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Board Members
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President - Anne Martino
Anne has been an avid runner and marathoner for over 25 years. She joined CARA in 1997 to run her first marathon and has been a dedicated supporter ever since - acting as a marathon training group leader and site coordinator. She joined the CARA Board of Directors in 2005 and has focused on building CARA awareness. A Boston-qualifier, she has completed numerous Chicago Marathons including guiding a blind runner to the finish line in 2001. When not running, she is a marketing professional in Chicago.
President Elect - Chris Wehrman
Chris is a litigation attorney at Swanson, Martin & Bell who lives and trains in Chicago. He grew up in Pinckney, Michigan where he ran cross county and track, and was an all-state athlete in each. A graduate of Michigan State University (undergraduate, graduate and law school), Chris was an All-Big Ten performer before turning his attention to road races. He has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the Marathon for the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Chris has a marathon PR of 2:17:50 and has been the CARA Runner of the Year three times.
Chris believes that CARA can be instrumental in promoting training and racing to encourage runners to run to the best of their ability, and to raise the level of competitiveness amongst runners in the Chicagoland area. He also is focused on ensuring that the CARA Runners' Choice Circuit is competitive, meaningful, and exciting for all of its competitors. Chris was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2007.
Treasurer - Jerry Rauman
Jerry is the CFO at Access Living, a nonprofit that assists people with disabilities. He has over 20 years of financial and administrative management experience, including 5 years in the nonprofit world. He has run 5 marathons and has always participated in the CARA training program. He also participated in the CARA Clydesdale circuit a number of times. Running has significantly changed his health and lifestyle and hopes his "backroom" contribution will help make it easier for CARA staff and volunteers to continue their efforts to promote running and the changes running can make in people's lives. Jerry joined the Chicago Area Runners Association Board of Directors in early 2005 and was elected into his current position, Treasurer, later that year. Jerry has been an active CARA member since his high school running days at Highland Park High School.
Immediate Past President - Dan Daly
- Financial Advisor with Lincoln Financial Advisors
- Head Cross country coach for the Latin School of Chicago
- Five time conference coach of the year.
- Nominated as coach of the year in IL for 2009.
- Board Member of the Friends of the Bloomingdale trail.
- Past Board President of the 20/30 Club of Chicago
- Has completed 29 marathons including 15 Boston’s with a PR of 2:46
- Represented Chicago in the 2002 Osaka Japan half marathon
- Member of the 1999 winning team at the Hood to Coast relays
Secretary - Betsy Balgooyen
Betsy started running with her family; picking up the habit from her parents and through track and cross-country teams. She is now an experienced runner training and participating in a variety of distances from 5K through marathons. She shares her enthusiasm for running and CARA as a pace leader and as the co-site coordinator for the Summer MTP downtown site and the Winter Half and Full training programs. When not out on the Lakefront Path, she is the Senior Project Manager for Quicksilver Associates.
Dawn Spaulding
Dawn joined the CARA marathon training program in 1999 and shortly after became a CARA volunteer. Dawn has led marathon and half marathon groups in both Lincoln Park and Downtown since 2000. In 2001 Dawn was one of the first site coordinators for the downtown marathon training program. Dawn continued as site coordinator until 2005 when her travel schedule forced her to retire. In addition, Dawn and her husband, Thurman, started the first winter training program to fill the gap between winter and summer running programs. Dawn was the site coordinator for the winter training program’s first year after which she realized that she didn’t like the cold so much. She has run 8 marathons and many half marathons and joined the Board of Directors in September of 2006.
Professionally, Dawn has more than 20 years of experience in human resources, organizational development and managing organizational change. She works for Deloitte Consulting, LLP. Her education includes a Bachelor of Arts from St. Norbert College and a Master of Science in Industrial Relations from Loyola University of Chicago.
When Dawn is not working or running she travels with Thurman and their cat Bella, wherever they can convince Bella to go. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors for Compassion for Pets, a not for profit organization dedicated to educating pet owners and veterinarians about the benefits of hospice care for pets.
DIRECTORS
Anne M. Baker
Anne Baker is the site co-coordinator for the Lincoln Park/Montrose 6:00AM Marathon Training Group. She is also an 8:30 marathon pace group leader. Anne has been running with CARA since 2005 and has been a pace group leader every summer since 2007. In 2009, Anne qualified for the Boston Marathon along with ten runners from her pace group. Anne greatly enjoys leading runners and helping them achieve their goals. She attributes her own improvements in running to the great people she’s met and trained with through CARA over the years. Anne’s experience going from a novice to an advanced runner providers her perspective as to the benefits CARA provides. Anne has run the Chicago Marathon 5 times, the Louisville and Boston Marathon once and numerous half-marathons.
Anne attended Purdue University earning a BS in Management. She works for Equity Residential as a Business Relationship Director managing technology and process improvement projects. While not running, Anne enjoys cheering on her Ironman husband who is working towards his third Ironman, playing with her black Labrador Polly, traveling, reading, and gardening.
While pacing marathon training groups, Anne's been called “the Metronome.” She proved that name during the 2009 Chicago Marathon when her finish time was exactly double her half marathon split.
Rob Chenoweth
Rob first started running in high school because he wasn’t tall enough or big enough for basketball or football. After taking some time off while he attended college and eventually joined the workforce, Rob resumed running and started training for his first marathon in 1999. After a positive experience in that race, he went on to join the Fleet Feet Racing Team and has since run nine marathons and numerous other races of various distances. Rob is a regular participant in the CARA road racing circuit. His best marathon to date is 2:34:04, placing as the 4th overall Masters runner at the 2009 Chicago Marathon.
Rob attended the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and Northeastern Illinois University. When not running, he can usually be found relaxing at home or at work where he is the IT Manager for the Chicago Deloitte office.
Sue Ficek
Sue joined CARA after college and ran primarily 5k and 10k races. In 2008, she joined the CARA Marathon Training Program to run the Chicago Marathon in support of Ronald McDonald House Charities. Since then she's run five marathons and qualified for the prestigious Boston Marathon. She currently runs with the CARA training group in Oak Forest.
Her professional experience includes accounting, auditing, budgets and financial systems. She is a Finance Director at Ralcorp Foods, a spinoff of Ralston Purina. Previously she worked for Quaker Oats and Abbott Laboratories where she was the membership director for the company running group. She holds a BS in Accounting from the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana and an MBA from Northwestern Kellogg Graduate School of Management. She is a Certified Public Accountant. Sue's other interests include investments, skiing, and travel.
Dan Fogel
Dan became a member of the CARA Board of Directors in 2005. Within a month of joining the board, he suffered a knee injury that kept him from running until November 2007. During the long layoff, he watched CARA redefine itself both in relevance to the running community and as a strong advocate for runners.
Dan is an obsessive advocate for running and, more recently, cycling. He has run every distance from get across the street without getting hit by a car to marathon. Ask him his split times for a 10k he ran 20 years ago and he will hold you hostage as he regales you with the details of the weather that day, what he wore and who the other runners were – but in a good way. Avoid the conversations about picayune bicycle parts. There is no escape.
In real life, Dan has been a mortgage broker for the past eight years after practicing law for a number of years. He went to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana where he received an undergraduate degree in English and his law degree.
Dan is married, has three children and a wonderful dog and lives with his family in Wilmette.
Michael Gordon
Michael is a partner in Sidley Austin’s Chicago office, where he has worked since 1992. His principal areas of practice are mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and corporate counseling. He represents both buyers and sellers of public and private companies (in transactions ranging in size from several million to billions of dollars).
Michael started running in April 2008 with his first run being the Lakefront 10 Miler. After completing the Lakefront 10 Miler, Michael signed up for marathon training with CARA and enrolled in PEAK Performance. Michael has rapidly progressed as a runner, qualifying for the Boston Marathon, which he will run for a second time in April 2010, and recently finishing second in his age group and eighth overall in the Lakefront 50/50 Ultramarathon. Michael is an enthusiastic supporter of beginning runners and believes that with CARA's training and support systems anyone can reach their running goals.
Michael was born and raised in Hyde Park and is a graduate of the Chicago Public School system. Michael received his bachelors in accountancy from the University of Illinois and his law degree from Northwestern University Law School. He is a registered certified public accountant and worked at Ernst & Young prior to attending law school. Michael serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Children’s Museum and the Chicago Children’s Theatre. Michael resides in Lincoln Park.
Tomas Hoang
…balancing family, friends, running, martinis and work!
With eight marathons and two ultras under his belt, Tomas has found the secret piece to a happy life that involves meeting wonderful friends through the running community! Tomas feels very blessed to be in the company of such disciplined and professional athletes and is honored to call you his friends. Professionally, Tomas has worked for Toyota Motor Sales, USA Inc. for the last 17 years. Personally, his motto summarizes my struggles to balance what is most important to him.
Brian Hosking
Brian’s been running casually for over ten years, but he didn't run his first 5k until 1997. He never imagined running anything more until a friend suggested they run the marathon. His friend had foot surgery and dropped out of running, but she planted the seed and he ran my first marathon in 2002 after completing training with CARA's marathon training program. His group leader from the 2002 marathon training program convinced him to volunteer as a group leader the next summer (2003) and somehow she managed to turn over her site coordinator job to him the very next year! So far he’s completed a total of 12 marathons, three of them as a member of the Chicago Marathon's official pacing team. There have also been countless other shorter races and truly countless training miles. The same person who convinced him to volunteer for CARA's marathon training program also suggested he apply to CARA's board of directors in 2004. He was selected to join at the beginning of 2005 and served as Secretary from 2006 through 2009. His professional background is in the computer programming arena and thus has been active on the technology side of CARA. He currently serves on the nominating committee.
Agustin Gomez-Leal
Agustin is head designer and Principal-In-Charge at Wallin/Gomez Architects, Ltd. Since 1990, he has worked with a wide range of institutional, healthcare and educational projects. He is currently working with the National Museum of Mexican Art on expansion feasibility, and recently his firm completed the new Chicago Family Health Center which serves the uninsured and underinsured residents on the Southeast side of Chicago. Since 1990, he has Co-Chaired the Alivio Y Salud Run for Health, which promotes a healthy lifestyle through running in the Chicago Public Schools.
Kathleen Jacob
Kathleen has been running since her freshman year of college when she realized running was a lot more fun when some high school gym teacher wasn't yelling at her to do it! Her first race was the Elvis is Alive 5k in 2002 and she's run approximately 30 shorter races, 5 half marathons and 3 full marathons since then. Her next goal is to complete a triathlon.
Kathleen graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Media Studies and earned her master's degree in Communication from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She joined the CARA Board in February 2007 to become more involved in the running community and to lend her fundraising skills to the organization. Kathleen is a professional fundraiser at the Adler Planetarium and enjoys socializing, staying active, and volunteering.
Gordon Kane
Gordon did not complete his first marathon until after he turned 40. Now, he has completed 11 marathons, including qualifying and running the last three Boston’s.
“CARA training programs have been an integral part in helping me stay fit and achieve my goals. As a Board member, I hope I can help others enjoy running”
While working in the world of sport, he has seen first hand the positive impact running can have on individuals. CARA works to enhance that positive impact and also provides a great social environment for people to get together both for running and post race eating.
Gordon owns a sports marketing agency (Victory Sports Marketing) that helps corporations maximize their investments in sports. He lives in Kenilworth with his wife and son, and has a daughter currently attending SMU in Dallas.
Betsey Madden
Betsey joined CARA during the summer of 1999, after she decided that training for her first marathon would be much more fun with a group. Since then, she has trained each summer with the CARA program, becoming a group leader in 2001 and a co-site coordinator at the Lincoln Park/Montrose location in 2004. She lives in Evanston with her husband, 7-year-old daughter, and two cats, all of whom enthusiastically accept Betsey’s addiction to running and marathon training.
When she is not running, Betsey is an attorney in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office where she defends the State and its agencies in employment-related litigation. She received her B.A. from Brown University and her J.D. from Hamline University School of Law.
Tom Moran
Tom Moran is the site coordinator for the Lincoln Park/Montrose 6:30 CARA Marathon Training Group, a current board member and a Past President of CARA. He's been associated and training with CARA for nearly 20 years and his resume includes over 20 Marathons and ultra marathons - 16 of them Chicago Marathons.
Originally for Philadelphia PA, he has a business degree from Penn State, an MBA from Northwestern and is a residential real estate agent on Chicago's north side.
When not running or selling real estate he enjoys time with his wife (whom he met while training for the marathon with CARA) and his 3 boys.
Terry Nicola
Terry Nicola M.D., M.S. is a specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, completing his residency training in that field at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago/Northwestern University in 1987. He was then hired by Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston from 1987-1992 as their Director of Sports Medicine Rehabilitation with academic positions as an instructor at Harvard and Tufts University.
Since 1992 he now serves as associate team physician for University of Illinois at Chicago athletic teams. He is the Director of Sports Medicine Rehabilitation and Clinical Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Illinois Medical Center in the Orthopaedic Surgery Department.
A team physician for numerous high schools and colleges, Nicola is a long distance runner for 33 years with personal best times in the 10K of 33:27 and Marathon 2:35:02. He continues to coach runners for long distance running events and serves as the Voluntereer Medical Director for races such as the Chicago Distance Classic (till 2006), Northshore Half Marathon, Soldier Field 10 Mile, and Hustle Up the Hancock. Additionally, he is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Nursing and has been a research co-investigator with James Rimmer, Ph.D. in the College of Health and Human Development on exercise in patients with chronic disabilities. Nicola also served on the medical team for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
He is an Associate Team Physician for the WNBA Chicago Sky women’s professional basketball team.
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