Against big odds, two generations of Rams return home and run wild

The St. Louis Rams were 0-8 and sinking faster than the Titanic. They were averaging just 12 points per game and had not scored a single touchdown on the road all season. It's no wonder they were 10½-point underdogs on Sunday heading into New Orleans, where the Saints were rolling with a four-game winning streak. The Rams, though, were returning to the home of their glory days -- the site of their last Super Bowl game six years ago.

On the same day, a former Glenbard East Ram was returning to the home of his athletic glory days -- the outdoor track where he used to run 6½-minute miles in high school gym class more than 20 years ago. But this Ram named Blaine got 40 pounds heavier and was running a feeble 9:59 mile not so long ago. He made a crazy commitment to someday challenge his high school record of 6:25, but the odds certainly were stacked against him, too, now that he's reached 40 years of age.

Back to the St. Louis Rams, who fell behind 7-0 in New Orleans before launching an offensive attack that made them look like Super Bowl contenders once again. An explosion of 34 straight points put the Rams up by 27 in the fourth quarter, and they coasted to a 37-29 victory in amazing fashion. They tripled their average point production, stifled a talented New Orleans quarterback who passed for 445 yards a week earlier, and shocked a large Superdome crowd that sat in stunned silence. The Rams pulled off the NFL's upset of the year.

Over to Glenbard East, where the former Ram worked for nearly two years to get his mile time back under 7 minutes. Blaine's progression started with that 9:59 mile in January 2006, improving to 8:48 two weeks later and 7:48 a month after that. In spring 2007, his time dropped to 7:33. He followed that with more intense runs in the summer and fall, frequently jogging four miles to the Village of Addison and 3½ miles to Curves in downtown Glen Ellyn, where he'd meet up with QT each time. But now it was time to return to the home of the Rams for a November timing of the four-lap mile run.

After three laps, Blaine's pace was still above the 7-minute threshold, but his sprint around the final bend pushed him across the finish line in 6:57. Not a lifetime record, but a run that challenged his best ever, and his first sub-7-minute outdoor mile since high school. Never mind that he was so exhausted afterward he announced he would never run again. In fact, the former Ram jogged eight miles in the next two days to continue his quest to achieve the best conditioning of his life.

Blaine had a hint that his outdoor mile record was within reach when nine days earlier he ran a 6:19 mile indoors at Club Fitness in Addison. The 11-lap run, made possible by a free promotion, was aided by perfect conditions, as are all indoor runs. No wind and a 70-degree climate allowed for a better run than his 50-degree day with a slight breeze.