run n' gun + stephanie herbst lucke

i'm sorry to hear the good folks at run n' fun were robbed at gunpoint the other night. the brigands were surely disappointed with the till, since specialty running stores are labors of love. i can't imagine they keep much cash on hand, but local runners love run n' fun because the knowledgeable staff care more about your p.r.s than pushing product.

it seems the same suspects hit a natural foods store as well, suggesting that a fair-trade coffeehouse, luthier, or children's bookstore may be next on the list. haven't these guys heard of willie sutton?

in cheerier running news, i noticed stephanie herbst-lucke gracing the march runner's world cover (above). she won four minnesota state high school championships before moving on to wisconsin during my undergrad years there. she had a storied college career, setting national records as a sophomore before burning out and leaving the team as a junior. her intensity and athletic temperament reminds me of a large lad i know -- she hates to lose more than she loves to win and she'd rather bag it than half-ass it.

but what a magnificent runner. when she'd blow by me on the lakeshore path or west end of campus, it was all i could do not to stare. she ran tall, taking long and powerful strides that just ate up the ground. now, after three kids and a couple decades away from competition, she's registering absurd times at 43 -- like a 32:55 10k in minneapolis last august. though i could imagine her rewriting the masters record book, i could also imagine her shutting it down the instant she isn't feeling it anymore.

this gives me at least three reasons to root for her tomorrow in the yokohama international women's ekiden: she's a native minnesotan, a former badger, and (most importantly), a fellow fortysomething racing against kids half her age.