Runners and Bicyclists Take Off for Tour de La Porte

The 13th annual Tour de La Porte started Saturday morning under foggy skies and high humidity but did not dampen the spirits of the participants and volunteers as they prepared for the various events planned for the day. A half marathon (13.1 miles) started the morning off at 6:30 a.m., which was followed by a 10k (6.2 miles), a 5k (3.1 miles) road biking time trials, and mountain biking time trials.

“The event started as a stop along a cross country bike ride for cancer, which was envision by Larry Noel (a family friend)," said Maria Futh, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the La Porte Hospital Foundation. "The board of directors at La Porte Hospital accepted the challenge of creating a series of events to help raise funds for cancer. We started out with around 190 participants and have grown to over 1400 participants. We look to continue to grow and expand on what we currently have into potentially more events over the three day period."

The Foundation is in support of Indiana University Health at La Porte Hospital, and helps patients direct care and family members that need support. The support can range anything from gas cards, to medication to helping work with doctors for treatments.

Fruth went on to state, “Our goal is to get the community involved in what we are doing in building a stronger program. We are striving to make the program one of the stronger ones in the state, but need people to know that help can be as simple as volunteering.”

Luke Veldt, of Lafayette, Ind., and graduate mathematics student at Purdue University, won the half marathon with a time of 1:18:36.  “I am doing the Chicago Marathon in October, and this was one of the last weekends that we could get a qualifying time to run in the A corral. The time standard was 1 hour 20 minutes, and whatever I could do under that was the goal. The goal time for the marathon is under 2:40, so basically doing what I did today for twice as long and hopefully in better conditions,” he said. 

Veldt’s wife Lauren, customer service representative with Cargill, also competed in the half marathon and finished with a time of 1:41:34. “It was a good course, but it was hotter than I was expecting. I will also be doing Chicago in October and qualified for Corral C earlier this year, so I treated today more as a training run.”

The top female in the half marathon was Tina Chase with a time of 1:33:11. In the 10K, the top male finisher was Joe Wozniak (46:14), and the top female was Cathleen Heator (49:21). In the 5K, the top male was Daniel Goodman (18:45), and the top female was Nicole Brandy (24:10).

Team Corn Fed had various participants in the running events, and some completing their first events. “The concept behind the team was the founder was trying to get a Spartan Race to come to Indiana. In order to get a Spartan Race, you have to get a certain number of participants. So he created a team of friends and they called themselves the ‘Corn Fed Spartans’. The team grew from there and now we are known as the team that helps everyone,” said Rick Legacy, one of the first day's team captains .

The husband and wife team of Kasi Back and Bill Hunt of Valparaiso, completed their fifth 5K this year. It was just last year that they volunteered at the race, and now are participants. “It was awesome. Since I did the Mudathlon last month, I have been busy running. I fell in love with it,” Kasi said. Bill added “since she (Kasi) has been running, she got me active again so we have been running together.” When asked what advice they would give for new runners, Kasi said “trust your training. Listen to your body. And it is okay to walk.” Bill added “the first step is the hardest one to take, but once you get going it is fun.”

The afternoon featured two different time trials for the bicyclists. The first was the road trials, where participants would start on a platform and complete a 12.5 mile course. Chris Hawkins, of La Porte, returned for his second year of participation in the time trial.

“Everyone has different goals for the time trials. For me it, I want to do better than last year. Others may be trying to get a time that will qualify them for a specific event that requires a time entry. The other motivation is to help raise money for The Foundation. It is important to help raise money for them and their programs,” he said.

There is still an opportunity for participants to enter the Sunday's bicycling events. Registration opens at 6 a.m. and additional details can be found on the Tour de La Porte website.

 Click here for more photos from the Saturday and Sunday events!