Runners darting way into hearts; Marathons, races taken over by community

EMMA MARLEY, Features Editor

On your mark… get set… GO! The track and field team aren’t the only ones hurdling over race after race, some of our local Marylander’s are making their way to the finish line, as well.

First up: On April 16, the 122nd Boston Marathon took place in eastern Massachusetts including some of the Baltimore areas very own runners. One of the individuals among the crowd was Jeanette Goetz of Joppa, Maryland.

Goetz is a mom to two students from North Harford: senior Gracie and freshman Lina Goetz. Both students seemed very excited by their moms decision to run the annual event this year- they even went with her to send support while their mom took on the rigorous weather conditions.

Goetz darted from the start to finish with an end time of 3:53:51, under the normal average.

For a marathon, the average time for a woman to cross the finish line is 5:10:00 while the average time for a man is 4:30:00.

The runner was also there to witness the first American to win the Boston Marathon since 1985. Desiree Linden of Washington, Michigan captured a victory with a time of 2:39:54. The first man to finish the race was Yuki Kawauchi of Japan who raced to gold with a time of 2:15:58 which is the slowest winning time since 1976. Not only did Kawauchi place first, he also is the first Japanese man to win this marathon since 1987.

A race a little closer to home that has been ran by business teacher Jess McGivern in past years took place on Saturday, May 6. McGivern ran the 10 mile Broad Street Run in Philadelphia, PA as well as many other runs around the area. The teacher did not run this year due to a last minute change in plans. Although, two years ago she finished the race with friends running approximately a 9 to 10 minute mile.

In October, she plans to run the Baltimore Running Festival and has decided to take part in some races throughout the summer season.

Whether its a 5K, half marathon, or marathon, walking or running, each time a person crosses the finish line is seen as an accomplishment itself. To check out or register for a Maryland race coming in the future, put on some running shoes, lace them up, and check out this website to sign up: http://www.runningintheusa.com/race/list/md/.