Ladisch ran a solid race for the first 18 miles, comfortably
on pace to meet his four-hour goal. But muscle cramps forced him to
slow the pace.
"I'm going to keep trying to do better," says Ladisch, already
thinking ahead to next year. "I would like to qualify some day
for the Boston Marathon, but I realize I have a long way to go before
I can do that."
Zelaznik, horticulture professor Steve Weller and agronomy professor
Cliff Johnston often train with Ladisch during campus runs.
"Clearly, there are things about Mike's research I don't understand,
but he is quite brilliant," says Zelaznik. "I just figure
if he is running and he is quiet, he is solving a differential equation,
or something."
Zelaznik recalls one training run with Ladisch and Weller.
"They were talking about a soil researcher they wanted to come
to Purdue. During the run, he designed a complete research program for
her and within five minutes of completing that run, Mike had started
to write the grant proposal, too. It was amazing."
Ladisch runs 20 to 25 miles a week most of the year. During the months
leading up to the Chicago Marathon, the roadwork increases to 45 or
50 miles a
week. What is truly amazing is that Ladisch finds any time to run at
all.
"Running is one of the activities I enjoy outside of work,"
Ladisch says. "It provides a physical as well as mental challenge
to improve myself in a way that is measurable, whether it be by achieving
a faster time, or in the ability to keep company with some of the many
top-notch runners on the staff at Purdue who serve as role models for
the rest of us."
Ladisch is director of Purdue's Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering,
and his work has resulted in 150 publications, 14 patents and more than
100 papers at national professional society meetings. He has served
as a member of advisory delegations to Russia, China, Thailand and Japan,
but admits he doesn't do much running overseas.
"Too much traffic," he explains.
Page 1 | Page
2
