Hands-on executive director Lynn Morrison, left, and event co-chairperson Bill Young, right, congratulate half-marathon winners Mark Stallings and Maggie Bradley.
By BARRY DECKER
Updated Oct 02, 2008 10:56
Nearly 600 runners cruised through the hills of the Amish countryside in the fourth annual Hands-on House Half Marathon and five-kilometer run Saturday.
With a newly designed finish to the course, runners were treated to a free, but rather fast and furious, tour through Landis Valley Museum to the finish line on the old toll road.
Mark Stallings, 27, a 2003 Millersville University graduate, raced wire-to-wire to capture the men's title in 1 hour, 9 minutes, 41 seconds.
"This course is a real challenge with its hills, but it was a perfect day for me, even though there was a solid head wind for part of the race," said Stallings, who also won this year's Red Rose Run champion.
He set his sights on "going out on top" and only glanced back at the five-kilometer mark to make sure he was clear of the pack.
"There is a hill down to the covered bridge at the halfway, which beats up your legs, then you climb for the next mile, which takes its toll on your pace," he said.
Stallings, of Lancaster, added that his pace down the hill was 5:00 per mile, while up the hill it slowed to 5:47.
Scott Gray, 32, of Jonestown, was second in 1:17:55.
"The first runner went off the line like a ball of fire, so I really didn't see him after that," Gray said.
Scott Shaeffer, 29, of Camp Hill, finished third in 1:19:10. He noted that while the uphills were challenging, the downhills made up for them.
"And I even had a chance to say, 'Hello,' to the Amish along the way," he said.
On the women's side, Maggie Bradley, 32, of Newtown Square, finished first in 1:31:26 after catching Megan Carson, 27, of Lampeter, the 2005 winner, at the nine mile point. Carson was second in 1:32:52.
"I am pleased with my time on this tough, hilly course," said Bradley, who is preparing for an Ironman competition next year in Kentucky.
Carson, a 1998 Solanco High and 2002 Kutztown University graduate, said she ran the first mile too fast, which affected the rest of her race.
Carson, a Solanco kindergarten teacher said, "I guess I was just so excited that I ran with my heart rather than my mind at the beginning."
Dee Miller, 41, of Conestoga, who finished third in 1:33:26, was ecstatic because she improved her time by seven minutes over the previous year.
In the five-kilometer run, 2006 winner Jared Schnapf, 26, of Mountville, decided to push his baby daughter in a running stroller over the course.
The Lampeter-Strasburg junior high cross-country coach said his daughter fell asleep during the race and only "got awake at the finish line to see his second-place finish behind the winner, Mark North, 43, of Manheim Township.
North, who hadn't run a race for 15 years, took the lead at the halfway point. He finished in 19:08, nine seconds ahead of Schnapf.
"My high school cross-country coach (in Rochester, N.Y.) died this week and his funeral was today, so I won this race for his memory," North said.
Kim Soden, 27, of Reading, won the women's race 5k race in 19:34, six seconds ahead of Jenn Sassaman.
Hands-on House Children's Museum, 721 Landis Valley Road, is a not-for-profit museum designed for 2-10-year-olds.
