One by one, my wife’s family greeted me at Thanksgiving dinner with a single question: How was the Turkey Trot? And one by one, I explained to them that I didn’t run this year.
That’s because Sarah was running. Someone had to watch the kids.
Don’t take this the wrong way, I wasn’t jealous or upset. In fact, I felt the opposite way. There was an aura of excitement that I could just feel around me as I shared the details of her journey.
I talked about how she expertly cruised through a rain-filled race and how she crushed her goal time. I couldn’t help but brag about the “easy” day she had on the racepaths and how the Turkey Trot is ultimately a stepping stone for another objective: Running a trail half marathon this winter.
Even as I type right now, I’m in the process of searching for a 10K race to help Sarah keep her momentum going.
Why am I doing all of this? Because she’s worked hard and deserves it for all of the years she stayed home with the kids so I could spend my prime years competing on Thanksgiving morning.
And now that the roles have been reversed, I have a renewed understanding of how important the home support is for the family runner.
While she was toughing it out in the cold rain, I was busy getting the kids dressed in their Sunday best and preparing a hot cocoa recipe in the crock pot. Let’s forget for a moment that I forgot to plug the crock pot in, and focus on how Sarah was able to have peace of mind knowing she could keep her focus on the race.
Sending her off with a clear mind was important to me. Think about how hard it is just to be productive at work when your head space is dominated by worries and problems at home.
All Sarah had to do was run, and run she did, beyond all of our expectations. It makes me feel joy and gives me a sense of satisfaction that I played a small role in her success, just like she’s done for me.
It’s a feeling that rivals the high of actually competing in a race. And it’s a feeling I intend to continue chasing as I work my way back into racing shape. Seeing Sarah have success on the racing scene makes my chest swell with pride and gives me the same excited, light-on-my-toes feeling I get when I see one of my kids score a goal during soccer season. I can’t wait to see what she does next.
It just goes to show that you don’t necessarily have to be a runner to make an impact on the running world. And if you are a runner, there are always reasons to get excited about running, even if you’re not the main character.
1 STEP BACK, 3 STEPS FORWARD
Cross country season may have come to an end, but Julian Clark showed that he still has plenty of gas left in the tank.
Fayetteville’s Clark, a junior standout for Chambersburg’s cross country squad, put his talents on full display at the Greencastle Turkey Trot 5K, clocking a time of 17:06 to top the field of 506 runners.
Three Waynesboro runners — Will Campbell (6th in 18:32), Noah Bockstie (8th in 18:41), and Nate Snyder (10th in 19:02) — joined Clark in the Top 10, as did Greencastle’s Ewan Coy (9th in 18:46). Other top runners from the race include Greencastle’s Harrison Coy (19:15), Abric Coy (19:25), and Joshua Reddoch (20:18), Waynesboro’s Kelson Wagner (19:47), Jayden Rooney (21:05), and Bella Ruefle (21:35), and Hagerstown’s Michael Hohl (20:26) and Allie Isaacs (22:24).
In Hagerstown, the HCC Turkey Trot 5K drew 669 runners, including hundreds from the Local.News coverage area. David Butt, of Hagerstown, ran away for victory in 14:29, defeating a field that included the likes of Chambersburg’s Christopher Diaz (4th in 16:03), Jeffrey Stone (19:42), and Rachel Stone (19:46), and Smithsburg’s Rob Hovermale (19:14) and Michaela Gross (21:39).
Andreas Dunkel, of Chambersburg, was a 10th-place finisher in 17:53 at the Shippensburg Turkey Trot 5K. Dunkel was chased by Chambersburg’s Aaron Goshorn (18:49), Kieran Dunkel (19:09), Derek Book (19:21), Owen Book (20:04), and Olivia Colli (21:37), as well as Fayetteville’s Sheldon Sipe (21:18) and Emilea Alleman (21:37).
Area turkey trotters also made their mark across state lines, as evidenced by strong performances in Ohio and Florida. The Miamisburg Turkey Trot 5 Miler featured solid finishes from Chambersburg’s husband-wife team of Laurie Dymond (36:28) and David Dymond (37:56), each of whom claimed AG hardware. Drew Merrill, of Hagerstown, took on the Turkey Trot 5K in Oviedo, Fla., and took third in the 30-34 AG with a 20:20.
While Thanksgiving Day races dominated the headlines, perhaps the biggest race over the past few weeks was the JFK 50 Mile in Boonsboro, Md. America’s oldest ultramarathon drew the attention of several area runners, with Chambersburg’s Trent Overcash crossing the finish line in 6:24:10 to set the tone. Overcash was chased by Hagerstown’s Zachary Schreiber (7:38:34), Bryan Durboraw (7:43:47), and Lauren Cramer (7:45:55), Waynesboro’s Luke Manning (7:46:42), Smithsburg’s John Ashbaugh (8:38:48), and Chambersburg’s Laurie Dymond (8:49:54).
A number of others were active in races across the region and beyond, including Waynesboro’s Jennifer Kreitzer (2:41:46 at Greensboro Half Marathon), Greencastle’s Danielle Defelice (38:55 at Spring Valley 4 Miler), Chambersburg’s Ethan Cottone (30:23 at East Berlin Turkey Trot 5K), Nathan Lee (2:24:18 at Philadelphia Half Marathon), Elias Torres (5:49:07 at NCR Marathon), and Christine Metcalfe (6:34:14 at Philadelphia Marathon), Fairfield’s Michael Ball (27:04 at Y Turkey Trot Charity 5K), Lindsay Sites (31:07 at Thanksgiving Day Community 5K Turkey Trot), and Melissa Joy Powers (2:35:00 at NCR Half Marathon), Smithsburg’s Ashley Haugh (52:39 at Surfside Rotary Turkey Trot 10K), and Hagerstown’s Connor Abeles (20:19 at Huffin’ for Pumpkin Pie 5K), Alexander Philp (21:40 at Surfside Rotary Turkey Trot 5K), Nicholas Blake (21:48 at Helen L. Diller Turkey Trot 5K), and Timothy Moore (23:34 at Sheppard Pratt Frederick Turkey Trot 5K).
And now, a look ahead:
Christmas Cash Dash 5K/10K: Saturday, 8 a.m., in Chambersburg. Every race bib for this event doubles as a scratch-off ticket, with 25 cash prizes ranging from $100 to $500. Register for the race on timberhilltiming.com.
Pirate 5K/10K/15K/Half Marathon: Saturday, 8:30 a.m., in Biglerville. This event, put on by US Road Running, will be held at Oakside Community Park. Search for the race on runsignup.com.
Dallastown 10K: Saturday, Dec. 14, 9 a.m., in Dallastown. The York Road Runners Club Winter Series resumes with this race. Learn more at yorkroadrunners.com.
Also: Girls on the Run 5K (Saturday, in York); Lancaster County Ugly Sweater XC 5K (Saturday, in Lancaster); Manheim Santa Run 5K (Saturday, in Manheim); Pirate 5K/10K (Saturday, in New Cumberland); The Frosty 5K (Saturday, in Middletown); Jingle Bell Jog 2.5 Miler (Saturday, in Duncannon); Nittany Valley Half Marathon (Sunday, in State College); Shiver by the River 5K/10K (Sunday, in Reading); The Loop Race (Sunday, in Philadelphia); Dashing Through the Lights 5K (Friday, Dec. 13, in Lancaster); Dam Douglassville Ultra (Saturday, Dec. 14, in Douglassville); Ninja 5K/10K/15K/Half Marathon (Saturday, Dec. 14, in York); Dirty Bird Trail Run 15K/30K (Sunday, Dec. 15, in Elverson); Naked Nick 25K/50K (Sunday, Dec. 15, in Leesport).
