20 September 2006
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RoundTable Staff
Life Logix a Practical Add-On to Store for Active Wear
Linda Mallers of Race Logix displays the outerwear that makes her Maple Avenue shop popular. She recently opened Life Logix on Prairie Avenue
Listening to Linda Mallers, one could forget that logical does not mean easy.
The four-year owner of Race Logix, 1642 Maple Ave., makes the evolution of its family-oriented progeny, Life Logix, 2601 Prairie Ave., sound so reasonable as to be almost effortless. Perhaps it is not surprising, given her history as a competitive triathlete and marathon runner, that Ms. Mallers takes business development in stride.
But while managing a store and a single-parent household with children 7, 8, 10 and 12 suggests extraordinary stamina, adding a second shop to the mix hints at the superhuman.
Ms. Mallers says she hit on the idea of opening a store in Evanston to utilize her expertise in athletics and still allow her enough flexible mom-time with four young children.
Her Race Logix, a destination stop for fitness enthusiasts, got off to a quick start in 2002. With "race" a given for the store name, Ms. Mallers brought her professional web-design experience to bear in the choice of "logix." It was a matter of playing around on the computer, she says, to ensure a distinctive Internet site for her business. Spin-offs like the new store will incorporate "logix."
Race Logix sells the kind of serious performance apparel that makes training outdoors 365 days a year possible, says Ms. Mallers. The store also has swimwear, goggles and yoga and rock-climbing gear.
But the store's most distinctive feature may be its climbing wall, available to rent for children's birthday parties and for adult events as varied as a gathering for Jewish singles and a cocktail party with climbing instruction. Ms. Mallers offers a 20-percent discount on purchases made during an event.
The owner, of course, knows athletic gear from personal experience. Though she was a high school gymnast in her native Highland Park, Ms. Mallers has focused on running as an adult. Not only has she repeatedly qualified for Team U.S.A. triathlons (she competed with the team in Spain and Austria and went to nationals in Ohio this year), but she also ran her first Chicago Marathon in October 2005.
Her goal in Chicago was to qualify for the Boston Marathon. That meant she had to finish in the top 10 percent of her 45-49-year-old age group - that is, in less than four hours. "At mile 24 I realized I would miss the time by three and a half minutes," she says.
Her only hope was to sprint the last two and a half miles. And sprint she did, running the last leg at a seven-minute-mile pace and finishing with 28 seconds to spare. But taking advantage of a qualifying time that is good for two years, she has put the Boston on hold until April 2007.
Meanwhile she is channeling her energies into launching her new business just two blocks from home. The idea of a family-friendly store grew out of her realization that it was hard to keep certain merchandise in stock at Race Logix.
"Prana-brand yoga and rock-climbing clothing, a holistic line, was flying out the door," she says. She knew why: "People could wear it to yoga and then to pick up the kids."
The logic of "convenience clothing for active parents" impelled her to start the Prairie Avenue store. Opened just after Labor Day, "it's one-stop shopping for busy moms," she says - a place to find not only stylish workout clothes but also jeans (including Lucky Brand) and high fashion for nights out (Johnny Was, Raw 7).
With its emphasis on active families, Life Logix carries children's outerwear (North Face parkas and Molehill fleeces) as well as Prana and North Face for men and women. Starting in January, the store will be a Patagonia dealer.
Ms. Mallers is already strategizing her next move. A lease on a space in downtown Evanston east of the tracks is in the works; it may become a retail venue.
But she must also warehouse goods for her burgeoning online business: 50 percent of current Race Logix sales come from the Internet. And she is considering a fitness outlet. To Linda Mallers growth is just "logixal."
Tips from a Marathon Runner
As the Oct. 8 Chicago Marathon approaches, Linda
Mallers offers some tips from her own training.
• Drink water only if you are also taking nutrition (gel); supplement
water and gel with salt.
• Avoid water if you use energy bars and a sports drink (like Gatorade).
• Bring music. The first half of the race she calls "joyous," with its
cheering crowds and lovely residential neighborhoods. During the second
half, which traverses industrial areas and draws fewer spectators, keep
your spirits up with your favorite music.
• Keep track of your pace, if you are trying to qualify, by writing the
requisite times for each mile marker on a laminated card. Attach the
card, upside down, to a lanyard so you can flip it up and see at a glance
how you are doing.
• Follow the free training plans at www.halhigdon.com. Ms. Mallers used
a run/walk regimen for two of her three kinds of workout - endurance (distance)
and race pace. Only during weekly speed training did she run, and
not until the day of the marathon did she run the whole distance.
Renewing a Neighborhood.
Dino Robinson, standing, team leader for his table, discusses creating a
new public park with (sitting left to right) Brian Scruggs, Betty Ruffin,
Mike Sieja and Walt Kihm.
Using paper streets, alleys, parks and buildings,
about 50 people - residents, property owners, developers and interested parties
- participated in a charrette last week to revamp two areas in the Fifth
Ward.
It was the third of three planning meets for development of the City's
newest tax-increment financing (TIF) district, which meanders along Dodge Avenue,
including a few occasional blocks on the east and the west, from Simpson Street
to Greenleaf Street.
"It's a combination of Monopoly and paper cut-outs," James Wolinski, director of community development for the City, said of the charrette.
The Tapecoat Company, , the Onyx waste transfer station, a Commonwealth
Edison substation and Robinson Bus are among the larger commercial enterprises
in the study areas, which are bisected by the old Mayfair railroad right-of-way.
Already undergoing change and in some ways ripe for development, the west
side is now under a temporary building moratorium so residents can have some
input into the changes that are likely to ensue.
In small groups, the participants taped the new streets, alleys, dwelling units and parks upon aerial photos of their assigned study area. At the end of the meeting each group presented a final plan, based on the consensus of the group.
The City's consultants to the City on development of the west side will sift through the results of the three planning meetings and present them first to City officials and then to the community. The first presentation, the results of the first planning meeting, will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 21 at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St. The consultants will then present a preferred plan, based on the Sept. 21 comments, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 12, at the Bacon Cafeteria in Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Ave. The results of the three meetings will be presented to the City's Plan Commission on Nov. 8.
Annual Big Bite Night
More than 25 downtown restaurants will offer free food samplings to Northwestern students as part of the fifth annual Big Bite Night on Sept. 24. The collaboration between Northwestern and the downtown Evanston restaurant community, represented by EVMark, is designed to introduce new and returning students to the dining options in downtown Evanston.
Because the event is scheduled at the end of New Student Week on a Sunday evening between 4 and 5:30 p.m. when residence hall kitchens are traditionally closed, hundreds of students are expected to take part in the free event.
"This is like a restaurant crawl or ‘Taste of Evanston,'" says Ravi Singh, External Relations Chair for Northwestern's Associated Student Government and one of the event's coordinators. "It's especially good for new students who don't yet know what lies off campus."
"Downtown Evanston offers 87 restaurants," says Diane Williams, executive director of EVMark, "and this is a wonderful way for Northwestern students to discover new places to eat thanks to the generosity of the participating downtown restaurants."
Participating restaurants include Pita Pete's, Sashimi Sashimi, Dixie Kitchen, That Little Mexican Cafe, LuLu's, Mt. Everest and Olive Mountain. Samplings will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
"We will have some delicious food to serve," Lulu's owner Dan Kelch, a long-time event organizer, summarizes. "We hope to see a lot of students."
De-trashing the Beaches.
Volunteerism was a bit skimpy
last weekend during the annual "Adopt-a-Beach" cleanup sponsored by the Alliance
for the Great Lakes. Still, some sturdy volunteers took on the task of picking
up the summer's trash, in Evanston and other places along the Lake Michigan
shore. Mary Mumbrue reported that she picked up 13.5 pounds of trash - including
one dirty, sandy and waterlogged quilt. These volunteers from Evanston's
Lighthouse Rotary and Northwestern University's Rotaries found enough trash
at Lighthouse Beach to fill several bags. The Alliance reported that its
members and volunteers picked up about 10,000 cigarette butts on beaches
last year; they hope to ban smoking on Chicago beaches. Pictured left to
right are Bob Tate, Enide Dufresne, Bryan Jessop,
Nardita Batra, Jim McGuire, Bob Teska and John Searles.
The Necessity of Housing Options.
"Enforcing Olmstead:
What is Being Done to Move Individuals from Institutions to Community-Based
Supportive Housing?" was the topic of the annual meeting of Housing Options
for the Mentally Ill in Evanston last week. Ben Wolfe of the American Civil
Liberties Union and State Representative Julie Hamos discussed the decision
of the United States Supreme Court (Olmstead v LC), which requires
that persons with a disability receive housing in the least restrictive environment
consistent with their needs. Efforts in Illinois to meet that requirement
fall below those of many other states. Only 6,000 persons with a mental illness
are living outside of institutions, they said. Pictured left to right are
Mr. Wolfe, Housing Options executive director Alexander Brown, Rep. Hamos,
retiring Housing Options board president Audrey Soglin and new board president
Peter Michaels.
Spiritual Walk Set for Sept. 30
The City of Evanston Department of Health and Human Services is partnering with the American Cancer Society and the African-American Health Ministry Task Force to sponsor the annual spiritual walk, scheduled for 7:30-11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30. The event is a 1.3 mile walk through the community and begins at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, 2016 Emerson St., where participants can register and obtain maps. There will also be a pre-walk rally and motivational speaker at 8 a.m.
Community Works Meeting Sept. 27
Evanston Community Foundation will hold the culminating meeting in its series of public meetings around the CommunityWorks Initiativeto present the findings of two years of community discussions and research on the topics of early childhood education, workforce training and development, and land use and protection. The meeting will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 27 in the board room of the District 65 Administration Building, 1500 McDaniel Ave.Courtesy of First Bank & Trust, a light supper will be served at 6 p.m. The details of the initiative's impact plan, "Every Child Ready for Kindergarten, Every Youth Ready to Work," will be announced.For more information and to RSVP, call 847-492-0990.
Free Family Olympics at the Y
The McGaw YMCA, 1000 Grove St., will hold its annual Family Olympics from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 23. There will be fun events for the whole family, with ribbon awards, health screenings provided by Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, healthy snacks, and a family swim from 12:30 to 1 p.m. This freeevent is open to the whole community, and is great for kids. Call 847-475-7400.
Need Yard Work, Snow Removal Assistance?
The Evanston Commission on Aging seeks to match seniors and persons with
disabilities with volunteers who are willing to rake leaves and do yard work
this fall or shovel snow this winter.
Anyone interested in volunteering a few hours during the fall or winter or
in receiving assistance with yard work and snow removal, contact the Commission
on Aging, 847-866-2919.
Funding for Non-Profit Organizations
Anyone who would like to know more about resources at the Evanston Public Library and on the Internet that can help fund not-for-profit agencies can attend one of two workshops at the library. These workshops can teach participants how to find money to support their charitable work.
This two-hour workshop at the Main Library, 1703 Orrington Ave., will provide
hands-on experience, using a number of online resources and websites to research
prospective funding sources. Space is limited.
Call 847-448-8630 to register or for more information. Register for only
one workshop: 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 12 or 3 p.m. on Oct. 31.
"Religion, Violence and God" at Common Ground
In a talk that will explore when and how religion has taken on a frightening face for many and how religion and violence have become intertwined in the minds of many thoughtful people, Jim Kenney will present "Religion, Violence and God" at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 26 at Westminster Place of Presbyterian Homes, 2300 Grant St.
ECF Accepting root2fruit Grant Applications
The Evanston Community Foundation is currently accepting applications for the root2fruit grant program. The root2fruit initiative is for grassroots organizations and is funded by the Mammel Foundation of Omaha, Neb.Each grant may be renewed twice, for a maximum of $30,000. Applications are due Sept. 29. For more information or to download an application, visit www.evanstonforever.org.
Silent Auction for Diabetes
Coldwell Banker on Sherman Avenue invites the public and realtors from Evanston and the surrounding suburbs to its second silent auction benefit to raise funds for the American Diabetes Association.
The benefit will take place 5-8 p.m. on Oct. 5 at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, 1580 Sherman Ave. There will be wine and cheese, a raffle and a silent auction for items supplied by local merchants.
The $5 ticket includes a free raffle ticket. Call Coldwell Banker at 847-864-2600 to make a reservation.
