December 18th, 2009
Run with Moe: More food, more races

Run with Moe: A column
By MOE JOHNSON
San Marcos Runners Club

The Sights and Sounds 5K was held recently for a good group of San Marcos and central Texas runners.

Overall champions were Zachery Behler for the men in 21:15 and Rachel Harville for the women in 24:40.

For the women, Catherine Marler took first in the 15-19. Dino Occhialini took first for the men in 35:28, and Gino Occhialini was second in 40:35. 

The women’s age 20-29 had Cely Smart in first with a time of 31:40, Jessica Bowers in second in 40:31 and Elizabeth DeLeon third in 40:35. For the men, Justin Heedker took first, Kevin Sladek had second in 29:24 and Ken O’Kane had third in 29:34.

In the 30-39 age for the women, Liesela Austin took first place with a 30:28 time, Alyssa Long managed a second place in 33:00 and Tiffany Saenz was third in 34:00.There were no men runners in that age group, but Ros Hill took first in the 40-49 age with a 44:50 time. For the women, Charkene Wilder had first with a 30:38, Anita Long took second in 32:52 and third place went to Laura Mason in 32:58.

In the 50-59 age for the women, Julie Symon Kantz had first in 27:30, Teresa Medina had second in 32:31 and Cindy Shannon Lee was third in 32:50. The men in the 50-59 age were a competitive group that ran together for much of the race with Robert Duran taking first in 23:55. Phil Sladek was second in 24:47 and Robert Kantz was third in 27:45.

Rounding out the 60-69 age was Eva Sanders in first for the women in 30:49 and Ronnie Murphy in first for the men in 39:19.

Organizers hope for a larger turnout next year, and maybe a different starting time so runners and Sights and Sounds volunteers will be crossing the foot bridges at different times. It was a very popular race many years ago, and it may take a little more time to get all of the runners back for this fun race.

I had mentioned the problem of too much food over the holidays and that runners tend to do better as long as they keep running. The Christmas Lights Fun Run was a good start, and about 25 runners took part in seeing the decorations along San Antonio Street and Belvin Street. Then, after the run they had a nice gathering to talk runners talk at the San Marcos Activity Center and to share some food.

While most of the food was on the healthy side, there were a few items that probably added some calories besides being so tasty and sweet. Does it really make a difference in what you eat as long as you keep active either walking, running, biking, playing golf and stuff like that?

In the December issue of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter, there was an article that is quite timely for this subject. The article listed a question of how much will a person have to walk or run to burn those calories off? It made for some interesting reading.The article had the weight of various individuals and the amount of time needed to get rid of the calories from eating snacks. The weights varied from 125 pounds to 175 pounds and 225 pounds. The 125 pound person had to run or walk for a longer time than the 225 pound individual as it comes down to moving more poundage. For the average 175 pound person, the difference between eating an apple and a Snickers bar had that person walking for 48 minutes for the candy and 20 minutes for the apple.

Drinking a Root beer had a 27 minute walk and an 11 minute run, while a person drinking water didn’t have to run at all. Starbucks Caffe’ Mocha found a walker going 48 minutes and the regular coffee drinker with a tablespoon of half and half and a teaspoon of sugar moving for seven minutes and runners moved for 20 minutes or three minutes. How about a glazed doughnut versus a piece of toast and jam? The doughnut takes walking 42 minutes and running 18 minutes and the toast walked 22 minutes and nine minutes of running.

Even with those few examples it lets you know that if you are going to eat and expect to keep the weight off be very selective with what you choose. Then determine if you are really willing to walk or run as long as it takes to keep it off the belt line. Have a Happy Holiday season, and think thin and run long.