The Annapolis Striders’ Valentine’s Day 5K was held Feb. 11 on a perfect midwinter morning, encouraging 296 participants to toe the starting line at Kinder Farm Park in Millersville.
A staple of the early-season running calendar, the course provides a fair challenge with deceptive little rises that force the runner to decide when to push to maximum effect.
The men’s race was a tight affair, with Scott Koehler, Jacob Englander and Ben Pershall all within striking distance of one another throughout. Koehler used a finishing kick to earn the overall victory in 17 minutes, 9 seconds (5:32/mile), with Englander coming across four seconds later. Pershall took third in 17:22.
In the women’s race, Kaitlyn Govatos ran away with first place in 19:14 (16th overall) with Kristin Blanck a distant second in 20:50 and Angelica Coleman taking third in 21:12.
The male master’s race (40 years and older) was a close one with Maksym Petrenko (age 41) finishing in 18:22 and just beating out Gene Severtson (age 47) who finished in 18:27.
Young runners were also represented. In the boys under-14 division, Reed Simm (age 14) took first in 18:13.6 with Aydan Maese (age 14) in second in 23:49 and Griffin Tabar (11) third in 25:19.
In the girls under-14 division, Sadie Kollias (age 12) took first in 30:23, with 8-year-old Miranda White in second in 34:43 and 12-year-old Ava Villalobas in third in 47:03.
Congratulations to all the finishers for taking on the course and starting off the new racing year right at Kinder Farm Park.
Paying tribute
Two stalwarts of the local running community passed away recently — Karen Hosler on Feb. 1 and Evan Thomas on Feb. 2.
Hosler and Thomas were both avid runners, running together on many occasions and volunteering many hours in the running community, including with their club the Annapolis Striders.
Runners are a close-knit group, which is somewhat paradoxical as running itself is a solitary sport. After a while, most runners gravitate to like-minded souls, mostly to share in the sense of community and understanding that only another runner who has been through the ups and downs of the sport can truly understand.
And once there, the runners stay in the same group for decades forging bonds through the miles So when the running community loses one of its own, it reverberates.
Hosler’s running resume was as impressive as was her career as a well-respected journalist, including at The Capital, with a tenacity to get to the heart of the issues. She completed 12 marathons including Boston, New York and Marine Corps. While covering the political beat, she would often run with former President Clinton.
Thomas was a true legend in the running community. If you ran any local races or joined any training group, it could be assured that Thomas was involved and audible through the use of his trademark “encouragement” whistle.
Thomas held just about every role in the Annapolis Striders over the decades, from president to race director to board member to volunteer. He was also the Maryland representative to the Road Runner’s Club of America.
Thomas was a true runner’s runner and was deservedly proud of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, although he never made a big deal about his running accomplishments or leadership positions.
One of Thomas’s greatest legacies to the local running scene was training beginning runners, leading by example with an infectiously positive attitude.
Thomas served as the running columnist for Capital Gazette for nine years. In his last column in January 2018, he wrote that although “regular exercise has saved my life, it has brought a joy I have tried to share with others. For a longtime smoker to qualify for the Boston Marathon was the pinnacle of my efforts.”
Thomas signed off by saying he had “a lot of great memories to keep me going.”
Calendar
This month: Annapolis Striders Champ Series Registration, Information: runsignup.com/Race/MD/Annapolis/AnnapolisStridersChampionshipSeriesRaces
Satuday: Hashawha Trails 50K, Westminster, MD. Information: new.vhtrc.org/races/hh
Sunday (8 a.m.): RRCA 10-Mile Club Challenge, Howard Community College. Information: striders.net/rrca-club-challenge/
March 9: Annapolis Running Festival, Navy-Marine Corps Stadium, Information: runsignup.com/Race/MD/Annapolis/AnnapolisRunningFestival
March 9: Celtic Canter 5K and Irish Festival in Westminster. Information: files.constantcontact.com/2528dd7b001/bad7424c-457b-4eb0-9b5b-0c2992fd308a.pdf?rdr=true
March 23: Hat Run 50K, Susquehanna State Park, Havre De Grace, Information: hatrun.com
March 23: Barlow Bolt 5K Run/1 Mile Walk, Millersville, Information: www.active.com/millersville-md/running/distance-running-races/barlowe-bolt-2024
March 24 (9 a.m.): Friends of the National Arboretum 5K, Washington D.C. Information: runsignup.com/Race/DC/Washington/FriendsoftheNationalArboretumFlowering5K?rsus=500-400-04ceb200-3db4-4bf9-8bac-c13e7d25dfb6
April 7 (8 a.m.): Cherry Pit 10-Miler, South River High School, Information: runsignup.com/Race/MD/Edgewater/CherryPit10miler
April 13 (7 a.m.): Emily Schindler Memorial Scholarship Triathlon, Woods Community Center, Information: active.com/severna-park-md/triathlon/races/emily-schindler-memorial-scholarship-triathlon-2024
Send calendar items to [email protected]
