Jen Shaffer (left) wins the National City Half Marathon!Welcome back to earth! This is our very last edition of the Extra-terrestrial Enquirer! Congratulations to all our Beyond Marathoners on persevering through one tough winter of training! For continued coverage on Beyond marathoners and other KAR/BCRR members, read the Rundown as spring racing news unfolds. For those whose earthy adventures take them to the jungle territories of the Safari (we hope to see most of you there), runner news can also be found in its tabloid, Paw Prints, Hoof Tracks and Tales.
Beyond marathoner results continue to roll in as Dan Smith conquered the Charlottsville, VA Marathon in 4:21:49. For those who have never been to Charlottsville before, the city is surrounded by mountains! Congratulations Dan on your mountain climbing marathon!
Good luck to Scott Taylor, who will be running the Cincinnatti Flying Pig Marathon next week! This is the first marathon of his comeback!
The Borgess Run for the Health of IT always seems to usher in spring and the 2007 event was no exception as Saturday morning dawned as a beautiful, sunny day. A number of Beyond marathoners came out to enjoy the fun!
The big news it that Beyond ladies set the pace and finished 1-2 in the National City Half Marathon! Jen Shaffer and Megan James both set new PR’s with a very fast 1:24:03 and 1:24:51 respectively. Jen Shaffer is very quickly moving from the sub-elite towards elite runner status, and Megan James is an elite triathlete who has made a huge comeback and is faster than ever after giving birth to her daughter Rebecca! Congratulations ladies!!!
Francine Bangs and Pat Johnson both won their age group in the half with a 2:12:27 and 1:49:31. Joel Pennington was thrilled to set a brand new PR of 1:36:57. Only a week after completing his marathon, Dan Smith ran a 1:53:22. Tim Bredahl and Michael Ryan enjoyed a 13.1 mile conversation after starting and finishing together in 1:49:17. Kim Williams ran a 1:54:19, and Rachel Wittkowski came down from Grand Rapids to finish in 2:11:12. Bob Smola ran the half in 2:15, and Mark Chicoine finished in 1:45:54. Scott Taylor confessed to holding back a little to save his energy for next week’s Flying Pig Marathon, but still finished in an awesome 1:45:19. Gordon Hare is now on his way to recovery from the Glass City Marathon and finished the half in 2:09:19.
In the 5k, Steve Downard and Bonnie Sexton were both top 10 finishers. Steve finished 1st in his age group with an 18:27and Bonnie took 2nd with a 21:16. Kayla and Tim Kling earned more Club Championship Series points with their 23:17 and 23:58, and Tim Sochor ran with his daughter Kendra, making his way back to recovery with a 23:53.
We caught some other Beyond Marathoners live on the volunteer scene as well! Thanks to the Beyond’s Mark Sigfrids, Jennifer Shaffer, Bonnie Sexton, Tim Sochor and Peggy & Eric Zeeb for staffing the KAR table at the expo, along with Teresa Xaundria (who we hope will be recovered enough to join next year’s Beyond!) Mark Sigfrids performed double duty by staffing one of the course aid stations. In the spectator stands we found Monica Lynch recovering from Boston along with her friendly puppy, and Julie Wotasjchek on crutches as she begins the road to recovery. Julie, by the way, is taking advantage of her time off from running by learning some new skills. She is learning how to swim at the YMCA, and she just recently discovered how much fun it is to drive the handicap carts at Target!
Congratulations to all on a challenging, but spectatular winter of running! See you in the much warmer, tropical lands of the Jungle this summer!
