2 local women go into Trot after big wins

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 23, 2000

Congratulations to everyone who completed one of the three events that make upthe annual Times Turkey Trot.

Hopefully, the experience whetted your appetite for a sumptuous Thanksgiving Day dinner. And more important, whetted your appetite for a daily regimen of running or some other means of attaining a measure of physical fitness.

Two locals who ran this morning were coming off big victories Saturday in the all-women's Avon race. The Tampa Bay event put 700 runners on the 10K and 5K courses.

Judy Maguire of Clearwater won overall in 36:45 in a spirited duel with vacationer Lisa Webb of London, England.

The victory earned the 1999 Turkey Trot winner a $500 check and an all-expense trip to Phoenix for the Dec. 10 Avon Championship.

Elaine Nicholson of St. Petersburg finished sixth overall and second in the over-40 division.

But she qualified for the trip to Phoenix and earned $100 by virtue of Maguire's capture of the overall title. That left the master's championship open to Nicholson's claim.

"I'm delighted and totally surprised to have won my age division and the trip," said Nicholson, 42, a native of the Windsor area of England.

"I'm surprised Amy McClenathan and Mary Hanlon weren't there," Nicholson said. "They are always good."

Nicholson said she was pleased with her time of 40:54, especially since her training was slowed by summer Achilles' injury that was later diagnosed as a heel spur.

Nicholson maintained eighth place through 5.5 miles before pulling ahead of two competitors and grabbing sixth.

"I've never been to that part of the country, nor has my husband, Don," Nicholson said of Phoenix. "We're both excited about going.

"I'll try to get under 40 minutes there, but doubt I can on Thursday at the Turkey Trot so soon after Saturday's all-out effort."

With the Avon 5 and 10K events overlapping, it forced one course monitor at a key intersection to decide which direction to send the mixed field of competitors.

Unfortunately for Tampa's Lynn Gray, who was running a 7-minute pace in the 5K , she was directed along the 10K course late in the race at a point where she should have turned left toward the USF track and the finish line.

Gray finished fifth, but all the 5K runners behind were directed to follow her and the 10K runners.

"We had to run another three-quarters of a mile, which resulted in my finishing in 26 minutes rather than the high 21- or low 22-minute time I usually run," said Gray, a history teacher at Jesuit High School.

"I thought the course was suppose to be the same as the Twilight Run, but when I got to that intersection, this man with the TBR (Tampa Bay Runners) shirt yelled at me to go straight, so I did.

"Maybe they should have different colored numbers for runners in the two different events," Gray said.

Race director Gail Hardy could not be reached for comment.

ELSEWHERE: Steve Wilson, a winter resident of Clearwater, traveled to Volusia County last weekend not to recount presidential ballots but to run the annual Paul de Bruyn 30K (18.6 miles).

He took the lead at 15 miles and went on to win, 1:47:57.

"I tried to get the guy I caught up with to run with me, but he didn't so I just took it in averaging 5:55 per mile," Wilson said.

"That was a slow 30K for me because in a marathon I usually go through 30K in 1:40."

Wilson ran the Austin Marathon last spring in 2:18, which is the 14th best American marathon time this year.

Jim Burgasser of St. Petersburg and Brian Scott of Seminole finished 1-2 in the 30-34 age division in 1:54:30 and 1:55:17, respectively.

Jon Wilson and Bill Castleman, both of St. Pete, placed 1-2 in the 55-59 class. Bill Alborg of St. Petersburg finished second in 60-64.

Former Boston Marathon masters winner Cindy Keeler of Clermont took the women's title in 1:57:39. Ginger Herring of St. Pete was second in 55-59.

At Fort De Soto Park on Nov. 12, David Joyce -- although fighting a cold -- ran away from the field to win the half-marathon in 1:17:59. Sandy Shelton took the women's title in 1:26:17.

MARATHON HEAVEN: Three marathons in a year is a full load for even ardent long-distance runners.

Ron Balow of Tarpon Springs completed three in 30 days this fall.

Balow, 56, a member of the Sunshine Running Team, ran St. George (Utah) on Oct. 8 in 3:57, Chicago on Oct. 22 in 4:25, then New York City two weeks ago in 4:27.

"I think I'll retire from marathons for now," Balow said.

He's entered in January's Disney Marathon, but he said he may drop down to the concurrent half marathon.

FINISHING LINES: Gasparilla director Susan Harmeling graduated from student to teacher at the annual Race Directors Meeting and Convention in Washington, D.C.

At the Nov. 9-11 meeting, she was a member of the faculty, speaking on "The Care and Feeding of Volunteers."

Keswick Christian School's Christa Benton, winner of her third consecutive state cross country title last week, will compete in Saturday's Foot Locker Cross Country Championships South Regional in Charlotte, N.C.

Benton finished sixth there last year, earning a trip to the national finals at Disney World, where she placed 25th overall and first from Florida.

This year's finals are scheduled for Dec. 9 on Disney's Oak Trail Course at Shades of Green in Orlando.

The West Florida Y Runners Club will play host to the Quarter of a Day Relay on Saturday at Seminole High School's track. It starts at 7:30 a.m. For details on teams, call 392-6369.

At 1 p.m. Tuesday, the Saucony Running & Racing show on ESPN will feature the Great Cow Harbor 10K in Northport, N.Y. It was the RRCA's national championship.

Past Turkey Trot winners

Men's Trot 10K

1979: Hugo Wey, 31:04.

1980: Martin Egal, 31:09. 1981: Marcus Trigg, 30:18. 1982: Marcus Trigg, 30:30. 1983: Perry Hunter, 31:16. 1984: Chris Palmer, 30:44. 1985: Jeff Pigg, 31:01. 1986: Pat McDonough, 31:46. 1987: Chris Palmer, 30:41. 1988: Dror Vaknin, 30:20. 1989: Bill Mantooth, 30:59.

1990: Chris Bloor, 30:43. 1991: John Bowden, 30:49. 1992: John Bowden, 31:51. 1993: Peter Maher, 30:23. 1994: Chris Bloor, 30:06. 1995: Peter Maher, 30:32. 1996: Dror Vaknin, 31:15. 1997: Paul Marmaro, 31:04. 1998: Paul Marmaro, 31:32. 1999: Erik Lipham, 31:31.

Women's Trot 10K

1979: Becky Rowsey, 39:19.

1980: Kathy McIntyre, N/A. 1981: Cathy Perkins, 37:37. 1982: Mary Dougherty, 38:45. 1983: Jennifer Bean, 37:37. 1984: Mary Level, 35:50. 1985: Nina Zola, 37:20. 1986: Chris Durstein, 37:33. 1987: Vicki Strong, 39:14. 1988: Nina Zollo, 37:20. 1989: Barabara Jarnagin, 35:44.

1990: Barbara Jarnagin, 35:35. 1991: Barbara Jarnagin, 35:24. 1992: Mary Level-Menton, 35:12. 1993: Judy Mercon, 36:31. 1994: Mary Level-Menton, 35:16. 1995: Lisa Vaill, 34:08. 1996: Mary Level-Menton, 34:05. 1997: Mary Level-Menton, 34:42. 1998: Mary Level-Menton, 36:24. 1999: Judy Maguire, 36:18.

Men's wingding 5K

1988: Terry Crews, 15:14. 1989: Jeff Pigg, 14:50.

1990: Mike Williams, 15:07. 1991: Terry Crews, 15:29. 1992: Brian Bennedict, 15:17. 1993: Travis Grappo, 15:30. 1994: Keith Batten, 15:06. 1995: Mike Anderson, 15:56. 1996: Lou Snelling, 15:42. 1997: Jim Sellers, 15:11. 1998: Jim Sellers, 15:15. 1999: Cornelius Hill,

Women's wingding 5K

1990: Lisa Vaill, 16:49. 1991: Heather Dawson, 17:40. 1992: Loretta Simeon, 17:02. 1993: Lynn Ziegler, 17:56. 1994: Lisa Vaill, 17:08. 1995: Kristin Savery, 18:23. 1996: Kristin Savery, 17:58. 1997: Jacki Waller, 18:06. 1998: Lisa Vaill, 17:19. 1999: Lisa Vaill, 17:31

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