Chicagoan Patrick Nardi couldn’t figure out a good place to put his race number on his bike. So he invented one.
I talked to a former highly competitive runner the other day, who lamented the fact that he wasn’t fast anymore. He’s in his 50s.
Iowa
From July 20-26, 2008,
Americans roll to the rolling prairie state of Iowa for the Register's Annual
Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). During the seven day bicycle ride
across the state, you’ll see the simple beauty of Iowa in the longest, largest
and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world.
Ryan Ball, 24, of
Chicago says, “Every small town in Iowa gets involved in RAGBRAI, from hosting
special festivals for bicyclists to allowing cyclists to stay with them. It’s a
can’t miss experience.” Lance Armstrong himself even journeyed in the RAGBRAI
and you can learn more at www.ragbrai.org.
Iowa has more than just
a fields of bicycle and baseball dreams. It also hosts the internationally
known Drake Relays. The track and field championships at Drake
bring the best of the best for several days of endurance competition
starting April 23. Amateur athletes can lace their sneakers for the 8K and half
marathon races on April 26, which start and finish outside of Drake Stadium.
Des Moines and the Quad City both host competitive and relatively flat
marathons. The Dam to Dam 20K on May 31, is hailed as Iowa’s largest distance
classic. Runners journey through the Iowa countryside and end in downtown Des
Moines.
Not to be outdone by Drake, Ames, home of Iowa State University, hosts Midnight Madness, evening 5K and 10K runs in sweltering July. Closer to Chicago, The Bix 7 in Quad Cities is a hugely popular 7 miler with 15,000 participants strong. Iowa’s Pigman Triathlon series, which take place June 1 and August 17, are the best triathlons hands down in the corn husker state.
