| March 2002 Newsletter |
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Lebourne, Martin Master the 35th Hartshorne Master Mile
At age 34, there aren't many things I'm too young to do. Only two come to mind - running for President and, a race I'd actually enjoy winning, the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile. But speaking as someone who trains with Ithaca's High Noon Athletic Club, whose own Rick Hoebeke has organized the last 15 annual installments of the Hartshorne Masters Mile, it's impossible to avoid the anticipation and excitement that leads up to race date even when you know you'll be in the bleachers. As soon as the cross country season ends, training run conversations focus on who's planning to race, the amazing miles of yesteryear, and what sort of workouts are going to be necessary. Early on, I volunteer my services and encourage the few who are wavering about the necessary speed work. Finally, January 19th rolls around, and it's race time.
The 35th annual Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile gets underway with the first of two women's heats. The runners spread out quickly and turned in a lot of truly excellent times. Katy Gottschalk, 60, of Ithaca raced to a 7:19.09, which crushed the U.S. Masters Standards for Excellence for W60 (7:40), Diane Sherrer, 50, of Trumansburg, NY ran a 6:49.05 to just break it for W50 (6:50), and Lorrie Marnell, 40, of Locke, NY, ran 6:12.92, just missing it for the W40 age group (6:10). But most impressive, in many ways, was Edna Hyer, 67, of South Wales, NY, who ran an 8:52.68. It was great to see her out there racing a mile when so many people her age have given up on anything more strenuous than a walk in the park.
Speaking of walks in the park, the elite heat of the women's mile was anything but that. Mary Beth Romagnoli, of Manlius, NY and a 32-year-old submasters, set the pace for the pack. The race was clearly between Kathy Martin, a 50-year-old from Northport, NY, Karen MacKenzie, 43 and hailing from Toronto, Ontario, and Carolyn Smith-Hanna, 51, from Pittsford, NY. Martin, MacKenzie, and Smith-Hanna stayed bunched together through the first seven laps, but in the bell lap, Martin took what turned out to be a large enough lead and held it through the finish in 5:25.01, with MacKenzie one second back in 5:26.25, and Carolyn Smith-Hanna third in 5:28.62. It didn't take long for the remaining three women to come through the tape as well, with Sue Munson, 42, of Orchard Park, NY finishing in 5:37.94, Ruth Yanai, 43, of Syracuse, NY in 5:39.18, and Sarah Falso, 40, of Fayetteville, NY capping the race off with a 5:41.34.
Meanwhile, the men's race broke down into four heats. The first heat was a testament to the resiliency of these runners, with 38 years separating the youngest and oldest runners, but only 2:26 separating first place 41-year-old Andre Goncarovs of Trumansburg (5:52.33) from 73-year-old Jack O'Sullivan of West Seneca, NY (8:18.69). Oddly, the two runners ahead of Jack O'Sullivan were named Dick Sullivan, 73, from Buffalo, NY (7:46.81) and Ted Sullivan, 69, from Williamsville, NY (7:29.91). Finishing even ahead of them, though, was the oldest runner in the pack - Ithaca's Frank Moore, 79, who ran a 7:18.58 to win the M75 age group. Buffalo's 72-year-old Roger Whalley won the M70 age group in 7:28.27, and at 68, Ithaca's Don Farley took the M65 age group with a 6:19.42.
The second heat couldn't have been scripted for more drama. Ithaca's Terry Delaney, 45, went out at a blistering pace - a 72 second first 400 - and he maintained a huge lead through 800 meters in 2:35. Then, like Wiley E. Coyote realizing that he has in fact run off the edge of the cliff and is standing on thin air, Delaney dropped like a rock. Then Lansing, NY's Tim Ingall, 42, who'd led the pack trailing Delaney through the first 800 meters, took the lead and held it through the bell lap. But going around the final turn he was clearly tiring fast, with Tony Plaster, 50, of Neptune, NJ coming up fast.
Ingall pushed hard to the finish in 5:09.31 and managed to eke out the win by only 12-hundredths of a second over Plaster (5:09.43). The race for third and fourth was almost as tight, with Eric Maki, 40, of Cortland, NY clocking a 5:10.12 and beating out Ken Simpson, 40, of Ithaca by a mere 41-hundredths of a second (5:10.53). The oldest runner in this heat, 61-year-old Dennis Featherstone of Ottawa, Ontario, came through in 5:24.98, winning the M60 age group. Herb Engman, 56, of Newfield, NY, running in his 15th Hartshorne Masters Mile, won the M55 age group with a 5:20.03. This was especially impressive, given that before the race, he'd said that anything under 5:30 would make him "deliriously happy."
The third heat lacked the dramatic start and finish of the previous one, showcasing tactical skills backed by a strong kick by winner Mark Rybinski, 46, of Manlius, NY, who came through the tape in 4:52.18. The heat started off with the pack tightly bunched through two laps, breaking into two packs after the third lap, and spreading out only after five laps. Dennis O'Brien, 52, of St. James, NY had taken the lead around five laps, only to lose it to Rybinski in the sixth lap, and then to have Jim Robinson, 48, of Rochester, NY (4:53.31) move past in the last lap. Still O'Brien managed a 4:55.60 to win the M50 age group handily, and Fred Robbins, 46, of Stouffville, Ontario also managed to break the elusive 5 minute barrier with a 4:57.32. The heartbreak of the race went to Ithaca's 45-year-old Bruce Roebal, though, who staggered across the finish line in 5:00.47, just missing breaking 5:00 by a mere 47-hundredths of a second. Roebal finished just ahead of the 5:03.15 posted by Tom Hartshorne, 46, of Brooklyn, NY, the son of the Hartshorne Masters Mile founder, Jim Hartshorne.
With those great performances out of the way, the stage was set for the elite heat of the men's mile. The clear favorite was Anselm LeBourne, 42, of Maplewood, NJ, who was ranked second in the world in 2001 for M40 for the mile based on a previous 4:19. Also in the race was Tom Dalton, 42, of Schenectady, NY, who ranked fifth in the world in the same age group based on a previous 4:23, and Tim McMullen, 48, of Churchville, NY, who at age 48 ranked first in the world for M45 thanks to a previous 4:32.
The race started fast thanks to rabbit Scott Weeks, Groton High School Cross Country coach, who led them out in about 2:08 for the first 800 meters. LeBourne had tucked in behind Weeks from the gun, with Dalton mere steps behind, and they maintained that configuration through the 800. At that point, Scott Williams, 40, of Corning, NY was a solid twenty yards back, and the pack, which had stayed tightly bunched, started to break up. As the runners went through 1200 meters, Casey Carlstrom, 42, of Ithaca came from behind to settle into fourth behind Williams, and LeBourne took the lead over as Weeks dropped away on the far turn. Dalton held tight in second, but at the bell lap, he couldn't even begin to catch LeBourne, who breezed through the tape in a smashing 4:22.24. Dalton finished second in 4:26.27, and Williams, who'd held onto third the entire race, fought off an amazing kick from Tim McMullen to take third in 4:40.26 with McMullen a mere second behind in 4:41.24, good enough to win the M45 age group. Despite running strong through the second half of the race, Carlstrom wasn't able to hold off McMullen in the last lap, nor Dave Cole, 41, of Syracuse, NY whose 4:43.20 just nipped Carlstrom's 4:43.97. Seventh, eighth, and ninth places were equally tight, with Bob Nugent, 41, of Binghamton, NY in 4:46.32, Doug Kennedy, 42, of Portland, Ontario, in 4:46.69, and Tony Vodacek, 41, of Rochester, NY in 4:46.83. Closing out the elite heat was Fred Kitzrow, 46, of Delmar, NY, with a 4:53.26.
After the race, LeBourne was modest about his mile win, saying that he was pleased with the race because he had been entirely unsure what he could do, this being his first race of the season. It's nice to know that uncertainty exists even at the level he's running at, but boy, it sure would be nice to knock off a 4:22 mile after being unsure about what you can do.
The 35th annual Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile was sponsored again this year by two of Ithaca's most loyal supporters of the masters mile - Ken Zeserson (aka, Zeserson and Associates) and Cornell University emeritus professor Bob Babcock.
-- Adam Engst
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