Through the throngs of spectators lining the Marine Corps Marathon course, Marine Maj. Anthony Garofano will have his ears open. Underneath the canopy of cheers, he’ll listen for an unmistakable sound.
“At certain points, she’ll be out there and, if she’s crying, she’ll be easy to hear,” Garofano said of his newborn daughter, Helen.
While many coaches are worried about their team bringing home championships, Desmond Dunham his eye on a bigger prize.
The cross country coach at Wilson High School in Washington D.C. (now at St. John’s College High School, also in D.C.), who has been coaching for 17 years, said he measures his accomplishments by the success his athletes have later in life, once they’ve put their running shoes away.
Many runner notched new personal records – and broke some course records as well – on a beautiful morning at the Navy-Air Force Half Marathon.
[button-red url=”http://www.zippyraceresults.com/search.php?ID=4284″ target=”_self” position=”left”] Half Marathon Results [/button-red]Erin Taylor, who runs with Capital Area Runners, had hoped to finish in the top three, but ended up winning the half marathon for the women in 1:20:36, getting a new PR and breaking the course record, despite running much of the course on her own.
Some Boston Marathon hopefuls had to deal with heartbreak long before they reached the eponymous hill in Newton.
While Boston always carries a special significance, runners this year were even more determined to prove the running community’s resilience after two bombs went off at the finish line in 2013. Some, however, were sidelined by injury after months of training and anticipation for what they expected to be one of the most emotional and memorable marathons of their lifetime.
Nikeya Green began running when she was just 5, tagging along on her father’s runs to get in shape for his Army physical fitness tests.
“Whenever he would train to get in shape, he would take me out for some of his runs,” she said. “I used to have a bad habit of wanting to start out at a full-out sprint and then I’d be tired, but my dad taught me how to pace myself.”
Chris Hoyle, a senior who runs for Gonzaga College High School in Washington, is a team captain who leads by example.
In addition to being the top runner on the team this year, the Oak Hill, Va., resident mentors younger runners, calling them during schools breaks to make sure they’re staying in shape, and tries to create the same inclusive atmosphere he found on the team when he joined as a freshman.
Juggling a full-time job and night classes for an MBA can be hard enough, but somehow Scott Brodbeck managed to find time to train for a marathon too.
Brodbeck, who founded two hyperlocal news sites for Arlington(Arlnow.com), Bethesda (Bethesdanow.com) and Reston (Restonnow.com) generallyworks 8 to 6, but says he “never really takes a break from the day job.” He recently earned his MBA from Georgetown University, where he had class two nights a week in addition to homework. This fall, he tackled his first marathon at the Marine Corps Marathon.
While she was worried about increased weekly mileage, fitting into a new team, and balancing running with schoolwork her first time away from home, Maddie Wittich‘s decision to run in college was ultimately easy.
“I can tell from the way I feel during my runs that I have so much left in me and I feel like I need to keep going,” said Wittich, who is entering her freshman year at the University of Richmond. “I still want to improve so much and get new PRs and I know that college will offer that to me.”
Name: Jacqueline Feldscher
Self-described age group: 30-34
The Run for the Rainforest 5k in Arlington, Va., not only benefited the rainforest, but also felt like one as it drizzled and then poured on Sunday morning.
About 150 people finished the annual race put on by the Amazon Conservation Team on a mild morning hovering around 72 degrees. The race on a USATF-certified course began at 8 a.m. [button-red url=”http://www.runwashington.com/RAIN_5K_RESULTS.TXT” target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red]