The amount of training that Vivienne puts in — just to be prepared for one day of the year — is profoundly absurd.
My 9-year-old daughter poured everything she had into this past cross country season and reached milestones that we thought were years away. As it stands, she’s just a minute away from shattering my adult mile PR.
Vivi slashed up and down the sidelines as a wing during the soccer season, and now she’s in the wrestling room picking up her peers and (gently) putting them back down.
It’s not an easy sports path to take, but if you ask her why she has taken it, she’ll respond with one word: Halloween.
From the mummy dogs to the costumes to the spooky inflatable hand in our front yard that stalks all watchers with a wandering eye from the center of its palm, Vivienne lives for Oct. 31. And when it’s finally time for the main event — the trick-or-treating — she is more prepared for the moment than Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, and Derek Jeter combined. It’s really something to watch.
Gone are the years of the small plastic bucket, now set aside for era of the large pillow case. Her sneakers, worn in place of any kind of costume shoes, are laced up and double knotted.
From the opening second, she’ll jog from house to house, saying the magic words each time to get her sweet reward. Viv will run right past the kids who are complaining about their outfits or have already started consuming the contents of their buckets. Nothing will get in her way.
With each step, house, and street block, she’ll shrug off the growing weight of her bag and hustle for more, checking in with me only for time updates. Vivi will stop for a photo if she sees friends, but she will make it clear she’s operating on a ticking clock.
Last year during her third-grade run of Halloween hunting, she collected two full bags of candy, roughly enough to fill up the bottom layer of a bathtub.
The best part about this process is when we get home and she empties all the candy on the floor and sprawls to her stomach to hug her newly-acquired riches. There’s a look of awe and accomplishment in her eyes that’s so beautiful and innocent when she sorts her candy into smaller groups and announces the final count for each pile.
On Saturday, Vivienne will be looking to score the biggest haul of her trick-or-treating career. And if I were a betting man, I’d say she’s going to reach her goal.
I’m really happy to see the competitive fire — a quality that can be empowering in any arena — but for now I really just want to cling to these fleeting childhood moments of ghosts, goblins, and Halloween PRs.
1 STEP BACK, 3 STEPS FORWARD
Chambersburg’s Zachary Stinson — a Marine Corps veteran who lost both of his legs above the knee from IED explosion in Afghanistan in 2010 — has just added another notable victory to a legendary marathon career in the handcycles division.
Competing last weekend at the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Va., Stinson powered to the finish line in 1:15:10 to conquer the field of 50 competitors. It was Stinson’s second MCM win, and first since the 2023 race. He is a four-time Boston Marathon champion, who also owns victories at the Chicago and Detroit Marathons.
Stinson was joined in Arlington by dozens of runners from the LocalNews1.org coverage area, including several who cracked the four-hour barrier: Hagerstown’s Bryan Durboraw (3:10:13), Anthony Corsi (3:17:19), Umberto Marangoni Neto (3:28:37), Isaiah Dell (3:28:44), Alexander Bandeff (3:37:46), and David Ulrich (3:46:24), Cascade’s Chelsea Bricker (3:46:45), Waynesboro’s Lindsey Franklin (3:51:17), and Chambersburg’s Brian Sulcove (3:54:44).
In Waterfall, the tunnels of the abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike served as the backdrop for End of the Road Half Marathon Weekend. Two 13.1-mile races were highlighted by top finishes from Greencastle’s Matthew Smith (1:38:15), Hagerstown’s Will Marquiss (1:41:50) and Bradley Reed (1:55:37), and Chambersburg’s Shelby White (1:49:54). The accompanying One Tunnel 4 Miler saw Chambersburg’s Liam Coy crush the field of 302 runners in 23:38. Coy toppled a field that included Chambersburg’s Ben Lin (3rd in 24:39), Logan Bert (5th in 26:27), and Corinne Haupt (35:56), and Hagerstown’s Andrew Bowers (32:52).
Allie Isaacs, of Hagerstown, picked up a win at the Buzz Sawyer Western Maryland Marathon, held in Hancock. Isaacs finished as top female in 3:12:51 to guide a group of locals that included Hagerstown’s Jacob Frazee (3:44:38) and Chambersburg’s Scott Harshman Jr. (3:57:23). The Buzz Sawyer Half saw a third-place finish in 1:29:18 from Anthony Chaney, while fellow Hagerstown runner Bradley Reed clocked a 1:51:42 to take third in the Masters Division. Another Hagerstown runner, Jennifer Keefer, took eighth overall in the Buzz Sawyer 10K with a time of 1:00:40.
Nate Snyder, a standout competitor for Waynesboro’s cross country squad, set the course on fire in Shippensburg at the Five Forks Church Autumn Harvest 5K. Snyder ran away for victory in 17:17 to topple a field that included Waynesboro’s Noah Hartman (2nd in 18:59), Henry Stewart (3rd in 19:36), and Josh Snyder (4th in 20:09), Greencastle’s Mason Shaner (5th in 20:23), Fayetteville’s Joel Jacobs (6th in 20:50), Fort Loudon’s Dennis Reamer II (7th in 21:23), Lemasters’ Trenton Morgan (9th in 23:47), and Chambersburg’s Christine Metcalfe (3rd female in 26:31).
Two other local runners — Hagerstown’s Deborah Subetto and Greencastle’s Samantha Roberts — have tasted victory in recent weeks.
Subetto siezed top female honors in 26:28 in Hagerstown at the Mental Health Awareness 5K. She was joined in the Top 10 by Hagerstown’s Gabriel Hrisch (2nd in 25:37), Chris Smith (4th in 27:02), Jenna Wallace (5th in 27:11), and Abigail Teobal (7th in 27:17).
As for Roberts, she was top female at the Boulder Dash 5K in Williamsport, Md. Roberts registered a time of 28:49 to lead a group of area standouts that included Hagerstown’s Steve Brooks (4th in 24:28), Matthew Chaney (7th in 27:03), and Charlie Rubis (29:21).
While Subetto and Roberts put up fast times, Waynesboro’s Brittany Sprouse and Kira Beeler were even faster in Orrtanna at the Adams County Winery Haunted Wine Run 5K. Competing in a field of 358 runnres, Sprouse took third overall in 22:10, while Beeler crossed the finish line in 23:40 to take eighth. Other top times were recorded by Greencastle’s Maria Bonebrake (25:26) and Thelma Reibsome (28:13), Fairfield’s Justin Crider (27:29), and Fayetteville’s Justin Crider (27:29).
A number of others were active in races across the region and beyond, including Waynesboro’s Samantha Dulany (30:13 at Baltimore 5K; 2:25:50 at Emerald Isle Half Marathon), Greencastle’s Kristy Lagoe (32:05 at Disney Wine & Dine 5K) and Logan Hall (1:50:28 at Baltimore Half Marathon), Chambersburg’s David Hutchins (22:13 at Lexus 5K), Aidan Pooler (42:31 at Scarecrow Shuffle 8K), Alessandro Anzalone (49:43 at Baltimore 10K), Daniel Foster (1:54:32 at Buffalo Creek Half Marathon), and Carolyn Dann (4:13:50 at The Haunted Forest Marathon), Fairfield’s Nicholas Osborne (1:52:46 at Devils Chase 6.66 Miler), Hagerstown’s Ben Fickes (27:36 at Bob Baronner Apple Trample 5K), Mike Wood (28:54 at Headless Horseman 5K), Benjamin Bohrer (52:14 at Oktoberfest 5 Miler), Steven McCarty (56:51 at Boulder Dash 5 Miler), Aaron George (2:04:19 at Urban Bourbon Half Marathon), Isai Lopez (2:27:59 at 4 Bridges Half Marathon), and Jalen Weaver (3:18:41 at Baltimore Marathon), Smithsburg’s April Stockman (44:51 at MCM 8K), and Cascade’s Micah Cox (25:12 at Mustang’s Milestone 5K).
And finally, a shoutout to Chambersburg’s Bobby Sippel, who competed at the Tussey Mountainback 50 Mile in Boalsburg and clocked a 9:41:06 to take second in the 30-39 AG.
And now, a look ahead:
Go Girls Go 5K: Saturday, 9 a.m., in Chambersburg. All runners are invited to compete in this event, which is the culmination of an afterschool girls’ empowerment and running program. Register for the race on timberhilltiming.com.
Fire on the Mountain 25K/50K: Sunday, 7 a.m., in Little Orleans, Md. Enjoy the sights and scenes at Green Ridge State Forest in this event, put on by 2Lowe Run Co. Register for the race on ultrasignup.com.
Harrisburg Marathon: Sunday, Nov. 8, 7:30 a.m., in Harrisburg. This relatively-flat race could be just what you need to qualify for Boston. Look for the race on runsignup.com.
Also: All City 20 Miler (Saturday, in Philadelphia); Medal Madness 5K/10K/13.1M/26.2M (Saturday, in Harrisburg); Shadows of Lancaster Adventure Race (Saturday, in Lancaster); South West Center City 5K (Saturday, in Philadelphia); Trick or Trot 5K (Saturday, in Camp Hill); York White Rose Run 5 Miler (Saturday, in York); Historic Drawbridge Running Festival 5K/13.1M/26.2M (Saturday, in Saint Michaels, Md.); Gulliver’s Run 5K (Sunday, in Lewisberry); Hot Cider Hustle 5K/10K (Sunday, in Harrisburg); Veterans Marathon (Sunday, Blairsville); Mackyard Ultra (Saturday, in Cockeysville, Md.); We Got Your Six Marathon (Sunday, in White Plains, Md.); Gobbler 5K/10K (Saturday, Nov. 7, in New Cumberland/Biglerville); Kindness 5K (Saturday, Nov. 7, in York); Lions’ Chase 5K (Saturday, Nov. 7, in Millersburg); Mushroom Cap Half Marathon (Saturday, Nov. 7, in Kennett Square); Pain in Green Lane Trail Run 25K/50K (Saturday, Nov. 7, in Green Lane); The Long Run Fall Back 5M/3H/6H (Saturday, Nov. 7, in Wind Gap); The View 25K (Saturday, Nov. 7, in Hyner); Veterans Day 5K Run (Saturday, Nov. 7, in Willow Street); Veterans Trail Festival 5K/20M/50K (Saturday, Nov. 7, in Hookstown); EQT Pittsburgh 10 Miler (Sunday, Nov. 8, in Pittsburgh); Forbidden Run Fest 10K/10M/13.1M (Sunday, Nov. 8, in Philadelphia).
