It makes me chuckle to say this, but perhaps the most active runner in the Sandrik family household is our pet tortoise, Terry.
Every single time we take her outside, she hits the ground running. Without fail. Terry isn’t fast by any means, but she’s quick and relentless. All it takes is one distraction to give her the time needed to slip away from view.
She’s already escaped a number of times, and those escapades have been well-documented in this column.
Lately, I’ve been wondering, where is she even running to? Let’s take her on a 60-minute “long run” and find out.
We start our adventure from the edge of the grass along our back porch. Her legs were actively churning before I even placed her on the ground, and once I released her she made a run for the chain-link fence, gobbling up every dandelion she saw on the way.
What came next for Terry was a frustrating and fruitless endeavor to cross through the fence. She meandered along the side of the fence and poked her head through each link, only to realize each time that her shell was too big to fit through. This continued for several minutes until she finally found a small trench under the fence to make her crossing.
That’s when I snatched her up and moved her a few feet ahead. Sorry, Terry, but I can’t let you eat Joanne’s flowers next door.
The fenced segment of her run ended on the sidewalk, where she made a sharp left turn and picked up speed.
Terry click-clacked past Joanne’s house and the next one, fueling her journey with every plump dandelion that presented itself.
It wasn’t long before my son, Paxton, tagged along for our journey. Some neighbors took notice of the long-distance haul and cheered Terry along, while kids on bikes stopped to watch and see how far this tortoise could go.
But just like Forrest Gump, she left her entourage hanging when she rumbled into the thick grass of an uncut lawn. To the human eye this yard simply looked sloppy, but I can’t imagine what Terry saw when she waded through the grasses that stood two or three times taller than herself.
Perhaps it was an oasis of sorts for Terry. Again, she hunted down the fattest dandelions of her adventure and cleansed her palette by gnashing through oversized greens with her beak. Once she was satisfied, she searched for a place to burrow and call it a night.
It was time to take her home. Terry’s odyssey lasted nearly a block. Over this span she logged nearly 100 steps per minute, meaning she completed up to 6,000 steps on our hour-long quest.
To me the most impressive part of Terry’s outing wasn’t her speed, but another quality that cannot be taught: Persistence.
Maybe there’s a lesson or inspiration that can be drawn from this fleet-footed tortoise, who legend says once overcame the odds to beat the speedy hare in a race through the woods.
1 STEP BACK, 3 STEPS FORWARD
It’s no secret that Laurie Dymond is a nationally-renowned member of the endurance running community.
But after a sharp performance on the track last weekend, Chambersburg’s lifelong running standout will be recognized as one of the world’s greats.
Competing at the Dawn to Dusk to Dawn Track Ultra 24-Hour in Sharon Hill, the 60-year-old Dymond completely rewrote the recordbooks in the 60-64 AG. She blasted through 283 laps at Academy Park High School’s Knight Track, and crushed American records with her times in the 50K (4:45), 50 miles (8:08), and 100K (10:24), before she set her sights on the 12-Hour World Record. Per Dymond’s account of the race on Facebook, “The last two laps I was literally running on nothing but determination and heart because I was toast.”
Dymond’s superhuman efforts did not go unrewarded: By running more than 70 miles in 12 hours, she got the record.
“I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by such positive and inspiring people who love and support me in continuing onward and not sitting on the sidelines,” Dymond added at the end of her race report. “Life is for the living and I’m using up everything God has given me.”
While Dymond was getting the job done on the road, hundreds of other locals stayed closer to home to take on backyard races in Chambersburg, Fayetteville, and Williamsport, Md.
We’ll start with the Tiki Trot 5K/Beer Mile/Tiki-Tizer Miler in Williamsport, an event that drew more than 250 particpants. Three locals — Smithsburg’s Jonah Smith (2nd in 16:36) and Hagerstown’s Harol Samir Baca Ponce (4th in 17:51) and Allie Isaacs (8th in 19:58) — landed Top 10 finishes in the 5K. They were chased by Smithsburg’s Sean Allen (21:36) and Hagerstown’s Elijah Kemp (21:44) and Zachary Ricker (21:46). Allen competed in the beer mile and finished fourth in 8:32, while Greencastle’s Hannah Allen completed quite a demanding triple with finishes in the 5K (24:32), mile (11:32), and Tiki-tizer mile (14:27).
The Shalom Christian Academy 5K in Chambersburg drew the attention of 93 runners, including top female Sarah Boward of Chambersburg, who finished in 22:54. Boward landed among a group of Top 10 finishers that included Waynesboro’s Kelson Wenger (2nd in 19:59), Greencastle’s William Davis (3rd in 20:10) and Matthew Davis (4th in 21:05), and Chambersburg’s Owen Book (5th in 22:23), Joshua Fitzpatrick (7th in 22:32), Boaz Helman (9th in 23:25), and Brad Myers (10th in 23:30).
The Keep Moo-ving Forward 5K in Fayetteville saw Chambersburg’s Jonathan Rotz (20:56) and Alecia Rotz (21:09) finish as top male and female, respectively. They were joined in the Top 10 by Chambersburg’s Shelby White (3rd in 22:40), Cliff Ocker (4th in 23:35), Adali Rotz (6th in 25:12), Christine Metcalfe (7th in 27:26), and Trinity Rotz (8th in 28:14), and Fayetteville’s Todd Barton (5th in 23:49) and Kerry Barton (9th in 28:42).
Frederick RunFest was a massive event, with the Twilight 5K and Frederick Half Marathon races combining to draw more than 5,000 runners. Josh Montgomery, of Hagerstown, finished 10th in the 5K in 20:13. Montgomery was followed to the finish line by Hagerstown’s Stephen Brooks (23:19) and Benjamin Bohrer (28:58) and Waynesboro’s Carrie Hott (28:20). The 13.1-mile race was highlighted by the running of Hagerstown’s Kevin Smith (1:28:30) and Allie Isaacs (1:31:44), Chambersburg’s Rachel Stone (1:29:01) and Aaron Frankey (1:35:49), Smithsburg’s Sean Allen (1:35:19), and Greencastle’s Maggie Turner (1:41:15).
Two of the faster half marathon times in recent weeks were posted by Chambersburg’s Eli Yemzow and Hagerstown’s John Brown. Yemzow clocked a 1:35:31 at the Barns & Blooms Half Marathon in South Hamilton, Mass., while Brown surged to the finish line in 1:16:35 to win the Cambridge Crab Run Half Marathon.
A number of others were active in races across the region and beyond, including Greencastle’s Cade McDowell (1:18:52 at Broad Street Run 10 Miler), Chambersburg’s Brent Rockwell (46:51 at Ruck & Rose 5K), Elena Rockwell (51:34 at Escape Belle Isle 5K), Brian Macomber (2:18:11 at York Half Marathon), and Brandon Paiz (4:33:32 at York Marathon), Fairfield’s Stevie Kauffman (31:29 at National Police Week 5K), and Hagerstown’s Bryce Gates (23:03 at The Bettie Jane Cancer Foundation 5K), JoJo Clark (33:49 at EveryMile for EveryMind 5K), Grant Anderson (41:01 at Luau 5K), Will Marquiss (50:26 at New River Gorge Rim to Rim 6 Miler), and Michael Sanders (46:43 at Apple Blossom Valley Health 10K).
And finally, a shoutout to Waynesboro’s Rheeanna Walters, who competed at the Grayson Highlands 50 Miler in Wilson, Va., and finished the race in 12:45:28.
And now, a look ahead:
Race to Share the Gospel Around the World 5K: Saturday, 9:15 a.m., in Chambersburg. Proceeds from this race benefit Christian outreach to Thailand. Register for the race on runsignup.com.
Water Wheel 5K: Saturday, May 23, 8:30 a.m., in Newville. The Cumberland Valley Rail Trail will serve as the backdrop for this out-and-back race. Sign up for the race on timberhilltiming.com.
Memorial Day Free 5K: Monday, May 25, 8 a.m., in Gettysburg. No registration fee is required for this race, presented by Healthy Adams County. Learn more about the race on runsignup.com.
Also: 5K Neon Run (Friday, in Greencastle); ABB Around the World 5K (Saturday, in Mechanicsburg); Chip’s Champions 5K (Saturday, in Denver); Clinic for Special Children 5K (Saturday, in Leola); Conestoga Crusher 5K/10K (Saturday, in Holtwood); Girls on the Run 5K (Saturday, in Lancaster); French Creek TriFest (Saturday, in Elverson); Go Girls Go 5K (Saturday, in Chambersburg); Joggin’ 4 the Noggin 5K (Saturday, in Newport); Luau 5K/10K (Saturday, in Akron); Mighty Moraine Man Triathlon (Saturday, in Portersville); Not One More Run for Recovery 5K (Saturday, in York); Wheels & Wings Festival 5K (Saturday, in Lititz); Womelsdorf Mennonite Youth 5K (Saturday, in Lebanon); Independence Triathlon (Sunday, in Ottsville); Unified 5K (Sunday, in Mechanicsburg); Upper Dublin Triathlon (Sunday, in Fort Washington); Carlisle Downtown Mile (Thursday, May 21, in Carlisle); Thirsty Thursday 5K (Thursday, May 21, in Reading); Bubbletown What the Duck Ultra 12 Hour (Saturday, May 23, in Boiling Springs); Erin Walker Memorial 3K Color Run (Saturday, May 23, in York); HTVRC Run to Remember 3M (Saturday, May 23, in Enola); Luau 5K/10K (Saturday, May 23, in Manheim); Path of the Flood Historic Races (Saturday, May 23, in Johnstown); Tough Mudder Philly (Saturday, May 23, in Coatesville); VA5K Memorial Run (Saturday, May 23, in Lebanon); White Horse Gallop (Saturday, May 23, in Gap); Charlie Horse Half Marathon (Sunday, May 24, in Mohnton); Linglestown Memorial Day Mile (Monday, May 25, in Linglestown); Memorial Day 5K (Monday, May 25, in Ephrata); York Gold Star Memorial Day 5K (Monday, May 25, in York).
