01 January 2007

    In spite of the rainy weather, 137 runners turned out for the Striders’ Annual New Year’s Day Resolution Run, an 8k event in which the competitors vied for the most accurate prediction of their time.  Runners simply started sometime after 9:30 AM and tried to finish exactly at 11 AM— without the benefit of watches or clocks. 

        The competition came down to the steadiness of age against the wildness of youth.  In the end, youth won again.  John Chall, age 49, finished only 1.99 seconds before the hour, but he lost to 12-year-old Chris Von Rautenkrantz, who finished 1.87 seconds after the hour.  John did receive some painter’s gloves for his valiant effort.  Young Chris, who had never before even competed in an 8k let alone a prediction run, won a handsome gold clock.  “And I ran the whole course just before the run to see what it was like,” Chall lamented.

        Of the 137 who ran, 72 finished before the hour and 65 finished after the hour.  They may have wanted to finish early anyway to get to the donuts, coffee, and fruit juice at the neighborhood center.  Oddly enough, two of the fastest runners in the field, Jason Tripp and Kent Werner, finished nearly last in the competition.  For being nearly eight minutes late, Mr. Werner earned a bottle of non-alcoholic cider.  “He must have been hung over,” said race director Dave Tripp.

        Dave and Judi Tripp organized and directed the popular event. The $5 entry fees raised funds for the Scholarship Fund of the Howard County Striders.

        The Resolution Run began and ended at the Jeffers Hill Neighborhood Center, and the course wound along bike paths though the Jeffers Hill and Locust Park neighborhoods of Columbia, MD.  The rain had flooded a few stretches of bike path, but the runners did not complain about getting their feet wet.  After all, it really wasn’t a race!

-- by Jim Carbary

TOP 21 PERFORMANCES
Resolution Run 8k — Jeffers Hill Neighborhood Center
1 January 2007

        finish time
Eric Schuler (Laurel, MD)       10:59:49
Greg Schuler (Laurel, MD)       10:59:50
Mohan Ray (Columbia, MD)        10:59:52
Neal Fedarko (Columbia, MD)     10:59:53
Marshall Demaree (Marriottsville, MD)   10:59:53
Phil Lang (Columbia, MD)        10:59:54
Mick Slonaker (Columbia, MD)    10:59:54
Timothy May (Columbia, MD)      10:59:55
Maureen Luthardt (Unknown, NA)  10:59:56
John Chall (Jessep, MD) 10:59:59.01
Chris Von Rautenkrantz (Sykesville, MD) 11:00:01.87
Johnna Esposito (Elkridge, MD)  11:00:03
Alex Gedhent (Unknown, NA)      11:00:04
Shelly Kvech (Laurel, MD)       11:00:06
Len Guralnick (Columbia, MD)    11:00:06
Carla Royalty (Columbia, MD)    11:00:08
Peter Sammis (Columbia, MD)     11:00:09
Richard Fox (Ellicott City, MD) 11:00:10
Stephen McGovern (Unknown, NA)  11:00:11
Lisa Goines (Columbia, MD)      11:00:13
Karsten Brown (Front Royal, VA) 11:00:13