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| LIKE THE WIND — More than 400 runners from across Wisconsin and the country competed in the first-ever Fort Atkinson Half Marathon on Saturday. Runners from 15 different states and from ages 14-71 ran in the 13.1-mile event, which started at 7 a.m. by Luther Elementary School. Shown above, runners begin the race near Luther on Grant Street. Libby Haasch of Cambridge and Loren Milbrath of New Ulm, Minn., pass by a water station, graciously accepting the split-second of relief. — Daily Union photos by Joseph Luther and Ryan Whisner. |
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Fort run crosses finish line
By Joseph Luther
Union staff writer
The streets of Fort Atkinson were filled Saturday morning with more than 400 runners from all corners of the country for the inaugural Fort Atkinson Half-Marathon.
Competitors from Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia, Washington and, of course, Wisconsin filled the starting line. Race director Tony Bolz had expected 350 participants, but in total, 458 runners signed up for the race and 409 finished the entire 13.1-mile trek.
Matt Barrett, 23, of Monroe, was the overall top male finisher, while Jacqui Albert, 24, of Crystal Lake, Ill., came in first among the female runners. Barrett finished with a time of 1:10:18 and Albert, 1:27:00. Out of all runners. Barrett was first and Albert was 16th.
"I loved the setup of the course," Barrett said. "There was a lot of good variety with some good hills."
Although he placed first, Barrett spent most of the race chasing Joseph Muthui of Sun Prairie, who finished with a time of 1:10:29, only 11 seconds off of Barrett's mark.
"Being a new course, I didn't really know what to expect when I got here," Barrett said. "I didn't really have a plan going in. I saw (Muthui) at the 10-mile mark and I was able to get past him."
Albert had slightly less competition with only 180 women competing, compared to the 229 men. Her closest competitor was Teresa Stanley, 27, of Pewaukee.
According to race volunteers, Albert might have had a bit more of an incentive to get through with the race quickly, as she immediately left afterward to go to work. She finished her race at 8:27 a.m. and had to be at work at 10 a.m.
She wasn't the only out-of-state runner who enjoyed success at the Fort Atkinson Half-Marathon. Of the 409 finishers, 73 were residents of another state and seven of the top 50 were out-of-state competitors.
Michael Press, 36, of La Jolla, Calif., who finished 26th overall, said he wasn't really prepared for the Fort Atkinson terrain.
"I didn't think that Wisconsin had hills," Press said. "I wasn't really ready for that."
Press, a California native, was visiting Wisconsin with Melissa Mayfield, who also ran in the race. Mayfield, 32, finished 110th overall and 26th among women with a time of 1:52:02.
"My parents are from Janesville and we were back for Father's Day so we decided to run. It was pretty challenging. (Press and I) just ran the (San Diego Rock N' Roll Marathon) and we thought that was hilly."
Besides attracting runners from across the country, the race also had competitors from across all age groups, from 14 to 71. Eli Secor, 14, of Sherrard, Ill., was the youngest competitor and finished 84th overall with a time of 1:48:30. Rodger Goodwin, 71, of Dubuque, Iowa, was the oldest runner; he finished 222nd overall with a time of 2:07:25.
Fort Atkinson natives did put up a fight for the top spot as Andrew Vos, 24, finished with a time of 1:18:45 and Jenny Rogers, 24, with a time of 1:34:13. Vos finished eighth among all finishers, and eighth among men, while Rogers finished 28th overall and fourth among women.
The race started at 7 a.m. on Grove Street near Luther Elementary School. Heading south, the course turned right on West Rockwell Avenue sending runners across Janesville Avenue and south on the Glacial River Trail for approximately two miles.
It continued east on Groeler Road across Business Highway 26 for mile three and then north on Poeppel Road. Crossing Hackbarth Road, runners continued straight through the W&A Distribution Services parking lot and around the building to go south on Summit Drive and continue onto Ridge Road.
The route then headed east on Highland Avenue, north on Endl Boulevard and east on Hilltop Trail to Main Street. Heading north on Main Street, runners passed through downtown en route to West Cramer Street.
Participants headed north on Banker Road for a block, turning west on Campus Drive and south on Lexington Boulevard to Montclair Place. Crossing Montclair Place, the course followed a bike trail into Rock River Park, looping through the park past the Fort Koshkonong stockade replica and onto Riverside Drive.
Along the final stretch, runners headed east on Riverside Drive to the Glacial River Trail. Getting off the trail, they headed east down South Third Street and then south down Grove Street and the finish line.
Race director Tony Bolz said the course was created from the beginning to be a showcase of all Fort Atkinson has to offer. Volunteer Todd Tesch, who is an avid runner himself, designed the course.
"Todd Tesch designed the course and he did a great job," Bolz said. "What we wanted to do was highlight the really interesting parts of Fort Atkinson like the bike trail, railroad bridge and Main Street."
He said that for being such a small town, Fort Atkinson has a lot of interesting things that residents take for granted every day.
Bolz said he was extremely happy with the way the race went and said it was possible because of the people who helped organize the event.
"This morning went real smooth; we had a lot of work done ahead of time." Bolz said. "Kim Westby, who was our volunteer coordinator, did a great job making sure everybody knew where they were. By 6 a.m., I was just kind of standing around and things were all in place. We got lucky with the weather and it all worked out really well."
The Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce Half-Marathon had as its platinum sponsor the Fort HealthCare Therapy & Sport Center and Fort HealthCare Orthopaedic Associates, which donated $10,000 to help run the event. Fort HealthCare also provided medical supplies and had medical staff on hand for any potential emergencies.
Next year's half marathon date has already been set, for June 18, 2011. For more information, visit www.forthalf.org.
Top finishers
The top three finishers for each age category are as follows:
• Male overall: First, (1:10:18) Matt Barrett, 23, of Monroe; Second, (1:10:29) Joseph Muthui, 21, of Sun Prairie; Third, (1:12:06) A.J. Sobrilsky, 22, of Green Bay.
• Female overall: First, (1:27:00) Jacqui Albert, 24, of Crystal Lake, Ill.; Second, (1:29:42) Teresa Stanley, 27, of Pewaukee; Third, (1:33:48) Rachel Paape of Elkhorn.
• Male master: (1:16:45) Dan Held, 44, of Pewaukee.
• Female master: (1:47:44) Catherine Arndt, 49, of Milton.
• Males 19 and under: First, (1:19:30) Nick Ofstun, 19, of Madison; Second, (1:23:18) Jake Hegge, 18, of Verona; Third, (1:32:39) Alfredo Perez of Kenosha.
• Females 19 and under: First, (1:44:43) Nicole Hillman, 17, of Marshall; Second, (1:49:29) Ashley Jensen, 18, of Fort Atkinson; Third, (1:52:07) Michelle Kleitsch of Burlington.
• Males 20-24: First, (1:18:06) Nic Aubert, 22, of Crystal Lake, Ill.; Second, (1:18:45) Andrew Vos, 24, of Fort Atkinson; Third, (1:32:22) Griffin Schroeder, 24, of Hartland.
• Females 20-24: First, (1:34:13) Jenny Rogers, 24, of Fort Atkinson; Second, (1:46:01) Libby Haasch, 20, of Cambridge; Third, (1:48:58) Samantha Bergner, 21, of Eau Claire.
• Males 25-29: First, (1:14:51) Codie See, 26, of Madison; Second, (1:16:39) Nick Seiske, 29, of Waukesha; Third, (1:27:01) Ryan Giuliano, 25, of Schaumburg, Ill.
• Females 25-29: First, (1:35:24) Laura Mcanulty, 25, of Madison; Second, (1:41:13) Amy Schwandt, 26, of Belvidere, Ill.; Third, (1:41:26) Rachel Thiele, 25, of Whitewater.
• Males 30-34: First, (1:24:54) Albert Pinsonneault, 30, of Madison; Second, (1:37:23) David Nowotny, 33, of Fort Atkinson; Third, (1:37:36) Erik Stafford, 30, of Fort Atkinson.
• Females 30-34: First, (1:45:32) Anna Atkinson, 33, of Littleton, Colo. Second, (1:50:43) Robyn Billig, 33, of Oregon, Wis. Third, (1:51:20) Laura Emrick of Fort Atkinson, Wis.
• Males 35-39: First, (1:22:41) Larry Mboga, 35, of Eau Claire; Second, (1:26:14) Travis Grossen, 36, of Janesville; Third, (1:26:24) Brian Udovich, 35, of Oconomowoc.
• Females 35-39: First, (1:43:54) Andrea Amend, 38, of South Beloit, Ill.; Second, (1:47:58) Dana Foucault, 35, of Delavan,; Third, (1:50:10) Diana Hagner, 36, of Fort Atkinson.
• Males 40-44: First, (1:27:39) Peter Sell, 44, of Fort Atkinson; Second, (1:30:51) James Breen, 40, of Fitchburg; Third, (1:31:21) Jonas Berberich, 40, of Janesville.
• Females 40-44: First, (1:48:35) Tracy Foley, 44, of Edgerton; Second, (1:58:21) Sue Hedding, 44, of Edgerton; (1:59:12) Faith Soderbeck, 42, of Milwaukee.
• Males 45-49: First, (1:29:01) Chick Westby, 49, of Fort Atkinson; Second, (1:42:18) Michael Ready, 49, of Oshkosh; Third, (1:42:52) Carl Strayer, 48, of Madison.
• Females 45-49: First, (1:49:04) Sabine Bottum, 48, of East Troy; Second, (1:56:40) Tracy Esser, 49, of Waukesha; Third, (1:57:07) Ellen Bruno, 48, of Oconomowoc.
• Males 50-54: First, (1:20:02) Ron Ofstun, 50, of Madison; Second, (1:44:35) Tom Wolf, 52, of Orangeville, Ill.; Third, (1:46:30) Jerry Giuliano, 50, of Schaumburg, Ill.
• Females 50-54: First, (1:56:20) Kathleen Bergner, 51, of Fort Atkinson; Second, (2:19:19) Nancy Wiskie, 51, of Janesville; Third, (2:22:44) Sue Pyka, 51, of Fort Atkinson.
• Males 55-59: First, (1:49:39) Paul Gasper, 56, of North Prairie; Second, (1:50:16) Larry Stall, 58, of Milton; Third, (1:56:50) Gregg Herman, 57, of Glendale.
• Females 55-59: First, (1:57:24) Carol Kuhn, 55, of Rubicon; Second, (2:08:54) Colleen Mayfield, 58, of Milton; Third, (2:13:29) Cynthia Olson, 55, of Fort Atkinson.
• Males 60-64: First, (2:04:13) Michael McCluskey, 61, of Brookfield; Second, (2:07:43) Tom Mayer, 60, of Oconomowoc, Wis.
• Females 60-64: First, (2:40:22) Elvira Kau, 60, of Palmyra;. Second, (3:39:53) Sandy Rogers, 61, of Fort Atkinson.
• Males 70-99: First, (2:07:25) Rodger Goodwin, 71, of Dubuque, Iowa.
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