Tri State
Main Street Mile - a fun experience no matter what
Results Photos
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
WESTMINSTER, April 15 - Main Street Mile race director Beth Weisenborn waited an extra day before sending out a thank-you letter to event volunteers.
She needed the additional 24 hours to wrap her mind around an event that should have gone terribly wrong - but didn’t.
The weather on Wednesday for the 7 p.m. downhill race was abysmal, at least for a community event where warm temperatures and cold ice cream await finishers back at the fire hall.
“I can not remember a MSM with such miserable weather conditions,” Weisenborn said of the 28th annual Main Street Mile, conducted in a steady rain and temperatures in the high 30s. “I really wanted to turn the truck around Wednesday afternoon and go home. I thought, ‘no runner in their right mind would want to slip and slide down a wet Main Street for only one mile and then hang out with old cold, soaked runners while eating very frozen ice-cream sandwiches and waiting for us to assemble the results.”
She also was concerned about her large but relative smart pool of volunteers.
“Who in their right mind would show up to help on a night like that,” went the thought through Weisenborn’s mind. “And all of those poor course marshals from McDaniel College, would they show?”
Of course they would, as did 78 percent of the 791 registered runners for the competitive mile (165 finishers) and the slower, “fun run” second heat (453 finishers).
“We only had 43 no-shows in the fun run, so 453 children and their family members ran the fun run,” Weisenborn said. “This fact speak volumes about the ‘heart and soul’ of this race.”
Looking through nearly 800 race-day photos, Weisenborn could tell the trees were dampened with rain, but not so the enthusiasm of Main Street Mile runners.
“Almost everyone in the photos from the fun run has a smile on their face,” she said. “Even the heat one runners seemed happy as they pushed themselves to the finish line.”
And for overall winner Chris Frock, a senior at Winters Mill High School in Westminster, it was barely four minutes of fun.
Frock, the Carroll County Times indoor track athlete of the year this past season after winning two state championships, had a break in his outdoor racing schedule and said he wanted to come back to a race he’d enjoyed as a younger runner.
He finished in 4 minutes and 9 seconds, outdistancing Justin Fritzius, 24, of Purcellville, Va., by six seconds. Victor Cretella, 38, of New Market, Md., was third in 4:28. Sheldon Degenhardt, 44, of Marriotsville, Md., was the first men’s masters runner and ninth overall in 4:38.
“I figured I’d just give it a try,” Frock said shortly after the awards ceremony. “I was really just trying to win my age group. I guess it turned out alright.”
Frock’s winning margin could have been greater. Finish line photos show it appears he pulled up several meters before the finish line, knowing he was alone.
That also was the case for Sherry Stick, 30, of Eldersburg, Md., who won the women’s field in 4:50. Like Frock’s outdoor season, Stick has bigger things on her mind but wanted to participate in the annual community event.
In her taper period now, Stick plans to make her marathon debut at the Frederick Marathon in early May. Likewise, runner-up Kelly Gruber is going long after her 4:58 on Wednesday. Beth Berry, 45, of Westminster, was 41st overall and the first female masters runner.
Gruber, a 25-year-old Frederick, Md., resident and high school coach was set to compete in her first half marathon in Cumberland, Md., the following weekend. Having two fast 10-milers under her belt in 2009 - and Wednesday showed she had the leg turnover - she felt ready for the Mountain Maryland Half Marathon, in which she’s the favorite for the top spot.
The majority of times for the first 50 runners will forever be unofficial due to an error at the finish line. Weisenborn accepted the blame as results were being tallied as best as possible.
“The challenge with a one-mile race … downhill … is that it’s fast,” she said. “We have a very short amount of time to accommodate a couple hundred runners. One slight (misstep) … can turn into a huge problem.”
Most of the top runners were asked to provide their times and some of them had watches on to provide the information. Many others didn’t, which fit into the spirit of the longtime race just fine.
It shows nothing is ever really perfect at a footrace - except the Main Street Mile is bigger than a timing glitch and likely will always provide a family experience to enjoy.
Results Photos
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
WESTMINSTER, April 15 - Main Street Mile race director Beth Weisenborn waited an extra day before sending out a thank-you letter to event volunteers.
She needed the additional 24 hours to wrap her mind around an event that should have gone terribly wrong - but didn’t.
The weather on Wednesday for the 7 p.m. downhill race was abysmal, at least for a community event where warm temperatures and cold ice cream await finishers back at the fire hall.
“I can not remember a MSM with such miserable weather conditions,” Weisenborn said of the 28th annual Main Street Mile, conducted in a steady rain and temperatures in the high 30s. “I really wanted to turn the truck around Wednesday afternoon and go home. I thought, ‘no runner in their right mind would want to slip and slide down a wet Main Street for only one mile and then hang out with old cold, soaked runners while eating very frozen ice-cream sandwiches and waiting for us to assemble the results.”
She also was concerned about her large but relative smart pool of volunteers.
“Who in their right mind would show up to help on a night like that,” went the thought through Weisenborn’s mind. “And all of those poor course marshals from McDaniel College, would they show?”
Of course they would, as did 78 percent of the 791 registered runners for the competitive mile (165 finishers) and the slower, “fun run” second heat (453 finishers).
“We only had 43 no-shows in the fun run, so 453 children and their family members ran the fun run,” Weisenborn said. “This fact speak volumes about the ‘heart and soul’ of this race.”
Looking through nearly 800 race-day photos, Weisenborn could tell the trees were dampened with rain, but not so the enthusiasm of Main Street Mile runners.
“Almost everyone in the photos from the fun run has a smile on their face,” she said. “Even the heat one runners seemed happy as they pushed themselves to the finish line.”
And for overall winner Chris Frock, a senior at Winters Mill High School in Westminster, it was barely four minutes of fun.
Frock, the Carroll County Times indoor track athlete of the year this past season after winning two state championships, had a break in his outdoor racing schedule and said he wanted to come back to a race he’d enjoyed as a younger runner.
He finished in 4 minutes and 9 seconds, outdistancing Justin Fritzius, 24, of Purcellville, Va., by six seconds. Victor Cretella, 38, of New Market, Md., was third in 4:28. Sheldon Degenhardt, 44, of Marriotsville, Md., was the first men’s masters runner and ninth overall in 4:38.
“I figured I’d just give it a try,” Frock said shortly after the awards ceremony. “I was really just trying to win my age group. I guess it turned out alright.”
Frock’s winning margin could have been greater. Finish line photos show it appears he pulled up several meters before the finish line, knowing he was alone.
That also was the case for Sherry Stick, 30, of Eldersburg, Md., who won the women’s field in 4:50. Like Frock’s outdoor season, Stick has bigger things on her mind but wanted to participate in the annual community event.
In her taper period now, Stick plans to make her marathon debut at the Frederick Marathon in early May. Likewise, runner-up Kelly Gruber is going long after her 4:58 on Wednesday. Beth Berry, 45, of Westminster, was 41st overall and the first female masters runner.
Gruber, a 25-year-old Frederick, Md., resident and high school coach was set to compete in her first half marathon in Cumberland, Md., the following weekend. Having two fast 10-milers under her belt in 2009 - and Wednesday showed she had the leg turnover - she felt ready for the Mountain Maryland Half Marathon, in which she’s the favorite for the top spot.
The majority of times for the first 50 runners will forever be unofficial due to an error at the finish line. Weisenborn accepted the blame as results were being tallied as best as possible.
“The challenge with a one-mile race … downhill … is that it’s fast,” she said. “We have a very short amount of time to accommodate a couple hundred runners. One slight (misstep) … can turn into a huge problem.”
Most of the top runners were asked to provide their times and some of them had watches on to provide the information. Many others didn’t, which fit into the spirit of the longtime race just fine.
It shows nothing is ever really perfect at a footrace - except the Main Street Mile is bigger than a timing glitch and likely will always provide a family experience to enjoy.
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Sherry Stick
Chris Frock
Justin Fritzius
Kelly Gruber
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