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21st Anniversary of the Northern Central Trail Marathon
By George Banker
Baltimore, MD
August 25, 2010
For the Washington Running Report
The steam is building for the 21st Northern Central Trail Marathon and the 15th Two-Person Relay set for Saturday, November 27, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. Gatorade is a proud sponsor for the 2010 race.
The out-and-back course travels along the Northern Central Railroad Trail (NCRT) through rural and scenic northern Baltimore County. The USATF certified course starts at Sparks Elementary School and travels 1.8 miles along gentle rolling hills before reaching the flat NCRT. The course has a slight grade up for 11.7 miles north along dirt and crushed stone surface and turning to come back 11.2 miles along a slight downgrade back to the 1.5 miles of "gentle rolling hills" to the finish at the school.
The marquee race is sponsored by the Baltimore Road Runners Club (BRRC) and it serves as the RRCA Maryland State Marathon Championship. In addition, it is the 10th race of 2010 Maryland State RRCA Championship Series. The marathon registration limit is 450 and the team limit is 40. No one less than 16 years of age is allowed in the marathon. No one less than 14 years of age is allowed on a team. The course time limit is 6 hours (9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.) when the finish line closes.
Marathon registration is $85 and the Relay fee is $170.00 through October 15, 2010. The fees will increase on October 16th to $95 for the marathon and $190 for the relay.
Each team member runs 13.1 miles and the second runner will be transported to the exchange point by bus the first runner will be transported back to the school.
The 21st anniversary race premium will be a unisex warm hooded sweatshirt and draw cord with Spandex sleeves and waist.
Participants can register on-line at www.brrc.com/race/NCRTrailMarathon.html or questions can be directed to the race hotline 443-271-6524 or e-mail NCRTrailMarathon@gmail.com.
The lodging includes the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn (410-785-7000), Comfort Inn (410-527-1500), Red Roof Inn (410-666-0380), Crown Plaza (410-282-7373), and the Ramada Inn Express.
Awards will be presented to the top five men and women in the open category and the top two masters. Age group awards (top three): 16-19, 20-29, 30-34, 35-39, and five year age groups up to 70 plus. Medals will be awarded to all finishers and new for 2010 medals to relay runners.
Team awards presented to the top two teams in the Male, Female, Coed, and Seniors: (Total age 110 years)
2009 Winners
Open
Jon Chesto 38 2:44:10 South Boston, MA
Toni Diegoli 31 3:03:59 Arlington, VA
Master
Tom Banchy 42 2:48:04 Catonsville, MD
Margaret Fisher-Kay 40 3:32:58 Leesburg, VA
Cash awards of $150 will be earned for new individual event records in Male/ Female, Open and Masters. The ecords are:
Open
1995 Robert Marino 30 2:25:18 Annapolis, MD
1998 Joanna Zieger 28 2:47:25 Baltimore, MD
Master
1991 William Desmond 40 2:36:03 Baltimore, MD
1996 Barbara Bellows 42 3:04:02 Ithaca, NY
The team event records:
Male 1996 Montgomery County Road Runners Club 2:34:44
Female 2001 Team Angie and Julie 2:50:44
Julie Deutschman (1:20:23), Angie Howell (1:30:21)
Coed 2000 Team PK 2:48:50
Patricia Keating (1:31:13), Paul Keating (1:17:37)
Senior: 2007 Millrats 3:45:54
Robert McDonald (1:56:42), James Trust (1:49:08)
There are two consistent runners who have completed all 20 years, Phil Anderson of Bel Air, MD. In 1994 Anderson clocked his fastest marathon time of 3:42:24 at the age of 49 and in 2009 he ran 5:17:35. The other runner, Ronnie Wong of Baltimore, has a best time of 3:00:00 in 1996. Last year's time was 3:41:45.
"I've always been interested in this race. When I visited my family in Southbury, CN, I train on an 11-mile dirt rail-trail there and wished that I could replicate that in a marathon. Hard to believe, but the NCR trail was even more beautiful than the bridle trail back in Connecticut. My plan was to go out at a relaxed pace, and evaluate who was in the race from behind. Then I would try to pick a person or pack that looked to be running a comfortable pace and try to run with them," stated the 2009 winner Jon Chesto of South Boston, MA, with a winning time of 2:44:10.
The NCTM gives an appearance of an easy race to run and it is not until you have experienced it first hand and the race is not over until it is over. The 2009 female champion was Toni Diegoli of Arlington, VA, with a time of 3:03:59 (8th fastest winning time). In October she ran her PR (3:03:00) at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
"I really enjoyed the course and the competition, except perhaps during those last few miles of hills! The course was much more of a challenge than I had expected, with a noticeable upgrade for the entire way out on the trail, and the competition kept me on my toes throughout the entire race," stated Diegoli.
The plan paid off in the long run, "My strategy was simply to attempt to run a pretty evenly paced race, perhaps banking a bit of time early on to make up for the hills I had been warned about in the last two miles. I did not take the lead until about mile 17. I started to pick up the pace as I approached the turn around, realizing that the downgrade on the way back would help me maintain the surge. I felt really good at that point."
Full race details including maps and lodging can be found at the race Web site. The race hot line number is 410-308-1870 or e-mail info@ncrtrailmarathon.com.