Larry Noel Memorial Mile
Emmitsburg, MD
Saturday, July 6, 2002
Conducted by Emmitsburg Lions Club
Results and story by Karsten Brown
Weather at race time (6:00 PM): 80°, mostly sunny, dry, 10 m.p.h. winds from the northwest.
Course: fairly flat point-to-point on roads through downtown Emmitsburg; net elevation drop
of ~30 feet; reportedly measured, but was very obviously short by perhaps a tenth of a mile.
It sure was a surprise to see 59 men, women, and children gathered on West Main Street in Emmitsburg, MD, awaiting the start of this year's Larry Noel Mile! The underpromoted evening race had seen just 27 and 22 finishers in 2000 and 2001, respectively, and nobody expected the participation levels to more than double in 2002. Was the increase due to promotion through local running clubs and youth track teams? Could it have been the lure of the Emmitsburg Community Day festival? Were things helped by the low entry fees of three dollars for adults and one dollar for kids? Whatever the case, the Emmitsburg Lions Club, sponsors of the event, must have been pleased to draw so many runners from around the area.
The 59 participants were rewarded with excellent weather this year, with dry air replacing the muggy conditions which had blanketed the mid-Atlantic region earlier in the week. A breeze was blowing from the northwest and temperatures were around 80° for the 6 PM start. Runners once again kicked off the Emmitsburg Community Day parade by following the parade route through the picturesque town and downhill to the finish at the Community Center off of South Seton Avenue. Hundreds of parade-awaiting spectators cheered and shouted encouragement, although many looked a bit befuddled by these crazy runners dashing madly through the streets.
As in past years, the course turned out to be short, although it was claimed that the course had been both car- and wheel-measured. This author's mapping software put the distance at 0.9 miles, give or take a couple hundredths. A few other participants acknowledged that their finish times were way too fast for the course to have been a true mile. Nevertheless, a short course does not preclude competition, and there were definitely some fast runners at this year's race!
17-year-old Bradley Topper, a student at nearby Catoctin High School, looked to be the man to beat for the men's title, and he proved everyone right by bursting into the lead right from the "G" word. Topper maintained a solid lead throughout the race, taking first overall in 4:38. Hagerstown's Jeremiah Downie, though never seriously challenging Topper's lead, ran consistently to finish second in 4:45. Mike Meadows, 45, of Martinsburg, WV, also ran a strong race to take third overall in 4:52, besting his fellow Shenandoah Valley Runner and last year's men's winner, Karsten Brown of Front Royal, VA, by four seconds.
The 2001 women's winner, Vanessa Ryan of Ashburn, VA, was also on hand to try for a repeat, but she was thwarted by 15-year-old Molly Ritter, a standout distance runner for Biglerville High School up in Adams County, PA. Ritter easily won the women's competition with her 5:35 finish, despite a solid 5:51 performance by the 27-year-old Ryan. (It was Ryan's fastest time in the three years she's competed in this race.) Third place went to Thurmont 12-year-old Hanna DuBois, who finished in 5:56.
Many other runners who placed among the top three in their age groups were presented with medals prior to the patriotic Community Day evening program, and some runners hung around for the fireworks at 9:45 PM (which one runner said "was really worth it!"). Thanks to all of the volunteers who helped to put together this year's edition of the Larry Noel Memorial Mile, and hopefully the race will continue to grow and improve in 2003!
RacePacket Home | 2001 Results
841 Finishers
Place Name Age Sex Time Award
1. Bradley Topper 17 M 4:38 1st M Overall
2. Jeremiah Downie 30 M 4:45 2nd M Overall
3. Mike Meadows 45 M 4:52 3rd M Overall
4. Karsten Brown 28 M 4:56 1st M 22-29
5. Chris Cole 16 M 5:02 1st M 11-16
6. Kyle Roberts 14 M 5:07 2nd M 11-16
7. Richard Craney 38 M 5:09 1st M 30-39
8. Michael Topper 13 M 5:11 3rd M 11-16
9. Joe Enright 39 M 5:12 2nd M 30-39
10. Derek Woelfel 13 M 5:16 4th M 11-16
11. Clifford Cole 53 M 5:21 1st M 40 & Over
12. Michael Compton ? M 5:27 5th M 11-16
13. Tony Toth 38 M 5:31 3rd M 30-39
14. Kevin Robinson 49 M 5:33 2nd M 40 & Over
15. Molly Ritter 15 F 5:35 1st F Overall
16. Peter Blank 47 M 5:37 3rd M 40 & Over
17. Roger Kilgore 58 M 5:38 4th M 40 & Over
18. Jack Clark 59 M 5:41 5th M 40 & Over
19. Imants Celtnieks 57 M 5:42 6th M 40 & Over
20. Bill Toth 45 M 5:45 7th M 40 & Over
21. Zach Snow 9 M 5:47 1st M 10 & Under
22. Bryan Ek 8 M 5:48 2nd M 10 & Under
23. Eric Ek 42 M 5:49 8th M 40 & Over
24. Paul Emory 21 M 5:50 1st M 17-21
25. Vanessa Ryan 27 F 5:51 2nd F Overall
26. Martin Hicks 53 M 5:53 9th M 40 & Over
27. Hanna DuBois 12 F 5:56 3rd F Overall
28. Graham Ewing 11 M 5:57 6th M 11-16
29. Mary Robinson 12 F 6:11 1st F 11-16
30. Joe Cole 51 M 6:17 10th M 40 & Over
31. Kathy Messner 22 F 6:22 1st F 22-29
32. Samantha Dundon 19 F 6:25 1st F 17-21
33. Angela Powell-Craney 45 F 6:26 1st F 40 & Over
34. Bryan Smith Jr. 11 M 6:26 7th M 11-16
35. Cindy Clark 49 F 6:26 2nd F 40 & Over
36. Dee Nelson 58 F 6:28 3rd F 40 & Over
37. Keiran Enright 14 M 6:41 8th M 11-16
38. Andrea Arche 28 F 6:47 2nd F 22-29
39. Brad Roberts 16 M 6:51 9th M 11-16
40. Tara Woelfel 7 F 7:16 1st F 10 & Under
41. Lori Ostapchuk 39 F 7:17 1st F 30-39
42. Ashley Smith 9 F 7:19 2nd F 10 & Under
43. Amanda Barber 11 F 7:25 2nd F 11-16
44. Aaron Ott 10 M 7:37 3rd M 10 & Under
45. Katie Myers 9 F 7:42 3rd F 10 & Under
46. Kathy Kelley 14 F 7:53 3rd F 11-16
47. Cheri Petrie 10 F 8:07 4th F 10 & Under
48. Marc Ostapchuk 12 M 8:11 10th M 11-16
49. Donny Geiger 12 M 8:13 11th M 11-16
50. Bob Ryan 55 M 8:17 11th M 40 & Over
51. Bryant Hoffman 25 M 8:19 2nd M 22-29
52. Timmy Geiger 10 M 8:38 4th M 10 & Under
53. Michael Stromberg 11 M 8:41 12th M 11-16
54. Cody Lowe 10 M 8:45 5th M 10 & Under
55. Ryan Craney 9 M 9:11 6th M 10 & Under
56. Luke Ostapchuk 9 M 9:12 7th M 10 & Under
57. Deidre Lowe 13 F 9:25 4th F 11-16
58. Lauris Roberts 36 F 9:40 2nd F 30-39
59. Barbara Lowrie 56 F 9:47 4th F 40 & Over
