Local Runners Shine in Inaugural Race

On Sunday, September 11, 2011, a new tradition was born in the northern suburbs in the form of the inaugural Fort2Base run, a 10 nautical mile (11.5 miles) race starting at the historic Fort Sheridan and ending at the Great Lakes Naval Station was held.

Most race participants hailed from all over Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana although some came from as far away as Virginia and California. Among the 784 runners, 10 were from Downers Grove. One of the local runners participating in the race scheduled to coincide with the anniversary of the attacks of 9/11 was Ryan McCabe.

McCabe, an army reservist, learned about the race through his unit at Fort Sheridan. Upon hearing about it, he instantly knew he wanted to participate in the event.

“I knew that on the 9/11 anniversary, I didn’t want to be just sitting around worrying about the possibility of another terrorist attack," McCabe said. "Running the race would be a great way to do something positive which would also help honor and remember those we lost ten years ago as well as the many men and women of our military who’ve paid the ultimate price to protect our freedoms since then."

McCabe ran a good race. With a finish time of 1:19:57, he placed 21^st overall and third within his age group (25-29).  Organizers of the race plan to hold the event again next year and McCabe has vowed to return as well.

“After the race, I felt great knowing that I had challenged myself and accomplished a goal I set out to do," McCabe said. "I liked that hundreds of people came out to enjoy several of our freedoms that our service members help fight for daily. It was great to see everyone’s positive attitude and support for each other."

The other local Fort2Base participants from Downers Grove and their race completion times are:

Stacie Birkmeier, 1:58:46.

John Marconnet, 2:32:17.

Sandy Mueller, 2:05:38.

Karen Schmidt, 1:46:45.

Richard Schmidt, 1:46:21.

Bob Sparacio, 2:05:18.

Jill Sparacio, 2:14:20.

Maggie Wolff, 1:58:44.

Robert Wolff, 1:58:46.

Please view the slideshow to see some photos of our local runners.