Update at 4:23 p.m. They arrived safely in E. Lansing. [photo]

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How fast can you eat a Twinkie?

I’d like to begin this month’s milestone column by sharing some good news about one of The Chronicle’s writers – Jennifer Coffman, who covers the Ann Arbor Public Schools board of education for us. Last week she gave birth to a baby girl: Eleanor Olivia Coffman. So she’s on a break from The Chronicle for a while.

Until Coffman returns, Eric Anderson will be providing The Chronicle’s AAPS board coverage. Eric grew up in Ann Arbor and is a graduate of Hope College. His experience includes work as a reporter at the Hillsdale Daily News and an editorial intern at the Washington Post Express. He’s planning to attend graduate school later this year.

Coverage of the AAPS board has become part of the meat-and-potatoes reporting provided by The Chronicle, along with reports on the Ann Arbor city council, the Washtenaw County board of commissioners and many other public bodies.

But not everything published in The Chronicle is meat and potatoes. I think it’s a relatively small portion of our overall corpus, but some of our material is probably more like a Twinkie than a piece of meat.

Many of the Stopped.Watched. items, for example, might be analyzed as more like Twinkies than a T-bone steak. Which, I think, is fine – for Twinkies, like T-bones, are also food. I wouldn’t want to make a meal out of Twinkies, though.

The Ann Arbor Active Against ALS Twinkie Run, which took place on April 1, serves as a nice analogy to the way we think of The Chronicle material that’s more like Twinkies.

On Friday evening in Gallup Park, the 271 runners who competed in the 5K race were presented with a choice on each of two laps through the park: (1) Take the time to eat a Twinkie and earn a 1-minute deduction to their finish time, or (2) Just keep running and take the straight-up meat-and-potatoes time. The annual run was observed last year as a Stopped.Watched. item.

The one-minute time deduction sounds attractive enough – what runner wouldn’t take advantage of a cheap way to achieve a new PR? Here’s the wrinkle: The one-minute deduction could only be earned by taking a Twinkie, standing in place and swallowing the whole thing down. This rule was enforced by a guy with a megaphone, who scolded any Twinkie-eating scofflaws by warning them: “You have to eat it all gone! Eat it all gone! Swallow it down!”

Ron Olson, left, enforces the “eat it all gone” rule at the A2A3 Twinkie Run.

Runners complied with the megaphone-guy’s direction – partly, I think, because he had a megaphone. Compliance could have also been enhanced by the guy himself – Ron Olson, former head of parks and recreation and associate city administrator for the city of Ann Arbor. He filled in as interim city administrator after Neal Berlin’s departure and before Roger Fraser was hired. Now he’s head of the parks and recreation division for the State of Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources. A park on the north side of town is named after Olson.

Olson good-naturedly badgered runners to take the Twinkie choice: “You can be part-time all your life. Don’t be part-time! Don’t be a weenie! We’re going to remember you as a wimp! C’mon, you’re doing the Twinkie Run and you’re not eating a Twinkie?!”

As fun it might be to eat a Twinkie in the middle of a 5K race, if you really care about your finish time, you’ll weigh that choice carefully. Twinkie-eating means you’re standing in one place – and ultimately you’ve got to get to the finish line. If you can’t down a Twinkie in less than a minute – the value of the time deduction – your Twinkie-eating winds up being a penalty.

So when we think about the Twinkie parts of The Chronicle, we try to balance carefully our investment in them against our meat-and-potatoes government and civic affairs coverage.

That balance is not just about subject matter. It’s also about the kinds of efforts that go into publishing The Chronicle’s material online. An entire industry has been built up based on the idea that online publishers should care deeply about site traffic (visitors to their website) and that search engine optimization (getting top search-results rankings) is a worthwhile way to achieve site traffic.

A meat-and-potatoes approach to online publishing is, I think, about cultivating readership – people who visit your website on a routine basis to read what’s there. An artificial, Twinkie approach to online publishing is to cultivate search traffic. The Twinkie approach will lead you to focus, for example, on cramming as many likely search terms into your headlines as possible – because search engines like Google seem to assign more weight to the words that are included in headlines. This ultimately leads to more raw traffic, which is important, if that’s how you measure success.

This Twinkie approach can also lead online publishers to invest time and effort in polls and contests – Internet users do seem to like that kind of thing. If page views and site visits are the metric of success, then those kind of Twinkies are important.

According to the AWstats package that generates statistics for The Chronicle, 9% of visits to the site come from search engines. The rest come from people directly entering a URL in their browser, using a bookmark, or following a link embedded in an email or another website. I’m sure we could increase that percentage, not to mention our overall site traffic, if we employed the services of an search-engine optimization (SEO) marketing firm, or if we simply paid more attention to SEO concepts as we write our articles.

I think it’s fine to care something about SEO concepts or to provide some amount of material that’s less ponderous than a 10,000-word city council meeting report – in the same way I think it’s fine to enjoy a Twinkie every once in a while. (Although I know there’s at least one Eberwhite Elementary School student who might disagree.)

On that note, by next April 1 I hope that I’ve sufficiently balanced out the meat-and-potatoes of my work on The Chronicle that I have the time to compete in the Twinkie Run, instead of just taking pictures. Here’s a sampling of what I shot Friday evening:

Photo 1. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

Photo 2. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

Photo 3. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

Photo 4. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

Photo 5. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

Photo 6. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

Photo 7. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

Photo 8. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

Photo 9. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

Photo 10. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

Photo 11. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

Photo 12. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

Photo 13. 2011 A2A3 Twinkie Run at Gallup Park

About the writer: Dave Askins is editor and co-founder of The Ann Arbor Chronicle.

Swimmers just after the starting beep for one of the A2A3 Holiday Relays. (Photos by the writer.)

Meet director Amanda Mercer told The Chronicle that the A2A3 Holiday Relays, which were sanctioned by Michigan Masters for U.S. Masters Swimming, will be an annual fixture on the swimming calendar. The inaugural edition featured standard swimming relays, which took full advantage of the electronic timing pads at Skyline’s pool: A new pool record of 53.23 was established for the 100-yard backstroke.

But the  relays also included some non-standard races, including one where the relay “baton” was a T-shirt that had to be peeled off one swimmer, then donned by the next one in sequence.

Participants included a former Ann Arbor planning commissioner, and a former Olympic swimmer.

The Holiday Relays are one of several activity-based fundraising efforts by A2A3, which is a nonprofit that was formed in 2008 by friends and neighbors of Bob Schoeni, who has been diagnosed with ALS, a fatal neuro-degenerative disorder. A2A3 raises funds specifically for research to find a cure for what’s commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Schoeni was on hand Sunday morning to cheer on the swimmers.

The relays were sponsored by several local businesses, including: Probility, Health and Fitness Center at Washtenaw Community College, Jolly Pumpkin, Grizzly Peak, Blue Tractor, Barry’s Bagels, and Pizza House.

In addition to in-kind contributions from sponsors – like the 50 pizzas from Pizza House enjoyed by swimmers after the races – contributions for the event came from swimmers themselves, who paid $40 to participate in six different races. Mercer estimated the amount of money raised from registration fees to be around $1,500. Before the meet began, Mercer solicited volunteers to complete some of the relay teams that had no-shows due to the inclement weather. Some of the teams had been assembled by A2A3, which encouraged swimmers to register for the meet at-large, even if they weren’t part of a complete four-person relay. A2A3 then formed teams out of the solo registrants.

Meet director Amanda Mercer asked for two volunteers to help fill out the full complement of four members per relay.

The venue – Skyline High School’s natatorium – was secured through the Skyline men’s swim team, which sold concessions at the relays as a fundraiser. Skyline swimmers also provided logistical support for the meet – for example, the electronic timing pads need to be installed and then removed, because they’re not permanently built into the pool walls.

The meet began with an impeccable rendition of the national anthem from Rachel Hunsberger.

The swimming started off with the 400-yard medley relay – an event where respective swimmers complete 100 yards of backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle. In the 25-yard-long Skyline pool, that meant four lengths per relay leg. Backstroke came first, with 34-year old Ryan Papa in Lane 2 completing his leg in 53.23 – which was a few ticks faster than the pool record of 56.87, held by Zac Cain of Howell High School. Papa swam for the University of Michigan team, beginning as a freshman in 1994. He also participated in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic games, representing the Philippines.

Later in the racing program, a participant in the “crescendo” relay – where the four relay participants complete legs of 50, 100, 200, then 500 yards – demonstrated that “freestyle” allows swimmers to choose whatever stroke they like. As he completed his 500 yards with the butterfly stroke – floating up and down 20 lengths of the pool – the lap counters remarked among themselves how James always swam the butterfly. His last name, they weren’t sure about. But Joel Dalton, who helped put together the event for A2A3, looked it up on his smart phone, saying that he served with him on the executive committee of the local Sierra Club: James’ last name is D’Amour. Some Chronicle readers will also recognize D’Amour as a former city planning commissioner, or more recently as an advocate for keeping Mack Pool open, when it was faced with closure due to budget constraints.

A T-shirt relay team mid-way through the transfer of the orange T-shirt "baton."

Dalton put together the music that played over the intercom during the meet. He handles DJ responsibilities for the annual Burns Park 5K Run as well. He confirmed for The Chronicle after the meet that it was no coincidence that “You Can Leave Your Hat On” was the selection during the T-shirt relay.

The non-standard event entails passing a T-shirt from one swimmer to the next, with the stipulation that the shirt must actually be worn – arms through armholes and head through the neck hole.

Shirts are allowed to be inside-out, however. So the most efficient teams in the “baton” transfer had their incoming swimmer climb up on the deck and touch hands with the next swimmer London-bridge style – teammates then peeled the wet shirt from the one swimmer directly onto the next.

A2A3 bases its fundraising approach on events where community members engage in physical activity, either as a solo effort or with others. [Previous Chronicle coverage: "Freedom of the (Leg) Press" and "Box Cars Zoom Down South University"]

Chronicle readers are hereby duly notified to keep alert for forthcoming details of an upcoming A2A3 event, the Twinkie Run, which will take place on April 1, 2011. As the name suggests, the event includes running, as well as an opportunity to consume tasty snack treats.

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Additional Photos:

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Rachel Hunsberger sang the "Star-Spangled Banner" to open the festivities.

Jerry Kelly, who along with Jack Coffey served as an official for the meet, gets swimmers ready on the blocks before calling them to their marks.

Butterfly stroke.

James D'Amour on the blocks for a relay just a few minutes after finishing a 500-yard butterfly leg of the "crescendo" relay.

Backstrokers ready to fling themselves backwards.

When there are 20 lengths of the pool to count, you get help from a manual counter. The plastic flip signs are submerged so that the swimmer can see the numbers.

Members of the Skyline High School swim team remove the electronic touch pads from Lane 2 after the meet.

The butterfly, mid-stroke.

A backstroker ready to backstroke.

The breaststroke.

The meet did not include a peek-a-boo relay, but this guy would have been on the winning team.

Emma Silverman executed a 1,000-pound leg press. Well, okay ... she was the 50 pounds that completed the 1,000-pound total.

“Can we do it again?” asked Emma Silverman after her dad, Ken, had just completed a 1,000-pound leg press at the One on One Athletic Club on Thursday evening. The “it” was a ride on the leg press sled.

And her dad didn’t say no. He gave her a few more repetitions on the sled – but not before removing some of the 20 45-pound plates hanging off the 50-pound bar. The plates and the bar totaled 950 pounds.

Emma weighs exactly 50 pounds based on the pre-event weigh-in at the club, and it was her “live weight” that brought the total to 1,000 pounds.

It’s not a common father-daughter activity, not least because 1,000 pounds – as Silverman’s trainer, Roger Bowman, put it – “That’s a lot of weight.” Bowman, who’s worked at One on One for four years, confirmed that it’s not common to see that kind of poundage go up and down the leg press sled at the club.

So what motivated Silverman to begin training five months ago in December 2008 for his half-ton effort? It was to raise money for Ann Arbor Active Against ALS. Silverman recalled how he’d come up with the idea over dinner at Carlyle Grill before seeing the new James Bond movie at the Quality 16. A lot of his friends had just run the Big House Big Heart 5K to raise money for A2A3, he said, and he wanted to come up with a way to contribute as well – the A2A3 fundraising theme is to raise money by doing something active.

Silverman’s initial concept was to try to find 100 people to pledge a penny-a-pound for the 1,000-pound attempt, for a total of $1,000. He was able to double that, but didn’t insist on the penny-a-pound approach. One example of a variant was a co-worker who offered $100, but wanted to see video evidence of the lift. Here’s the $100 video footage.

Ken Silverman on the sled. At right is trainer Roger Bowman. The guy in the yellow shirt with the camera is Burns Park race director Joel Dalton.

Silverman’s training regime at the club leading up to Thursday’s lift  depended somewhat on whether it was a session supervised by Bowman, or done solo. With Bowman there, he could physically help Silverman through a couple of extra repetitions – forced reps – that he couldn’t have done otherwise. Plus there’s the psychological boost. We asked Bowman for examples of the kind of encouragement he gave during a session. He ticked through some plain vanilla phrases, “Come on,” “Keep going,” “You can do it,” before offering: “Don’t tell me no!”

The same “Don’t tell me no!” sentiment was reflected in a conversation about fundraising after the lift. Silverman, Bob Schoeni (whose ALS diagnosis led to the founding of A2A3) and  Joel Dalton (who’s director of the Burns Park Run coming up Sunday, May 3, 2009) talked with The Chronicle about how you ask people for money: “You don’t say no to a guy who can lift 1,000 pounds!”

Dalton said that pitching pledges for a finite weight was in some ways easier than the strategy his own family was using to support A3A2, a “pennies for pushups” program. If you know that the weight is going to be 1,000 pounds, you can calibrate your donation accordingly. With pushups, you don’t know exactly how many Joel, Cammie and Kenzie will do. We asked Joel point blank: Are you doing real pushups, backs straight and everything? Joel contended they were, and the photograph on the website suggests that the Dalton kids’ pushups are every bit as real as Ken Silverman’s 1,000-pound leg press.

Preparing for the lift.

The lift itself.

Toweling off after the 1,000-pound lift was done.