As our race progresses in size and stature, Role Modelling
continues to be a strong theme. Consistent participants like
Dennis Miller and Laurie Tanamura were back for another
twice-around. Race founder Bill Mulliken started out full of oats
and ready to go Two, but decided to bring it home after the first
go –around. One nice aspect of Big Shoulders is the freedom it
affords each and every racer to make smart judgments about
endurance, performance and conditions. Its always a tough choice
to round that turn for Lap Two, but Big Shoulders swimmers know
that all forms of participation prove merit and deserve praise.
Another Role Model, Chris Sheean, jumped in for the swim even
though he’s been concentrating his training on the upcoming
LaSalle marathon in a few weeks. Big Shoulders calls upon each
swimmer to craft a personal story of balance between life’s duties
and the desire to train, prepare and test ourselves mentally and
physically.
The Big Shoulders
all-butterfly saga added a new twist for fans this year. Tom
Boettcher steamrolled through another 5K all butterfly, his sixth
in a row, while a newcomer joined the extreme butterfly club.
Evanston coach Dan Projansky battled fatigue and cold as he
finished his first all butterfly 5K in just over two hours.
Imagine swimming butterfly for two hours straight with your
metabolism slowly surrendering to the cool waters. You just don’t
rev up body heat in butterfly like you can in freestyle. Imagine
the tightening of your muscles as you continually pull your entire
body out of the water for another breath. That was Dan’s
initiation to the extreme butterfly club. Pioneer Boettcher said
later, “I’ve quietly hoped as the years went by that someone would
join me. The spread of extreme butterfly is the best tribute to
this beautiful stroke, as well as the physical and mental
creativity in all of us. If this trend keeps up, Big Shoulders
will be 50% all-fly by 2007, right?” Yeah, sure Tom. By then the
orange buoy at turn one will be half way across the lake too.
Last but not least, in a show of remarkable personal courage,
local Kevin Helliker took that fateful turn for Lap Two of the 5
K, finishing in a fine time despite his battle with congenital
heart challenges, as chronicled in the Wall Street Journal. Helliker’s personal choice simply to participate
is testament to the extent to which each Big Shoulders’ swimmer
demonstrates personal courage and willingness to meet legitimate
fears with resolve and fortitude. In a sense, Helliker was a
silent Role Model for the category “Showing Heart”. In fact, every
Big Shoulders swimmer every year comes back to show their own
version of heart. In the year of the Chocolate Wind, we salute
them all.
The Big Shoulders Website Gang
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