Burk Memorial 5K, 8 October 2005

Yinger, Gruperhof Capture Burk 5K

In a race that started cloudy and ended wet, Tom Yinger and Mary Gruperhof captured the Burk Memorial 5K on Saturday, October 8.

With a field depleted by the cloudy weather and by long races in the near future, Yinger and Gruperhof charged to the front of the pack as they ran together for the first kilometer, which is an out and back on Tahoma Farm Road. Brunswick High School sophomore Maria Moss, Joe Loveland, and Chrissy Pennington trailed as the skies began to discharge moisture.

Soon after they reached the only completed portion of what might eventually become the Burk Linear Trail, Yinger grabbed the lead, and as he reached the three kilometer mark, he was all alone with Gruperhof, Loveland, Moss, and Pennington nowhere to be seen. At the finish Yinger had increased his lead to two minutes over Joe Loveland, who moved into second place on the second lap. Fittingly, Yinger once played rec football for the Westminster Chiefs, whose head coach was Terry Burk, after whom the race is named.

As the runners finished the course, it was raining heavily, and to protect the Chronamix, timing was done in a vehicle, with no finish cards distributed. Yinger and Gruperhof received $15 gift certificates from the Treat Shop, located in the Town Mall of Westminster (Cranberry Mall sounds so much better), while Loveland, Moss, Pennington, and Jim Rodriguez each got $10 gift certificates. Everyone else got random prizes courtesy of a refrigerator and pantry scavenging session the night before. It is safe to say that the retail prices of all awards were more than anyone's entry fee.

For Gruperhof, who is returning to racing after many years and who is looking forward to becoming a masters runner soon, this performance indicates that local masters female runners may not fare well in the near future. For Moss--who used the race to prep for future conference, Frederick County, and regional cross-country meets--the future looks good, and the WRRC wishes her well.