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Marathon Wrapup06.Feb.2008 Despite fears of skating rink conditions for the 28th annual TD BankNorth Craftsbury marathon, Saturday, Feb. 2nd saw another great turnout by racers and touring class skiers. Craftsbury and Greensboro danced around some of the worst of the predicted weather Friday evening into Saturday morning, getting mainly sleet, with less rain than forecast. The challenging conditions did necessitate a delayed start to whip the course into shape as well as the subtraction of the five worst kilometers, but by race time at 11AM, the point to point course was in good condition for competitors and tourists alike. The racing was a bumper haul for the Green Mountain Valley School in Waitsfield, with GMVS racers or their coaches taking 3 out of the four overall categories. Noah Brautigam kicked off the parade for the Waitsfield school with a win in the men's 25k, beating teammate David Sinclair by roughly a minute, with a winning time of one hour thirty-two minutes and twenty-six seconds. Teammate Doug DeBold made a solid GMVS podium with his third place, 30 seconds ahead of Waterbury, VT skier Tom Thurston. Not long after that, GMVS skier Sarah Moore led the 25k Women's race across the line in 1:58:31. The junior skier from Waitsfield beat Master's competitor Margie Prevot of Felton, PA by a solid 2:30 and took around 14 minutes out of Gretchen Czaja of Woodstock who rounded out the podium. GMVS had to wait only another half hour or so before coach Jon Arne Enevoldsen skied home with the victory in the Men's 50k, in a time of 2:32:09. This was the closest race of the day though as Jon Arne nipped Justin Freeman of New Hampton, NH by 3 seconds in a sprint to the line. Ian Case of Hyde Park came in a minute and change later in third position. In the only race not won by the Waitsfield gang, the women's field was led home by Carina Hamel of Southampton, MA. Carina finished in 2:52:24, about two minutes ahead of her nearest competitor, Dorcas Wonsavage of Hanover, NH, who held a solid four and a half minute lead in hand over third place Anna McLoon of Cambridge, MA. The seemingly ageless Trina Hosmer of Stowe had an excellent finish in fourth place. The Craftsbury Marathon is not all about racing though. This year saw nearly 300 participants signed up for a non-timed touring option. Food stations featuring quiche, pea soup and other delicious options awaited tourists. As a way of injecting more interest for the nearly 200 volunteers, Craftsbury this year sponsored a contest between the feed stations for the most creative as voted on by the participants. The inaugural winners were U32 with a Pirates theme on the 25 km course and the Waterbury Boy Scouts with a Mardi Gras theme on the 50 km course. The competition was marked by a lot of enthusiasm and great costumes. |
