Course records broken

With Saturday's second annual Harvest Day 5K Run at York River State Park completed, ten of the 12 Colonial Road Runners Grand Prix races have been held thus far in 2005, and Mark Tompkins has not finished worse than second place in any of the nine that he has been able to run. The only race he's missed was the Heritage Humane Society 5K Sept. 24, when he was coaching his Walsingham Academy team at a cross country meet in Richmond that morning, and Rob Hinkle won in his absence.

The four CRR events Tompkins has won have been the Jamestown Swamp Run 5K, Queens Lake 5K, Yorktown Victory Run 8 Miler, and the New Quarter Park 6K (with a course record). Interestingly, in the five CRR races Tompkins has placed second this year, there have been five different race winners--Michael Mann at the Ford's Colony 8K Run for Shelter, Bryce Ruiz at the Mental Health 5K (where Tompkins ran a yearly best of 15:34), Kenyan Patrick Rotich at the Follow the Children 5K at Warhill, Jeffrey Olenick at The Vineyards of Williamsburg 5K, and now Derek Storbeck at the Harvest Day event. Rotich, Olenick, and Storbeck were all running their debut CRR race.

Men's winner Storbeck, 22, of Hampton made his first race on the Peninsula a winning effort, capturing the Harvest Day 5K by nine seconds, 16:53 to 17:02, over Tompkins, 29, of Newport News, the Colonial Road Runners Grand Prix men's leader for 2005. Storbeck graduated this spring from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where he ran on the track team, with PRs of 4:08 (mile) and 3:49 (1,500 meters). He is assigned to Langley AFB, and has been on the Peninsula for just three weeks. He expects to be in the area for about nine months, before entering flight school. Storbeck and Tompkins were the two leaders, through one mile in 5:10 and two miles in 10:36, before slowing quite a bit on the hilly third mile. Storbeck pulled away at 2 1/2 miles going up the steepest hill on the course. Tompkins, however, was not at full strength, as he spent three days in the hospital the end of September with a flare-up of Krohn's disease, an intestinal disorder, and he took one week off from running, and was on medications. "I didn't have any strength in my legs," said Tompkins, "not enough oxygen."

Nevertheless, Tompkins has all but clinched the CRR Grand Prix title for 2005, with 85 points, with Hinkle second with 73, followed by Steve Menzies (53), Michael Mann (52) and Steve Chantry (46). Tompkins is the race director for the next CRR race, the William and Mary Homecoming Run 5K (starting from William and Mary Hall) on Saturday, Oct. 22, as the Walsingham Academy Athletic Department has taken over the organization of the CRR event, and will be the beneficiary. For race info, contact Tompkins (369-5652) or race coordinator Rick Platt (229- 7375). Tompkins will also be directing the Walsingham Academy Invitational high school cross-country meet at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22 at the Dunbar Farms (Eastern State Hospital) course.

Women's winner Jennifer Quarles, 33, of Williamsburg broke her own course record of 19:36 with a 19:29 Saturday morning, to win by almost one minute over Gloucester High School cross country star, Emily Webb, 16, of Gloucester (20:26). With her win, Quarles clinched her third consecutive CRR Grand Prix women's title. Quarles has 88 points (out of a perfect 90 points, having run nine of the ten CRR events this year), with Lynn Hurd (65) and Valerie Plyler (64) in a tight battle for second place. Plyler finished third at York River State Park with a 20:41, with Hurd fourth in 21:13.

Most times were much slower than last year, as the course was heavy and wet from the recent rains. There was also a light rain that fell throughout the race. Last year's men's course record of 15:50 by Michael Mann was not in jeopardy. Mann, who has endured four sessions of energy-draining chemotherapy this summer to fight lung cancer (a lobe was removed in June), was in attendance with his son Anthony, age 14, with Michael Mann second for men 35-39 (in 20:06), some 26 seconds ahead of Anthony (1st, men 19-and-under, 20:32).

Nevertheless, there were four men's age-group records set, and seven women's records. The new marks were by Derek Storbeck (men 20-24, 16:53), Steve Chantry (men 50-54, 17:43), Rick Platt (men 55-59, 19:15), Tom Ray (men 70-74, 25:38), Heidi Peterson (girls 14-and-under, 23:12), Emily Webb (women 15-19, 20:26), Lynn Hurd (women 20-24, 21:13), Beth Waterson (women 25-29, 24:36), Jennifer Quarles (women 30-34, 19:29), Laura Shannon (women 40- 44, 21:27), and Brenda Mitchell (women 55-59, 27:29). Mitchell is the only runner to hold two Harvest Day 5K age-group records, having set the 50-54 mark last year (25:47).

The race again was organized by, and benefited the Williamsburg AIDS Network, with co-race directors David Lamson and Marie Gold. The mission of the Williamsburg AIDS Network is to prevent through education the further spread of HIV/AIDS, and to alleviate through client services the material, spiritual and physical suffering of all those affected by HIV/AIDS.

The racecourse was a combination of road and trail, with one mile of paved asphalt (park entrance road and park walkway), and two miles of wide, scenic, hard-packed dirt trails through scenic woods and around the Woodstock Pond. Some portions are flat, but there are three hills.

There are two races remaining in the 12-race 2005 CRR Grand Prix series, the William and Mary Homecoming Run 5K (Oct. 22) and the Governor's Land 5K Run for the Brain (Nov. 19).

Overall Winners

** Age Group Record (5-year age divisions) 


Men Overall 
**1. Derek Storbeck   22   Hampton       16:53 
  2. Mark Tompkins    29   Newport News  17:02 
  3. Rob Hinkle       41   Yorktown      17:19 


Women Overall 
**1. Jennifer Quarles 33   Williamsburg  19:29 
[course record, old record 19:36 by Jennifer Quarles in 2004] 
**2. Emily Webb       16   Gloucester    20:26 
  3. Valerie Plyler   46   Yorktown      20:41 

A Colonial Road Runners Grand Prix Event For more information, contact Rick Platt at 757-229-7375 or E-mail

Full Results