Page 2 The Chautauquan Daily · www.chqdaily.com Tuesday, July 21, 2015

N E W S

NEWS FROM AROUND THE GROUNDS

Brie� y

The Briefl y column appears on Page 2 daily and is intended to provide space for announcements from Institution-related organiza-tions. If a meeting or activity is featured that day in a story, it should not be repeated in Briefl y. Submit information to Laura Scherb in the Daily’s Editorial Offi ce. Please provide name of organization, time and place of meeting and one contact person’s name with phone number. Deadline is 5 p.m. four days before publication. Chautauqua Prize dinner reservations available

The fourth annual Chautauqua Prize dinner will honor Phil Klay, author of Redeployment, on Friday, July 24. The farm-to-table-style dinner is conceived and prepared by Executive Chef Travis Bensink. Make your reservations in the CLSC Veranda or at the reception desk in the Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall. Meet the Filmmaker

Yael Melamede, producer and director of “Dis(honesty),” will host a discussion with Dan Ariely and audience mem-bers following a screening of the fi lm at 5:30 p.m. today at Chautauqua Cinema. Regular cinema fees apply.Tallman Tracker concert

This week’s Tallman Tracker Organ concert will take place at 12:15 p.m. today in the Hall of Christ. The con-cert it titled “Liquid Musings” and will feature pieces that will showcase the instruments’ “fl uting,” which creates sounds reminiscent of water.Science Circle presentation

The CLSC Alumni Association Science Circle will pres-ent “Failure IS an Option: Whatever Can Go Wrong Will Go Wrong — And What to Do About It” by Bob Reiss at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday in the Hall of Christ.Knitting4Peace Workshop

From 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on the Methodist House front porch. Yarn and needles available for purchase. For more information, please 303-918-4617.Ice cream social at today’s ‘Playdate’

An afternoon playdate will include an ice cream social at 3 p.m. today. Hosted by NOW Generation member Jen-nifer Rapoport, the social is for families with little ones (up to age 10). Enjoy a cool treat and conversation at the Children’s School playground.CLSC Alumni Association news

The Eventide Travel Series will be presented at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday in the Hall of Christ. Norman Karp will pres-ent “Emails From Mexico.”

The CLSC Class of 2015 will hold a meeting from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Literary Arts Center at Alum-ni Hall to make plans for graduation on Aug. 5.

The CLSC Class of 2009 will hold a social from 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday on the porch of the St. Elmo.

Pioneer Hall is open for docent tours from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday.Chautauqua Women’s Club

CWC’s Girls’ morning out is held weekly from 9:15 to 10:45 a.m. Wednesdays. Coff ee and lemonade served.

CWC off ers Chautauquans the house porch for infor-mal conversation in Swedish, French and Spanish. Lan-guage session are available at 1:15 p.m. every Wednesday.Chautauqua open house

Pick up a list of properties for sale at the Visitors Center.Chautauqua Team Tennis

Annual Chautauqua Team Tennis from 7:45 a.m. to noon Saturday. Sign up to enter by Thursday at the Tennis Center or call 357-6275. Entries limited to 32 players. Open to men and women of all levels.Chautauqua Opera Guild luncheon

Chautauqua Opera Guild invites its members to the an-nual luncheon at 12:15 p.m. Thursday on the lawn of Nor-ton Hall. Guild members planning to attend need to con-tact Macie Van Norden at 819-810-9147 or email vannorden.margaret@gmail.com. If you are not a member call Barbara at 716-357-3315 or join at the luncheon.Sandy D’Andrade’s 13th Annual Trunk Show and Sale

Sandy D’Andrade’s 13th annual trunk show and sale, which benefi ts Chautauqua Opera Company’s Young Art-ists program, will run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today on the grounds of Norton Hall, located on Pratt.Bird, Tree & Garden Club news

Today at 7:30 a.m., join leaders from the Jamestown Audubon Society and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute for a Bird Walk and Talk. Meet at the entrance to Smith Wilkes Hall.

Join Sharon Reed, master gardener, and Joe McMaster, master horticulturist, on a Garden Walk at both 9:15 a.m. or 4:15 p.m. today. Meet at the back of Smith Wilkes Hall.

At 12:15 p.m. today, garden designer and photographer Maureen Bovet will give a Brown Bag at Smith Wilkes Hall on the “London Chelsea Flower Show.” This event is spon-sored by the friends of former BTG president Eleanor Franks.

At 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, Caroline Bissell will hold a bat chat in Smith Wilkes Hall. All ages are welcome.Tech Rehearsal “Sneak Peek” Wednesday for ‘Intimate Apparel’

Friends of Chautauqua Theater are invited to sit in for 45-minute segments at 1, 1:45 or 2:30 p.m. Meet at the Brat-ton Theater entry door and be escorted quietly up the stairs to the back of the house. The Friends welcome new mem-bers. Memberships are $10 and are available at the door.

Bring a bag lunch to Bratton Theater at 12:15 p.m. Thurs-day and get an inside look at CTC’s upcoming production of Intimate Apparel. This week’s Brown Bag is titled “Inti-mate Apparel: The Finery of a Beautiful Play.”Swing dance lessons

Prior to Wednesday’s Amphitheater Ball, there will be a special swing dance lesson at 7:15 p.m. in Smith Wilkes Hall. Chautauquans and veteran dance instructors Dian-na Ploof and Ben and Adam Handen will off er 45 minutes of instruction.

COLIN HANNERStaff Writer

The highest point in the Leadville Trail 100 — a 100-mile-long ultramarathon held every August through-out the mountainous terrain of Colorado — is 12,620 feet in Hope Pass. Nearly 1,600 miles away and more than 11,000 feet lower, Jon Nassif ran Chautauqua Institution’s iconic Old First Night loop on Wednesday.

This wasn’t his fi rst time running the course: On that cloudy, autumn-like Wednesday morning, pud-dles gathered on the sides of the road and Chautauquans grabbed at their coats and jackets to brace the wind, Nassif had already complet-ed seven loops around Chau-tauqua. He planned to fi nish fi ve more. His wife, Laurie, rode her bike alongside him to provide moral support and to stock a bag full of wa-ter and snacks for him near the north end tennis courts.

The math: 2.6 miles per loop multiplied by the 12 times running around the same loop, and the total damage is 50 kilometers, or nearly 32 miles — deemed an ultramarathon by any standard. Nassif has been

running ultramarathons since he and his family moved to Colorado, but he had thought about bringing his active ways out east.

“I hatched the plan a few weeks before we got here and thought, ‘You don’t need mountains and wide-open spaces to run long distances — you can do it right out-side your back door,’ ” Nassif said. “I never really looked beyond this loop because it’s so great: It’s the right distance. Two loops is fi ve miles. That’s a morning ex-ercise. People walk the loop.”

Nassif, a restaurateur, didn’t run track or cross country when he was young-er, but Laurie traces her husband’s passion for run-ning to the time their family

watched Lance Armstrong in the Leadville 100 bike race.

“So we we’re out in the middle of nowhere on this hill, and Lance [Armstrong] came by and he went up the hill, and my husband and son ran up the hill with him and talked with him,” Laurie said. “Jon came down and was like, ‘Wow, that’s awesome. He’s my age, and here I am cheer-ing for him — I should be do-ing that.’ And I said, ‘I dare you.’ And the next year, he did the Leadville 100 bike [race].”

Years after the initial dare, Nassif ran the Leadville 100 in 27 hours.

On Wednesday, Nassif started his 50-kilometer jour-ney at 7:30 a.m. and fi nished around 12:30 p.m., but timed his run around 4 1/2 hours

due to bathroom breaks and periods to hydrate and eat. “Stop and chat” runs, a term he uses to describe the times where people strike up brief conversations while he is running, are typical for Nas-sif, who has been coming to Chautauqua since he was 4 years old.

Nassif said his ability to stop shouldn’t be taken ad-vantage of — especially with the duration of his run.

“There’s a saying, ‘Beware the chair,’ when you’re run-ning long distances, mean-ing beware of sitting down and taking long breaks be-cause you’ll never get up again, so that’s another rea-son why to keep going,” he said.

The day after his 50-kilo-meter run, Nassif decided to do what he loves best: Run.

“It’s just so simple: it’s a pair of shoes, a pair of shorts, and a shirt is optional,” he said. “It’s got to be the most minimal sport.”

RUN JON RUNJOSHUA BOUCHER | Staff Photographer

Jon Nassif in the midst of running 50 kilometers around the grounds last Wednesday. Nassif is an ultramarathon runner.

You don’t need mountains and wide-open spaces to run long distances — you can do it right outside your back door.”

—JON NASSIFUltramarathon runner

Daily multimedia editor Caitie McMekin produced a video supplement to this story. View it at our website, chqdaily.com.

WATCH /chqdaily @chqdaily

Chautauquan runs 50K on grounds