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Frederick Marathon, 4 May 2008.
Stick 2nd woman in Frederick Half-Marathon.
FREDERICK, Md. – There were a few changes in the way Corrigan Sports Enterprises conducted Sunday’s Frederick Half-Marathon.
Those changes included better parking and bathroom facilities along with a smoother start to the race. That problem-free beginning helped Eldersburg resident Sherry Stick cruise to a second-place finish in the women’s field in 1 hour, 27 minutes and 21 seconds. The time in this, her second 13.1-mile effort, was less than 30 seconds off her personal best run in April 2007 in Ocean City.
In fact, the changes CSE implemented might have made things a bit too good for the 1,805 half-marathoners to toe the starting line.
“I think I went out a little too fast,” said Stick, 29, who competed under the colors of the Westminster-based Baltimore-Washington Athletic Club. “I felt good at first. I think my first mile was in 6:15. This year it was way more organized. Last year, it was a mess.”
The field included 1,001 women. Tammy Slusser, of Monroeville, Pa., won in 1:24:42. Club teammate Becky Alvarez Rhodes, 28, of Westminster, was ninth overall despite having stomach issues beginning at mile 10. She placed second in the women’s 25-29 age group.
The two women weren’t the area’s only runners to log a top-flight performance. Westminster graduate Karsten Brown, 34, now of Front Royal, Va., was the fifth male in the marathon – yes, all 26.2 miles of it – in 2:57:46.
Other local marathon finishers included: Jon Hill, 28, Finksburg, 4:09:57; Amy Morrow Funk, 42, Sykesville, 4:16:50; Scott Kohr, 46, Westminster, 4:22:32; Deb Clark, 55, Hanover, Pa., 4:45:05; Debbie Leathers, Taneytown, 5:48:16; and Carole Williamson, 46, Sykesville, 5:48:17.
At 13.1 miles, area finishers included: Tom Yinger, 37, of Westminster, who finished just behind Stick with a time of 1:28:39, good for third place in the men’s 35-39 age group; Becky Arnold, 25, Union Bridge, 2:02:13; Heather Arnold, 28, Union Bridge, 2:06:12; Bob Sommerville, 60, Westminster, 2:08:41; and Debbie Arnold, 55, Union Bridge, 2:21:02. Complete results can be viewed at www.frederickmarathon.org.
In also her second half-marathon, Rhodes finished in 1:35:28, an average of 7:17 per mile. Rhodes said she began the day feeling fine, but “at mile 10, I had nothing left. I don’t even know how I got through the last three miles. It felt like I ran a marathon. My muscles, my legs … they just went dead. I’ve never really experienced that feeling.”
Her goal was to beat 1:35, a time she ran in Ocean City last spring, and the first 10 miles she was on pace to do just that. The last 5K, however, was just too much to handle.
“I’m a little upset with my time because that was just my goal, to beat that,” Rhodes said. “I don’t know what happened here. I did not feel like this in Ocean City I’m really disappointed in how I did. I wanted to be in the top five.”
Odds are Rhodes will bounce back quickly, however, as she resumes her daily runs of up to six miles and 11 to 13 miles each weekend. And when she comes back, there’s a chance her goals – and those of her training partner’s, Stick – will adjust to an even longer distance.
“We’ve talked about maybe, eventually, doing a marathon,” Stick said. “We’d always talked about doing a half. I don’t know if we will or not. I still like the shorter stuff.”
For the time being, the runners will likely focus on the Summer Twilight Series, sponsored by the Westminster Road Runners Club. There, both runners can revert to their specialty, the “shorter stuff.” The series kicks off at 7 p.m. May 29 with a two-mile track run at Winters Mill High School in Westminster.
The WRRC is the parent club of the Baltimore-Washington Athletic Club. Questions can be directed to cmacrunning@hotmail.com.
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| Sherry Stick, left, and Becky Alvarez Rhodes head up Main Street in April minutes for the downhill mile. The two went the distance in Sunday's Frederick Half-Marathon and both runners placed in the top 10 among 1,001 women. Photo courtesy of Kevin Spradlin, April 2008. |