Clyde’s 10K
When Mike Colaiacovo bolted away at the start of the 30th Annual Clyde’s 10k race, Tom Williams and Steve Moxey remained calm and focused on staying within striking distance of the leader. Their patience paid off. Around the three-mile mark, when the course turned up the infamously long hill on Route 108, they overhauled a slowing Colaiacovo. “I worked it on the hills,” Tom said. In fact, Williams opened up a 30-40 meter gap on Moxey, at which point “I thought I had a shot at winning.” He did, too, cruising the final two miles in 10:30 and winning the race in 33:24. The humid, soggy morning didn’t seem to bother him, but the challenging hills did. “It wasn’t the conditions,” he said, “it’s the course!” [Mr. Colaiacovo may not be blamed for losing his focus during the competition. he just became a new father!]
The women’s race showcased the core of the Howard County Striders’ women’s racing team: Katie Breitenbach, Vanessa Cox, and Robyn Humphrey. Humphrey led ythe three through the first three miles, at which point Cox and Breitenbach assumed the lead. But they were never further apart than a few meters. Indeed, when the trio swept into the West Running Brook neighborhood at the top of the 108 hill, they bunched together and fed of each other’s energy. “It was a team effort,” Katie said, “and it was great to run together like that.” Their mutual encouragements bonded the women together in a tight camaraderie – at least until the last quarter-mile straightaway. “When we saw the finish line, it was every women for herself,” Vanessa said, and it was Cox who surged away from her friends to win the race.
The master’s race proved to be quite interesting. The Strider’s master runner of the year Doug Mock assumed an immediate lead in the age group and seemed well on his way to another stunning victory, and then he suddenly dropped out at 2½ miles. That left Chris Chattin in command of the masters’ field. But his glory did not last more than half a mile, because Peter Keating overtook him on that same 108 hill that claimed so many other victims during the race. When they crested the hill, Keating was in charge and went on to win the masters race. “I’m not as fast as those other guys,” Mr. Keating explained, “and the hills worked to my advantage.”
Lisa Fichman joined Peter as the woman’s counterpart in the master’s championships. In spite of the drizzly conditions, her hair was perfect at the awards ceremony! The overall and masters winners received Clyde’s backpacks stuffed with a jacket and a long-sleeved t-shirt, while age group winners won a Clyde’s jacket and gift certificates to Feet First of Wilde Lake. All registered runners received a commemorative long-sleeved t-shirt.
The 2008 race marked the thirtieth consecutive year that Clyde’s of Columbia has sponsored the race. While there may be races with a longer history than this 10k, there are probably none that can claim to have had the same sponsor for 30 years. And this year’s race marked another milestone: the race “sold out” for first time (we think) in its history. “We achieved 1540 entries the day before the race,” said Jim Discuillo, the official race tabulator, who noted that the field “officially” closed at 1500. Of that number 1366 started and 1325 finished. Some runners were actually turned away before the race because they had waited too long to register.
After the race, Clyde’s of Columbia treated runners, volunteers, and their families to a fabulous outdoor brunch that featured, in addition to the usual bagels, muffins and fruit, sausage rigatoni, bean-chicken chili, a yogurt bar with granola and melons, a huge submarine sandwich (that went really fast), Coke and Powerade, Heinekin and Amsel Light, and delicious fresh strawberries specially flown in from California. Although it rained before the race, the precipitation stopped in time for the race and mercifully held off for the brunch and the awards ceremony.
Clyde’s 10k is staged every spring by the Howard County Striders. The race was directed by Charlie and Ellen Brown for the eighth year in a row. “Keeping a race director for eight years is comparable to keeping the same sponsor for 30 years,” noted announcer Dave Tripp. The Striders wish to thank the Howard County Police, who provided traffic control during the race, holding anxious motorists in check while the runners could move safely around Columbia. The Striders also wish to thank Clyde’s general manager Brent Lomax and his staff for their continued support (and especially the great brunch!).
Article By: Jim Carbary
