A ‘Boston’ half marathon breaks out in Beckley

By Gary Fauber
Assistant Sports Editor

October 04, 2008 11:40 pm

— Given his surname and the fact he runs competitively, the jokes inevitably come Robert Boston’s way.
“People are always saying things like, ‘Boston wins Boston!’” he said with a laugh Saturday morning after he won the 11th annual Beckley Half Marathon.
Actually, Boston has competed in the world-famous Boston Marathon, in 2003 and again in 2006.
“I ran it twice and there is no chance of me winning it,” he said. “Most of us don’t run these to win them. But I do get a lot of jokes about the name.”
No one is joking about his ability as a distance runner.
Boston made his Beckley debut last year and has now competed here as many times as in Boston. The Marietta, Ohio, runner crossed the finish line Saturday with a winning time of 1:24.23.
He shaved nearly a minute off his time of 1:25.30 from a year ago, when he finished 11th.
“I came down with a goal to set a (personal record), which right now is 1:23.34,” Boston said. “I threw that out the window at the beginning of the race because the pace was really slow, and I wasn’t going to push it too early.
“I did end up pushing it around mile eight, just to get a little bit of a lead. But I threw the PR out the window. The prize money was more tempting than the PR today.”
Boston felt the early morning chill once he entered the Rails-to-Trails portion of the 13.1-mile race.
“It got a little cold on the trail today in the shade,” he said. “It was warm in the sun, and the beginning of the race, even the first eight, nine miles was nice. My legs didn’t get cold. My arms got cold from mile 10 and on, running in that trail with a lot of shade. That was the only thing that I didn’t like. I think the humidity was down a little bit, about medium. But it was cool, which I love. Great running weather right here.”
The Boston Marathon is known for its Heartbreak Hill, a .4-mile stretch near Boston College. Boston says its difficulty is slightly exaggerated.
“Heartbreak Hill is not as bad as they say,” he said. “They don’t know what hills are until they come here to West Virginia.”
The women’s overall winner was Susan Baldwin, who completed the course in 1:33.04.
The women’s masters winner was Lynn Fish with a time of 1:45.34. Winning on the men’s side was Duane Dumbek at 1:27.35.
The overall 5-k run female winner was Mariam Pyles with a time of 19:02. The men’s winner was Jeremy Bartley in 17:15.
The women’s 5-k walk winner was Peggy Datsko at 42:36, while the men’s winner was Mark Rooper at 33:14.
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Notes: The 304th Military Police defended their Corporate Cup championship with a time of 1:36.58. ... In all, 247 runners competed in the half marathon, 5-k run and 5-k walk. ... Richwood native and former Woodrow Wilson football coach Joel Hicks finished second (1:42.50) in the men’s 60-69 age division of the half marathon. ... The second-place finisher in the men’s 20-29 division was George Bush. ... Race director Jim Phillips announced that, beginning next year, all age brackets will be divided into five-year increments instead of 10.
— E-mail: gfauber@register-herald.com

RESULTS
11th annual Beckley Half Marathon
Here are results from the 11th annual Beckley Half Marathon held Saturday:
Half Marathon
Overall
Women
1. Susan Baldwin 1:33.04, 2. Robin Weiner 1:37.59, 3. Sharon Peake 1:40.02, 4. Lori Smith 1:45.27.
Men
1. Robert Boston 1:24.23, 2. Eric Ford 1:25.48, 3. Dave Lambert 1:30.01, 4. Glen Altizer 1:30.58.
Seniors (Masters) 50-over
Women
1. Lynn Fish 1:45.34, 2. Mary Lynn Cipolat 1:49.05, 3. Dianna Morris 1:52.57, 4. Jeane Johnson 1:54.11.
Men
1. Duane Dumbek 1:27.35, 2. Terry Schwartz 1:35.08, 3. James Paine 1:35.36, 4. Bruce Blankenship 1:35.51.
19-under
Female
1. Lea Bridi 1:51.11, 2. John Lay 1:56.19.
Male
1. Kody Painter 1:50.15.
20-29
Women
1. Haley Ferrell 1:41.17, 2. Megan Davis 1:51.05, 3. Sarah Breeden 2:07.08.
Men
1. P.J. Short 1:43.32, 2. Morgan Bridi 1:50.59.
30-39
Women
1. Brigitte Pentek 1:55.46, 2. Carla Goodwin 2:06.02, 3. Angela Richmond 2:22.03.
Men
1. Billy Hart 1:34.57, 2. Paul Pennington 1:37.35, 3. Mark Persinger 1:43.18.
40-49
Women
1. Laurie Fromm 1:49.40, 2. Roxane Carte 1:50.35, 3. Rhonda Williams 1:55.59.
Men
1. Jerry Bostic 1:31.38, 2. Todd Matson 1:33.13, 3. Dan Cosgrove 1:36.59.
50-59
Women
1. Barbara Rosenbohm 1:56.37, 2. Christine Cardinal 2:00.20.
Men
1. Jack Gill 1:37.06, 2. Steve Ledahowsky 1:42.32, 3. Keith Poe 1:44.15.
60-69
Men
1. Dave Grant 1:39.17, 2. Joel Hicks 1:42.50, 3. Doc Craddock 1:43.45.
70-over
Women
1. Richard Finney 1:55.45, 2. Tom Mulcay 2:24.25.

5k Run
Overall
Women
1. Mariam Pyles 19:02, 2. Chelsea Calloway 20:49, 3. Rachel Cipolat 21:28, 4. Katie Backus 22:25.
Men
1. Jeremy Bartley 17:15, 2. Nick Lucento 17:18, 3. Aaron Kaylor 18:13, 4. Aaron Phillips 19:16.
9-Under
Boys
1. Marcus Guy 40:43.
10-19
Women
1. Mary Evan-Ferrell 23:06, 2. Holley Rooper 23:34, 3. Holley Overmiller 28:03.
Men
1. Steven Cantley 19:17, 2. Lucas Meadows 21:01, 3. Tom Parks 23:47.
20-29
Women
1. Eileen O’Neal 22:45, 2. Lauren Brook 25:54, 3. Christy Huffman 26:30.
Men
1. Ben Wilson 19:48, 2. George Bush 22:31, 3. Johnathon Baxton 26:24.
30-39
Women
1. Allison Venable 25:17, 2. Heather Johnson 28:43, 3. Megan Meador 28:46.
Men
1. Larry Klein 20:22, 2. Jesse Johnson 22:02, 3. Aaron Walker 22:26.
40-49
Women
1. Sandy Kelly 29:00, 2. Vicky Stevens 32:08, 3. Ruthie Gray 32:28.
Men
1. John Ledahawsky 20:02, 2. Greg Anderson 21:12, 3. Ron Cantley 22:17.
50-59
Women
1. Margaret Holz 28:56, 2. Lori Leadman 29:20, 3. Sharon Warner 30:52.
Men
1. Ronnie Shuck 21:59, 2. Doug Ramsden 25:39, 3. Jim Wilson 26:05.
60-69
Women
1. Nancy Hodge 35:43.
Men
1. Winston Gregory 25:20, 2. James Rifle 26:02, 3. Tom Davis 26:44.
70-over
Men
1. Martin Brekeller 29:31, 2. Eddie Boyd 41:51, 3. Cormie Hilderbrand n/a.

5k Walk
Women
1. Peggy Datskp 42:36, 2. Melody Canterbury 47:07.10, 3. Marie Newcomb 47:07.12.
Men
1. Mark Rooper 33:14, 2. Barry Meadows 40:16, 3. Bob Tipton 46:29.

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