The steam is building for the 19th Northern Central Trail Marathon and the 13th Two-Person Relay, Saturday, November 29, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. 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 NCR Trail. The course has a slight grade up for 11.7 miles north along a 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 Northern Central Railroad connected Baltimore with York PA from 1838 to 1972. The railroad carried Union troops during the Civil War, and Abraham Lincoln traveled this road to deliver the Gettysburg address. The railroad was greatly damaged by Hurricane Agnes in 1972 and abandoned by the railroad that year. In 1984 DNR converted the right of way into a multi-use trail for hiking, biking, and jogging & running trail.

The race is sponsored by the Baltimore Road Runners Club and it serves as the RRCA Maryland State Marathon Championship. The marathon registration limit is 450 and the team limit is 50. No one less than 16 years of age is allowed in the marathon. No one less than 14 years of age are allowed on a team. The course time limit is 5 hours and 30 minutes (a 13:35 minute pace). The finish line will close at 3:00 p.m.

Marathon registration is $55 and BRRC members can deduct $5. The team fee is $85.00 On August 1st the marathon fee is $65 and $105 for the team.

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.

Participants can register on-line at www.active.com or through the race web site. Questions can be directed to the race hotline 443-271-6524 or e-mail.

Awards to be presented to the top five men and women in the open category and the top two masters. Age group awards: 16-19, 20-29, 30-34, 35-39, and five year age groups up to 70 plus.

Team awards presented to the top two teams in the Male, Female, Coed, and Seniors (Total age 110 years).

Cash awards of $150 for new event records in Male, Female, Open and Masters.

The records 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)

There is one consistent runner who has completed all 18 years, Phil Anderson of Bel Air, MD. In 1994 Anderson clocked his fastest marathon time of 3:42:24 at the age of 49.

In 2007 the "marathon junkie" as he has been called, Chuck Engle of Dublin, OH went into the history books at the NCTM as being the only person to have won back-back titles. In 2006 he ran 2:37:28 which now ranks as the 11th fastest winning time. Engle set out along the roads to lead the runners out from the school over the couple miles of rolling hills to the trails and started to establish a comfortable pace along with the lead. Engle went through the half-marathon point in 1:15:37 and he was followed by Christopher Hamley of Hyattsville, MD with 1:18:30. Thaddeus Pajak of Indiana, PA, trailed in third place with 1:20:42. The course going out has a gradual incline and the return has a slight decline. Engle won in 2:35:26. Engle was running his 46th marathon of the year with a best time of 2:31:34 and 2:59:30 the slowest.

"This was my third marathon and all three have been this race. I did not really think of myself as a marathoner before I started to run this, but this race is changing my mind. I love the small-to-medium-sized road-race feel. Very comfortable (I'm not a fan of crowded and logistically difficult mega-races.) The organization here was first-rate. The organizers and volunteers are caring and friendly. The course is terrific - flat and soft on the legs (except for the 1.8-mile downhill opening and the incline for the final 1.5 miles, which were both on roads instead of the trail). The last 1.5 miles are a bit daunting, but being so close to the finish made them tolerable. The race premium (fleece gloves, gator, and blanket) was unique and very nice - my wife has already laid claim to the gator. The food spread after the race was excellent (especially the soup). I also liked that my family was able to drive to various course locations and see me several times. I needed the support (after going out too fast)," stated James Gardner, Hillsborough, NY finished 11th place (4th master) 2:58:23 (2006). He finished 2005 in 3:04:27 (17th place) and in 2001 3:19:02 (59th place).

Full details at the race web site.
Questions can be directed to the race hotline 443-271-6524 or e-mail.