2021 Chiller lives up to its name - The time appears right to dust - Omaha Running Club
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For the members of the Omaha Running Club * Vol. 50* Spring 2021
2021 Chiller lives up to its name
T
he time appears right to dust
off the worn-out saying,
“What a difference a year
makes,” when describing the
2021 ORC’s Chiller Challenge/Annual
Meeting. And that applies on more
than one level.
On that Super Bowl Sunday in 2020,
ORC members were treated to an un-
seasonably warm Chiller Challenge,
and more than 160 took part in the 8K
that started and finished at newly
opened Papillion Landing. The large
gymnasium inside was nearly full as
attendees dined on a chili lunch before
the program began.
Fast-forward 53 weeks to Feb. 7, 2021,
and it was Mother Nature’s revenge.
Pairing the coldest temperature of win-
ter with the ongoing pandemic, partici- About 40 ORC members braved the elements on Super Bowl Sunday for
pation suffered. Just a handful of the annual meeting and the Hall of Fame ceremony.
hearty ORC members elected to ven-
ture outside for a pre-meeting “fun” He then introduced Anne Medeiros, Ann
Weather, COVID-19 made 2020 a
run. They were glad to thaw out inside Ringlein and The Bean Team as the new-
challenge for ORC’s chief timer, Alan
the gym. est to be enshrined. Whitaker applauded
Higley. Page 6.
the choice.
“A year ago it was balmy,” said Club
president Tom Whitaker. “This year, duced to about 40, Club president Tom “The Bean Team is a group of people who
it’s North Pole weather. People under- Whitaker opened the program by assisted the Omaha Running Club with
stood the situation and seemed to en- thanking those for attending. After his food service for a long, long, long, long
joy the fun run today. We’re very happy brief remarks, he introduced Alan time,” he said. “There have been quite a
that we could get enough of a break Higley for the announcement of the few (in that group), and they’ve always
from the weather that we could put this 2020 Hall of Fame inductees. done an absolutely magnificent job.
on today.”
As has been common during the 2020 “Ann Ringlein has been a very instrumen-
Unlike 2020’s event, masks were re- pandemic, Higley was able to stream tal part of the Lincoln running scene for
quired when folks weren’t dining on the meeting live on the ORC’s Face- many, many years. And Anne Medeiros
the box lunches that replaced the previ- book page for those who weren’t able to has been a very worthy competitor for a
ous year’s buffet. With the crowd re- attend. number of years here in the Omaha area.”
Medeiros gets a surprise Ringlein still going strong McMahon meet set to go
One of Omaha’s most veteran female Ann Ringlein finds time to help runners Plans are in place for the Jim McMahon
runners of all time was taken aback with when not managing the Lincoln Running Open Track Meet at Omaha Westside
her HOF honor. Page 2. Company store. Page 2. High. Page 7.
Two veteran runners happy for honor
Medeiros enjoys running,
being recognized on runs Ann Ringlein has
been working at
Anne Medeiros has a running resume the Lincoln
that few in the ORC can match. She was Running
somewhat taken aback, however, by the Company for
announcement that her name was to be approaching 40
added to the list of the Club’s Hall of years. Helping
Fame members. customers, she
said, is the
“Yes, I was surprised,” she said following company’s top
the Chiller Challenge. “I’ve listened to all priority.
the people named before, and I’m in awe
to be a part of it.”
Anne, Ann Ringlein and The Bean Team
joined 41 others who call themselves
HOF members. Medeiros knows just Ann Ringlein enjoys life in Lincoln as a
about all of them personally.
store manager, mentor to young runners
“There aren’t too many I didn’t know
To put it mildly, Ann Ringlein leads a back on a five-mile run,” Ann said. “The
over the years,” she said. “This makes me
busy life. When she’s not holding down farthest I could run before that was 800
want to go give back. I haven’t done as
her full-time job as manager of the Lin- meters. I remember him saying, ‘This
much as I could do.”
coln Running Company store downtown, isn’t far enough for you.’ ”
She has an excuse. Hip-replacement she finds time to serve as a mentor to
young runners and even get in the occa- With those seeds planted, she started a
surgery put her running days on hold.
sional run herself. running career that continues to this
But she has decades of memories from
day.
Like her fellow female ORC Hall of Fame
See Anne, Page 5 inductee, Anne Medeiros, she doesn’t “Running, not necessarily competing,
consider herself extra special. has been my thing my whole life,” she
said. “The competition was the icing on
“I wouldn’t think of myself as the first the cake, because I was always running
person you’d think of to get inducted to by myself.”
it,” Ringlein said. “But I’m really hon-
ored. Then it also makes me think I must After attending Kearney State College,
be sort of washed up.” Ringlein moved to St. Paul, Neb., and
that’s when she ramped up her mileage.
Ringlein’s story falls into the category of And she got better — to the point where
“small-town girl makes good,” having she was winning regional races on week-
grown up in tiny Red Cloud, Neb. ends.
“We were right on the edge of town,” she When her husband got a job in Lincoln
said, “so the country was right there. in 1984, the family made the move to the
You’d ride your bikes on the gravel big city. She was immediately embraced
roads.” by the running community, and in part
through those connections was hired to
Attending high school in the 1970s, girls manage one of the Lincoln Athlete’s Foot
sports were just beginning. She was a stores.
sophomore when Red Cloud started girls
track. Her first coach, she said, had a The original Athlete’s Foot store in
sense that she could tackle longer dis- downtown Lincoln was renamed the
Anne Medeiros was thrilled to tances. Lincoln Running Company more than 44
become the newest ORC member
enshrined into the Hall of Fame. “He would send me out to the river and See Ringlein, Page 5
2
Konda turns into key ORC contributor
D
aren Konda got hooked on
running early in life. Years
later, he got hooked on being
involved in the Omaha Run-
ning Club. It started shortly after he
moved from South Dakota to Omaha.
“I tried to run in grade school,” Konda
said, “and enjoyed it very much. Then as
our school was consolidating with anoth-
er school, I rode with the cross country
coach from our grade
school and ran there.
I kind of fell in love
with running.”
Konda competed in
track and cross coun-
try in high school
and hasn’t stopped
since. He attended
South Dakota State,
where he admits he
Konda Daren Konda has served on the ORC Board for more than a decade. “I
wasn’t fast enough to
always had a love for supporting other runners within the area,” he said.
make the team.
“I just ran unattached with the team,” he
tioned from a regular volunteer to a “We wouldn’t be much of a club without
said. “I was the slowest of my group.”
member of the ORC Board, a post he’s him.”
Shortly after graduating, he found him- held for more than a decade.
self working in Omaha right after the Konda calls 2020 and early 2021 a major
“I always had a love for supporting other challenge for the Club — on multiple
turn of the century. He continued his
runners within the area,” he said. “That’s levels. He pointed to not just the pan-
running regimen while looking for races
always been a positive thing of being demic but the flooding that plagued the
to enter.
part of the Club. Heartland Marathon and the construc-
“I was doing a few marathons and that tion along the riverfront that altered the
“I’ve always enjoyed that the Club can be
kind of stuff,” Konda said. “Then I start/finish line in 2020.
supported completely by volunteers,
signed up for the Omaha Marathon. I
including the Board members. It’s been
was attending the expo, and somebody “Luckily, we’ve been fortunate (dealing
good.”
asked me if I would potentially be inter- with COVID-19) in that last year we were
ested in volunteering for any event.” Konda has seen the Club grow over the able to do essentially all but two of our
years. races,” he said. “Granted, a couple were
That’s when he was introduced to the virtual, but we were able to do it with
Omaha Running Club. And, like many “We’ve transitioned from not having
great community support.”
folks back then, he had a different im- enough money to barely get by (to put
pression of what the Club was about. on) races,” he said, “to effectively — with Speaking at the end of the Chiller Chal-
some of the community support we’ve lenge program, Konda said he wasn’t
“I thought the Omaha Running Club was
gained — put on some fun stuff.” sure how soon we’ll see a return to nor-
only for really, really fast runners,” he
Konda’s contributions to the Club can’t mal for race management, but he’s opti-
said. “I was told no, it’s for everybody.
be overstated, according to president mistic.
There’s an avenue that does support elite
runners, but there’s a tremendous Tom Whitaker. “I do know that we have learned how to
amount of volunteering and there’s a deal with some of it,” he said. “There-
“Oh, my gosh,” Whitaker said, “he’s a
tremendous amount of community sup- fore, we can return to, not necessarily
bundle of energy. He’s always planning
port.” the way it was before, but we can contin-
stuff. He’s the head of the equipment
And that’s when Konda’s involvement committee. He lays out our courses and ue to do events in slightly different
began. It wasn’t long before he transi- sets them up for races. ways.”
3
2021 ORC Board Officers
and Board Members
President’s Message
Officers As we approach what is normally the prime led by Jeremy Kaliff. These programs pro-
season for races, I have been reading a vide great opportunities to enjoy some ded-
President, Tom Whitaker icated and talented guidance and coaching
number of articles about COVID-19 and
lorraineandtom@cox.net
running in hopes of gaining insight into for a variety of participants.
VP & Marketing, Daren Konda how the ORC should be planning for up-
Our program directors will once again be
darenkonda@hotmail.com coming events that are safe and meaningful
working their special brands of magic in
to runners.
supporting and training all
Secretary, Mandy Kennedy
Unfortunately, opinions levels of ability. And the
mandykennedy@hotmail.com
(some based on research, many races and Club fun
Treasurer, Tim Lens some not) vary widely on runs throughout the sum-
tmlens@yahoo.com what will work and what mer give great chances to
will not. The consensus apply lessons learned, en-
Directors among health profession- joy the company of other
Jill Banaszak, Go Girl Run als seems to be that run- runners and perhaps go
jillmbanaszak@gmail.com ning will strengthen im- home with a little hardware
mune systems and go a as well.
Marty Ertz, Director At Large long way to ward off virus
Martin.ertz@gmail.com As this year’s racing season
infections of all varieties.
kicks off, I would like to say
John Hall, Volunteer Coordinator And that running out- a few words about support-
johnruns4fun@gmail.com doors in socially dis- ing local events, particular-
tanced conditions is an ly Omaha’s Heartland Mar-
ORC Advisors
excellent way to safely athon, Marathon Relay,
Jose Badillo, Photographer maintain fitness and Tom Whitaker Half Marathon and 10K.
jb42krnnr@outlook.com relieve stress. My unsci- Here are just some of the
entific observation is that I don’t personally activities your local Running Club provides
John Fey, Newsletter during a given year to support the running
know of any runner who has been affected
jmfey1952@gmail.com
by COVID-19. I am sure there have been community:
Alan Higley, Event Scoring/Hall-of-
some, but there has been little mention of
» We will be putting on five holiday-
Fame Coordinator high rates of infection in the running com-
themed fun runs per year. These are free to
alanhigley@hotmail.com munity. With everyone’s wellbeing of ut-
members and the general public alike; just
most importance, the ORC is busy planning
show up and participate. Our fun-run coor-
Gary Meyer, Equipment Coordinator to do our best to return to live events while
dinator, Daren Konda, always has door
gfmeyer.gm@gmail.com meeting the safety recommendations of the
prizes and often refreshments for those
Centers for Disease Control and other ex-
Christy Nielsen, Distance Training who attend.
perts in the field.
Clinic
We have had a tough winter by any stand- » We hold seven Club races of various dis-
runnerpt262@gmail.com
ards that saw a lot of snow and a couple tances that are fee-supported and timed
Kelli Sweet, Marketing record cold snaps as well. We need some with T-shirts and awards for overall and
sweetkelli@cox.net good weather as spring arrives to promote a age-group winners. Any proceeds left over
great offering of Club events for the coming after contributions to charities are used to
Vanessa Urbach, Trail Cleanup Dir.
months. I would like to especially mention support the activities of the Club. All Club
vcherko@gmail.com officers and race officials are uncompen-
one in particular, the Jim McMahon Open
Track Meet scheduled for June 13. Derek sated volunteers; we all do this because we
ORC email address: want to carry out our Club mission and
Fey has done an outstanding job putting on
omaharun@gmail.com support our local runners.
this event in years past, and we are looking
forward to its revival this year. » We maintain a website that provides a
For more on the ORC, go to:
Among a great lineup of programs and free event calendar where any organization
omaharun.org putting on a race can post its event without
events this summer are the marathon train-
ing program that will be led by three-time charge.
Follow the Club on Facebook, Olympic Marathon Trials veteran Christy
Twitter & Instagram! Nielsen and the women’s training program See Message, Page 5
4
Anne: Boston trips Ringlein: Managing races still a challenge
atop runner’s thrills Continued from Page 2 ried. You just want to make sure you’re
doing everything right, but you can’t
years ago. Ann has been working there make everybody happy. You just can’t. I
Continued from Page 2
for nearly 40 years — most of the time think emotions were higher last sum-
many races. serving as store manager. mer.”
“Of course, doing the Boston Marathon From her first year in Lincoln, Ringlein As time went by, races became some-
when I was 50, that was good,” Anne became more involved with the local what easier to manage, she said, but it
said. “Reading the paper the next day running community. And it grew with was still a challenge.
that I had done well for my age group — each passing year.
“You kind of had it all down,” she said,
a top 10 — that was good.”
“The store had a mile race,” she recalled, “but it still was a lot of work. My theme
Aside from eight trips to Boston, Anne “and I helped with that. Eventually, you all year has been, ‘Be kind, be kind.’ You
recalled the Richfield Run as a favorite. get really involved, and you try to help in just have to be really nice to everybody.”
whatever way you can. You’re helping
“That was my first race,” she said. “I was other people to have success running. The pandemic did put a dent in the run-
third in my age group, and that just got It’s great.” ning business, but Ringlein found that
me going.” while some things changed, many others
Putting on races is hard in a normal year, stayed intact.
Although Anne doesn’t consider herself a but Lincoln was affected by the pandem-
celebrity, she is quite well known in the ic just as badly as Omaha over the past “In the end, it’s all about really helping
running community. 13 months. people and taking care of them,” she
said. “You’re offering them lots of
“I’m always honored that they recognize “There were times when I felt like there (running gear) solutions and injury solu-
me, because things do change. I’m really was nothing that will make me do that tions. We’ve seen everything here in
happy to get this honor.” again,” Ann said. “I didn’t sleep, I wor- downtown Lincoln.”
Message: Not a runner? Volunteering gives Club events a boost
Continued from Page 4 over the years off the couch and into a keep our local events in mind as you plan
healthy life style. And we do it for the your racing season.
» We provide valuable information on cost of a Club membership.
We especially hope you will go to heart-
our website for organizing and putting » We organize a Distance Training Pro- landmarathon.org as soon as you can
on events that is available free of charge. gram that provides professional coach- after you read this message and sign up
» We provide equipment rental services ing, educational speakers and encour- for one of Omaha’s Heartland Marathon
agement for anyone interested in train- events. Not ready for a marathon or the
that makes time clocks and finish-line
ing for a marathon or half marathon. half? Then get a team together and do
equipment available to events at a rea-
the relay or sign up for the 10K.
sonable rental rate. Although we may As you know, the Omaha Running Club
make some money doing this, there is a is a volunteer organization with a mis- Not ready to run at all? You can still be a
substantial investment involved. Finish sion to support the Omaha running and valuable part of this event by volunteer-
line clocks and tripods alone cost close to walking community. We do our best to ing. We always need A LOT of volunteers
$2,500 each and must be maintained support that mission to the extent that to make this a success. We will have vol-
and repaired when necessary. everyone’s available personal resources unteer opportunities listed soon, so
permit. A number of national events check out omaharun.org/volunteering
» We provide race-result services as well
these days serve a purpose by putting on and sign up. You will be providing a very
for a reasonable price.
challenging and unique events, but they important service to our local running
» We publish a quality newsletter that are not owned locally. community.
has won the Road Runners Club of
I would urge everyone to keep in mind My point with the foregoing is to empha-
America national award for large club
that although these may be worthy size that support for your Club by run-
newsletters.
events, they come to town, utilize local ning or volunteering for local events is
» We sponsor the Step into Running resources and leave town with the pro- important. Remember, any money raised
program, a beginning training program ceeds. Other than providing an event in stays right here in Omaha to support
for women currently led by Jeremy Ka- which to participate, they do little to you, the local runner, the very reason for
liff, that has gotten hundreds of ladies support our local community. Please our existence.
5
Timing business took a hit during 2021
Alan Higley has served as official timer the Harvest Moon Hustle also tried the
for the Omaha Running Club for nearly hybrid method.
two decades. Never has he had to deal
with unusual — to say the least — cir- “They had about 50 percent participa-
cumstances like those during 2020. Be- tion in-person and 50 percent virtual,”
tween COVID-19 and less-than-ideal he said. “It was a pretty good turnout. It
weather, he was more than ready to say worked out well.”
hello to a new year. Weather conditions aren’t a major con-
“From March through July, we did nine cern, Higley said, as far as how his
virtual races,” he said. “Starting July 3, equipment operates.
we resumed in-person activity.”
“It affects the timing personnel worse
But even that was anything but normal. than it does the equipment,” he joked.
Any organized race after the middle of Alan Higley has seen it all during “The equipment actually will function as
the year required working with local his many years of timing races. long as it’s plugged in and as long as you
health organizations. There were strict can keep the batteries in the equipment
requirements for road races and re- computer technology to calculate their warm. But at 4 degrees, it doesn’t take
strictions on post-race activities. final time. Runners then could download too long to freeze up a battery.”
a finisher’s certificate.
“We had to socially distance the start With the low turnout and the extreme
line, 6 feet apart front to back and 6 feet “We had between 27 and 78 percent par- cold, Chiller turned into a fun run.
left to right.” Higley said. “We used small ticipation in those,” he said, “depending
waves of 25 to 75 people. The largest on how well the event marketed it and Higley remembers one of the most diffi-
race we did was probably 700 how receptive individuals were to partic- cult events he ever timed. It happened at
(participants).” ipate in it. Early on in the process, peo- the 2019 Heartland Marathon, which
ple were not happy that we had gone had to be halted shortly after it began
He also timed the Nebraska high school due to a surprise thunderstorm.
virtual. Later, they were more accepting
state cross country meet in Kearney,
of it, because they just want to run and
which also was a challenge. “The equipment has air vents which help
get their results.”
keep it cool,” he said. “That’s great in the
“We had about 800 in person,” he said,
Also new during the pandemic was what summer, not so good in the rain. That
“but they had eight start waves.” day, we had water over the top of the
Higley described as “hybrid” races, a
Virtual races were another matter. Par- combination of in-person and virtual. decoders. I had to send two of them in
ticipants would submit their times, and One of those early ones took place in the for precautionary repair. I had to have
Higley would calculate them using Mtec Lincoln area in August. In September, one battery replaced.”
Omaha Running Club Hall of Fame Members
Name Year Name Year Name Year
Frank Perrone 2004 Leonard Vavra 2007 Roxi Erickson 2014
Jill Garlock 2004 Alan Higley 2008 Daren Konda 2015
John Petersen 2004 Gary Meyer 2008 Tom Whitaker 2015
John Thomas 2004 Bea Sides 2009 Jose Badillo 2016
Karlene (Erickson) Herrell 2004 Cliff Karthauser 2009
Harvey Kunz 2017
Mick Freeman 2004 Lou Soukup 2009
Tony Jones 2017
Nancy McCormick 2004 John Hawkins 2010
Nancy Sutton Moss 2018
Bob Garcia 2005 Stan Shirk 2010
Chuck Cooper 2005 Greg Carlberg 2011 Christy Nielsen 2018
Craig Christians 2005 Jimmy Hall 2011 Tom Cody 2019
Mike Ewoldt 2006 Ronn Baker 2012 Jon Eggers 2019
Tim Hendricks 2006 Erin Sullivan 2012 Glen Moss 2019
Todd Nott 2006 Gary Wasserman 2013 Anne Medeiros 2020
Dick Burrows 2007 Jim McMahon 2013 Ann Ringlein 2020
Gary Julin 2007 Ron Olsen 2014 The Bean Team 2020
6
Eye of the Editor
Visit to the Sunshine State was a blast
By John Fey golf clubs, either). You can traverse the ****
entire 32 square miles (as of 2018) of the The Club came up with another dandy
For those of you who know longtime
city within a city by bike or golf cart. The lineup of inductees: Anne Medeiros, Ann
ORC member Lou Soukup, you’ll be
population as of three years ago was just Ringlein and The Bean Team. Our
pleased to know he’s living the dream at
under 130,000, but as Lou told me, younger members likely don’t know the
The Villages in Florida (about 60 miles
“They can’t build houses fast enough.” history of The Bean Team. (It was news
northwest of Orlando). Wife Shirley and
I happened to be there with another cou- to me, and I’m not young.)
We stayed quite a bit south of the
ple, and I just had to see how he’s doing. Soukups’ home, but they were gracious Members of the team have been volun-
Lou and wife Connie enough to pick us up and give us a tour teering for decades at most ORC events
moved from Omaha 10 of the area and their place. Lou has an — including serving food at the annual
years ago and abso- unbelievable collection of trophies, med- Chiller Challenge. You no doubt saw
lutely love it there. als and certificates from his decades of them there but likely didn’t know about
After spending just two road racing. their contribution to races.
full days there in late I’ll feature Lou in the summer issue. His Speaking of this year’s Chiller, it was one
March, I can certainly story is pretty amazing. miserable morning for those who braved
see why. I’ve never the elements for the “fun run.” I wasn’t
visited anywhere that **** one of them, but I tip my hat to those
offers so many activi- Soukup was mentioned during the Feb. 7 who battled Mother Nature. It was bad
ties. You can play ten- Chiller Challenge ceremony announcing enough that the coronavirus was still
nis, pickleball (which is huge down the newest Hall of Fame inductees. For going strong (although we’re slowly turn-
there), bocce ball, slow-pitch softball or many years, Lou headed the panel of ing the corner with vaccinations), then
shuffleboard — just to name a few. Also ORC members who voted on nomina- came the single-digit temps and sub-zero
popular is ballroom dancing, a favorite of tions. And he continued that task after wind chills. That no doubt contributed as
the Soukups. moving to Florida. much as COVID-19 to the low turnout
compared to past Chillers.
But the most amazing thing I noticed A few years ago, he passed the baton to
immediately was the many walking/ Alan Higley, but Lou still is involved With warmer weather finally here, let’s
running/biking trails. Some of the wider with nominating candidates. Few mem- all get vaccinated and resume closer to
trails are shared with golf carts — and bers of the ORC know the history of our normal lives. I think we’ll all agree that
there a hoards of them (not just carrying Club like Lou Soukup. 2020 was a year to forget.
McMahon Open Track Meet set for Westside
The ORC Jim McMahon Open Track Jim McMahon Open Track Meet head cross country and track/field coach.
Meet returns this June after, much like McMahon spent more than 40 years at
many races, a year off due to the pan- When: Sunday, June 13 Midland Lutheran. His 1989 women’s
demic. The meet is scheduled for June 13 Where: Omaha Westside High track team won an NAIA National Cham-
at Westside High School. Time: 7 a.m. (race-day registration); pionship.
Race-day registration begins at 7 a.m., events run 8 a.m.—1 p.m. Most importantly to the Omaha Running
but participants are encouraged to regis- Fee: $25 (includes T-shirt) Club, McMahon was a founding member
ter online before June 1 to get a T-shirt To register: https://bit.ly/3m0 EQkM of the ORC in the 1970s.
with their entry. To sign up, go to this
McMahon passed away from cancer in
site: https://bit.ly/3m0EQkM.
discus, shot, javelin, 100-meter dash, 2016.
You can also find the meet registration 200 dash, 400 dash, 800 run, 1,600 run
Each year, several members of McMah-
link on the ORC online calendar. and 5,000 run. The meet will use fully
on’s family compete in the event, and
automatic timing (FAT).
The cost is $25 and includes a T-shirt, as that tradition is expected to continue this
well as competition in up to four events. The meet is named after Jim McMahon, year. If you don’t plan on running, come
Events include the long jump, high jump, former Midland Lutheran University cheer on the participants!
7
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