HOBART | Dennis Rotz has decided that in order to speed up, he needs to slow down.
"I want to get fast again," the 62-year-old Dyer man said. "I think I've been beating myself up a little too much."
At the Calumet Region Striders' banquet and awards ceremony held Jan. 30 at Avalon Manor in Hobart, Rotz was one of 10 recipients of the Jim Cox Award, which is given to runners who complete all 29 races in the CRS Gold Cup Series.
Rotz has earned the award eight times -- seven straight since 2003. That's 188 straight races, and mind you, these are not all leisurely 5K's. Included in the series are two half-marathons -- the Sunburst Half-Marathon in South Bend and the Calumet Memorial Park District Mini-Marathon in Calumet City -- as well as the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Upon receiving several past Cox Awards, Rotz had indicated that they may be his last. After his eighth, he again mentioned he has no plans in running the gamut for another.
"This year I had to run with a knee brace ... I had an Achilles' injury," Rotz said. "When you get a couple of (Cox Awards) in and row, you tend to want to keep the streak going.
"But my times are not as fast as they used to be, especially in the marathon, and I want to bring them up again."
The award is in memory of Jim Cox, the first Calumet Region Strider who completed the entire Gold Cup Series. Cox remained an avid runner until he died of leukemia in 1993 at the age of 57.
Other Jim Cox Award recipients included Matthew Biggs, David Bobeck, Pete Klaeser, Jose Lopez, Cliff Malings, Ken Martin, Joseph Rodenbucher, Sasa Sekuloski and Dan Sturgell.
Also honored were CRS Top Overall male and female runners Ryan Kwiecinski and Karen Nagel, Top Age-Graded male and female runners Mann Splitler and Jean Jannasch, Top Age Group and Category male and female runners Tom Magill (80-and-over), Champ Merrick (75-79), Fred Fleming (70-74), Mike Wilson and Dale Anderson (65-69), Dan Sturgell and Diane Dumonte-Slater (60-64), David Ahner and Lynn Reichle (55-59), Rick Fenno and Mary Zemansky (50-54), Bret Pete and Angela Erb (45-49), Jeff Mascal and Linda Murkve (40-44), Chad Wright and Kristi Figg (35-39), Chad Lawless and Jennifer Addison (30-34), William Stalhandske and Gina Fastero (25-29), Laura Nietert (19-24), Bob Turek and Michelle Weaver (Clydesdale and Athena), Carl Duncan and Jordan Chester (Junior Striders 15-18), Timothy Huber and Elena Lancioni (Junior Striders 13-14), Daniel DeTorrice and Hop Myroup (Junior Striders 11-12), Hunter Boyer and Sara Ramos (Junior Striders 9-10) and Dustin Navejas and Emily Walsworth (Junior Striders 0-8).
Navejas of Lowell also received the Hammond Track Club Outstanding Athlete of the Year Award. He finished first in his age group at the Coaches National Cross Country Championships held in Nashville, Tenn., and 10th in the 800-meter run at the AAU Junior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa.
