Downhill at mile 2.5

Temperatures below or around freezing couldn't stop an impressive 49 people from participating in the Stickman's Tandems 5K, held on a bright sunny morning south of Strasburg, VA. Occasional patches of ice and snow on the paved and gravel roads of Sandy Hook slowed down the runners, and a short but snowy trail section caused a bit of slipping and sliding. (Indeed, Clarke County High School stars Tim Tomblin and Charles Bowles came away from the trail section with slightly jarred ankles and slower than usual times.) But by all reports, runners took the conditions with good humour, and the beautiful valley scenery was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

New Winchester resident Frank Curiel (at left) once again proved himself to be one of the top runners in the area, easily winning the men's race in 17:06. Frank was taking it easy, too, as he was tapering for the Hampton Coliseum Half-Marathon the following weekend. Forty-six seconds later, 16-year-old runner-up Dustin Sweeney came dashing in, followed soon by Harrisonburg speedster Tye Leonzo (18:15). 19-year-old Ryan Bayne (18:45) and fast Master Neal Riemenschneider (18:57) rounded out the top five men. (Ryan and Neal had a close encounter with a deer during the trail section, with the deer running along side of them before abruptly darting in front of Ryan and heading off into the woods!)

Kim Burns

Winning the women's race in 22:46 was 40-year-old Kim Burns, whose consistent efforts are keeping her atop the women's Winter Series standings. The second place finisher was also the top local runner, Strasburg High School sophomore Leslie Grant, who finished with a time of 23:05. Krista Farris finised nine seconds later for third. Heather Owens (23:41) ran very well for fourth, and Tracy Herron-Rice (24:24) held on for fifth.

But the Tandems 5K was all about teams! Runners were allowed to be on two two-person teams: one with a member of their own sex, and one with a member of the opposite sex. Race director Mark "The Stickman" Stickley even matched up teamless runners at random so as to increase the number of teams. After the race, Mark (aided by Betty Martin, Kim Weisgerber, and Jon Whitehead) worked feverishly to add up everyone's times, and awards such as light bulbs (donated by Bill Frye) and videos were quickly dispensed to the top teams. Many apologies to the male-male team of Gordon Fette and Steven Lerner, whose second-place finish was inadvertently overlooked. Fette and Lerner came all the way from the Richmond area to participate; in fact, Fette is the former president of the Richmond Road Runners, I'm told!

Ryan Bayne and Leslie Grant (left) were victorious among the male-female tandems with a combined time of 41:50. Placing second was the Clarke County coach-coachee duo of Nancy Specht and Dustin Sweeney (43:11), and coming in third were long-time SVR members Kim Burns and Randy Wingfield (44:42).

Multiple winners Leslie Grant and Kim Burns also took the female-female category, teaming up for a total time of 45:51! 17-year-old Mary Page and 36-year-old Heather Owens were second in 48:33. The top two women from the 1998-99 Winter Series, Krista Farris and Nancy Specht (pictured at right), got together and took third in 48:35.

And in the male-male division, Neal Riemenschneider teamed up with Tye Leonzo for the victory (37:12), followed by the aforementioned Gordon Fette and Steven Lerner (38:58). In third were the high school duo of Jeff Jardine (Warren County) and Tim Tomblin (Clarke County), finishing with a combined time of 39:07.

Lynne & Doug Lawrence

Brenda & Jasper

As an aside: Last year's Stickman race was a family team run, and even though no family awards were given in 2000, there were still a number of family members running as teams! The fastest husband-wife duo this year was John Rice & Tracy Herron-Rice (47:04), with Jonathan Whitehead & Beth Keeley (52:19) second and Krista & Patrick Farris (54:23) third. Jason & Mary Page (47:19) were the first and only father-daughter combo. Lynne & Doug Lawrence (67:45) beat out Brenda Waugh & Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth (69:39) for fastest mother-son team, while Lynne teamed up with daughter Anna as the fastest mother-daughter team (61:56). There were no father-son pairings.

Kudos to race director Mark "The Stickman" Stickley for putting on another excellent event and to Mark's seemingly endless array of excellent volunteers: Gloria (The Stickmom) Stickley and Beth (The Stickwoman) Stickley, who worked registration and served as course marshals;

Beth Stickley

Jane Baker and Jean Thornton, finish line folks; results tabulators Betty Martin, Kim Weisgerber, and Jon Whitehead; and course marshals Mike McKiernan, Ralph (The Stickdad) Stickley, Larry Baker, Katie Baker, Justin Baker, Brian & Lucy Haywood, Ralph C. (The Stickbro) Stickley, Kevin Grant, and Kim Yeck. (Kim also took a number of the photos that appear on the photo pages!) And more thanks should be directed to the Stickmom and Stickdad for allowing us to run around the Stickley Loop, and to Bobbi & George Hinkins for allowing us to run through the woods. Merci beaucoups!

Don't forget to check out the individual & team results pages .Results of the post race poll questions ("Who will win the Super Bowl?" and "What is your favorite professional sports team?") appear in the right-hand column of this page. The next Winter Series race is the Lincoln Valentine's 3.4 Miler in Loudoun County. Be there or be square!