On the Run with Julie

You Never Know Who You’ll Run into on the Streets and Sidewalks of Hyde Park

By Julie Ishpording

I can’t help but stand up and applaud the hundreds of people who run in Hyde Park. It’s like a moving, beautiful celebration each day from dawn to midnight.

Regardless of age. Young and old. Irrespective of achievement. Large and small. And talent? Everyone has it! Running seems to lift us all. I think we are in love with it.

I thought it would be fun to interview some of these runners - early in the morning and late at night. There are so many stories to collect. I just had to chase people up and down the hills, around tree-lined corners and even to their driveways. It was such a huge playground!

What I found out? There are amazingly wonderful people in all walks (and runs) of life. Here are just a few runners I found in one day! Pull up a chair, put your feet up and enjoy the fun…

Bobby Slattery

Fifty West Brewing Co. and Founder of the Fifty West/JackRabbit Running Groups

My favorite thing about running in Hyde Park…

There are so many people to run with... and run around… and run into. It’s like a party.

My favorite thing to do after I run….

Drink a beer with friends. What else!

I love running because…

For me running changed my life. I was in my early twenties, trying to graduate from college, had spent too much drinking and not enough time studying. I was depressed, obese and terrified my girlfriend was going to break up with me because I was going nowhere with my life. I was never a runner and couldn’t run a mile when I started, but I was determined to make it happen - and somehow I did. Five years later that girlfriend and I got married. Now with three kids, a brewery and lots of laughs, it’s still the basics-- one foot in front of the other and never give up!

My source of inspiration…

The people around me. I love people and I love trying to make things happen that will have a positive impact on others.

The Fifty West Brewing Co running group having a post-run party: Frannie Rosencranz, Bobby Slattery, Max Fram, Katie Swantko

Bobby Slattery, CEO/Founder of Fifty West Brewing Co., created the ‘super fun run’ for hundreds of Hyde Park Runners - ‘Running and Beer!’

Diane Orzali

Nurse

As for running in Hyde Park, and surrounding areas...

I love that I can go out my door and run a different route through so many beautiful neighborhoods every time I run. One of my favorites is the “House Tour” that loops around Fairfield/Wold in East Walnut Hills, then circles behind Summit, and offers scenic views of the Ohio River and downtown.

There are so many hills…

From Edwards and Delta, to monsters like Bayard and Alpine that offer a strength challenge whenever the ‘hill bug’ hits us.

I love the groups I run with…

Our talks are like therapy, and we’ve shared everything from family illness and death, work highs and lows, kid and relationship milestones, as well as stories that have us laughing so hard that we’re crying.

My Saturday group…

Runs every summer holiday, all of us wearing flag shorts! We celebrate our birthdays at Starbucks in Columbia Tusculum. We have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day every year at Haps, MLT and Cock & Bull for some 6 a,m, hydration.

I love to run…

And I love this neighborhood, but the friendships I’ve made along the way are the best part about it.

Grateful Hyde Park hearts after the Mini Heart! Gretchen Fermann (running since 1975), Diane Orzali (running since 1999), Jody Bergman (running since 1997)

Mary Southworth

Renowned soprano soloist & National Anthem Singer at the W & S Thanksgiving Day Race

Oh, the joy of running in Hyde Park…

I really enjoy running past all the beautiful holiday decorations during the Christmas season. It makes that big hill on Grandin Road much easier to climb. Of course, in the spring and summer I find the same joy looking at the amazing gardens, arrangement of potted plants and window boxes!

My inspiring running moments…

I run on the morning of every birthday. I think about the year that passed and my year to come. Often my runs celebrate a tribute to milestones. I remember the first run I went on after my father-in-law died. It felt so heavy. Like lead. But it felt to me a symbol that we would move forward without him…that we would find our new normal.

It’s amazing how many problems I can solve when I’m running in such a beautiful community…

There have been so many times that I can't figure out the best way to program a concert or to come up with a really good title or program theme. I usually carry pen and paper on my runs just in case the answer comes to me.

I was on a nine- mile run and…

I had finally come up with a good title and theme for my concert. I was afraid I would lose the exact words, so I ran into Hank, a yarn boutique on Observatory Ave., and implored one of the ladies there for pen and paper. I was a bit embarrassed but it was definitely outweighed by the recording of the words!

Mary Southworth - avid singer and runner!

Melanie Mizeres

Reporting and Budgeting Manager, Frost Brown Todd

My favorite thing about running in Hyde Park…

I love being with my friends and seeing so many active people in a beautiful community. We can run so many different routes - and the scenery is always different from the hilly terrain to the holiday decorations.

Oh the adventures….

Finding lost keys and lost wallets with lots of money. There are lots of deer, owls and characters! And plenty of laughs along the way.

My memories…

Oh boy! My running group has run me through three pregnancies, loss of my dad and many work trials and tribulations. We truly are like family. We swear we could do each other’s jobs, if needed.

Most memorable…

I had only been running with this group for a few months and they let me come and cry when my dad was diagnosed terminally with cancer. They hardly knew me but they truly got me through that awful event.

Most embarrassing…

Probably all the stops I had to make during my pregnancy!

The “secret” that most people wouldn’t know…

I cannot share any secrets! Our motto is, “What’s said on the run stays on the run!” It truly is a safe place to vent.

My inspiration…

Hands down being with my friends. We swear we will retire to St Margaret Hall when we cannot run anymore. We just have a bond!

Celebrating the holiday on the run! Patty Green, Tracie Hoffman, Melanie Mizeres, Katy Meinhardt, Diane Orzali, Elizabeth (Beth) Hilton, Kathleen Wilkins

Buck Niehoff

Celebrating his most recent book - Walking Hadrian’s Wall

Running in Hyde Park is a gift…

Buck Niehoff is an avid running advocate.

Of all the wonderful places where I have run - Paris, Hong Kong and the Rockies, among others - Hyde Park is one of the best. We don’t realize how fortunate we are to be in this runner friendly community. With shady sidewalks, several parks, beautiful houses to look at and cars that are tolerant and generally accommodating, Hyde Park is a runner’s paradise.

My first steps….

My own journey on the sidewalks of Hyde Park began as an obese teenager. I walked to lose weight. As the pounds dropped, I started to jog, then to run and, eventually, to train for races. Now in my seventies I’m still enjoying the sidewalks of Hyde Park. Occasionally I jog. but mostly I walk. I’m still training. My new goals are long distance hikes, such as the 200 mile length of the Thames River in England, which I hope to finish in July.

A very long running history…

My family has lived in Hyde Park for five generations, since my great grandfather, Henry Besuden, built his farm about 1870 at what is now Withrow High School. Often, as I run through the campus toward the amazing., new stretch of Wasson Way, I try to imagine his house, which had been located at about the 50 yard line of the football field.

But I haven’t gone very far...

I live next door to where I grew up. I haven’t gotten very far in life, just on the other side of a row of bushes and trees.

My favorite time….

I liked to walk and run in the early mornings, usually starting at 5:30. I enjoyed the quiet of the outdoors, the bright orange sunrises and the clean smell of the air. Even though I follow the same route just about every day, it’s never boring.

William (Bill) Barrett M.D.

Medical Director, UC Barrett Cancer Center

My favorite thing about running in Hyde Park…

I like the hills and the views. There’s nothing like cresting the hill at Alms Park - the view is gorgeous. I feel like I’m on top of the world. I like taking a little rest, too, and then taking the downhill in stride. I feel like I’m flying.

One of my most memorable moments…

I got passed in a race by a guy pushing a baby stroller up that Alms Park hill. Do you believe it? I hate getting---I eventually caught the guy with the baby stroller. Just about killed me.

My source of inspiration…

My wife, Jeralyn, who tries really hard to keep me young.

Dr. Bill Barrett with emcee Mike Brown speaking to 14,000 runners at the W & S Thanksgiving Day Race

Tracie Hoffman

President and Owner, Child Care Professionals

What a lot of people don’t realize is…

We love to run, but we also like to keep an eye out for our community. We have run to the police station to report unusual occurrences. We clean dangerous items out of the middle of the road or sidewalk. We finally chased the Hyde Park ‘flasher’ – who hasn’t been seen since. We love our neighborhood and we like to take care of it.

My favorite part of running in Hyde Park…

All of the great people we see every morning. There’s the gentleman who always says, “Another beautiful day!” There are the two guys who walk every morning – we call them “the brothers” because they look like twins. There’s the man who walks his two dogs. There is the “fast girl” – nicknamed that because she’s really fast. There is John, the newspaper deliverer, and his wife, who are always watching out for us and our safety…

But what I really love most is…

The camaraderie of a group of women who are just crazy enough to run at 4:45 a.m. I feel so fortunate to have them, and to have a safe neighborhood in which to run.

The Hyde Park Running Group finishes the Seven Hills Run--13 miles- on a sunny December morning. Kathleen Wilkins, Karen DeWine, Diane Orzali, Elizabeth Hilton, Tracie Hoffman

Blake Gusta

Pediatric nurse, Children’s Hospital

My favorite thing about running in Hyde Park/Mt Lookout…

We have so many options right out the door. The only problem is you usually have to take some type of hill to get home. I also love the people I run with. We are all different and might not have met except for the fact that we share a love of running.

Our running group is crazy…

We meet at 4:45 a.m. The early morning is special - we get to see wildlife and crazy people coming home from a late night out.

Tracy Hoffman and Blake Gusta have ‘weathered’ a lot of runs together!

My running friends and I…

Are all sounding boards for advice; and we help each other during the good times and the heart-breaking times.

I’m inspired by the…

Wonderful group of women who are waiting for me every morning in all kinds of weather from freezing cold to pouring rain and heat! We all have a special bond with each other and share so much together.

It’s more than running…

We celebrate holidays and plan adventures beyond our runs. Every Christmas we all get in one big, decorated car and go to see the holiday lights at Coney Island. We are like one big happy family on Christmas vacation!

Steve Wenstrup

Principal, Tillar/Wenstrup Advisors

My favorite place to run in Hyde Park…

Is Ault Park! It’s so private - and no one will notice that I’m starting to get a little older and lot slower. I also love all the trails - they are softer on the joints.

I grew up in Hyde Park…

It’s a special community with beautiful places to run and play. You see so many people who live active, healthy lifestyles. It’s contagious.

Embarrassing moments…

Lots of them!

Best moments…

Running with my children. They are a lot better than I am, but I’m grateful that I’m still healthy, happy and they slow down for me.