Saturday, April 6, 2002 -- Deep Creek - McHenry, MD
Railey Realty Breakfast Run (iPO Event Id#: 4867)
Story and photos by Dave McKain

[Details] [Coverage] [Overall Results] [Pic Set 1] [Pic Set 2] [Pic Set 3] [Pic Set 4]
[2001 Coverage]

Fighting the elements at WISP

April Snow - oh no! While it may be spring you can count on some cold creeping in if you live/run in Western Maryland. Runners and walkers braved the cold temps, wind and slick roads on their way to a hot breakfast courtesy of Wisp and Railey Realty.

While spared the 4 inches of snow that fell in nearby Bruceton Mills, Deep Creek didn't miss out, getting over an inch of the white stuff over the night and early morning before the race. Fortunately, the ash trucks had completed their rounds of the course and the sun peeked through to melt most of the snow from the roadway. Only a few sheltered spots retained their covering. There would be no record 5K times set this day. Making the run even more difficult, the wind picked up just before start time, bringing on a chill and knocking snow from the pine trees and onto the racers (and reporter).

Leading the way for the women for the second year was Maureen Hall, turning in a time of 20:28 while Jen Wilson (21:55) held off third place finisher Mary Siemann (22:13) to take second place. For the men, Jaron Hawkins (17:10) kept his feet under him to take first place followed by Jason Griffith (17:34) in second and Charlie Weaver (18:58) in third. Even with the adverse conditions, Jimmy Railey (19:25) managed to improve upon last years time by 10 seconds in edging out Sean Gallagher (19:26) in a sprint for fourth place.

Maureen Hall striding to a win

In the 2 mile walk, Janet Hardesty made it to the finish line first, taking 23:06 to complete the out-and-back course while Molly Stewart (24:03) finished in second (24:03). Darlene Pawlak (24:07) put the moves on Jeffrey Pawlak (24:11) in winning the battle for third.

After the race, everyone retreated inside to warm up and enjoy their breakfast. Since the 2001 race saw wet conditions and 2002 saw snow we would hope the weather gods would shed a little sun and warmth on the 2003 race. Congratulations to all who braved the weather and thanks to sponsors Railey Realty and Wisp for hosting the race.