Running: Added training equals crown for marathoner

Lt. Cmdr. Gene Severtson, 33, was looking forward to his 10th marathon at the Marine Corps Marathon and hoping for a different result from what he experienced at Boston earlier this year. In his 18 years of competitive running, he had never experienced the "runner's high" that we often hear about. He would train hard and some excellent results were realized.

But, on Sunday, he experienced something completely different. After the race he felt pure exhilaration after finishing with a personal record time of 2:53:55. How did this come about? A number of things came together to put that smile on his face: a good year of training, perfect weather conditions, adding more speed to his preparation, and finally mastering the logistics of getting to the race itself. With more than 20,000 starters, it is easy to get lost in the crowd at Marine Corps Marathon. This year was Gene's fourth Marine Corps Marathon.

After winning the Willie McCool award at the Annapolis Ten Miler in August he gained confidence in his new speed training. He had added Heart Rate training to his preparation and doing that training in the heat of an Annapolis summer allowed him to physically sustain the addition of marathon distance training. The result was he was unchallenged from a cardiovascular standpoint during the race - his heart rate never exceeded 165 beats per minute. His main focus, however, was to run at his most efficient stride to preserve his quadriceps muscles, an issue that caused problems in most of his previous marathons. Until Sunday, he refused to believe that goal race pace may not be the optimal or most efficient pace for your body.

It is gratifying to hear of success stories such as Gene's. Running well can be a most elusive thing and those times when everything comes together don't occur often. But when they do, it is a wonderful thing. And when it is combined with "runner's high," feelings of euphoria and achievement that say "today, I can do anything." Look up "Endorphins" and you'll get the main idea.

Sunday was a good day overall for the Navy as Gene's classmate (1998) and good friend, Lt. Cmd. John Mentzer, was the overall winner of the race with a time of 2:21:47. Gene and John both ran Cross Country during their plebe year.

Gene will be taking some well earned time off now. He has surgery planned to repair an "arthritic" foot, which he needs to get fixed now as he contemplates returning to the submarine force next spring. Here's to a speedy recovery and, hopefully, some more "runner's high" experiences in the future!

JOGGING JOE 5K RACE REMINDER: The city of Annapolis is hosting the second Annual Jogging Joe Charity 5K Run at 9 a.m. on Nov. 1 in Truxtun Park in memory of former Capital running columnist Joe Shafran. The proceeds of the race will go toward the city's Rock for Youth program - paying for tuition for four city underprivileged youth to attend college. And it will also go toward the renovation of one of our local nature trails for walking/running in memory of Joe. There is also a 1-mile fun run. For more information and registration forms go to annapolis.gov.

RACE RESULTS

Maryland Senior Olympics 5K, Kentlands

Women 50-54: 1. Alison Sucklng 22:21

Women 75-79: 1. Yvonne Aasen 36:54 (event record)

Men 85-89: 1. Charlie Boyle 38:39 (event record)

Driving Miss Darby Foundation 5K, Kinder Farm Park (64 finishers )

Men's Winner: Andrew Forsyth 22:03; Women's Winner: Michelle Morgan 22:59

Age Group Winners

Masters: Male - Scott Trew 23:10; Female - Julie Riddle 22:42

13 & under: Male - Spencer Davis 25:54; Female - Katie Parker 26:15

14-19: Male -Blaise Brennan 26:24; Female - Kelly Parker 25:11

20-29: Male -Ryan Obringer 23:06; Female - Julie Shank 23:05

30-39: Male - Ryan Miller 24:04; Female - Tracy Edwards 26:43

40-49: Male - Paul Bissett 24:26; Female - Kerri Seibel 25:43

50 & over: Female - Maria Shields 26:28

Hunt Meadow Community 5K

Age Group Winners

14 & under: Male- Tars Hernandez 24:42; Female- Maya Johnston 32:28

15-19: Female -Natalie Beach 26:50

20-29: Male - Teddy Davidson 20:15; Female - Alice Ann Loftus 29:41

30-39: Male- Matt Gallery 27:51; Female - Kate Barrett 27:42

40-49: Male- Michael Glass 23:56; Female- Sheila Hernandez 26:42

50-59: Male -Brooks Sherman 23:24 ; Female - Nina Fisher 28:10

Glen Burnie Improvement Assn 5K, GBIA (79 finishers)

Men's Winner: Richard Henderson 18:25; Women's Winner: Sheryl Kline 21:12

Age Group Winners

14 & under: Male - William Klingersmith 26:09; Female - Kayla Stammer 27:39

15-19: Male - Emilio Henderson 23:42; Female - Marcela Gomez 22:49

20-29: Male - Tyler Tarantino 22:30; Female - Angela Rodriguez 28:02

30-39: Male - Joshua Black 20:12; Female - Kathleen Sanchez 26:45

40-49: Male - Steve Camp 24:11; Female - Cathy Wilson 26:09

50-59: Male - Greg Clulow 20:17; Female - Ellahe Amini 22:26

60 & over: Male- Ken Fox 21:39; Female - Yvonne Aasen 36:07

Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine 5K (133 finishers)

Men's Winner: Stephen Wills 18:33, Runner-up: Nathan Udell 19:08 Women's Winner: Debbie Young 20:18, Runner-up: Lori Glebocki 20:29

Age Group Winners

12 & under: Male - Kasey Gelfard 26:13; Female - Julia Dunshee 31:17

13-19: Male - Karl Brown 20:31; Female - Kristen Pownall 21:28

20-29: Male - Kevin Morrissey 21:57; Female - Devon Cumberbatch 23:34

30-39: Male - Thor Young 19:11; Female - Rita Roberge 24:05

40-49: Male - Bob Keating 20:27; Female - Sam Lockard 22:42

50-59: Male - Michael Lauencell 20:10; Female - Katie Irwin 28:15

60 & over: Male - James Richmond 27:38; Female - Loara Rosenthal 34:46

Rotary/Rotaract Clubs 5K, Severn School (77 finishers)

Men's Winner: Chris Tuttle 17:11; Women's Winner: Brittany Rooks 20:13

Age Group Winners

30 & Under: Male - 1. Ryan Bresson 17:52, 2. Alan Lucas 18:01, 3. Stephen Usery 18:10; Female 1. Sara Gauk 23:18, 2. Lauren Gaidry 23:23, 3. Nikki Eakins 24:59.

31 & over: Male - 1. Maurice Pointer 18:14, 2. David Lunden 21:01, 3. Robert Stiles 21:25; Female - 1.Nicole Roberts 25:47, 2. Donna Flynn 25:50, 3. Missy DiGuilian 26:19.

Marine Corps Marathon (20,882 finishers)

Selected top local finishers:

Gene Severtson, 2:53:55 89th overall; Joshua Elliott, 2:56:59; Will Cunha, 2:58:52; Ted Murner, 3:00:01 (1st age group). See the complete, searchable results at marinemarathon.com.

RUNNING CALENDAR

Oct. 30, 9 a.m. - MD Psychiatric Research Center 5K/Spring Grove Hospital, Catonsville. Information: mprc.umaryland.edu/

Oct. 31, 8:30 a.m. - Big Vanilla Halloween 5K Run/Kinder Farm Park. Information: bigvanilla.com

Oct. 31, 9 a.m. - Pascal Youth and Family Services 5K and Halloween 1 mile fun run/Park Plaza, Severna Park. Information: rpascal.org/5K2009.pdf

Oct. 31, 10 a.m. - Arundel House of Hope 2mile Fun Run & Walk/Down's Park, Pasadena. Information: khaleycarney@comcast.net

Oct. 31, 8 a.m. - Broadneck High School 5K Run & Walk/Broadneck Hight, Cape St. Claire. Information: broadneck.org

Oct. 31, 9 a.m. - Baltimore Crossroads at 95 5K Run/Whitemarsh. Information: active.com ID #1763364&

Oct. 31, 9 a.m. - Habitat for Humanity 5K/Federalsburg. Information: seashoresstriders.com

Oct. 31, 9 a.m. - Run for the River 5K/Manchester. Information: rivervalleyranch.com

Nov. 1, 9 a.m. - Jogging Joe 5K Run/Truxtun Park, Annapolis. Information: annapolis.gov

Nov. 1, 8:30 a.m. - Rockville 5/10K Races/King Farm Village Center, Rockville. Information: mcrrc.org

Nov. 2, 8 a.m. - Frederick Marathon Festival registration opens. Discounts through Nov. 8. Information: active.com or FrederickRunningFestival

Nov. 7, 8:30 a.m. - Down's Park 5 Miler/Down's Park, Pasadena, Information: annapolisstriders.org

Nov. 7, 9 a.m. - CAASA's 5K Step-by-Step Run/Walk. Calvert Maritime Museum, Solomon's. Information: co.cal.md.us/residents

Nov. 7, 9 a.m. - Tuerk House 5K/Druid Hill Park, Baltimore. Information: charmcityrun.com

Nov. 7, 9 a.m. - Meals on Wheels 5K/Meadowgate Park, Ellicott City. Information: charmcity.com

Nov. 8, 8 a.m. - Gynecological Cancer Foundation Half Marathon & 5K/RFK Stadium, Washington, DC. Information: gcfrace.com

Nov. 8, 8:30 a.m. - Junior League Volunteers on the Run 5K/Quiet Waters Park. Information: active.com

Nov. 8, 9 a.m. - Naval Academy Primary School 5/10K Run & 5K Walk/NAPS, Greenbury Ponit Road. Information: napschool.com

Nov. 8 - World Run Day: Dedicate a run to a favorite person or charity and donate. Information: runday.com

Nov. 8, 8 a.m. - Caribbean Sounds 5K/Druid Hill Park, Baltimore. Information: caribbeansoundsrace.com

Nov. 14, 8 a.m. - St Anne's School 5K Run & 1 Mile Walk/St Anne's School, Arundel on the Bay Road. Information: St.AnnesSchool.org

Nov. 14, 7 a.m. - Charm City Run Free Boot Camp/CCR Annapolis Store. Sign up at 410-224-9771

Nov. 15, 9 a.m. - Fuel for Life 5K, 2K & Fun Run/Navy-Marine Corps Stadium. Information: active.com/event_detail.cfm/event id 1757642&

Nov. 15, 8 a.m. - Jingle Bell Run 5K/Marley Station Mall. Information: GlenBurnieJingleBellRun.kintera.org

Nov. 20, 5:15-6:30 p.m. - Lights on the Bay Fun Run/Sandy Point Park. Join the AAMC staff and the Annapolis Striders on a fun run through the Lights on the Bay display before the cars are admitted. Information: annapolisstriders.org

Nov. 21, 7 a.m. - JFK 50 Miler/Boonsboro to Williamsport. Information: jfk50mile.org (registration is closed)

Nov. 22, 8 a.m. - Cold Turkey 10K/Sourth River HS. Information: annapolisstriders.org

Nov. 22, 9 a.m. - Scarecrow Classic 5K for brain injury research/Meadowbrook Park, Columbia. Information: charmcityrun.com

Nov. 26, 8 a.m. - Outer Annapolis Recreation & Sports Turkey Trot 5K/Riva Trace Baptist Church, Davidsonville. Information: oars.rtbc.org

Nov. 28, 9:30 a.m. - NCR Trail Marathon and Relay/Sparks. Information: brrc.com

Dec. 5, 9 a.m. - Jingle Bell Run 5K/Solomons. Information: cbrcmd.org

Dec. 6, 8:15 a.m. - Metric Marathon/ Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. Information: striders.net or active.com (ID # 1664816&)

Dec. 6, 9 a.m. - BRRC Masters 10K/Quaker Bottom Rd, Sparks. Information: brrc.com

Dec. 13, 10 a.m. - Annapolis Striders Winter Beginning Running Program starts/Bates Track. Information: annapolisstriders.org

Dec. 13, 10 a.m. - Annapolis Striders Anniversary Run 15K/Quiet Waters Park. Information: annapolisstriders.org

Dec. 19, 8:30 a.m. - Celtic Solstice 5 Miler/Druid Hill Park, Baltimore. Information: active.com (event ID = 1781390&)

Jan. 2, 7:30 a.m. - Annapolis Striders Half Marathon training program starts/Jonas Green Park. Information: annnapolisstriders.org

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Information on local running events or happenings should be sent to Evan Thomas at roadrunner0218@Gmail.com or 2004 Dalewood Ct, Crofton, MD 21114.