Dr. Woodhall Alumni Update

From: Thomas Woodall [mailto:twoodall@eiu.edu]
Sent: Thu 7/31/2008 7:21 AM
To: EIU Former Runners
Subject: EIU STUFF #2

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS HAVE TO DO WITH RUNNING  (Former EIU Competitors and other Events)  Have fun
Larry Mayse (‘70) is now retired after nearly 3 decades as a Delta Pilot.  He continues with orchid growing, and internationally known glass carving (has had two six month displays at the Smithsonian Institute).  Now the major interest is in Triathlon competition.  He and wife Linda have been race directors and competitors all over the world and now achieving the 60 year age mark, Larry moves into a new competitive bracket.  Here he is on the bike during the recent Alcatraz Triathlon.


Of course, the first part is the swim.  The water is COLD...note all the “wet suites


Bill Bandy (‘79) and John Christy (‘78) continue to encourage young runners “down south” (Lawrenceville Red Hill, Sumner etc) In grade and middle schools these guys are always beating the bushes and getting youngsters involved in real “athletics”...distance running.  This fall, Lawrenceville and Red Hill will again coop for cross country with our two former All-Americans encouraging.  Nice going B and J.

Lauren Rapacki   (‘00?)  Lauren ran at EIU and then completed her MS degree from UNC in Greeley, Colorado in 2006. She  currently lives in Chicago (has to be a CUBS fan..right?) and works at Hines VA Hospital in Spinal Cord Injury Research.  She also works  two nights a week at Right Fit, a place in Burr Ridge, IL.  (personal training,  group exercise leader and recently helped plan a road race in the area.  She ran the Chicago marathon (her first) last fall and she’ll compete in the Accenture Triathlon (Olympic Distance) in Chicago (August).  

John Gassman (‘84) now lives and works just outside of Boston.  He continues to run well though he graduated 25 years ago.  The Charleston paper recently reported the following:  25 Years Ago  July 26, 1983..Hot humid weather forced a shorter Panther Pant Saturday but John Gassman didn’t mind.  Gassman, an EIU senior from Olney wont the 18th annual Pant Saturday, shortened four mile because of the weather.  Meet director, Tom Woodall cut the distance for the first time in the race’s history, because of the weather.  Actually, John would rather have had the race go the full distance.  He said he fells kind of like Barry Bonds...another guy with an asterisk beside his name
 
Dike Stirrett (‘70)  After recent River to River discussions, Dike finally admits to running on the team that won the very first River to River Relay race (20+ years ago).  He said they were more famous for the ruckus they caused the night before the event.  Can you imagine Stirrett being so unruly?  Fortusteeplewebly, he and Roxie (now retired) have raised a much more mature son, Nick Stirrett, who is now working on a Master’s degree in Ireland.  His adventures sound like something out of Indiana Jones...He went to Morocco for 5 days not long after the start of the year and hiked in the North African desert   In March he was invited to represent the Queens University graduate program in a Centenary Celebration featuring the unveiling of a small monument by Queen Elizabeth II and a luncheon.  He actually got to meet and talk to the Queen and Prince Phillip at the luncheon.  Back in Feb or March he submitted a paper that he had written for one of his classes to a committee planning an Austo-Asian Seminar on "Literature and it's Influence on History."  He was notified in April that his paper was accepted and they asked him to go to Sydney to present the paper at the seminar on July 21.  He is done with course work and is now spending the summer researching and writing his thesis which needs to be submitted by Sept. 15.   He has actually been researching and preparing his outline while he is home.  After he finishes his work at Queens in Sept. he is planning a 480 mile trek across the North of Spain.  He is going to do this by himself and will start in the Basque country in Northeast Spain and finish near Santiago, Spain (not far from the Atlantic Ocean).  It will take him about a month.
 
Ken Klipp (‘71) and Charlene are now grandparents..Oliver...born in April.  His dad, Marty survived the Cedar Rapids flooding, and oversees dozens of engineers (Marty was a brilliant student...got it from Charlene) in his aerospace workplace.  He is working on an MBA degree.  Ken continues to coach and since the IHSA has moved Bishop Mac to 1A (where he has an unfair advantage..ha) he is happier.  As usual, Ken went to the Olympic Trials in Portland and is in “hog heaven” with the way the CUBS are playing.  He may retired if they win it all this year..  Danny is doing pretty good as well.

Mike Brehm (‘77) reports that his son will enter college at North Central this fall...darn it.  He is a good runner and very bright student.  He is going to major in Math and was thrilled to be assigned to a dorm room with the number 314  (only a mathematician would think of Pi for a room number).  North Central has a wonderfully long record of successful distance running programs, mainly because of their great coach, Al Carrius who is finally retiring after some 40 years at the helm


The Panther Prowl...July 12th on the EIU campus
After a week of high school and middle school distance “camp” Coach Mac starts a bunch of near naked runners in the Panther Prowl 15K (9.5 miles) on a hot/humid morning..July 12th.  Winning time was 52 minutes on the hilly course south of town.   About 100 runners total (campers and area residents) took part in either the 5K or 15K runs.   Mike Viano’s son and two of Bill Bandy’s/John Christy’s Lawrenceville runners were strong campers as was Riley McInerney (7th grader)


This little guy was a hero for many.  At age 8, he did 5K on long wet grass in 28 minutes.


Issac Dallas, age 12,  averaged 10 minutes per mile for the hilly and very hot/humid 15K course.


When Brad Butler (far right) attended many of our distance camps, he was just a tough little kid...like the ones above.  Fortusteeplewebly, he came to EIU and has since been one of the main stays in our distance corp...winning and taking OVC honors in CC, Indoor and Outdoor distance events.  He has one more year of eligibility and  is shown with his 2nd place Prowl award (stomach cramps hit him at mile 8) with his dad and mother....both of whom ran the 15K and 5K respectively.  This truly was an “All In the Family” event for the Butler family.