Otte and Betman Win 49th Annapolis 10 Mile & RRCA Eastern Championship BY GEORGE BANKER
E ach August Annapolis, Maryland, comes alive with the Annapolis 10 Mile Run. The records reflect the first winner as John Astle in a surprise move, “John and I came into Annapolis about a half block from the finish in downtown, John looked only to the finish and said, ‘don’t let it ever be said who won the first Annapolis Run,’ he took off. I did not expect it. It was that competitive Senator,” stated Randy Fox. This took place on August 22, 1976. On August 25, 2024, 49 years later, the tra- dition continues with an event that is rich in history which began with seven runners, John Astle, Phyllis Beardmore, Randy and Debbie Fox, Donna Jay, Bonnie Phillips, and Burt Royhrbach . Every year, runners can expect heat, hills, humidity and a surprise premium. The An- napolis Striders, along with the sponsors and volunteers, never disappoint. Leading out from the Navy-Marine Sta- dium was a pack of five, which was down to three within the first half mile. Into the first mile (5:07) the leaders were Clark Otte of the Howard County Striders, Ben Doiron of Washington, and Spencer Tate of Annapolis. Tate faded after the first mile. Going into the second mile (5:14 split) Otte pulled away from Doiron, who could not hold the lead. Otte maintained a comfortable lead going into the fourth mile on the Severn River Bridge. Doiron was in second position with a pack of five trailing. The two leaders held their po- sitions and went unchallenged to claim top honors. Otte had a time of 52:11 (19th fastest winning time) followed by Doiron with a time of 53:46 and Joe Reiman of Cottage Grove, Minn., was third with 54:00. “My strategy going into the race was to go out with the lead pack of people and then see how I felt and get into my rhythm after the first mile or two. I ran with a smaller group of guys for the first three miles and then just kept my rhythm and relaxed. I gradually pulled away at about the three-mile mark. I think the level of competition was very good. There were several people who ran really sol- id times for the distance,” stated Otte. Reimann commented on his strategy,
Hannah Betman and Clark Otte
cave for the last couple of miles, but I could just about maintain the pace I was hold- ing. It certainly felt good to cross the line.” Reimann added comments about the organ- ization, “This event isn’t necessarily about myself, but an event like this reminds me about how much effort it takes to plan and co- ordinate for a race. I’d like to thank the staff and volunteers who put on such a significant event for all the runners! It was truly an ex- ceptional event.” The winning master was Scott Koehler of Odenton, Md., at a time of 1:00:10 (21st place and the 40th fastest winning time). The run- ner-up was Jason Tripp of Columbia at a time of 1:00:18 (22nd) followed in third by Colin Russell of Hanover, Md., at a time of 1:00:54 (25th). “I knew I was not in tip-top shape going into this race, so my strategy was to go into the start relaxed and hover around a 6:00 pace. I’ve probably run about 15 Annapolis 10 milers. This year there was a lot of competi- tion. Folks running below 55 minutes is rare for this race, and yet this year there were sev- eral. My PB for 10 miles is between 56:00 and 56:30. I run to stay physically fit, stay focused and to enjoy being outside,” stated Koehler.
“I just wanted to find a pack and stick with them. I find it much easier to run with oth- ers. I think you can get in your own head if you run solo for too long, so I prefer to stick with others. I did! I found a pack of a few runners and stuck with them for the first half of the race, and then I broke off for the second half. I definitely entered the pain
12 THE STREAK I A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE ANNAPOLIS STRIDERS
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