March, 16, 2004 — Six members of a local St. Croix running club traveled to Los Angeles last week to join 25,000 other runners in tackling the L.A. Marathon. St. Croix residents Susan Armstrong, Debbie Aronstein, Kathy Bennett, Karen Heckman, Doug Brady and Douglas Inman made the 4,000 mile trek to run the race. All are members of the St. Croix Roadrunners running club, and for all but Roadrunners founder, Douglas Inman, it was their first attempt at the marathon distance. Despite grueling conditions and temperatures in the mid-90s, every one of the St. Croix runners were successful in completing the 26.2-mile trek.
Expecting ideal running temperatures in the 60s, runners were instead confronted with record-breaking heat and sunny, cloudless skies. Temperatures soared to 95 degrees on the race course, and over a thousand participants had to be treated for heat exhaustion, while more than a hundred were hospitalized for heat-related illness. None of the St. Croix runners were among those needing treatment.
Not one of the local marathoners was among the island’s group of competitive runners before joining the St. Croix Roadrunners. Instead, they ranged from self-described couch potatoes to casual runners. Inman provided a training program to take Roadrunners participants "from novice to natural," and their hard work paid off.
The St. Croix Roadrunners is now beginning its New Directions membership drive. Among the new activities planned is a program for novice runners, called the "Couch to 5K" program, which is designed for nonrunners who want to start running in order to improve their fitness and quality of life. Also offered are weekend group runs, a fitness and nutrition lecture series and activities for runners of all levels, including trail "fun runs" and more serious speed workouts. St. Croix Roadrunners meets every Saturday morning at Cheeseburgers in Paradise. Membership is free. For more information call Douglas Inman at 690-2235.
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