Date: Fri 26-Apr-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KIMH

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

Marathon-1996

Full Text:

Locals At Boston Marathon (1996)

B Y K IM J . H ARMON

The 100th running of the Boston Marathon - still boasting the usual pre-race

fanfare, the local color, the cheers from the girls at Wellesley College, and

the charge up Heartbreak Hill - enticed eight runners from Newtown and Sandy

Hook to take the 26-mile challenge.

They all took the long ride up I-84 and the Massachusetts Turnpike for some

different reasons, but almost all agreed that they went because the event was

a lot of fun.

Locals who made that trip included Allen Huebner, David Wolcott, Gene Giorgio,

Gerry Panuczak, Ken Kovatch, Scott Crawford, Leah and William Begg, and

Christopher McDonnell.

For Leah and William Begg, running the Boston for the first time, it was even

more than that. Their effort at the race was not only for their own personal

satisfaction, but it helped raise $1,500 for the Muscular Dystrophy

Association. They were lured up to Boston because, as Leah said, " Everyone

who is a runner knows what the Boston Marathon is. " William added, " It was a

very well-run race. It was even better than I expected. "

But it wasn't quite as tough as its reputation often makes it out to be.

" (Heartbreak Hill) wasn't too bad, " said Leah, who ran the race in 4:32. "

We ran up Scudder Road and that was worse. The problem is, people are hitting

the wall at the 20-mile mark and that's when Heartbreak Hill starts. "

William, who ran the race in 4:52, found Heartbreak Hill - which is really

five miles of hills - a little bit more challenging than that, but

nevertheless he had the opportunity to enjoy the race itself.

" We were running at a slower pace than I expected, " he said, " so we got a

chance to enjoy the roads for the first 15 miles. Nothing would ever measure

up to this marathon. "

Christopher McDonnell, 33, is a marathon veteran, having run the New York City

Marathon three times, the Long Island Marathon six times, and other marathons

from Stamford to Newport, Rhode Island.

But the 100th Boston Marathon was his first.

" I had more of a concern, " he said, " thinking that this was the elite of

the elite. I thought, `omigosh, am I in shape for this?' I had to take it was

a fun event and not look for any personal goals. "

Christopher will be heading on to the Bermuda Marathon and already is in the

process of raising sponsorships for the Leukemia Society.

For Gerry Panuczak, the race itself wasn't any tougher than the previous two

times he ran it, but the preparations were.

" The logistics were certainly harder, " he said. " Running the Boston

Marathon is a lot of fun because you go in on a Sunday and have a blast, but

this year it was just so packed with people. I just went in, got my number,

and left. "

The drizzly, cold weather didn't help, either, nor did the fact that he had to

get to Hopkinton Square almost four hours before the start of the race. All of

that, though, didn't prevent Gerry was sticking pretty close, time-wise, with

his previous two races.

" I recalled that I didn't have a goal, " he said. " I was going to enjoy

myself and I went with that approach. But three-quarters of the way through I

thought, `I'm doing a lot better than I figured,' so I wanted to see if I

could break three hours. "

He fell a bit short, coming in at 3:01. In 1995, he finished at 2:59 and in

1994, he finished at 3:13.

" Personall, " he said, " this was a very rewarding experience. I never really

learned how to run a marathon. I usually go out too fast and I'm just hanging

on at the end. This time I was charging all the way to the finish line. "