Tri State
DeWitt does it before saying ‘I do”
Beall High, Lehigh grad wins 5K less than 6 hours before wedding
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
LONACONING – Dan DeWitt had a better reason than anyone to cross the finish line on Saturday during the 21st annual Iron Furnace 5K run in southwestern Allegany County.
Maybe that’s why he finished first.
Beall High, Lehigh grad wins 5K less than 6 hours before wedding
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
LONACONING – Dan DeWitt had a better reason than anyone to cross the finish line on Saturday during the 21st annual Iron Furnace 5K run in southwestern Allegany County.
Maybe that’s why he finished first.
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DeWitt, 21, of Frostburg, had a 2 p.m. wedding to attend – his own – and covered the 3.1-mile road course in 15 minutes and 35 seconds to easily place first among more than 250 registered runners and walkers. He averaged 5:01 per mile.
The time was 33 seconds faster than his fourth-place effort in 2008. DeWitt said the primary focus was on winning the $200 cash prize – mission accomplished – as he and new bride Theresa Anne DeWitt (nee Murray) were headed to Jamaica for their honeymoon.
Following age-old custom, DeWitt said he wasn’t able to see his bride-to-be before the ceremony at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Mount Savage later in the day, so he might as well run and try to earn a little spending money.
First, however, DeWitt, a 2005 Beall High School graduate with Murray, had to dispatch former Lehigh University teammate Leo Smith, of East Rochester, N.Y. He did so fairly quickly from the downhill start near George’s Creek Elementary School.
The time was 33 seconds faster than his fourth-place effort in 2008. DeWitt said the primary focus was on winning the $200 cash prize – mission accomplished – as he and new bride Theresa Anne DeWitt (nee Murray) were headed to Jamaica for their honeymoon.
Following age-old custom, DeWitt said he wasn’t able to see his bride-to-be before the ceremony at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Mount Savage later in the day, so he might as well run and try to earn a little spending money.
First, however, DeWitt, a 2005 Beall High School graduate with Murray, had to dispatch former Lehigh University teammate Leo Smith, of East Rochester, N.Y. He did so fairly quickly from the downhill start near George’s Creek Elementary School.
By the time DeWitt traveled through Lonaconing proper and turned left onto Jackson Street toward Egle Nursing Home, it was his race to lose. Smith, 22, held off Allegany High School incoming junior Ian MacFawn for second place. Smith finished in 16:04 while MacFawn, 16, was third in 16:40.
Dennis Mickey, 44, of Ridgeley, W.Va., won the men’s masters title in 17:07. Paula Bridges, 43, of Cumberland, took home the women’s 40-and-over crown with a time of 22:44 - good for 73rd place overall.
Heather Parks, 34, of Bruceton Mills, W.Va., led all female finishers through Lonaconing with a time of 18:30, a 5:58 pace. Parks finished ninth overall, easily outdistancing Fort Hill High School graduate Amanda Twigg, 17, of Cumberland (20:10). Amy Rowan, 29, of Cumberland, was third in 20:22.
Contact Kevin Spradlin at run@mountainMDmarathon.org
Dennis Mickey, 44, of Ridgeley, W.Va., won the men’s masters title in 17:07. Paula Bridges, 43, of Cumberland, took home the women’s 40-and-over crown with a time of 22:44 - good for 73rd place overall.
Heather Parks, 34, of Bruceton Mills, W.Va., led all female finishers through Lonaconing with a time of 18:30, a 5:58 pace. Parks finished ninth overall, easily outdistancing Fort Hill High School graduate Amanda Twigg, 17, of Cumberland (20:10). Amy Rowan, 29, of Cumberland, was third in 20:22.
Contact Kevin Spradlin at run@mountainMDmarathon.org
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Leo Smith
Ian P MacFawn
Dennis Mickey /Sunny Delight
Amanda Twigg
Amy Rowan
Kari Brown