Date: Fri 23-Aug-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KIMH

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

Bee-10k-1996

Full Text:

Newtown Bee 10k - 1996

B Y K IM J. H ARMON

The trail along Point O'Rocks and Boggs Hill and Platts Mill Roads is rigorous

- if not daunting - enough for anyone running the annual Newtown Bee 10k Road

Race that further obstacles are simply not needed.

But more obstacles there were . . .

Torrential rains.

Fallen tree limbs.

Virtual lagoons in low-lying areas.

It was a cosmic free-for-all last Saturday in the 12th running of the Bee 10k

as rains - for the first time ever, it might be noted - drenched an already

tough course and soaked and slowed up considerably a sparse field of 168

runners. But it was fun.

" It was one of the most interesting races I've ever been in with the

torrential downpour and everything, " said Sarah Zimmerman, 19, the first

finisher in the High School Female division. " I didn't even see the hills

coming because there was all this water. Kind of made it fun, though, because

you weren't thinking, `oh, I'm here running a race.' "

Sergio Ribeiro of Danbury, a native of Brazil, was the top overall finisher in

31:42, which was one of the better times seen in the history of the 10k but

still over a minute slower than the record time of 30:25 set by Fairid Haillen

of Russia just last year.

" Oooh, a tough course, " Ribeiro said after. " I knew a little about the

hills, but that first mile was hard, and that last mile downhill you figure

you can make up for what you did the first mile. "

The rain, though, wouldn't let any of the runners make up for anything.

And The Rains Came

The ominous clouds had threatened all morning, drizzling a little and

stoppering themselves about a half hour before the opening whistle at the

entrance to Dickinson Park.

Just before the whistle, though, it started drizzling again and a few minutes

later - while the first few runners dodged cars on Boggs Hill Road - a rupture

in the clouds let loose the torrents.

" I thought it was good, " said Ribeiro. " It was little hard when the wind

came, but I've trained in the rain and I've trained in the snow, but I thought

it was good. "

The race stayed close through the first mile along Point O'Rocks, but upon the

turn onto Boggs Hill it became a four-man race . . . Ribeiro leading the way,

drafted by Rachid Tbahi of New York, with Luiz Dos Santos and Uri Romaniuk

trailing 20 to 30 yards behind.

Just a short ways down Boggs Hill, though, Ribeiro and Tbahi spread the field,

with Ribeiro, on the down hill slide towards Platts Mill, taking full control

of the race.

Tbahi stayed within sight on the long straightaways, but was out of the race

by the time he made the turn onto Platts Mill. The long climb up to Brushy

Hill Road, heading towards the finish, slowed Ribeiro enough that Tbahi made a

short-lived bid to at least get close.

" He was really coming on, " said Ribeiro, " getting closer. "

Ribeiro was too far ahead, though, for Tbahi's big push to do more than just

separate first and second by 11 seconds. Dos Santos, thought to be a favorite

in the race, finished almost a minute later at 32:50.

Romaniuk of Wallingford, always near the top of the pack, was fourth at 33:25.

Terry McGovern, a graduate of Newtown High School and former cross country and

track runner, was not only the first Newtown finisher in the race (7th overall

at 37:10), but he was also first in the High School Male division.

" I hadn't run a race since the Rooster Run, " McGovern said, " so I was just

looking to see where my training was coming up to. I just wanted to get a race

in, get the feel. At the beginning I felt great. We were running in a group

and then that second little hill me and Kurt (Deschermeier) and the other kid

from Brewster (Michael Maggio) were kind of in the second pack. "

McGovern came in just 13 seconds ahead of Deschermeier, a former NHS teammate.

Maggio finished 12th overall at 38:03.

" I brought it home pretty strong, " said McGovern. " I felt strong through

the whole thing. It was a lot of fun, too. It was raining so hard you couldn't

even see. But it made it a lot cooler. "

Susan Faber of Oxford, who had won her first Newtown Bee 10k in 1986 while

setting a record of 35:42 that stood until just last year, returned to the

winners circle on Saturday with an 11th place finish in 37:40.

" I'm running a little better this year than last year and I thought with a

good race I'd be under 36 minutes, " said Faber, " but then the rain came. I

felt like I was running about 36 minutes, but once the downpour started I

realized it wouldn't happen.

" I didn't see Alison (Lapinski), Lori Hewig or Lisa Knoblich, " Faber added,

" so I felt, if I ran hard there was a good chance I would come in first.

There wasn't as much competition this year and I'm not sure why. "

Zimmerman, 19, a graduate of Newtown High School and former cross country and

track runner, was using her second Bee 10k as one of her final training

sessions before heading up to the University of New Hampshire.

" I just did this kind of for fun today, " said Zimmerman. " My friend and I

just wanted to do it and I have time trials this week (at Univ of Hampshire)

and I'm kind of nervous because I never had to do a tryout. "

Zimmerman finished 89th overall at 46:39.

" I was sitting there squeezing my shirt out and it felt like 20 pounds of

water came out, " Zimmerman added. " I thought it made it kind of fun, though.

I don't know, I like to run in the rain. It's something different and you

don't think about what's going on around you. "

The rain made for an almost surreal atmosphere at the front of the race, where

the sudden onset of darkness during the downpour forced trailing cars to turn

on their headlights, providing an eerie backdrop for Ribeiro and Tbahi.