2007 Metric Marathon

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Unclaimed Metric awards will be at Feet First on Tue, 04 Dec or Wed, 05 Dec.

     Steven Crane may have clobbered the men’s field at the 31st Annual Metric Marathon last Sunday, but the story might have been different had not “some young guy” forced the pace for the first 14 miles of the race. Steve’s competition turned out to be a former UMBC runner named Shawn Shorky. Shawn had sprained his ankle a month before and thought he could push through the injury, and he might have too if Crane had not forced the pace. When the ankle became unbearable, Shawn dropped out. Special race coordinator Paul Goldenberg actually gave him a ride back to the start.
A national-class runner, Crane came north to Columbia from Arlington, VA, with his fleet friends from the Pacers running store– Chris Farley and Eric Kean. Crane posted a time of 1:30:38– the fastest Metric Marathon since Peter Dougharty won the event in 1999 with a 1:30:13. Six minutes and over one mile behind Crane, masters runner Tom Banchy became the beneficiary of the withdrawl and finished in second place (1:36:49). “I never saw the leader,” Tom admitted, “But at least I was the first old guy to finish!”

 
      Denise Knickman led the women’s race for the first 13 miles. But when she turned onto the bike path, the uneven, meandering surfaces slowed down her road-race pace. “I had a rough time on the bike paths and couldn’t get used to them,” she said. That gave Alana Van Allen the chance she needed. She overhauled Knickman somewhere on the leaf-strewn bike paths of Long Reach and held on to win the women’s division in 1:51:30.

      Among the over-40 runners, the aforementioned Tom Banchy, second overall, was the first master runner across the finish line. He had only run the Metric once before. The fastest woman over 40 was Linda Foley, who finished third among the women in 1:53:36. The second-fastest woman was a grandmaster. Recently turned 50, Dorothy Beckett had celebrated her birthday with a 3:27 at the New York City Marathon, and then felt compelled to run the Metric two weeks later– where she beat nearly all the master women as well as all the grandmasters. Watch out!

     The Columbia 5k race accompanied the Metric Marathon. The shorter race is for the speedsters not feeling up to the longer Metric. Robert Santoro traveled all the way from North Quincy, MA (it’s right outside Boston) to win the 5k in a blazing 16:09, while Kensington’s Patty Zerfas bested the women’s field (20:19). Notably, the fastest master in the 5k race was a grandmaster: 50-year-old John Chall finished seventh overall in 18:58.

     Although the rain held off until the afternoon, it was such a cold and raw day that many runners left immediately after they finished, including Crane and Van Allen. After the race, some runners actually did hang around Lake Kittimuquindi for random awards, pizza from Jerry’s Subs, and lots of apple juice. “Actually, I can’t wait to get home and take a hot shower,” said Sandy Ford (1st, 45-49W). Those race and age group winners who stuck around received handsome wood plaques and gift certificates from Feet First of Wilde Lake. 337 finished the full Metric Marathon (26.2 km or 16.4 miles), while 216 complete the 5k fun run.

 
      John and Ann Worley directed the Metric Marathon on behalf of the Howard County Striders, who stage the race each December. This year before the race, the Striders held a going-away ceremony for Miles Weigold, announcer and official “voice” of the Howard County Striders. Delegate Elizabeth Bobo presented Miles with an honorary decree from the Maryland State Senate, and he also received a Volunteer of the Year award from the Road Runners Club of America for 2000 hours of service. The Striders also made a donation on Miles’ behalf to the Kennedy-Krieger Institute of Johns Hopkins.

      The Striders thank the Howard County Police for their expert traffic direction during the race and the dozens of volunteers (especially Boy Scout Troop 734 from DelMar at the 14 mile water stop) who braved the dreary weather on Sunday morning.

 -- Jim Carbary