Three years ago, Kathy Kanak wasn’t a runner, but now she’s training for her second marathon.

“I was 51 when I started running,” Kanak, a Libertyville resident, said. “I hadn’t been exercising and I wanted to turn over a new leaf. My daughter was a runner and she said ‘come running with me.’ I said ‘I can’t run’ but I tried anyway.”

She did better than she thought she would and was able to complete a 5K, the equivalent of three miles. The news surrounding the 2007 Chicago Marathon—a marathon plagued by extreme heat and lack of water—inspired Kanak to challenge herself.

“I didn’t know much about a marathon, but I read all these articles on the [Chicago] marathon,” she said. “All of a sudden I thought I could do that. It’s a big challenge. But I just decided to work toward that.”

She began running with the North Shore Distance Running Club after signing up for marathon training with the Chicago Area Runners Club.

“I trained with this group and [it] got me to the marathon and I finished,” she said. “It was a great experience and it’s a big feeling of accomplishment.”

The NSDRC is a year-long running club and training program. Every Saturday morning during the summer, the members gather at the Old School Forest Preserve in Libertyville at 6:45 a.m. to run the trails in pace groups. The groups depend on how quickly someone can run a mile, whether it’s in eight minutes or 11 minutes. During the winter, the club runs the streets of Lake Forest.

Deerfield resident Bill Pierce, who has run 28 marathons, co-founded the group almost 10 years ago. He said the group has 80 members who come from all over the northern suburbs to train.

“We want the runners to have the ability to complete a half-marathon or a marathon in their goal time, whatever their goal might be,” he said. “They also get friendship, camaraderie and a love of distance running.”

Each week, the group is given a specific set of mileage to run that depends on the level and ability of the runner. On Saturday, July 11, novices ran 10 miles, intermediates ran 12 miles and advanced runners ran 14.

While the mileage may seem long, those in the program feel that running in a group makes it much easier and provides motivation.

“Running with company’s nice,” Highland Park’s Julie Pfeffer, a former triathlete who has run 15 marathons, said. “Someone’s always waiting for you. So if you don’t show up, they’ll ask where you are.”

Sharon Kuhn of Gurnee—who has run in 20 marathons, done seven 50ks, a 50-mile race and ran two Ironman triathlons—said socialization is a big part of the group.

“We’re in our pace groups for hours each week. It seems like we communicate more with each other than with our families,” she said. “We talk about what’s happening during the week, what’s going on in our lives. It gets to a point if you aren’t there one week, it feels like you’re missing something.”

Kanak said NSDRC provides advice, motivation and encouragement.

Anyone interested in getting into distance running is invited to try the group out, Pierce said.

“We suggest running with us at least twice to see if this suits them,” Pierce said.

But, he said, NSDRC is not for someone who wants to start running for exercise or for someone training for a 5K.

However, getting into running and possibly distance running is achievable, Kanak said.

“I said for 50 years I wasn’t a runner,” she said. “Anybody can do it if they want to. This is something for all ages, all shapes, sizes, fast people, slow people.”

Annual membership for the North Shore Distance Running Club is $40, which includes hydration for every run, and post-spring and fall season parties. There is a membership discount for students and Chicago Area Running Club members. To learn more about the club, visit www.nsdrc.net.

For more photos of the North Shore Distance Running Club click here.

-- Story and photos by Heather Leszczewicz/ Triblocal staff reporter