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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-04-15, Page 29i it Sports Entertainment Birth & Death Notices Church News Sports Editor - Gerard Creces email:gsssports@bowesnet.com Wednesday, April 15, 2009 on-line: www.goderichsignalstar.com Photo by Gerard Creces Among the 25,000 runners that will take on the Boston Marathon April 20 are Steve Beasley, father and son Joe O'Keefe and Joe O'Keefe and Phil Paquette. This is the first Boston Marathon for the O'Keefes, while Beasley and Paquette are returning marathon participants: Father and son join Boston -bound pack Gerard Crimes signal -star staff Being one of only 25,000 worldwide to participate in the Boston Marathon is an honour in itself. Running in your very first Boston Marathon only adds to the sweetness. Running in your first Boston Mara- thon alongside your son is yet more icing 'on the cake but to do it after quitting a pack-a-day smoking habit is truly phenomenal. That's the story for Goderich's Joe O'Keefe, who will be.running the most elite 42.195 kilometre stretch in the world of running April 20. O'Keefe will be joined in the run- ners' corral by a few familiar faces. Firstly, his son, Joe junior, as well as returning runners Steve Beasley and Phil Paquette. The Signal -Star caught up to the pack to see if they were taking it in stride on their way to the races. Even before the interview starts, the room is full of running talk, from shoes to streets to the layout of the impend- ing race. These guys mean business. Joe Jr. got into running about two and a. half years . ago. He qualified for the Boston at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Joe Sr. qualified in Detroit last year. Both are excited for their first Bos- ton experience, and who better to have with them than Paquette and- Beasley, who have logged long hours on the soles of their shoes. • Beasley finished last year's mara- thon in a time of 2:49:32 earning 1 l th place in the men's 50-54 bracket. Both he and Paquette are well aware of the challenges of the Boston course, and are filling in the O'Keefe's on the finer, albeit scarier points. Joe Sr's reasons for running are per- sonal. His late brother John, he said, was the inspiration he needed to turn things around, he said. "He encouraged me to live a more healthy lifestyle," Joe said. "Part of the reason I run today is because of John." He said Beasley was also a great help to him, offering advice, encour- agement and some good talks about the sport. "Coincidentally," he said. "I kept running into Steve. He just seemed to be there when he needed to be." "He's a quick study," said Beasley of Joe Sr. "From a pack a day to the Bos- ton Marathon." One of the most notorious aspects of said marathon are the hills, and Pa- quette said now that he's run the course once, he is able to train properly for it. "It's not the hills, it's where they are," he said. "They damn -near killed me last year." While many qualifying marathons are largely over flat distances, the Bos- ton course is not. The marathon is largely downhill for the first five miles before a 15 -mile un- dulating stretch that tests the runners' muscles as they switch between up and down mode. Around mile 20, they climb again and begin an uneven descent toward the finish line. Like slamming a car from reverse to forward, switching gears on the race course is hell on the quads. Beasley said in order to prepare for the race, he trains in hilly places like Saltford and Benmiller about twice a week for the four months leading up See RUNNERS, Page 32 Brunk returns with silver from ringette champs Gerard Creces signal -star staff A silver medal and a delayed flight later, Goderich's Erin Brunk is back at home af- ter, representing Ontario at the 2009 Tim Hortons Canadian Ringette Championships in Prince Edward Island this past week. "It's nice just to be home, she said Mon- day. "It took a while to get here." Brunk'is part of the Stratford Belle team, whose March 8 provincial victory over Na- pean earned them the opportunity to com- pete nationally. As Ontario's belle team, they made it all the way to the finals before being dusted by Alberta, 8-3. "They were good," Brunk said. "Defi- nitely good. A lot of third -year players. "They just kind of took it to us." Alberta swept the tournament undefeat- ed, as did the Ontario Junior• team. If a silver medal wasn't enough for the Goderich District Collegiate Institute stu- dent, she also earned the defensive game star award following Ontario's 5-4 over- time win against Quebec in the semi-fi nals. "I couldn't believe it at first," said Brunk. "I never win anything. I guess I just had a good game." Mitchell's Emily Bakker scored the over- time goal in the win. This is Brunk's fourth year playing ringette in Stratford, and she said she's been enjoying the game since she started in Grade 3. "I wanted to play hockey," she said. "But my mom wanted me to try ringette. "I've been playing ever since." See RINGETTE, Page 30