A World Record went down at the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, when Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa crossed the finish line in 2:11:53, making her the fastest woman to ever complete the 26.2-mile distance
She annihilated the record by more than two minutes, and she did it by completing the race at a 5:00/mile clip. It was just Assefa’s third marathon.
And while I want to jump for joy in celebration of this remarkable achievement, I’m holding my applause for at least a brief while longer just to make sure that this is all real. It’s not that I’m suspicious of Assefa, it’s just that my generation has been captivated by “superhuman” feats time and again, only to be let down by cheating and scandal just as quickly.
The disappointment began for me when I, like any red-blooded American of the late 1990s, fell in love with the home run chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. I remember running down my long driveway after school every day and tuning our oversized satellite dish in to WGN to catch every Cubs afternoon game. I had a Sammy Sosa poster on my wall that tracked every single one of his homers and the pitchers he launched them off of. My imagination ran wild about these modern-day Babe Ruths and their race for a claim to one of baseball’s most unclaimable records.
It turned out all of that was based on lies and performance-enhancing drugs, not to mention a corked bat or two.
It didn’t matter, though, I had another hero of my era in Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor who swept through the Tour de France, consecutively winning the event from 1999-2005. I mean, who wasn’t inspired by this guy? We all wanted to “Live Strong” at some point in our lives, and there were millions of bracelets to prove it.
It turns out Armstrong was a doper, too.
Even my favorite football player, Brett Favre, who inspired me to watch the sport with his child-like enthusiasm and gunslinger style of play, turned out to be a fraudster decades later in Mississippi, when he enlisted the help of the governor to re-allocate millions in welfare money to fund a new volleyball center at the University of Southern Mississippi.
I could keep going, but my point is that when I open my heart, my thoughts, and my fandom to a team or an athlete, I am too often left feeling betrayed. I’m sure there are plenty of other “aging melennials” who feel exactly the same.
It’s for this reason that I am hesitant to excessively celebrate this result from Berlin. I can’t give the 26-year-old Assefa the benefit of the doubt just yet, but I’m openly rooting for a clean result to be the outcome and for this woman to become a running superstar the likes of Eluid Kipchoge.
After all, our kids deserve better heroes than the ones we got, right?
1 STEP BACK, 3 STEPS FORWARD
Trail racing is not for the faint of the heart. If lack of cell phone service is not enough of a deterrent, the treacherous racing terrain often is.
With that in mind, there’s not a trail race that isn’t loved by the rugged technical-running community from Franklin County. These folks show up week in and week out for the toughest races in the region and beyond. The past few weeks have been no exception.
We’ll start at Pine Grove Furnace State Park, which hosted the Ironmaster’s Challenge 15K/50K and drew more than 200 competitors, including a large contingent from the Local.News area. The 50K saw Amanda Balzer finish as top female in 6:26:19, while fellow Chambersburg runner Clayton Rotz took third in the 30-39 AG with his time of 7:05:01.
As for the Ironmaster’s Challenge, it was Chambersburg’s Eric Brennan taking third in the field of 168 with his time of 1:16:56. He was chased by Chambersburg’s Anthony Fisher (1:36:42), Garrett Iser (1:47:58), and Shelby White (1:48:09), as well as Fayetteville’s Gary Shoop (1:53:29), Greencastle’s Matthew Stowell (1:56:07), and Waynesboro’s Tammy Blakely (2:15:23).
In Lock Haven, it was a father-son and husband-wife team from Chambersburg taking the spotlight at the Boulder Beast. The 24-mile race saw Ryan Kaczmark post a 5:18:29 to take third in the 40-49 AG, while his son Alex took on the 25K and finished second in the 1-19 AG with a time of 3:07:47. The 25K was also completed by Richard Myers (3:24:32) and his wife Joan Myers (6:57:15).
The Cumberland Valley Rail Trail in Shippensburg is flat, fast, and much less intimidating than other trails. It served as the stage for the TrailFest 5K and Half Marathon races, which pulled in a combined 101 runners. The half marathon race was won by Greencastle’s Matthew Smith in 1:35:16, while other top times were posted by Chambersburg’s Steve Vanscyoc (1:56:41) and Craig Leisher (2:19:44), as well as Greencastle’s Robb Hand (2:21:23). As for the TrailFest 5K, Chambersburg’s Cade McDowell (3rd in 22:16) and Christian Madrigal (10th in 23:57), as well as Waynesboro’s Stephen Bui (8th in 22:54), all landed Top 10 finishes. Tia Mulewich of Chambersburg won the Masters Division in 27:56.
Moving from the trails to the roads, the Philadelphia Distance Run Half Marathon is the kind of race that requires quite a performance just to sniff the awards stand. Smithsburg’s Will Merritt, who recently committed a standout collegiate career running for Hagerstown Community College and Villanova, was up for the challenge. Merritt blazed through the race in 1:07:46 to finish second in the 20-24 AG. He was followed by Waynesboro’s Kyle Phillips (1:11:23) and Chambersburg’s Nikki Martin (1:23:48).
A number of others were active in races across the region, including Greencastle’s Ron Isaacs (4:16:42 at March for the Fallen 14 Mile Heavy Ruck), Fayetteville’s Amanda Kaiser-Jones (2:23:35 at Iron Horse Half Marathon) and Amy Whitmoyer (3:34:37 at Rock ‘N The Knob Trail Challenge Half Marathon), Chambersburg’s Garrett Ernst (28:47 at Dogfish Dash), Zach Johle (29:22 at Scottdale 5K; 1:03:09 at Pittsburgh Great Race 10K), Brenda Hill (36:58 at OCNJ 5K), Sean Corcoran (38:38 at Luau 5K), Heather McAreavy (43:44 at Race for Their Lives 5K), Nicole Omeis (51:23 at Luau 10K), Pamela Brenize (2:29:12 at Rock ‘N The Knob Trail Challenge 10K), Shane Hoverter (3:01:50 at March for the Fallen 14 Mile Light Ruck), and Matthew Walker (3:04:58 at World’s End Fall Classic Half Marathon).
And finally, a shoutout to Fayetteville’s Wing Lam Cheung, who has raced on both sides of the state in back-to-back weeks. She ran a 23:56 at the Philadelphia Distance Run 5K before heading west last weekend to take on the Pittsburgh Great Race 5K, where she ran a lifetime-best time of 22:18.
And now, a look ahead:
Dash for Down Syndrome 5K: Sunday, 2 p.m., in Fayetteville. Proceeds from this race, held at Norlo Park, will benefit Down Right Perfect, a non-profit that supports individuals with Down Syndrome from Chambersburg and surrounding areas. Learn more on timberhilltiming.com.
John H. Harmon Memorial 5K: Saturday, Oct. 7, 10 a.m., in Chambersburg. This race, which benefits Penn State Hershey Pulmonary Research, is in its 15th running. Find the race on timberhilltiming.com.
ITP Matters 5K Color Run/Walk: Saturday, Oct. 7, 1 p.m., in Fayetteville. This untimed fun run at Norlo Park will feature plenty of colorful miles. The event benefits ITP Matters, and can be found on timberhilltiming.com.
Also: Zero Prostate Cancer Run/Walk 5K (Friday, in Harrisburg); Bridge to Bridge Run 51.8 Mile (Saturday, in Washington Crossing); Coffee Lovers Run 5K/10K/13.1 (Saturday, in Philadelphia); Hands-on House Race 5K/10K/13.1 (Saturday, in Lancaster); Homeland Hospice 5K (Saturday, in Mechanicsburg); Hop Dash 5K (Saturday, in Hershey); Run for Donuts Race 5K/10K/13.1 (Saturday, in Philadelphia); Stewartstown Main Street 5K (Saturday, in Stewartstown); Strasburg Half Marathon (Saturday, in Strasburg); Tough Mudder Poconos (Saturday, in Long Pond); Trails 4 Tails 40 Miler (Saturday, in Hanover); Black Forest Ultra 100K (Sunday, in Hyner Run State Park); Blues Cruise 50K (Sunday, in Reading); Holden’s Light 5K (Sunday, in Harrisburg); Marshalton Triathlon (Sunday, in West Chester); Raven Trail Half Marathon (Sunday, in Coburn); Shoes ‘N Brews 26.2K Metric Marathon (Sunday, in Conshohocken); Zoey’s Fun Run 5K (Sunday, in York); Cornwall Superhero 5K (Friday, Oct. 6, in Lebanon); Red Barn Challenge 6H/12H/24H (Friday, Oct. 6, in Lykens); Community 5K (Saturday, Oct. 7, in Strasburg); Hartz PT Fall Blast 5K (Saturday, Oct. 7, in Lititz); Haunted 5K/10K (Saturday, Oct. 7, in New Cumberland); Ives Run Trail Challenge (Saturday, Oct. 7, in Tioga); Lititz 5K for Life (Saturday, Oct. 7, in Lititz); Marilla Road Race 14 Mile (Saturday, Oct. 7, in Bradford); Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs (Saturday, Oct. 7, in Titusville); Snack Town RunFest Half Marathon (Saturday, Oct. 7, in Hanover); Teepee Trot 5K (Saturday, Oct. 7, in Halifax); YMCA October Half Marathon (Saturday, Oct. 7, in Hollidaysburg); Green Monster Trail Challenge 25K/50K (Sunday, Oct. 8, in Wellsboro); Steamtown Marathon (Sunday, Oct. 8, in Scranton).
