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Street Mile, 16 April 2008
Main Street Mile has a human touch: among competitors and novice runners alike, times don’t always matter.
BY KEVIN SPRADLIN
WESTMINSTER –Tom Ruckert glanced jealously and mischieviously over at Maurice Pointer during the awards ceremony April 16 following the completing of the 27th annual Main Street Mile.
He pointed toward Pointer, a 52-year-old Baltimore resident who had just won the men’s 50-59 age group in 4 minutes, 47 seconds.
“He’s good,” said Ruckert, 55, of Grantsville.
A community race such as the Main Street Mile leaves a number of footprints on its 700 participants and 30 to 40 volunteers. First and foremost, perhaps, is the story of 31 students from Manchester Elementary School in northern Carroll County who ran to support Betty Smith, a teacher at the school. Smith is the grandmother of Connor Smith, who, at the age of 6, suffered sudden heart failure and died while competing in last year’s race.
The male and female winners of the untimed second heat were recognized as the inaugural recipients of the Connor Smith Memorial Award. This year, Jacob Nelson, 10, of Westminster, Md., and Sarah Rinehart, 10, of Eldersburg, Md., earned top honors.
Also, Westminster Road Runners club member David Mount started a running club at Mechanicsville Elementary School and signed up his runners for the fun run. Mount’s son is a student there, while teacher Alicia Fornal used the race as a final tune-up before the Boston Marathon.
There is an annual cash award to the school with the highest number of entrants. The award this year went to William Winchester Elementary School with 47 runners. Eldersburg Elementary School was second with 40, followed by Spring Garden Elementary (32), Manchester Elementary (31) and Sandymount Elementary (29).
Or perhaps one should consider Steve Kartalia, a former U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier in the 10,000-meter run. Kartalia also participated in the 5,280-foot footrace, which features a 144-foot vertical drop from start to finish. But one won’t find Kartalia’s name among the top 10 finishers.
You won’t even find his name in the competitive heat. Instead, Kartalia, 42, of Westminster, completed the mile with children on tow in, of all things, the Connor Smith Memorial Fun Run, an untimed, noncompetitive heat which had a higher number of registered participants than the competitors. They, too, each paid $7 to run without the benefit of an official time or place.
They were, however, equally predisposed to congregrate in winding line for a traditional ice cream sundaes in the post-race line inside Westminster Fire Engine & Hose Co. 1’s parking bay.
The race wasn’t about winning, but there were, in fact, male and female overall winners and 13 more in various age groups. Women like Lindsey Harris, 22, now of Baltimore but a former Francis Scott Key High School cross country runner. Harris won the women’s 20-29 age group in 6:05.
Women like Amy Morrow Funk, who ended the evening atop the 40-49 division over longtime rivals Ginger Rowley and Susanne McCown. Funk, 42, continues to improve on her PCPB – post-cancer personal best – times. This year, she finished in 6:31. She ran 6:46 in the 2007 Main Street Mile and placed third in her age group.
Kevin Spradlin can be contacted at cmacrunning@hotmail.com.