| November/December 2002 Newsletter |
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Dick Beardsley at Wineglass
Dick Beardsley is a winner in more ways than one.
The 46-year-old Detroit Lakes, Minn., resident is a former world-class distance runner who is now competing on the masters (ages 40-over) marathon circuit.
As you know, he was also the featured guest Oct. 5 and 6 at the 21st annual Wineglass Marathon and Merrill Lynch Team Relay, where a huge contingent of Ithaca-area runners joined Beardsley on his 26.2-mile journey from Bath to Corning.
Not all Wineglass celebrities are created equal, and I've seen them all. But Beardsley, who owns the fourth-fastest marathon time by an American male (2:08:53), was everything a marathon idol should be.
While fulfilling contractual duties, Beardsley was always friendly. He happily chatted with runners as he stayed for hours at the race expo, signing books and posing for photographs. Then he completed the marathon in 2:50:35 for eighth overall and a third-place masters award.
Beardsley, who is familiar with every orthopedic apparatus known to runners and claims he has no cartilage left in his knees, also signed my clavicle brace and traded broken bone war stories with me.
Once Beardsley returned home last week, we communicated regarding his impressions of the Central New York wine country, the Wineglass Marathon and his own sub-3 hour race to the finish line.
Here's what he had to say...
Question: What is your impression of the Finger Lakes region of New York state?
Answer: When I was growing up, whenever a person would mention New York, you always thought it was just one big city. Thank goodness, it's not like that at all. What impressed me as much as the beauty of the area was the kindness and friendly people in your area.
Q: What did you think of the Wineglass Marathon and the weekend of activities?
A: The Wineglass Marathon is an excellent event. You can tell (the organizers) take a lot of pride in what they do, and they do it very well. I really do enjoy meeting and talking with the runners at the race expo. The excitement people have on their faces and in their voices before the marathon is contagious.
Q: What are your impressions of the marathon course and the sights along the way?
A: The race course was very nice. The first half was so foggy you could not really see the surrounding countryside. I loved going through the small towns and villages along the way and having the people cheering everyone one. That's a real lift.
The last few miles, with the many turns, was hard on me just becuase of my bad knees. All the turns make them ache a little more. Other than that, the course was great, and I would recommend the race to anyone that wanted to have a great fun-filled weekend.
Q: Let's hear a blow-by-blow description of your race, and the masters placing.
A: I was really excited about the race and was nervous before the start. We went out the first mile in 6:11, and the eventual winner (Badza Shingirai), plus a few other guys, were right off my shoulder. I think they thought I was going to run a faster race.
At the mile, they must have figured I was going as fast as I wanted to that day, and they took off, never to be seen by me again until after the race. From about two miles on I was pretty much by myself until about the nine-mile mark when a runner caught up with me. For some reason, I never really felt in rhythm the entire race, so that makes me feel even more happy about being able to run a 2:50.
From nine to 16 miles, that runner (41-year-old William Allen, who finished ninth overall in 2:50:51) and I ran together, changing leads to help each other block the wind a bit. At 16, he started to fall off the pace, so I continued on by myself after that. I was feeling pretty good until about 22 miles, then I hit the wall. It was a real struggle the last few miles.
At 21 miles, I had about a minute lead on the runner behind me, but by 25 miles I looked back and he was only about 25 yards back and gaining and on me. Somehow, I was able to hold him off to the finish. It's always nice doing well as a masters, and that's what I shoot for nowadays.
Beardsley will be the featured guest Oct. 27 at the Casino-Niagara International Marathon in Niagara Falls, where he'll compete in the half marathon.
Speaking of masters, here are a few interesting statistics regarding this year's Wineglass Marathon:
Among the top 100 finishers - with times ranging from 2:27:17 to 3:20:30, 59 percent were masters runners. More specifically, masters dominated 26 out of the top 50; four of the top 10 and one of the first three money winners.
The first masters finisher was Steve Wilson, 43, of Layfayette, Indiana, who clocked a national-class age-group time of 2:28:55.P
Among masters women, two of the top five finishers were age 40-over. Both third-place Beth Moras, 43, of Ridgewood, N.J. (3:06:33), and fourth-place Patricia Stevenson, 47, of London, Ont. (3:09:02), posted national-class age-group performances.*P
Newfield's Tom Powers, 52, finished 22nd overall and first among men ages 50 to 54, in a stellar 3:01:19. Powers is a former masters course record holder at the Wineglass Marathon.
-- Diane Sherrer
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