JUGHEADS
Youth Juggling Company, LLC
5905 Concord Avenue
Edina, MN 55424
jugheads@comcast.net
or 952.926.0896

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October 2004

"JUGHEADS Set to Run a New Course"

Two main things have dominated my mind so far this fall: the future space needs of JH, and this month's Twin Cities Marathon. 13 months ago, I realized I had to do something about my level of fitness, so I designed a program of running, strength training, and better nutrition. The end result is that I'm down 35 pounds and ran a 3:34:09 marathon on Oct. 3!

Running and juggling actually have several parallels: both are individual sports that can be also be enjoyed in social and team settings; both have participants ranging from laid-back novices to intense professionals; both have a direct correlation

between amount of practice/effort/training and amount of success (at least relative to one's inherent athletic abilty); both have a wide variety of experts, events, and opportunities for goal-setting; both have relatively low equipment costs and can be practiced in most settings (weather and/or ceiling height permitting :-). In training for distance running events, it is advantageous to vary the distance, speed and topography of runs. Long slow runs, short runs, hills, interval work and tempo runs are all essential ingredients of a more serious runner's training regimen. However, a runner will naturally favor some courses over others, and familiarity often translates into a better run. The fact that I had trained on 23 of the 26 miles of the TCM course meant I knew what was coming and how to handle the challenges.

JH stands at the crossroads of a "course change." While at first it will
be a challenging course (transportation, new setting,modified ground rules), it won't be long before we settle into a new routine. Like an experienced runner, JH could actually work well in any number of settings, and I am confident that not only will our new home base of Colony Park Church meet our needs (whether beginning in January or June of 2005), but we'll quickly see advantages. The result? The quality and effectiveness of JH promises to become all the stronger.