Weary legs build long term character

(Photo by Russ Mitchell) Grant Burke, 17 of Elgin, reviews a map during some down time at East Leach Park, while his mother, Rita Burke works on her feet after a long day of running in northwest Iowa. [Order this photo]

What started out 10 years ago as a run to raise money for a recreation center called "The Centre" serving several small communities in northeast Iowa has transformed into something much bigger.

Approximately 20 to 25 runners, support vehicle drivers and chaperones, ranging in age from 9 to 54 spent the night in East Leach Park in Spencer, after having completed day eight in their state of Iowa run. The group, which runs different routes in relay groups, have tread soil in 77 of Iowa's 99 counties with plans to run them all by the time day 11 comes to a close and the harriers return home.

The Race America runners plan to spend the day enjoying a little R & R at the Lakes, then about five of the runners and a support vehicle will return to the intersection of Highway 71 and 430th Street, just north of Greenville, where they will begin a rare evening run north on the state highway, through Spencer and onto Wallingford where they will again rest for the evening.

Nearly half a million dollars have been raised over the past decade for the center as a result of the Race America athletes, but according to Race America founder, Lowell Lyngaas, they really don't think about the money any more, this run is to build strong hearts, legs and more importantly, minds.

"We don't even try the fundraising on the road now,"explained the coach of the Valley Community High School track and cross country teams, who farms to make a living.

"We still want to do that, but we noticed how much the kids have developed and matured over the two weeks. They will come home different kids."

And that's what it's all about.

"It's all about teaching kids. Teaching kids you can overcome obstacles. Everyone of us has doubts on whether we can complete this. You can be beat tired but you can still get out of the van and run again...You have to train for this, you have to run it, you have to have that kind of commitment."

According to Lyngaas, these are the kind of traits that will take a young person far in the world, and all of those who have run with him in the past as part of the Race Over 20 runners went through the initial training process to prepare for the race, ultimately logging between 10,000 and 12,000 miles of road work.. They will be wearing sunburst yellow uniforms and illuminite clothing at night. Race America teams have gone on to become outstanding adults.

Each day during the 11-day Race America event, a collection of runners travel in five different escort vans - representing a group color - to a designated starting point. At a specific time, a runner begins the day. Each runner is trained to endure 7.5 miles per day moving at an 8 minute/mile pace at least. That means 37.5 miles will take five hours to complete. Each runner will run a half-mile, hand off to the next, rest until the next four runners complete their half-mile runs and then go again under ideal conditions.That grueling pace, in the mid-summer heat is repeated 15 times for 11 days in a row.

This year however, conditions have been less than ideal. The flooding in the eastern part of the state resulted in many road closures and the rescheduling of planned routes. The Fayette County Fair, which is the host county for most of the kids taking part in Race America, left them short of numbers at times, prompting Lyngaas and another one of the runners to have to pick up the slack, logging almost half-marathons on a couple of the days.

Lyngaas said that it's imperative for runners, old and new, to make it past the day three and four mark. I was hurting on day three and I didn't think I was going to keep going."

He continued, "A big problem on the first day was that I went way too fast, running 12.5 miles per hour for 12 or 13 miles. You can't do that."

To further insure their safety, lighted vehicles will accompany the runners during the entire race.

When Iowa's run is complete this year, only four states - New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island and Hawaii - will have avoided the experience of Race America shoes on them. And it doesn't look as though Race America will be making those runs, at least not with Lyngaas at the helm. His failing health in recent years makes it more difficult for him to take part in the runs he admits. Incurable tumors in his liver and intestines require him to give himself three-to-four shots a day to keep him going. But knowing the impact that something like this has on a kids life, he is not willing to entirely walk away from the role he has created for himself.

"My health is not going to allow me to keep doing this...Who knows what door will open up. There are many roads to a destination."

The total cost of the annual trip runs about $5,000, with the kids picking up their own daily meals costs. Lyngaas would like to pick up a sponsor to eliminate some of that personal cost.

The traveling runners usually pound the pavement, or gravel as the case may be, from about 6 a.m., until 1-2 p.m. to beat the heat. Along the way, they're packing away the food - dry cereal, pretzels, fruit, some yogurt and lots of water."

As needed, they will take a dump bath, pouring water from a steel milk drum on one another to get the road grime off. Once the road work is complete, a variety of sandwiches are prepared and demolished by the ravenous runners. The group will take advantage of any accomodations made available to them whether sleeping in a church, a home a school or a camping area in a park. They eat a large group meal together, take turns giving leg massages, then settle in to get some rest so they can begin anew at the crack of dawn.

The Race America team, predominantly girls this year, are given the opportunity to meet others around the country, and this year around the Hawkeye state that they share in common.

"We've had great opportunities to meet different people. A lot of times, we tend to stereotype people. We learn that most times it's wrong. We're all the same," said Lyngaas. "When you're doing good things, and you're doing good things with kids, people open up their hearts and homes to you."

Lyngaas is hopeful that the efforts, especially with his health becoming an issue, will lead to some generous donors stepping up to help with the costs of the community rec center, and more importantly hopes a corporate sponsor can be found for the actual Race America event, to help offset his annual $5,000 expenditure, so he can continue to support the activity, in one form or another.

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WANT TO RUN WITH RACE AMERICA TEAM TONIGHT?

A group of Race America runners will begin at the intersection of Highway 71 and 430th Street in south Clay County at 6 p.m. tonight.

* Those wishing to run should contact Deb Kahler 563-880-9426 today and let her know that you would like to run so they don't leave early. Runners are welcome all the way to Wallingford, tonight's destination.