Schwartz 15th In Half Marathon; Many Locals Race To Finish

By Andy Hutchison

FAIRFIELD — Standout runners from Kenya, various parts of the country, and mainly throughout Fairfield County — including here in Newtown — laced up their sneakers and ran the scenic streets of Fairfield for the 28th Annual Fairfield Half Marathon on Sunday morning.

Hosted by the Fairfield Firefighters, proceeds from the Stratton Faxon Road Races, which include a 5K race and fun run, benefit the Connecticut Burns Care Foundation.

Nearly 2,000 diehards completed the course, which went along the beach, over Interstate 95, through Greenfield Hill, back under I-95 and back to the starting point at Jennings Beach. Kenyan Phillip Koech, 21, won the 13.1-mile run in a time of 1:03:44 (averaging a 4:52 mile). Some of the finishers took advantage of massages just beyond the finish line, as well as cups of water, yogurt, bagels, and fruit served under tents on the beach where a postrace party was held.

The runners contended with an at times hilly course and humid conditions, but were aided by temperatures in the low 70s, an overcast sky, and plenty of drinking water and sprinkler stations along the way.

Newtown’s Zack Schwartz was 15th overall after coming across the finish line in a time of 1:19:28. He was first among male runners ages 1–19. Fellow Newtown representative Colin Shukie, also 19, was 38th overall (1:25:03) and third in the age category.

“It’s really nice,” Schwartz said of finishing the race. “It’s definitely a long race. It’s a huge event — It feels good to be a part of it.”

This was Schwartz’s first half marathon and he had heard about how hilly Fairfield’s course was from people who had run it in recent years.

“The beginning and end were pretty flat. The middle had a couple of hills,” Schwartz said. “It felt easier than I expected. I just went out slow. … I started passing people and I started picking it up.”

Picking it up to a point he finished among the top of the field.

Schwartz, who runs cross country and track at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., will be a sophomore next year. He overcame shin splints to prepare for the half marathon by building his distances in the weeks leading up to the race.

Shukie, who attended Fairfield Prep and now goes to school at Georgetown University, ran his second half marathon (he also ran the Fairfield Half three years ago).

“Those are the two longest races I’ve ever done,” Shukie said.

His brother, Chris, 27, came down from the Boston area to compete.

The beauty of long runs is that they give runners a chance to not worry about anything and focus on the task at hand, Shukie said.

“You get lost in it. The best part of running is when you don’t have a care. You want to keep going and you don’t want to stop,” he said.

Shukie had a calf injury about a month ago, but battled past that and trained for the 13.1-mile run.

“I’m definitely happy with the time. I couldn’t have done any better. I think I left everything on the course,” he said.

Newtown Results:

Zack Schwartz, 19, 15th (1:19:28)

Colin Shukie, 19, 38th (1:25:03)

Dan Germain, 46, 129th (1:35:45)

Bruce Goulart, 58, 227th (1:41:18)

Matthew Siano, 35, 242nd (1:42:02)

Lee Sandberg, 22, 364th (1:47:23)

Mark Alexander, 41, 408th (1:48:53)

Leah Begg, 39, 509th (1:52:39)

Sean O’Neil (Sandy Hook), 38, 551st (1:53:11)

Cynthia Degirolamo (Sandy Hook), 41, 579th (1:54:01)

Lucille Rossi (Sandy Hook), 43, 622nd (1:55:12)

Christian Petre, 27, 683rd (1:56:32)

Sheilah Krasnickas, 41, 733rd (1:57:50)

Gary Crone, 39, 761st (1:58:26)

Beata Shapiro, 30, 993rd (2:03:57)

Holly Walczak, 44, 1,068th (2:05:45)

Meg Maurer, 42, 1,088th (2:06:15)

Christopher Fallon, 46, 1,105th (2:06:43)

Lara Morgillo, 28, 1,124th (2:07:16)

Thomas Claire, 54, 1,173rd (2:08:35)

Julie Weber, 39, 1,210th (2:09:25)

William Day, 51, 1,326th (2:12:36)

Deana Kirts, 35, 1,396th (2:14:57)

David Rosen, 37, 1,610th (2:22:16)