Every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 am a dedicated group of Evanston Running Club (ERC) members meet at Lee Street Beach come rain, shine or snow, unless of course there is lightning or otherwise dangerous conditions. Those runs are coordinated by ERC member Kate Saccany, who has done so for many years. Every Monday and Wednesday she reminds us of the next day’s run and let’s us know the weather conditions, as a certified weather spotter, so we are prepared. During the warmer weather it is ERC’s second largest weekly run. We owe a debt of gratitude to Kate for her diligence and dedication. I’m not an early riser, or runner, but on several occasions I have been up and looked out my window to Lee Street to see a figure running west. Wouldn’t you know, it was Kate, all lit up like a Christmas tree for visibility on a dark winter morning.
For many years Kate has been trying, unsuccessfully, to get a BQ (Boston Qualifier) so she could run in that storied race, which is the goal for most of us die hard runners. For those of you who don’t know, the Boston Marathon has a set of qualifying standards based on age and sex, and they get easier, if that is the correct terminology, as one gets older. This year when Kate turned 70 she figured, “It’s now or never.” She entered the Grand Rapids Marathon and left nothing to chance, buying a pair of “magic shoes,” and sticking to a rigorous training regimen.
Before she tells us some of the details of that race, I asked her a few questions about her running history/story.
When did you start running?
January 1976
Why did you start running?
I decided at the beginning of my second semester of business school that I needed to increase my physical activity to offset all of my hours of studying. I had been doing basic calisthenics in my room since I was 14, but I needed something more and running was getting more publicity. I ran barefoot on Indiana University’s indoor track, and when the weather improved, I bought Puma men’s running shoes because they didn’t make women’s running shoes. When my boyfriend found out about it, he told me I also needed to get stronger to truly be physically fit and taught me how to lift weights.
What was your first race?
It was a Shamrock Shuffle, I think 1989 – 1991, and it started and ended in front of the Hilton on Michigan Avenue. The temperature was 17 and the participants staged in the hotel lobby and then ran out the door and lined up a few minutes before the start. I wore full cotton sweats because there were no running clothes the way we know them, I knew nothing about training and racing and race etiquette, I lined up three rows from the front, and I remember going past the first mile clock, it said 6:30, and wondering if that was fast. I have no idea what my total race time was.
What was your first marathon?
1998 Chicago. I joined LaSalle Bank in 1997 and the bank was paying the race fee for any bank employee who wanted to run it, our CARA membership fee, and offered a free training class conducted by Carey Pinkowski and Hal Higdon. When an elite runner came through Chicago, Carey would have the runner talk to our group. Hal gave us a pamphlet on how to train that I now recognize must have been the sales pamphlet Hal used to persuade a publisher to publish his first marathon training book. We all trained solo; neither CARA nor any other group that I know of had a training program. Hal and Carey encouraged us to join our local running club, so I tracked down ERC for the second time. The first time I tried to join, around 1978 when I moved to Evanston, no one returned my phone call!
How long have you been trying to qualify for Boston?
Ha! Since 2001!! Injury – specifically chronic hip tendinitis, plus lack of training time due to my career, kept me from improving my time. In retrospect, it was a waste of time for me to even try. I should have stuck with shorter races, or just jogged that distance instead of butting my head against a wall.
What has running given you?
The first thing I noticed was freedom from my annual chronic sinus infections. I went 30 years without one after starting to run. Definitely the stress release I was looking for from studying, then work. A very long list of additional health benefits, including keeping about 40 lbs a year off my body. A much more interesting, lively group of friends who understand that there’s nothing wrong and everything right about me if I don’t want to spend the weekend smoking and drinking in a bar until 4AM (a very popular 1970’s activity.)
How long have you been coordinating 0530 T/Th runs?
Ask Nichelle Pajeau. I think 15 years? She started Tuesday, then I was asked to start Thursday, and I subsequently took over Tuesday after she bowed out.
Tell us about your training and planning for your BQ.
Three key changes caused my BQ: 1) I retired and had time to train. 2) My chiropractor solved a 20 year severe hip tendinitis problem that kept me from executing my training plans in one session, via needling, enabling me to execute the entire training plan for the first time. 3) I observed that the ERC members who used the Hanson marathon plan achieved major improvements in their marathons, so I switched to Hanson. I also made a dozen other smaller changes, but that’s plenty to start.
Tell us some of the details of your BQ race and how you managed to qualify.
BQ Time for women 70-74 is 4:50 this year. I ran the Grand Rapids Marathon on 10/17/21 in 4:41:49. I actually ran 26.7 miles per my Garmin, a 10:32 pace. That’s the biggest difference I’ve incurred running a marathon course. I think that’s the seventh or eighth time I’ve run GR. Nancy Rollins recommended it to me. It has all the support that Chicago has, but with substantially fewer participants. I typically volunteer at Chicago; then run GR the week after Chicago.
Shoes: I was trying to avoid investing in what I call Magic Shoes, I feel that they’re dishonest, but when I ran the Hidden Gem Half in September, my test run before GR, I missed third place by four seconds and second place by ten seconds; that’s two points I could have picked up for ERC Team Circuit points, darn it, and those shoes do make a difference. If everyone else is wearing them, I decided I needed them to level the playing field.
I bought the Saucony Endorphin Pro. Why those? Saucony designed a specific women’s shoe; they’re not designed for men and sold unisex as Nike’s are. My feet aren’t compatible with men’s shoes. The original model was on sale at Commonwealth and reasonably priced compared to other Magic Shoes. The only issue I have with them is a bit of instability in the heel, noted in the shoe reviews, which I understand was corrected in the Endorphin 2.
Kate, we are so proud of you and thank you for all you have given to ERC. We wish you and the rest of the Boston qualifiers as you run Heartbreak Hill and pass by all the historic checkpoints along the way.
Go Kate!!!
runforeverblog 