Ex-Arlington park district boss to run triathlon

Roger Key spent more than 35 years with the Arlington Heights Park District, including the last six as its executive director, before he retired in June.

During his years, he helped build the agency into an award winning district, including winning the National Gold Medal for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management three times through the Illinois Park & Recreation Agency.

Nearly from the start, Key served as something of a role model to his patrons, as he competed in a series of sprint triathlons and later six marathons.

However, on Sunday, he faces a new challenge, no less daunting: At 60, Key will take the plunge in Lake Michigan in the Accenture Chicago Triathlon, as one of more than 8,500 registered competitors in the swim, bike, run endurance event.

It has been 20 years since Key last competed in a triathlon, and despite having completed the Boston Marathon last year, he admits to some nerves as he approaches Sunday's race.

For starters, he registered for the international or Olympic distance competition, which includes a 1-mile swim in Monroe Harbor, a 25-mile bike loop on Lake Shore Drive, and a 10K or 6.2-mile run through the city's museum campus to the finish line in Grant Park.

Key agreed to do the race last spring, when his oldest daughter, Mandy, asked him to do it with her.

"I wanted to get away from the long training runs it takes to do a marathon," says Key, a Lake Zurich resident. "Triathlons give me something to shoot for without all the constant strain from running."

As a retirement gift, his staff members joined park district officials in giving him money to buy a new racing bike. Key also purchased a wet suit, which he tried out for the first time last week in Lake Michigan.

"It's just so different swimming in the lake," says Key, a former lifeguard in his youth. "My biggest problem will be in the transition area, getting the wet suit off."

Key was on hand this summer, running in the Frontier Days Stampede race, which drew nearly 1,200 participants, and watching the City Swim meet, where 700 youngsters from Arlington Heights competed on their neighborhood pool swim teams.

On Sunday, he looks to represent his Arlington Heights Park District patrons proudly, and finish.