Dasher Dance 10K, 12 December 2004

Degenhardt, Clower Dazzle at Dancer Dance 10K

Local runners Sheldon Degenhardt and Sherry Clower posted impressive wins in the Dancer Dash 10K, held on December 12 and run under dry but windy conditions.

Degenhardt, from Eldersburg and winner of a large 5K run held there a year ago, and Doug Preston from Baltimore lead the pack out onto Old Bachman Valley Road and never looked back. At the one mile mark Degenhardt's 6:20 put him twelve seconds ahead of Preston, with Keith Albright, Mel Skwirut, and Joe Loveland within thirty seconds of Preston.

As the field moved towards Beggs Road and a trip through the woods, Degenhardt moved convinclingly away from the competition, reaching the 5K turnaround in 19:55, nearly two minutes ahead of Preston, who himself was nearly a minute ahead of Albright and Loveland.

Degenhardt ran the return portion in negative splits, knocking nearly a minute off his return trip. His margin also increased to nearly 4 and a half minutes. Preston finished as the first masters runner, and Loveland caught Albright on Old Bachman Valley Road to finish third. Tom Yinger moved up to finish fifth.

Clower, who had finished second in the last two club races, found the going easier today. Her 7:45 first mile time gave her a minute and forty second lead on Liuda Galinaitis and Chris Reese, and after reaching the halfway mark in 25:15, she also ran the return portion in negative splits, finishing tenth overall and being the last runner to break fifty minutes. Chris Reese edged Liuda Galinaitis to finish as second female and first masters female.

Runners disappointed that last year's race was cancelled due to bad weather, which meant there were no chocolate chip cookies at the finish line, were pleased to note that Shirley Leatherman has not lost her touch in the production of one of cookiedom's finest offerings.

The scene shifts to South Carroll High School on New Year's Day for the Winfield Mile. Merry Christmas and Happy Nibbling till then.