The 15th Northern Central Trail Marathon will be pulling off another year on Saturday, November 27, 2004, at 9:30 AM in Sparks, Maryland. If you like large crowds, you need to find another race. The race has a limit of 500 marathon runners and 50 two-person relay teams. If you are looking for a Boston qualifier, this is a great race in which to achieve that goal.

"I really enjoyed this race...easy on legs...I qualified for Boston at this course...Very little crowd support but Elvis does make an appearance...I liked this better then the larger runs...Seemed to be a lot of quality runners," commented a runner from Arnold, Maryland.

From 1838 to 1972, trains traveled along the Northern Central Trail, the route between Baltimore, Md., and York, Pa. In 1972, hurricane Agnes caused severe damage and the trains ceased. In 1984, the Department of Natural Resources converted the right of way into a multi-use trail for hiking, biking and jogging. It wasn't long before the Baltimore Road Runner's Club needed a location for a marathon. The course was ideal and secluded, and gone were the potholes and slippery streets. The setting was serene along the tree-lined course and the runners have the room to do their thing. The certified course is 2 miles on gently rolling roads before reaching the trail (dirt and crushed stone surface) and the 12 miles up the trail and back 12 miles.

The marathon entry fee is $50 and the relay fee is $70 per team. You can count on the race to fill up quickly. There is additional information and on-line registration at http://www.brrc.com.

Awards will be presented to the top 5 males and top 3 females overall and the top 2 male and female masters. Age group awards will be based upon the number of entries per age group in the following categories: 16-19, 20-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60 and up.

There will be a $150 CASH BONUS for course records in open and/or master's categories. The records are:
Open
Robert Marino 2:25:18 (1995)
Joanna Zieger 2:47:25 (1998)

Master
William Desmond 2:36:03 (1991)
Barbara Bellows 3:04:02 (1996)

The 2003 winning times were:
Open
David Chalmers 2:43:16
Kaye McClaren 3:15:30

Master
Neville Anderson 2:51:11
Marcie Knapp 3:28:36

The Relay Records:
Male
The Montgomery County Road Runners 2:34:44 (1996)

Female
Team Angie & Julie 2:50:44 (2001)
(Julie Deutschman, Angie Howell)

Coed
Team PK 2:48:50 (2000)
(Patricia Keating, Paul Keating)

The 2003 winning times:
Male
Hambone & Flippy 2:48:15
(Tom Bachy, Doug Lechmann)

Female
Running PJs 3:09:25
(Julie Thienel, Pat Wilkerson)

Coed
TMTL 3:08:07
(Mike Wehner, Julie Caprio)

Phil Anderson of Bel Air, Md., has completed all 14 years and his best year was 1994 in 3:42:24. His performance over the years: '90- 3:44:58, '91- 3:44:17, '92- 4:12:13, '93- 3:56:57, '94- 3:42:24, '95- 3:50:06, '96- 3:56:29, '97- 4:37:30, '98- 4:51:16, '99- 4:40:41,'00- 4:56:40, '01- 5:17:26, '02- 5:18:34 and '03- 5:33:17. Anderson is in a class by himself and number 15 will soon be in the books.

The first female to break three hours was Laurie Corbin of Morristown, New Jersey, in 1997. Corbin was the winner and new record holder with her time of 2:54:09. She commented, "My prior best time was 3:21 in Memphis (1994). When I was coming in today to the finish I saw my mom crying and when I crossed the line we hugged. I didn't even know that I had won. I thought something was wrong with the clock. My husband Erik was 5th with 2:48:21 and he PRd by 12 minutes. I was excited."

"At mile 20 I was feeling good, I didn't think anyone would pass me. This is one of the best marathons that I have run. A friend ran this last year and told me about it. In Canada I run a lot in the woods and this was ideal. The course had the optimum decline coming back. I was having a whale of a time," stated Alan Moore of St. Lazare, Quebec, finishing second and first master in 2:44:52 (1999).

"I came here because word of mouth from other runners, had lots of good feedback. I wanted to get a PR, my old was 3:09. I had the biggest smile across my face when I crossed the finish line. The fan support was good, I didn't expect that much along the trail," stated Angela Plamondon of Ottawa, runner-up at the 11th NCTM, November 25, 2000, in 3:02:34.

"The high point of the race for me were those characters in costume along the course, it was a nice race," stated Patti Anderson of Ottawa, third master in 3:29:33 at the 11th NCTM.

"Before the halfway point, I knew I was in the lead. I didn't come here to win today, and it was the watch and I. My goal was to break three hours. If there were another girl in front of [me], my goal would still have been to break three hours. It's a challenge to stay focused and not slack off. Mentally it's easy to fall off. I don't like big marathons, I enjoy the small ones. This was so well organized," stated Angela Plamondon, the 2001 female winner in 2:58:58.

Additional information and on-line registration are available at http://www.brrc.com. The Baltimore Road Runners Club sponsors the Northern Central Trail Marathon. The supporters of the race include The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Gunpowder State Park, Baltimore County Police, and Sparks Elementary School.