Race Report – Gino’s Race, Hanover, PA
September 7, 2008
Format: 2/14/2 – Duathlon
This past Sunday I did Gino’s Race in lovely Hanover, Pa – home to the Famous Hot Weiner. The race is held at Codorus State Park. The lake*, Lake Marburg, looks gorgeous, leaving me to wonder why there isn’t a triathlon held there? I did this race last year and it’s always nice being familiar with a course. The race flyer describes the run course as mostly flat and the ride as mostly not flat. That’s about spot on. I also remembered from last year that I thought a duathlon was much harder than a triathlon since it is so leg intensive. I was pretty much left with the same impression this year.
Run: Let me preface this with noting that had a mild stomach thing just a few days prior. I thought I had it licked, until on the car ride to the race, my 4yo needed to express all over the floorboards of the car that, she too, had a mild stomach thing going on. Withstanding her projection and then the remediation effort, the queasy switch was left on in my stomach for the start of the race.
I lined up regardless and hoped for the best. Hoping wasn’t quite enough as my stomach got all jostled around from my running style. I came into transition at about the same time as last year. I guessed there were about 6-8 women ahead of me, not knowing who might have been on a team. As I was mounting my bike, I heard the ambulance siren sound.
Bike: As I rolled out of transition, I was warned to keep my head up – there was an accident ahead. All I could see was a guy lying on the ground with an EMT stabilizing his head and neck. There was a pick up truck as well, but I just scooted around the scene** as I heard coach yelling at me to be careful and have good ride. The course is as good as it’s going to get. Sure it has its glitches – 1 RR crossing that is inside a turn, 1 RR crossing at the base of hill with large chunks of wood missing from the tie, off camber turns, etc. But it’s a fair course with a nice balance of straight-aways, rollers and climbing sections.
A few miles into it I thought that if my stomach couldn’t get it together I would pack it in. In a fortunate turn of events, being folded over in the tuck seemed to provide some relief. Only when I really had to push on the climbing sections did I feel sick again. That’s when I used my lamaze breathing skills to help see me through. I had passed all the women that I knew of within the first few miles. If there was a girl still up ahead, she deserved to be there. Anyhow, feeling better, I decided to quickly cover as much ground as possible hoping to have to not kill myself on the next run to stay in the lead.
Run: Okay, I think the second run is just cruel. It’s only 2 miles, but my gosh, I felt like I had weighted shoes on. Learning on the bike return that I was the first place woman, I was motivated to stay in & keep the lead, my stomach cooperating. I kept telling myself,†it’s only 2 miles, it’s only 2 miles, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…†I had to push a little b/c I didn’t know where the next woman was. I didn’t want to get caught, or worse, chase. And it all worked out, I ran in at 1:14:06, bettering last year’s time by 4:40. I haven’t uploaded my photos yet, but here the results and a local news article.
*Lake Marburg: I learned something really interesting while there. I took the kids down to the water to skip stones and a nearby woman asked if this was, in fact, Lake Marburg. After I confirmed, she went on to tell me that there is a town under all that water. A little hamlet, Marburg, was flooded in 1966 in an effort to dam the Codorus Creek. She heard speculation that in parts of the lake you can see roadways and even a bridge. Fascinating! That must be a treasure trove for scuba divers.
**Crash: The gentleman involved was evidently heading out of transition and onto the park road. He was 3rd and hoping to catch the 2 ahead. He got in his tuck, riding with his head down. Along comes a local guy in a pickup, headed to the boat dock, going approx. 3mph. He was giving room to the runners on his right, still leaving 4 ft of road on his left for cyclists. However, with nowhere else to go, the participant never looked up to see the truck & ran right into it. The impact broke the headlight of the truck and the jagged edge sliced open his arm pretty good. His carbon fiber trek splintered. EMT’s were on the scene in a jiffy and last heard he was flown to Penn State Hershey. Moral of the story: Never ride with your head down.
This is probably one event that I’ll continue to look forward to. I like the course, the pretty location and the giveaways are great. This year they upgraded to a technical fiber tee. They also had all the Biofreeze samples you could carry. Of course there were plenty of yummy things to eat afterwards – including Rita’s Ice. They also raffle off a ton of donations from local nurseries, orchards, & shops. Last year I got a huge bag of apples and had hoped for the same this year – no such luck. On top of that, for a couple extra dollars you can buy a ticket for the bike giveaway. Bustleton Bikes of Phila, donates a basic mountain bike every year. All of this for a $25 entry fee – you just can’t beat that. Finally, the race is in remembrance of a friend dear to the race organizers. They always take a moment to remember their college roommate/buddy and fellow athlete that suffered from ALS. I was touched by their kind words and funny anecdotes of Gene Glatfelter. What great friends they are for continuing to pay tribute to their missed friend. We should all be so lucky.
I’m still holding out on the Brierman. Run Through the Vineyards at Linganore is for sure. I love that event, and can’t wait for it. I strongly urge anyone to do it. It’s mostly grassy fields, vineyard tracks, and some wooded trail. At the finish, there is yummy breads and apple cider, in addition to the wine glass they hand you for the wine tasting inside.