Door County Running » Running News

Door County Half Marathon Runner Profile: Annie Bley

Myles — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:42:05 +0000

With more than two months to go before race day, the Door County Half Marathon is already more than half full, with over 775 people registered for the 4th annual run in Peninsula State Park May 7. The run, capped at 1,500 this year, has quickly earned a reputation among runners as a first class event. Laura Goetzke caught up with one of those runners, Sevastopol graduate Annie Bley, earlier this month to talks about running, training, and how living a healthy lifestyle is about more than exercise and diet.

Door County’s Wendi Ray 22nd at New York Marathon

Myles — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:26:44 +0000

Ellison Bay marathoner Wendi Ray pounded the pavement at the New York City Marathon on November 7, ranking among the top American women. Ray finished 22nd overall among women with a time of 2:39:15, a place that put her 6th among American women. Edna Kiplagat of Kenya finished 1st with a time of 2:28:20. Shalane Flanagan of Oregon paced all American women, finishing 2nd, just 20 seconds behind Kiplagat.

Half Marathon Inspires New Identity in Local Runner

Myles — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:20:53 +0000

When organizers tossed ideas around for the Door County Half Marathon over coffee at Al Johnson’s restaurant in 2007, they felt pretty confident they could attract experienced runners to an event on the Door Peninsula. What they didn’t anticipate is that the event would inspire so many Door County residents to take their life running in a new direction.

Take Baileys Harbor carpenter Jake Danen. He had run cross-country in high school at East DePere but gave up the sport until the Door County Half Marathon was launched in 2008, when he was 26. Now, the 29-year-old who gets his miles in on the back roads of Baileys Harbor has his sites set on Boston.

James Akita Wins Door County Fall 50

Myles — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:23:19 +0000

James Akita of Elmhurst, IL took on his first 50-mile challenge at the Door County Fall 50 Oct. 23 – and won. Akita finished in just under 6 hours and 7 minutes, and looked no worse for the wear at the finish. Read more about the Fall 50 at ppulse.com.

Door County Half Marathon Registration Now Open!

Myles — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:19:53 +0000

Registration for the 4th annual Door County Half Marathon and Nicolet Bay 5k opened today, with a cap of 1,500 for the Half Marathon and 500 for the 5k. Last year’s race filled, so make plans early!

The run takes place in Door County’s Peninsula State Park, featuring beautiful vistas of Lake Michigan from atop the Niagara Escarpment, all on a closed, paved course.

Organizers have also brought back the Run For A Cause program, in which free registrations are available for runners who raise at least $250 for an area non-profit organization. Last year, $6,300 was raised through the program, and they’re hoping to raise much more in year two. If you’re interested in finding out more, email Mary Knutson at mary@doorcountyhalfmarathon.com or call 920.421.1519.

Door County Triathlon Results

Myles — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:07:16 +0000

Jeff Tarkowski survived a hard-fought half marathon leg to win the Door County Triathlon Half Ironman event held Sunday at Frank Murphy County Park in Egg Harbor.
Find out more about the growing event on the shores of Lake Michigan in the Peninsula Pulse.

Door County Triathlon’s 1st Place Confusion

Myles — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:03:43 +0000

Padra Meyer of Des Plaines, IL was the first female to cross the finish line in Saturday’s Door County Triathlon sprint distance event. She even broke the tape, but she didn’t win the race.

When you’re organizing a race in which 1,000 competitors are starting with a swim leg, it’s impossible to start them all at once, so Race Director Sean Ryan starts the athletes in waves. Most athletes are organized by age group, but top-level competitors are asked to identify themselves to start in the “elite wave,” the first ones to enter the water. Since times are kept with a timing chip that gets activated when the athlete passes through the starting gate and stopped when they cross the finish line, participants in later waves still get accurate times. That way, race officials are assured that the first person crossing the finish line is the winner. Unless, of course, an elite athlete doesn’t start with the elite wave.
Find out why Meyer didn’t win in the Peninsula Pulse’s Daily Dose of Door blog.

317 Miles Later, Family Pulls Into Door County

Myles — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:59:35 +0000

“Can I take off my helmet now,” six-year-old Kristofer Lecy pleads with his dad in the driveway of his grandparent’s Fish Creek home. He’s obviously excited to get out from beneath the shell that had sat on his head for most of the past six days.

“I forgot I even had it on sometimes,” he explains. “I kept wearing it into restaurants.”
Kristofer could be forgiven if he was whining, but he wasn’t. He had just completed a 317-mile bike ride with his sisters Lauren, 13, Julia, 10, and parents Mark and Deana Lecy. Most families try to do something special with their kids over summer vacation, but few would embark on a six-day, five-night trek on two tandem bicycles from Indiana to Door County.
Read the rest of this Door County biking story from the Peninsula Pulse‘s Daily Dose of Door blog that comes in their daily email service, Pulse Picks.

Tom Held on the Surge in Wisconsin Running

Myles — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:29:11 +0000

I had a chance to talk to Tom Held, who writes the Off the Couch blog for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, about the burgeoning popularity of running and silent sports in Wisconsin recently.
The number of marathons in Wisconsin has doubled from about 10 to over 20 in the last five years, Held said, and that doesn’t include half marathons, 10ks, or triathlons.
“Running has had a number of booms in the last 40 to 50 years,” he says. “Today, it’s not just the number of races but the overall turnout at the races that has taken off. It’s kind of a recession-proof endeavor.”
A runner himself, the 47 year-old Held said his age group is as competitive as any right now.
“Your biggest age group is that 35 – 50 group,” he says. “My group, the 45 – 50 range, is just a killer right now. I’m in the middle of the pack for my age, but I would win age groups 10 years younger at a lot of the races I’ve been in.”
One reason it’s so competitive is that running is a sport people come back to. “A lot of us ran in high school or college, got away from it as we pursued careers or family, and then returned when we have more disposable income and get settled.”
It makes for interesting demographics, and a great lifelong pursuit.

A Life in the Park

Myles — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:56:37 +0000

At the end of 2009, Tom Blackwood retired after 30 years of service supervising what many consider the crown jewel of the state’s 63 park, forest, and recreation areas system. Blackwood oversaw Peninsula State Park through an era that saw Door County boom as a vacation destination and condos proliferate, but the pristinely preserved park remains the first and deepest connection many have to Door County.

Gary Jones profiled Blackwood in the Peninsula Pulse.