Tri State
Start of a marathon comes with the idea of it
By Dave Treber
Frostburg,MD
For TriStateRunnur
One of my most memorable races of all time was the Marathon of the Roses. This race was designed to run from York, PA, the white rose city, to Lancaster, PA, the red rose city. What a great idea for a race.
These are two towns that can trace their lineage to England, with the War of the Roses in the 13th century between the houses of York and England for the throne. There is not any evidence that this name for these battles of the aristocracy was ever used until Sir Walter Scott coined it in literature. Nor would there be much evidence that the current houses, at least their U.S. city counterparts, partnered much more civilly many centuries later.
Lancaster – no stranger to the economics of tourism or of automobile-free transportation such as horses (then) or running (now) – quickly embraced the idea. The City of Lancaster wanted the finish in downtown. But, the City of York wanted little to do with the race, let alone the start. As with the Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, a few years earlier, that local Pennsylvania monarchy did not cooperate with the House of Lancaster. Instead of starting in York, we would be bussed to Eastern High School, which was as the name implies in the eastern part of York County.
There are many great ideas for events, including quite a few I have hosted over the years here at Frostburg State University. There once was a State of Maryland all-star football game and while I liked the coach who organized it I finally said, “Yes, this is a good idea on the surface. But, logistically, if it were a great idea, someone would have started it a long time ago.” The physical act of getting all those big bodies in one place, getting marketing and ticketing set up for the game? Well, the guy I worked with tackled it for a couple of years. As with the ACIT – in its 49th year, congratulations - and other events, it takes champions and a lot of elbow grease. In the case of the all-star football game, getting fields set up for practices at Frostburg State University, as well as beds to sleep in would be the easy part, I had warned the coach.
While marathons in towns in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania such as Johnstown, Scranton, and Erie are many years running now, the Marathon of the Roses was to become a one-year-wonder. The group of organizers was from a law firm was quite prolific at marketing. They blanketed the area with publicity, less time attaching itself to the local running community. They got quoted a lot, about how runners in their small community had to travel elsewhere to find quality competition, and how “The Marathon of the Roses” would put these towns on the map.
The product itself was fine by me. I loved this race. But runners I knew there said it was less than the buildup. Logistics for any race, especially one involving such a wide area, can be quite a challenge.
As a graduate of Goshen College, I actually had a chance to enter the Marathon of the Roses with several Mennonite classmates. We’d be touring the rich farmland in between the two towns, and then our family was going to stick around for a few more days to visit the rolling hills of this area.
Did they mention rolling hills? This was the first marathon for my college friend, Lorin, and another runner we met out there at Eastern High School said, “Uh, you picked a tough one for your first.”
We all found that out a quarter of a mile into the 26.2 miles when we turned the corner from EHS and saw a wall. The road seemed to go straight up. Lorin would not finish this one and in fact laughs every time I mention, “Another marathon?!”
I forgot to mention it was also a very hot day there in Pennyslvania Dutch country. I felt hexed but I gutted it out. I was training a lot then, running marathons in the 2:50s most times out, and I only needed a 3:10 to qualify for Boston. This race was to be my only chance that Fall at a qualifying time. The rest of the race rolled up and down. Mostly up, it seemed like. As I headed toward the finish line, I watched the clock click over to 3:10:05. I had sprinted as hard as I could that last quarter mile thinking that maybe I could make a 3:09:59. I muttered that I had missed qualifying for the Boston Marathon by six measly seconds.
I found myself next the same guy that we had met at the start warning us this was going to be a tough one. When you are in a marathon like Boston or New York City, you share the road with a lot of strangers. When it is a small race with fewer than 100 finishers, strangers become friends fast. He laughed, “Don’t you know? Boston rounds off the times. 3:10 is the qualifier, but 3:10:59 is good enough. What were we in such a hurry about out there?”
And my dad offered similar sagacity. “I was stationed there for a while in the Navy, son. I could have told you it would be hills, hills, hills. But you listen to your running buddies for running advice instead of your old man.”
But, most of us could say that we made it. The organizers decided one year was enough.
That race was in 1996. Back when I was fast, as long as I got to go downhill instead of uphill, anyway. I thought about this race because my friends from back then e-mailed that there is now a new race coming up, billing itself as the first ever marathon in Lancaster, because that area has been underserved and runners had to go to Erie, Scranton, or Johnstown (but not York), and because they said so. After a number of people recalled the Marathon of the Roses, it became rebilled as “the first-ever marathon run entirely in Lancaster County.” That may be. Best wishes to the Garden Spot Village Marathon.
We’ve got one coming up here in which WJZ is even quoting a “grade is so gradual that runners will barely notice they're going uphill.” Best wishes to all in that race, on the roads, and behind the scenes. And that quote, I hope, is true.
Dave Treber runs in Frostburg.
He can be contacted at dtreber@frostburg.edu
By Dave Treber
Frostburg,MD
For TriStateRunnur
One of my most memorable races of all time was the Marathon of the Roses. This race was designed to run from York, PA, the white rose city, to Lancaster, PA, the red rose city. What a great idea for a race.
These are two towns that can trace their lineage to England, with the War of the Roses in the 13th century between the houses of York and England for the throne. There is not any evidence that this name for these battles of the aristocracy was ever used until Sir Walter Scott coined it in literature. Nor would there be much evidence that the current houses, at least their U.S. city counterparts, partnered much more civilly many centuries later.
Lancaster – no stranger to the economics of tourism or of automobile-free transportation such as horses (then) or running (now) – quickly embraced the idea. The City of Lancaster wanted the finish in downtown. But, the City of York wanted little to do with the race, let alone the start. As with the Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, a few years earlier, that local Pennsylvania monarchy did not cooperate with the House of Lancaster. Instead of starting in York, we would be bussed to Eastern High School, which was as the name implies in the eastern part of York County.
There are many great ideas for events, including quite a few I have hosted over the years here at Frostburg State University. There once was a State of Maryland all-star football game and while I liked the coach who organized it I finally said, “Yes, this is a good idea on the surface. But, logistically, if it were a great idea, someone would have started it a long time ago.” The physical act of getting all those big bodies in one place, getting marketing and ticketing set up for the game? Well, the guy I worked with tackled it for a couple of years. As with the ACIT – in its 49th year, congratulations - and other events, it takes champions and a lot of elbow grease. In the case of the all-star football game, getting fields set up for practices at Frostburg State University, as well as beds to sleep in would be the easy part, I had warned the coach.
While marathons in towns in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania such as Johnstown, Scranton, and Erie are many years running now, the Marathon of the Roses was to become a one-year-wonder. The group of organizers was from a law firm was quite prolific at marketing. They blanketed the area with publicity, less time attaching itself to the local running community. They got quoted a lot, about how runners in their small community had to travel elsewhere to find quality competition, and how “The Marathon of the Roses” would put these towns on the map.
The product itself was fine by me. I loved this race. But runners I knew there said it was less than the buildup. Logistics for any race, especially one involving such a wide area, can be quite a challenge.
As a graduate of Goshen College, I actually had a chance to enter the Marathon of the Roses with several Mennonite classmates. We’d be touring the rich farmland in between the two towns, and then our family was going to stick around for a few more days to visit the rolling hills of this area.
Did they mention rolling hills? This was the first marathon for my college friend, Lorin, and another runner we met out there at Eastern High School said, “Uh, you picked a tough one for your first.”
We all found that out a quarter of a mile into the 26.2 miles when we turned the corner from EHS and saw a wall. The road seemed to go straight up. Lorin would not finish this one and in fact laughs every time I mention, “Another marathon?!”
I forgot to mention it was also a very hot day there in Pennyslvania Dutch country. I felt hexed but I gutted it out. I was training a lot then, running marathons in the 2:50s most times out, and I only needed a 3:10 to qualify for Boston. This race was to be my only chance that Fall at a qualifying time. The rest of the race rolled up and down. Mostly up, it seemed like. As I headed toward the finish line, I watched the clock click over to 3:10:05. I had sprinted as hard as I could that last quarter mile thinking that maybe I could make a 3:09:59. I muttered that I had missed qualifying for the Boston Marathon by six measly seconds.
I found myself next the same guy that we had met at the start warning us this was going to be a tough one. When you are in a marathon like Boston or New York City, you share the road with a lot of strangers. When it is a small race with fewer than 100 finishers, strangers become friends fast. He laughed, “Don’t you know? Boston rounds off the times. 3:10 is the qualifier, but 3:10:59 is good enough. What were we in such a hurry about out there?”
And my dad offered similar sagacity. “I was stationed there for a while in the Navy, son. I could have told you it would be hills, hills, hills. But you listen to your running buddies for running advice instead of your old man.”
But, most of us could say that we made it. The organizers decided one year was enough.
That race was in 1996. Back when I was fast, as long as I got to go downhill instead of uphill, anyway. I thought about this race because my friends from back then e-mailed that there is now a new race coming up, billing itself as the first ever marathon in Lancaster, because that area has been underserved and runners had to go to Erie, Scranton, or Johnstown (but not York), and because they said so. After a number of people recalled the Marathon of the Roses, it became rebilled as “the first-ever marathon run entirely in Lancaster County.” That may be. Best wishes to the Garden Spot Village Marathon.
We’ve got one coming up here in which WJZ is even quoting a “grade is so gradual that runners will barely notice they're going uphill.” Best wishes to all in that race, on the roads, and behind the scenes. And that quote, I hope, is true.
Dave Treber runs in Frostburg.
He can be contacted at dtreber@frostburg.edu
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