Pictures from our first Vegas 2011 Group Training

Pearl Jam's Mike McCready gives Team Challenge Some Love!

First Training This Saturday!!!

Start your training off right! Join us for our first group training by the Chicago Lake Front.

Time: 7:00 AM
Where: Montrose Harbor, Chicago Lakefront

Western Suburbs Mentor Walk Run, Saturday August 27th
There will be a mentor led walk/run in Batavia, IL on Saturday August 27th led by our fabulous mentor, Angie Kruse.
Time: 8:00AM
Contact Angie Kruse for details. Email : akruseil@comcast.net or call (630) 346-2289.
If you have not gotten your training schedule yet, Please contact coach Brad at krugler@yahoo.com!

Meet Team Illinois Mentor Diana!

Diana Sanguinetti enjoys spending summers in Wisconsin at her family's seasonal campground in Edgerton, kayaking,and Disney trips with her husband and kids. Her son is 17 and her daughters are 5 and 14.

Because of her love for Disney, she signed up for an Inaugural Half at Disney 10/10. She trained to walk it as she is "not a runner." Despite waiting to the last minute to train, she still finished in just under 3 hours! She completed another Disney half using walk/run and finished in 2:33 this past January! Diana completed another half marathon in Wisconsin as a training run for Napa to Sonoma, her first Team Challenge season. She has four half marathons under her belt and just started running in November 2010!

Her next race is Disney's Wine & Dine Half Marathon in October, and then, of course, Rock & Roll Las Vegas with Team Challenge! She also signed up for the Disney Princess with Team Challenge Alumni in Feb of 2012, putting her one step closer to a goal of the Half Marathons by the end of 2012!

Team Challenge is a perfect fit for Diana. She runs and fundraises for her 14 year old daughter as my daughter who was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in July 2010.

Diana's daughter Courtney was diagnosed at 13. The diagnosis changed her family's life, her own life and her future. But Diana says, "By being involved in Team Challenge, it also changed our lives and by being involved, hopefully helping the outlook on her future. We're raising money and awareness so that one day there is a cure as she becomes an adult. To have witnessed her pain and issues with her disease, I can train and ask people for money, and fundraise. I have the easy task. Managing her Crohn's and doctor appointments is a way of life now... a part of our everyday life... and now so is Team Challenge."

Courtney has also been able to attend and enjoy CCFA's Camp Oasis in Wisconsin for the past 2 years. It is a wonderful program for kids with IBD. Through Camp Oasis, she has made friends and actually met and bunked with a counselor who was also on Team Challenge WI in Napa!

Diana says she's looking forward to this season and being a Mentor. "Having experienced the Napa event with the team and coaches, I'm looking forward to Vegas. While Crohns has become a part of our lives, so has Team Challenge!"

Angela and Dex McCreary Slide Show from Napa

Shoe Guide by Coach Brad

Since we are starting our program before our kickoff party, I wanted to send information regarding the most important gear you will need; SHOES.

You can find the basics here:
http://www.therunningadvisor.com/running_shoes.html

One of the most important aspects to shoe buying and mentioned in this article, is shopping at a running store. Please take this advice (especially if you are new to endurance sports) and head to a local running store. There are numerous in the city and surrounding suburbs. Fleet Feet, Nike store, Dick Pond Athletic, Naperville Running Company to name a few. The staff at these stores are knowledgeable and will understand the dynamics of a proper fit. Most have treadmills and will give you a free gait analysis.

Things to remember for a proper fit:
1. Go to the store in the afternoon or evening. Your feet swell throughout the day will fit differently at this time.
2. Take an old pair of athletic shoes (if you have them) so the staff can see the wear patterns on the tread.
3. Take the type of socks that you normally wear for working out.

Please note: If you are a walker or run/walker this still applies to you. Even though there are several shoes listed as "walking" shoes, it is HIGHLY recommended to purchase a running shoe.

As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Go Team Challenge!!!

Coach Brad

Meet Honoree Ally Bain

Ally has had Crohn’s disease since 2001 when she was 11 years old. For awhile, flare ups and mismanagement of medical care caused her to miss school because she was running to the bathroom, sometimes going as much as 40 times in one day. During high school, she had several surgeries related to her Crohn’s, including one that was due to her colon perforating, resulting in a temporary colostomy, which would allow her colon to heal. Before finding quality medical care, her case of Crohn’s almost killed her. Each day was unpredictable, and she never could have imagined what would happen to her several years later.

When she was 14 years old, she was shopping at a retail store when her Crohn’s began to flare, and she needed to find a restroom immediately. The store did not have public restrooms, so she and her mother spoke with the store manager. While Ally was bent over crying and in pain, he continuously denied her access to the employee-only restroom and claimed he was making a “managerial decision.” After leaving the store, Ally knew this could not happen to her or anyone else again. That day, she contacted her local state representative. Within months, Ally was helping to write legislation that would allow anyone with a medical emergency access to an employee-only restroom. She testified before a committee where it passed unanimously, just as it later did in the Illinois House and Senate. It was signed into law in August 2005 as the Restroom Access Act, more commonly known as “Ally’s Law.” To read more about Ally's Law click here.

With her Crohn’s disease currently in remission and as a senior at Lake Forest College, Ally has continued to spread awareness and has sought passage of the Restroom Access Act in other states. Since 2005, it has passed in eleven other states, and Ally is working to get it introduced on a federal level. Ally has also stayed involved with the CCFA and is an active member of the National Youth Leadership Council as well as a participant of fundraisers and events like Take Steps. She plans to participate in Team Challenge in the near future and is grateful to all who have joined in the cause to help find a cure!