Tussey Teaser #5 -  Bear Meadows Made In The Shade
July 30, 2007 -
Bear Meadows Natural Area
by Mike Casper


Thirty-six runners, a record for the no-frills runs of the Teasers series, gathered at the scenic Bear Meadows Natural Area under very pleasant temps and clear skies. This run consists of a choice of two courses that overlap for the first 4.5 and final 1.5 miles. The shorter 7 mile course is very challenging. The longer 10.6 mile course contains all the challenges of the 7 miler and more. Runners could wait until the very last minute (right at the 4.5 mile point of the course) to decide which way they'd go. The Made In The Shade course is the only one in the series that strays from the Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK course: only 2.6 miles of the 7 mile course and 4.3 miles of the 10.6 mile course are part of the Tussey 50 Miler.
 
Jaime Harris held off an especially frisky Marty Mazur to win the 7 miler by just 16 seconds, and Michael Philippe claimed third. "It was a longer run for me.", said Harris, part of the Beginner Running Group. "Marty was right behind me for most of the race, and made up a lot of time on the hills that were kicking my butt. I miss Texas. So delightfully flat." Mazur had no idea who among those ahead of him were running the 7 Miler as opposed to the 10.6 Miler. "I finally saw Jaime quite a way ahead of me as I gutted it up Bear Meadows Road." said Mazur. "Mark Fedkin at the water stop told me that Jaime was the first 7 Miler at that point. I was reeling him in, but there was not enough time. Besides, Jaime is a young guy. If I'd have caught him on the final downhill, he would have sprinted and won anyway. If I was  going beat him, I would have had to catch him while he was still struggling up the hill."

The women’s 7 miler was won by Carrie Jackson, just 7 seconds ahead of Meredith Bartun, and Vicki Summers took 3rd.


The 10.6 mile race was won by Dave Moore, who sawed almost 7 minutes from the previous best time, followed colsely (3 seconds!) by Paul Lammert in 2nd.
Matt Smith took 3rd. "There were five of us (Matt, Terry and Greg, too) running along together," said Lammert, "until about the 7 mile mark, I guess. Then Dave decided to get serious. Not having run races longer than 10K and not knowing the course, my idea was just to not let him gain more than 20 yards or so on me, if possible, rather than to try to take the lead. About halfway through the long climb he slowed a bit, and I pushed a bit, overtaking him shortly before 9 miles. I heard him coming up very fast behind me, probably about a quarter mile from the finish.  I'm surprised I managed to keep the gap to 3 seconds."

Top women’s honors went to Meira Minard, followed by Christine Rice, who edged out Pam Scott by 3 seconds to take 2nd.

 
Congrats to Bellefonte Road Raiders Bob Rice, Meredith Bartun and Denise Weaver who tackled the 7 miler, and to Christine Rice who took on the grizzlier 10.6 miler. This tough run was not completed without a few scrapes. Denise Weaver and Kristen Schultz each took a spill at rocky spots along the way, but both toughed through and seem all the more smitten by this gorgeous place to run.
 
Among those who ran this one last year, all improved their performance. Matt Smith whacked 4:25 off last year’s time, Marty Mazur peeled 1:20 off his previous effort, Bob Boozer lopped 1:46 off his 2006 posting, and Christine Rice ran the 10.6 distance at an impressive one minute per mile faster than she ran the 7 last year!
 
Bob Boozer, Pam Scott and Joe Shuta were the three runners present who participated in all five Tussey Teasers this year. In the draw for the “grand” door prize of the series, Bob went home with a certificate for an ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery.

Thanks to all who helped mark the course, staff the water stops, and time the race, including Andrew Webb, Mark Fedkin, Vicki Summers and Kellie Rice.

[Please email Marty Mazur regarding any errors or omissions.]


Bear Meadows Made In The Shade Start
Everyone looks like they're starting a walk in the park - Nice and slow. It's a long way to go!
[Photo Courtest of Mark Fedkin]

7 Miler

Place    Name                      Age      Time
-----    ----                      ---      ----
 1       Jaime Harris              23      1:02:15
 2       Marty Mazur               50      1:02:31
 3       Michael Philippe          37      1:06:15
 4       Carrie Jackson            33      1:08:05
 5       Meredith Bartun           32      1:08:12
 6       Vicki Summers             36      1:14:50
 7       Grace O'Keefe             51      1:18:42
 8       Kim Daniels               28      1:18:48
 9       Katherine Stamps          24      1:26:55
10       Elizabeth Stamps          18      1:26:55
11       Denise Weaver             42      1:32:23
12       Bob Rice                  54      1:32:23


10.6 Miler

Place    Name                      Age      Time
-----    ----                      ---      ----
 
1       Dave Moore                21      1:13:14
 2       Paul Lammert              41      1:13:17
 3       Matt Smith                43      1:19:40
 4       Terry Reid                48      1:20:22
 5       Greg Mitchell             23      1:26:30
 6       Meira Minard              33      1:26:32
 7       John Sheakoski            45      1:27:22
 8       Matt Petrarca             25      1:30:17
 9       Bob Boozer                52      1:32:10
10       Ben Lawrence              35      1:32:30
11       Jeff Ranff                56      1:33:56
12       Peter Flemings            47      1:35:33
13       Marty Klanchar            49      1:35:33
14       Mike Casper               48      1:40:38
15       Bob Saylor                38      1:41:00
16       Joe Shuta                 56      1:41:41
17       Christine Rice            34      1:43:33
18       Pam Scott                 45      1:43:36
19       Morgan Wasikonis          38      1:43:39
20       Eric Mortenson            35      1:45:02
21       Don Hobbs                 49      1:47:07
22       Sarah Farrant             34      1:48:47
23       Anthony Dinallo           33      1:48:50
24       Kristen Schultz           36      2:16:42



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