LP Run a Great Success
By Alex Galbraith

Once again, Terlingua hosted a successful LP Run this past March 24th. This year's version of the Joan Gundelach and Stan Timmer inspired 33 1/3 minute event boasted not only record number of runners in the three heats but also a record number of entries in the hotly contested Limerick Competition. As usual, Terlingua had its share of medallists in the running races and took honors in the Limerick competition as well ( Jack Lippincott's second place finish merits the honorary title of Terlingua's Bard for the next year ). A special accomplishment worthy of mention is that it appears that Justin Chaston ran a sub 30 minute 10K on the way to running almost seven miles (6.95) in 33:20. Wow! All of the successes with this year's race are due to the terrific volunteer work of our members. Many thanks to all of you! You insured that not only did we have a well managed event but also we made enough money to pay our bills with plenty left over to pay for our food and beer at the apres LP social at Star Pizza! St. Thomas High School was so pleased with the way our race was run that they have already agreed to a date for Terlingua's Millenium LP Run on March 22, 2000.

Spring Series Victory
By Alex Galbraith

Terlingua blazed its way to glory in the HARRA SPRING SERIES by winning the championship in the overall team competition as well as the team championship in the open women's division and the team championship in the masters men's division. This was the result of the stellar performances of our members throughout the SPRING SERIES capped off by the efforts of our rabbits on nine full teams in the final event of the year - the Road Relay. At the Road Relay we took trophies in the open women's division (1st), the masters women's division (1st), and the open men's division (3rd). I am proud of the performances of all of our teams because of their contributions to our overall success. It was the first time in memory that we had 100% participation from all members who committed ahead of time to being at the Relay! This includes the Herculean effort of Jeff Cole who had a blowout on one of his tires in route to the race. Congratulations to all of you who ran in the SPRING SERIES !

On a sorrowful note, in June we lost one of our finest members, Patty Leary, when she was killed by an errant truck as she was standing next to her bike at an intersection in the Woodlands.. She was not only one of our best competitors but, more importantly, an inspiration to me and to many others in the Club by her cheerful, positive demeanor even when she struggled with injuries. At her funeral service I learned from listening to others speak that Patty had this same influence on the lives of many other people. The Club will dearly miss her and sends deepest thoughts and prayers to her husband Dennis and to her daughter Katie as well as to the rest of her family.

Finally, we plan to have a late summer meeting (time and place to be announced for all who care to attend) to discuss future social events, the newsletter, and recruiting. Please keep our news staff (Debra Dishberger and anyone else who can e-mail an article to her) informed about what's going on with you this summer.

Recollections
By Gail Sabanosh

As the master's team captain, it would usually be my job to call and coerce a couple of 4 person team's for the cross-country relay championship or the Bayou Bash relay. In calling Patty, it was always a bonus. Although she would start out by saying she was not in peak shape, nursing a sciatic inflammation, she would usually come "to help the team". In addition, we would also get Dennis, if he was in town, and Katie. Last year for the cross country relay, Patty ran on the Master's Women's team and Katie anchored the women's open team. After my run the first leg, we were behind the Harriers. We had two master's women's teams that day and I don't remember who ran on what team. Patty made up the Harrier lead and put a substantial time cushion and we beat the Harriers in a surprise upset.

The second upset of the day was the women's open team. With Katie as the anchor, the finish line workers thought she was just filling in a team. Not thinking she was a HARRA member, they awarded second place to a Bayou City team - (puke purple 2) When we gave them Katie's HARRA number, they righted the results and Katie went home with 2nd place, while Patty garnered another 1st place. I will miss those sparkling eyes and that thumbs up sign that made any relay race exciting.

Remembering Patty
By Judy Psenda

In memory of Patty Leary, Terlingua Track Club donated $100 to the American Heart Association. While on a bicycle training ride on the morning of June 21, 1999, Patty was killed by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel. Patty was a dedicated member of TTC whose superior running ability contributed to many successes for the Master's Women Team. Our thoughts and prayers are with husband Dennis, daughter Katie, and niece Marie Githens who are also members of TTC.

On the morning after the memorial services for Patty, the Leary family and friends organized a memorial walk/run in The Woodlands. As a tribute to Patty, the family asked everyone to wear some sort of personal identification and live each day to the fullest. It was a fresh reminder that we should wear identification every day, regardless of when or where we run. If you're not in the habit of carrying some form of identification on your runs, please put forth the effort before you start your next workout. As a suggestion, consider the purchase of a Smart ID, created and manufactured by our very own TTC member Gail Sabanosh. To place an order, call Gail at 713-862-9829 or e-mail smartidgs@aol.com.

Reducing Risks
By Bob Hoekman, M.D.

Every year the headlines tell us of a high-profile athlete suddenly dying in competition or training. Most sudden death, however, occurs in ordinary people like us who exercise for fitness and enjoyment. Such exercise reduces our overall lifetime risk of sudden death but during the actual exercise period our risk goes up 700%. The primary cause of sudden death is ventricular fibrillation (VF) where the heart muscle is reduced to a quivering lump of useless activity and death occurs in minutes, even if cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is given promptly. VF can often be reversed by prompt application of external electrical shock (defibrillation), and heart function is restored.

Unfortunately, early defibrillators were heavy, an EKG was needed and a trained professional had to diagnose VF before activating the defibrillator. The success of defibrillation drops 10% per minute of VF even with prompt CPR, so defibrillation was really useful only in a hospital where a patient was under medical observation. Technological improvements reduced the size and weight so defibrillators could be carried in ambulances but emergency vehicles rarely arrived within 10 minutes, and a trained professional with an EKG still had to decide when to defibrillate. In recent years, computer-interpreted EKG and biphasic electrical wave technology have been combined in a 4-pound package and the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) arrived. The AED screen prints out stepwise directions instructing the user when to defibrillate. Non-medical personnel are taught how to use the AED in a simple hands-on instructional course. Combined with basic CPR technique, rapid defibrillation can be truly life-saving. The American Heart Association strongly endorses public use of AED and in cities where it is widely used, striking reduction in sudden death has occurred.

Your HARRA board has recognized the inherent risk we take when racing, and in attempting to reduce that risk has purchased an AED for use at all HARRA races, beginning this fall. The AED will be available to other races at the request of the race director and with HARRA rhoekman@primenet.com or phone (713) 528-6833. We all hope the AED will never be needed, but the reality is that it will; the only question is when! I feel your HARRA board should be commended for its proactive action to assure a higher level of safety for our races. Since I wrote this I have become a CPR instructor and in a couple of weeks will become an AED instructor. We will be offering free CPR courses and AED courses to all volunteers. If you already are CPR trained all you need is the AED course. board approval on an individual basis. At each covered race a HARRA team will work in cooperation with existing emergency personnel. Emergencies will be communicated by HARRA hand-held transmitters and the AED, already on the course, will be rapidly delivered to the scene where CPR will already be in progress. The recent Texas legislature has amended the Good Samaritan law to include non-medical personnel operating an AED so there is no liability FOR NEGLIGENCE to PROPERLY TRAINED people using a properly maintained AED IN AN EMERGENCY. A medical doctor will provide quality control for HARRA to assure state requirements are met and proper function is assured.

An instructional course for volunteer participants will be given in the early fall. The requirements for participants will be age 21-plus, ability to bicycle and basic CPR training. If you meet the requirements and are interested in participating, please contact me at: email rhoekman@primenet.com or phone (713) 528-6833.

We all hope the AED will never be needed, but the reality is that it will; the only question is when! I feel your HARRA board should be commended for its proactive action to assure a higher level of safety for our races. Since I wrote this I have become a CPR instructor and in a couple of weeks will become an AED instructor. We will be offering free CPR courses and AED courses to all volunteers. If you already are CPR trained all you need is the AED course.