Elmhurst moms spend frigid morning racing around town

Dina Kwit and her friends had all the reason in the world to sleep in Saturday morning.

There were a day's worth of athletic events, science fairs and ballet recitals she and more than a dozen Elmhurst mothers needed to attend.

Not to mention single-digit temperatures that would keep even the most hardcore cold-weather fan indoors until absolutely necessary.

"I think one of the things that kept us going was our inner spirit," she said Saturday morning, shortly after completing a homegrown half-marathon right in her neighborhood. "I definitely feel like we were part of something special."

Kwit joined a little over a dozen Elmhurst mothers before dawn near the Illinois Prairie Path for what the women dubbed the "Deep Freeze" half-marathon.

The idea was conceived by Margi Johnson, a stay-at-home mom and avid runner who was looking for a way to stay in shape over the winter.

"Nobody really wanted to go back indoors and run on treadmills," she said.

Neighbors pitched in with creating signs, making medals and drawing up T-shirt designs.

"It was like a potluck of support," Johnson said.

To be sure, many of Saturday's participants weren't your run-of-the-mill racers.

Some, like Mary Ann Burke, were hardcore runners who have qualified for the Boston Marathon. Others were regulars in the local race circuit.

Even the newbies, with frosted smiles and families greeting them with hand-drawn signs, crossed the finish line in about two-and-a-half hours, a pace that would be the envy of many first-time racers.

Proceeds from Saturday's race - about $600 - were also donated to the Marillac House, a social services agency that works with Chicago's poor.

Still, despite all the milestones the women overcome in creating and running their first half-marathon, there was still more work needed to be done.

"We're still moms," Johnson said. "We've all got stuff we still have to do today."