Article
published Monday, April 14, 2008
ADVERSE WEATHER
TESTS RUNNERS' METTLE
Wind, snow
fail to deter Glass City marathoners
|
Jon
Monheim of Perrysburg, left, and Dr.
Jim Fanning of Medina, Ohio, blaze a
path through snow as they near the
finish line in downtown Toledo's
Promenade Park for the 32nd annual
Glass City Marathon.
( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )
|
By
MIKE
SIGOV
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Tammy Lyberg, a
college freshman from Michigan, refused
to let high winds, snow, and sleet get
her down yesterday morning as she set
off on a 26.2-mile run along the Maumee
River in her first marathon.
Her effort was rewarded exactly 3
hours, 16 minutes, and 9 seconds later
when she crossed the finish line in
Promenade Park near the Crowne Plaza
hotel in downtown Toledo - as the
overall female winner of the 2008 Glass
City Marathon.
"This is my first marathon [and] I am
feeling great," Miss Lyberg, 19, said
over loud cheers from more than 100
onlookers seconds after crossing the
finish line.
The weather could definitely be
better, she said minutes later as she
was thawing out in a hotel lobby.
"But I figured, 'I signed up for it, I
trained for four months, I paid [about
$50] for it, I traveled three hours to
get here, so I'm going to run," she
said.
|
Andrew
Barnhart, 52, of Reading, Mich.,
competing in the wheel division,
nears the finish of the Glass City
Marathon at Promenade Park in
downtown Toledo.
( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )
|
One of about 350 individual
full-distance runners, Miss Lyberg ran
from the hotel, along the west side of
the Maumee River, to the
Perrysburg-Maumee Bridge, across the
bridge, and back - 13.1 miles each way.
As she was crossing the finish line
about 11:15 a.m., the temperature was
about 35 degrees and wind gusts reached
20-25 mph, event organizers said.
The Grand Valley State University
pre-pharmacy freshman was one of about a
thousand people who braved the adverse
weather to take part in the event
organized by the Toledo Roadrunners
Club. In addition to the 350 who ran the
full distance, 160 people ran 13.1 miles
each in two-member teams, 80 five-member
teams ran a combination of miles to
equal the full 26.2 miles, and about 150
people ran a 5K distance.
|
Left,
Tammy Lyberg of Jackson, Mich., wins
the individual female category. Paul
Riley of Madison, Wis., left, is the
winner of the individual male
category.
( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )
|
It was the 13.1-mile run back from
the bridge that was especially punishing
because of strong headwinds, said Edward
O'Reilly, 54, of Maumee, race director
for the Toledo Roadrunners Club.
Rick Straughen, 27, of Shelby Township,
Mich., agreed. A member of the Front
Line Racing Team from the metro-Detroit
area, he finished first in the
five-member relay category.
"The wind was the toughest [weather
factor], strong headwind and sleet," Mr.
Straughen said. "But our team did really
well despite the weather."
The overall marathon winner with the
time of 2 hours, 38 minutes, and 45
seconds was Paul Riley of Madison, Wis.
"I am just happy," said Mr. Riley, 26, a
geology graduate student at the
University of Wisconsin, who reached for
a glass of hot chocolate minutes after
finishing the race.
|
Most
of these runners bundle up against
the 35-degree temperatures at the
start of the Glass City Marathon, en
route toward the Perrysburg-Maumee
bridge, the halfway point of the
race.
( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY )
|
"Coming back [from the bridge], it
was a little bit on the rough side, with
snow and this wind," he said.
He said he'd taken second and third
places running marathons, but this was
his first win and also the first time he
ran in the Glass City Marathon.
His fiancee, Bryn Benford, shared his
happiness but said they had no time to
celebrate.
"This is great, especially with the
weather," Miss Benford, 25, a doctoral
student at the University of Wisconsin,
said of the win.
"We're going back to Wisconsin right
away because I have school tomorrow,"
she added. "It'll be a good ride back."
The event was the 32nd annual Glass
City Marathon and included a marathon,
team relays, and a 5K race. Special
children's races took place at the same
location late Saturday afternoon.
Contact Mike Sigov at: sigov@theblade.com
or 419-724-6074.
