Published: October 05, 2008 01:26 am         

Hawkins, Sober win GAR

Victory third overall for male champ, first for female winner

CUMBERLAND — After a good race, Jaron Hawkins usually will not analyze each mile until a day or two later. If it’s a bad race, he will review his splits immediately.

Hawkins can lay low today. The 25-year-old Frostburg resident cruised to his second straight victory in the 27th annual Great Allegany Run 15K (9.3-mile) run from Mount Savage to downtown Cumberland. After about a quarter of a mile, the aspiring Marine Corps Marathon winner — his goal race is Oct. 26 — was out in front from the start. There wasn’t a single reason to look over his shoulder.

Hawkins finished in 46 minutes and 58 seconds — a pace of 5:03 per mile but a full 70 seconds slower than last year’s winning time. He led a field of 132 runners to the finish line, 12 more than last year. It was Hawkins’s eighth consecutive top 10 finish and third win overall. He also has two runner-up finishes and two third-place efforts since 2001.

Jen Sober, 35, of McHenry, won the women’s field in 61:59, a 6:40 pace, in her first effort on the course and finished 18th overall. Sober said she’d been told before the start that the course was fast and it was difficult to hold back from a fast first mile or two. She fell in line with most others and went out in 6:09 — significantly faster than her overall pace and her slowest mile of the race.

“It’s so easy to go too fast” at the start, Sober said, but added she was more concerned about the strategy before the race than during it.

It’s difficult, Hawkins said, to continue to push the body to exhaustion without having a runner on his heels to require him to do so.

“It’s hard. Last year, I had (Virginian) Nick Gramsky lead me through the first mile,” Hawkins said. “Knowing he was in the race and his credentials ... I ran ‘scared’ and was able to keep pushing the whole way. This year, there was none of that. I kind of felt ... detached. It’s very hard. Those miles at the end start to get tough.”

Hawkins went out fast — his first miles were in 4:38, 4:44, 4:47, 4:54 and 5:03 — but had no reason to work too hard for the win. Without aid of a pacer or competition, his pace slowed to 5:06, 5:17, 5:18 and 5:25 (with 1:40 for the final 0.3 miles).

Hawkins said he has about 10 more days of hard training left before tapering for the Marine Corps Marathon.

“My goal for Marine Corps was to go down and fight for a win,” Hawkins said of the 2007 race. “I think I told everyone (my goal was) top five. I put myself in position to do that (win). Hopefully, I can make it happen this time.”

Dennis Mickey, 43, of Ridgeley, W.Va., won the men’s masters title in 52:17 while Camille Blume, 47, of Cumberland, won the women’s masters crown in 72:27. Grand Masters (over-50) division winners included Tom Ruckert, 56, of Grantsville, in 57:56 and Patty Moulden, 55, of Mount Savage in 77:24.

Allegany High School sophomore Ian MacFawn, 15, of LaVale, overcame teammate Luke Smith in the final 10 meters to win the 5K competition in downtown Cumberland. They both finished with a clocking of 18:03 (5:49 pace), but the edge went to MacFawn, a soccer player with superior speed. Jim Jordan, 53, of LaVale, was third in 19:02.

Fort Hill senior Amanda Twigg clocked a 19:50 (6:53 pace) to lead all female finishers. Amber Leatherman, 31, of Fort Ashby, W.Va., was second in 22:35.

Complete results and race-day photos and video can be seen online at www.tristaterunnur.com.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.