From the Fond du Lac paper:
Native of Campbellsport finishes Boston Marathon
    Campbellsport, Oct. 14 - Chuck Vande Zande, son of Mrs. Charles Vande Zande and the late Charles Vande Zande of Campbellsport, recently participated in the Boston Marathon.
    An excerpt of a letter written to his mother follows: “Well, I survived another Marathon! My objective last year was to finish and I did. My objective this year was to finish under 3 1/2 hours and I accomplished that. The 3 1/2 hour limit is the cutoff time that supposedly separates the serious runners from the joggers. None finishing after that time receives a certificate from the Boston Athletic Association.
    “Six of us started training in February but none survived the rigorous conditioning but me so I was the only runner left to uphold the honor of Dutchess County.
    “On Monday I drove up to Hopkinton to begin my annual ordeal. There were a record 200 entrants including such celebrities as Dick Gregory; the Lt. Governor of Oregon; Chuck Davey, a former boxer; and of course, Eric Segal, author of “Love Story” who runs every year. This year, for the first time, girls were allowed to enter officially and the crowds watched these more interesting runners.
    “In a book ‘Guide to Distance Running’ I had learned the technique of pacing. To get maximum energy one must try to run each mile at exactly the same speed. I held myself to a seven-minute mile for the first 13 miles. I also learned that Gatorade actually does benefit a runner more than water by replacing lost salts and sugar.
“At about the fifth mile I noticed a strikingly handsome runner overtaking me. He was wearing a shirt that said ‘Milwaukee Eagles’ on it. I spoke to him and he said he knew where Campbellsport was and he said he was glad to see me.
    “The crowds were huge, at least two or three times greater than last year. In some towns it was like running through a tunnel of people. Everyone called me Charley as our names were on the back of our shirts.
    “I ran beautifully up the three infamous hills in Newton, including Heartbreak Hill.
    “This is where most runners give up. The hills defeat them when they realize they still have at least another hour to go. I had trained exclusively on hills this year. It really paid off. I felt great. In the middle of one of the hills I heard the crowds applauding behind me. I looked and Eric Segal was overtaking me very slowly. At that point I had a great inspiration. I would run with him on the finish and thus get my picture in all the papers. I stayed with him up one of the hills and then he started lagging a bit. I said ‘I hope you don’t mind if I use some of your applause, it’s helping me get up the hill.’ He replied, ‘No, take it all, I’ve had too much today. I’m getting a leg cramp.’ With that he gasped and collapsed in the road writhing in agony. I kept going because if I stopped I couldn’t get goign again and besides there were many thrilled spectators to help him. Later I learned that he had resumed the race and finished about two minutes behind me.
    “I breezed over the hills and started down Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. This is a long flat stretch that parallels street car tracks for about two miles. It was here I started hurting. I began to walk but looking at my watch I found I had 20 minutes with two miles to go. With super effort, I started running again. As I approached downtown Boston, the crowds grew large again, my strength came back, but the Prudential Tower, the finish point, looked far, far away. I ran hard the last mile and as I crossed the line it was 3:28. I would win a certificate!
    “Two days have elapsed and I still have difficulty walking. The large tendons on the top of my feet that control the big toes are quite painful. During the course of the race, each foot strikes the cement over 20,000 times so it’s a wonder anyone can walk after that. The really wonderful thing is how the human body can adapt to such stress, both physical and mental.”
    Vande Zande, 43, lives in Lagrangeville, N.Y. with his wife and five children. He is a graduate of Campbellsport High School, Lawrence University and Rutgers University. He is a staff engineer programmer for IBM.