A Run In The Rain

A gray, wet March day didn't stop close to 300 runners from descending upon Caumsett State Historic Park on Sunday to compete in two races sponsored by the Greater Long Island Running Club.

The most exciting thing, according to Mike Polansky, president of the Greater Long Island Running Club, is that the winner in the open women's division was Long Islander Jodie Schoppmann of Levittown.

Schoppmann broke the course record and won with a time of 3:20:12 (3 hours, 20 minutes, 12 seconds). She won an additional $500 by setting a new record, Polansky said, beating the old time of 3:29:20.

About 125 runners from around the country came for the 2011 USA 50 km Road Championships, while 151 runners competed in the USATF Long Island Association 25 km championships.

It's the ninth year the 50K race (31.07 miles) has been run at Caumsett, and the fifth year it has been run as the national championship race, said Mike Polansky, GLIRC race committee.

This year, for the fourth year in a row, Michael Wardian of Arlington, Va., took first in the men's division with a time of 2:55:59. That's just 54 seconds off the course record, which he set four years ago, Polansky said.

The race attracted 276 runners, 125 for the 50K and 151 for the 25K (15.5 mile) run, which was done on a paved 5K loop through the park. The rain and 50ish temps was quite a change from last year's 70-degree race, Polansky noted. Runners came from as far away as Washington state for the race, he said, with several from Ohio, Vermont, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Georgia, as well as closer by in Connecticut and New Jersey.

Chris Collins of Massapequa finished his first 50K to congratulations from his friend, fellow runner Evelina Rowan of Great Neck. "I'm proud of you," Rowan said as she handed Collins water and some snack food. She had earlier finished a 25K run and waited for him to finish.

"I'm excited. I can't believe I finished," Collins said. "I feel OK now. After I got 7 laps in, I knew I could finish, that I could walk it if I couldn't run it."

He planned to ice his legs and take some pain reliever after the race, and thinks the full complement of twinges will hit Tuesday, but he wasn't too worried in the post-race glow.

In the 25K race, there were a number of local finishers:

Women's Division
Katherine Cimonett of Bayville (1:48:45.65)
and Danielle Messinger of Oyster Bay (1:48:45.74) basically tied in the 25K race with a time of 1:48:45, Polansky said, separated by 9/100ths of a second.

Eliana Themistocle of Melville finished at 2:10:36; Karen Nora of Huntington finished at 2:10:42; Torie Kramer of Northport finished at 2:10:45; Karen Schackner of Dix Hills finished at 2:22:41; and Joanne Cornelius of Greenlawn at 2:26:53.

Men's Division
Stephen Uresk of Greenlawn finished at 1:48:26; Ron Curry of Huntington Station, 1:49:06; Erik Stigum of East Northport, 1:50:30; Miguel De Leon of Huntington, 2:11:08; Ben Walden of Centerport, 2:17:51; and Barry Aronowsky of Greenlawn, 3:43:35.

For full 50K results, see here.
For full 25K results, see here.