Annual Banquet - 2004

2003 Award Winners

Women’s Open Runner of the Year
Julie Thienel
Julie won something in just about every race she ran this year, and her vitae included four marathons, three half-marathons, and two 10 milers, not to mention an assortment of 5k and 10k. She placed high in both short and long races. Her 5k times included 19:15 at the Penguin Pace (2nd AG), 19:19 at Carrabbas 5k (3rd W overall), 19:18 at Laurel 5k (1st AG), and a 19:15 at the Bay Café 5k (2nd AG). She hardly slowed her pace when she ran twice as far— a 40:38 at Clyde’s (1st AG) and a 39:02 PR at the McVets 10k (2nd AG). But she really enjoyed the longer distances more, running a 1:06:24 at Annapolis 10 Miler (2nd AG), a 1:28:59 PR at Caesar Rodney Half Marathon (2nd AG), and anchoring the first all-woman team at the North Central Trail Marathon Relay. And she simply thrived at the marathon distance— 3:18:34 at Mardi Gras Marathon (4th woman overall), 3:15:46 at the Hartford Marathon, and 3:15:39 at the Marathon in the Parks (2nd AG). She even ran the Bagel-to-Beer marathon, but more for the “fun” of it.

Men’s Open Runner of the Year
Mark Gilmore
Mark did not run quite as many races a Julie, but he certainly made the most of every race. He opened the year by winning Carrabbas 5k in 15:43. A little later, he finished second at Clyde’s in 32:31. In the summer, he placed second in his age group at the highly-competitive Twilighter 8k (25:36) and won his age group at the Annapolis 10 Miler (54:47). His racing year reached a zenith in October when we won the Metric Marathon (1:33:50), a victory that had eluded him several times in the past.

Women’s Master Runner of the Year
Vanessa Cox
A past Runner of the Year, Vanessa entered the master age group without skipping a beat. Her 1:04:47 at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler won her fifth place among all master women. She ran a 39:31 at Clyde’s 10k and was the fourth woman overall to finish (1st AG). At the McVets 10k, she ran an even faster 39:28. Her 31:46 at the Twilighter 8k placed her second among all master women; she ran essentially the same time at the Outback Steakhouse 8k in November (3rd AG). No slowing down even in cold weather!

Men’s Master Runner of the Year
Ted Poulos
Ted undoubtedly ran more races than any one else in the club last year. Here is a very small sample: first overall at the Penguin Pace 5k in 17:28, second overall at Damien’s 5k (17:03), third AG at Twilighter 8k (27:24), second in AG Clyde’s 10k (35:25), first 40-44 AG at McVets 10k (34:04), first in 40-44 year AG at Cherry Blossom 10 Miler (56:31, on a Strider racing team), and second overall at the Metric Marathon (1:37:18). He was proudest of his effort at the Sallie Mae 10k (33:50) and his fifth place 10k (34:15) at the National Masters Outdoor Championships in Eugene, OR. Obviously, Ted’s trying to win races, not just age group awards.

Women’s Grand Master Runner of the Year
Pat Brooks
Do not be confused by Pat’s mild-manners and friendly smile! She is a ruthless grandmaster who usually wins something in her AG. At Carrabbas 5k, she placed second in her AG (24:26); at Damien’s 5k, her 23:56 earned her second among grandmaster women. She won her age group at the Metric 5k (24:39) She also won her age group at the Biltmore Classic 15k (Asheville, NC) in 1:21:58 and was the second grandmaster woman at the Women’s Distance Festival 5k (23:53). Pat does cross country, too— she was the first master woman at the Harrier 5k cross country race (27:08) and did the grueling Grapevine 8k (48:11). Her toughest race was probably the Arbutus 10k, the hottest race of the year, at which she ran a 52:29 and placed 3rd among grandmaster women. Finally, Pat ran a 4:09 at the Shamrock Marathon in March.

Men’s Grand Master Runner of the Year
Mick Slonaker
Mick’s exploits for 2003 would easily fill a complete issue of the Strider newsletter, so only a small sample can be given here. He consistently ran the 5k in under 19 minutes, including 18:22 at Carrabbas (2nd AG), 18:37 at Oriole Advocate 5k (1st AG), and 18:19 at the Bel Air 5k (1st AG). His 10k times (usually) broke the 38 minute barrier including a 37:51 at St. Paddy’s 10k, a 36:42 at Pikes Peek 10k (3rd AG), and a 37:30 at Veterans Day 10k (3nd AG). His 10-mile times were just a little over an hour: 1:01:30 at the Broad Street 10 Miler (2nd AG), and 1:01:51 at Annapolis 10 Miler (2nd AG). He’s no stranger to longer distances either— Mick won the Bachman Valley Half Marathon outright in 1:24:32 and finished the Hartford Marathon in 3:06:02.

Women’s Junior Runner of the Year
Nicole Shouse
Often running against older girls, Nicole enjoyed the most authoritative year of any Howard County Strider. In all but one race, she either won her age group or the race outright. She placed first among the 14U women at the Penguin Pace 5k (21:15), first in her AG at the Duckworth 5k (20:15), first in AG at Carrabbas 5k (20:15 again), first in AG at Women’s Distance Festival 5k (20:37), first in AG at Laurel 5k (20:13). She won outright the Police Pace 5k (20:00), the Seaside (Ocean City) 5k (19:45), and the Metric 5k (19:42). These times would place the 12-year-old at the top of Howard County High School girls’ runners. The only race Nicole didn’t win was at the AAU Cross Country National Championships, where she placed 37th among all 11-12 girls in the United States.

Men’s Junior Runner of the Year
Brian Harvey
The Centennial High School junior put in some hard work with Phil Lang’s summer crew and jumped from the “C” team to the “A” team in fall cross country. He placed second at the Howard County Invitational, third at the Howard County Championships, and third at the State regional meet. At the state championship, he placed 15th in 17:36 (5k cross country). Brian’s greatest moment came in winning the Westminster Invitational in 16:53, where he beat the eventual state cross country champ, Kurt Kuehne. Harvey made the All County First Team in cross country. Look out for him next year as a senior!

Women’s Most Improved Runner of the Year
Karen Shouse
The success of daughters Alyssa, Chelsea, and, most-notably, Nicole may have encouraged Karen to take up the sport of running, and she certainly enjoyed success at the endeavor. She began her racing career with a modest 25:22 at the Laurel 5k, and then skyrocketed into the elite ranks with a 22:21 PR at the Women’s Distance Festival 5k (2nd AG). She followed that up with a 22:14 at the Police Pace 5k (2nd AG) and a 21:50 PR at the Metric 5k (2nd AG). In the summer months, Karen threw in a 6:35 at the Meet of Miles and a 6:42 at the Centennial Fun Runs (2nd AG). She concluded the year with a 22:11 in Ocean City at the Seaside 5k. She regularly runs Strider weekly series events and enthusiastically supports her kids in the Junior Striders.

Men’s Most Improved Runner of the Year
Bob Weathers
Bob’s improvement at the marathon distance alone would deserve mention: in 2002 he ran a 3:05:56 at Pittsburgh, which he followed with a break-through 2:58:16 at Boston, and he wound up with a 2:54:07 PR at the Baltimore Marathon. He lowered his half marathon time from 1:29:12 at the 2002 Philadelphia Distance Run to a 1:20:12 at the same race this year. He placed second in his AG at the Metric Marathon in 1:45:24. At shorter distances, he ran a 1:00:28 at Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, a 36:34 at the McVets 10k, a 17:26 at the O’Doule’s 5k, and a 5:01 at the Meet of Miles. Bob trains regularly with the fast guys every Saturday morning at the Bagel Runs and credits much of his success to Coach Phil Lang.

Female Volunteer of the Year
Julie Trapp
If you ever come out to the Strider weekly races, you will see Julie Trapp doing something to keep things going. When volunteers don’t show up, she steps into the breach and fills in. Rain or shine. She also helps with registrations at the major Strider races.

Male Volunteer of the Year

Tim Orman

Tim has never refused to help at the major Strider races, usually with registration and volunteer coordination. Beyond that, however, you can often find him out on the course taking pictures. The newsletter also voted him Photographer of the Year for 2003!

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