13th Knights of Columbus 5K - Sunday, October 5, 2003

by Marty Mazur

The 13th Annual Knights of Columbus 5K race was held under a beautiful, blue Fall sky, with
temperatures in the high 50s and a light breeze. The weather can be a factor for the race. Last year,
 it was cold and rainy, but past races have seen temperatures ranging from the 30s to the 80s. About
80 runners of all ages turned up for this year's race. The field included a number of unattached Penn
State runners, who ran off with most of the prizes.

On hand to help with the festivities was Centre County Dairy Princess Ashley Bird. Ashley blew the
horn to start the race and also gave out the prizes at the post-race award ceremony. And, as always,
Tom Kleban was on hand to encourage the runners as they made their final charge to the finish line.

The overall winner was Penn Stater Eamon Brazunas, who completed the course in 15:49, the best time
recorded for this race since it was revived in 2000. Andy Roth was second in 16:18 and Chris Hoerger
was third in 16:23. The fastest woman finisher was Amy Hartle in 22:34. Tara Scheuren was second in
23:10 and Kathleen Keller was third in 23:40. The older racers were well represented, with many over-40
runners competing well against some of their youger counterparts. Race sponsor Tom Cali was the first
Masters runner over the line, finishing 12th in 18:39. John Sheakoski and Ron Johnston were the second
and third Masters runners, both in under 20 minutes. The Masters women were well represented by overall
third place finisher Kathleen Heller. The oldest female runner Paula Jech finished second in the Masters
category in a great time of 25:29. And Judy Novack was a close third in 25:46.

My apologies to the racing veterans out there. Though the Knights course is a very accurate 5K, I placed the
first mile timer on the wrong corner, about 100 yards or so past the true mile mark. No wonder you thought
your first mile was slow!

Race director's Marty and Vicky Mazur are grateful for all the race day help they received. The large number
of volunteers helped everything go smoothly. The volunteers were the indispensable Mike Dooris, who was
there for over 3 hours; the Nittany Valley Running Club's master timer Dave Eggler; Scott Smith, Steve and
Nick Bodner, Stevie Rocco, Marv Hall, Eric Tien, Judy Novack, Sonia Beckner and her family, John and
Rebecca Domico,  Loida Escote-Carlson, Ingmar Carlson, and Andy and Christina Mazur.

Marty and Vicky are also grateful to their sponsors. With their help it was possible to raise nearly $900 for
the two beneficiaries of the race. The Knights of Columbus generously allow the NVRC to host the race in
their Hall, and top that off with a nice cash gift to help defray race expenses. Tom Cali is always generous
with a cash gift. Weis Markets give store gift certificates which are used to provide refreshment to the
runners. CCDA Water donated bottled water. Rapid Transit Sports provided race numbers and bags for
the race packets. Numerous local businesses provided prizes: Rapid Transit Sports (Special thanks to
Jay and Terry!), Nittany Bank, Webster's Books, Appalachian Ski and Outdoors, the Boal Mansion and
Columbus Chapel, Saint's Cafe, American Ale House, Mount Nittany Wheelworks, Target, Northland Bowl,
Dick's Sporting Goods, Applebee's, and Red Lobster. Also, thanks to Rosewood Silkscreening, who
always do a great job with the race T-shirts.

Centre County Dairy Princess Ashley Bird (C) flanked by Knights of Columbus Overall Top Finishers (l to r) Chris Hoerger (3rd), Andy Roth (2nd) and Eamon Brazunas (1st), Amy Hartle (1st), Tara Scheuren (2nd) and Kathleen Heller (3rd).