PROFESSIONAL
What I Like …
■ An insight: Don’t ignore advice from someone you respect.
■ An influential person in my career: My college track coach, Jumbo Elliott. He made sure running wasn’t our only focus — that we had balance in our lives.
■ An out-of-the-box idea: Eight hours of sleep!
■ A timeless idea: Nothing beats the power of personal relationships.
CAREY PINKOWSKI
President, Chicago Event Management
Executive Race Director, Bank of America Chicago Marathon
■ Where I'm from: Born and raised in Hammond, Ind., but now live in Chicago..
■ Where I Went to School: Villanova, class of 1980. I was a liberal arts major and ran track for them.
■ My First Job:
I worked at a lumberyard in Eugene, Ore., while I pursued a running career.
■ A business deal: The partnership between InBev’s Budweiser and Goose Island’s 312 beer; a perfect example of a deal where everyone wins. … The mass marketer gains my favorite craft beer to extend their line, and the Goose Island folks get better distribution.
■ A sports facility: Chicago’s Soldier Field, because I grew up going there and because it found a way to modernize while retaining its proud historical roots.
■ A sports event: Sox vs. Cubs in the summertime.
■ A brand: Nike. The brand is clearly defined, easily understood, well-represented in all of their messaging and, most important of all, makes the right connection to the athlete in all of us.
■ A trend: A return to community involvement and volunteerism.
■ A pro league or team business initiative: The creative and custom-made messages in the billboard ads Miller Beer creates relating to every visiting team who plays the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
■ A story that bears watching: The IAAF’s ruling on women’s world records in marathoning.
■ A fantasy job: I’d like to be a PGA player, even one not at the top of the money list.
What I Like About …
■ My job: That what I do gives so many different people a common goal to shoot for, a dream they can achieve and a way to accomplish something many thought they could not do.
■ Sports: The way it brings together friends and family to connect over shared experiences and a common cause (which for us is usually, “Wait until next year!”).
■ Sports business: It allows me to work and promote an activity that I participated in as a kid, so it’s much more than a job.
■ Sports media: I prefer the traditional sports media who report, analyze and give context to what took place on the field, not the people who think their every opinion is important.
■ Sports technology: I love the instant accessibility of results, scores and updates.
What I’d Like To …
■ Change: The extreme polarization of politics in this country.
■ Change in what I do: Learn how to say “no” more often.
■ See more of in sports business: A conscious effort to make events more affordable for families.
■ See more of in sports: Championships in Chicago, especially on the south side!
■ See less of in sports: Performance-enhancing drugs.
■ See less of in sports business: Labor issues being fought in public because each side wants to WIN — just order some pizzas and beer, close the doors and figure it out!
■ Eliminate: Retro uniforms.
What I Don’t Like …
■ In general: People with hidden agendas.
■ Pet peeve: People driving 45 mph in the left lane on the highway. It’s the wannabe NASCAR driver in me.
■ In sports: Absolutely nothing! Well, maybe the long lines for bathrooms at the ballpark.
PERSONAL
What I Like …
■ That would surprise those who know me: I try to keep up with the Kardashians!
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GETTY IMAGES
Paul Konerko |
■ Above all else: My wife, Sue, and my children, Sarah and Matthew.
■ Heroes: The four athletes who have set world records at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon: Steve Jones, Khalid Khannouchi, Catherine Ndereba and Paula Radcliffe.
■ Players: Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski and Derrick Rose.
■ Possession: The couch in my den. It’s broken in just right.
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GETTY IMAGES
Gregg Allman |
■ Memento: The street sign at the intersection where the marathon starts, because that stretch of road was officially named after me.
■ Music: The Allman Brothers, Alicia Keys, Adele and Ray LaMontagne.
■ Books: Roger Bannister’s “The Four Minute Mile.” I have an original printing of it, and it’s still a good read.
■ Magazines: Golf Digest (even though the tips don’t ever really help my game), Rolling Stone and Esquire.
■ Chores: Does turning on the sprinklers count?
■ Hobbies: Fishing.
■ Trips: A five-hour drive with the family to northern Wisconsin.
■ Movies: “Straw Dogs,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “Roadhouse,” “Goodfellas” and “The Way We Were.”
■ TV: ESPN “SportsCenter” and “The Good Wife” (with my wife).
■ Artist: Jackson Pollock.
■ Dessert: Vanilla ice cream.
■ Scent: My wife’s chocolate chip cookies.
■ Car: I drive a 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan.
■ Singer: Gladys Knight.
■ Quote: “Winning is not a sometime thing. It’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while. You don’t do things right once in a while. You do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately so is losing.” — Vince Lombardi.
