Monday, October 29, 2018

Joshua Grant and Sheryl Rosen repeat at Boston

When it comes to New England athletes, Joshua Grant is as New England as they come. Grant ran cross-country at Nashua North High School in New Hampshire, then went on to run cross-country for Lyndon State College in Vermont. So you wouldn't be surprised to find Grant racing in Boston on Saturday morning, 27 October 2018.

Joshua Grant
Joshua Grant

The surprise was that it was Boston, Georgia rather than that other Boston, and Grant was racing the 39th annual Boston Mini-Marathon, not New England's fabled Boston Marathon. Nevertheless, Grant won the 13.1-mile race for the second year in row, running the half-marathon in 1:15:48. Tallahassee, Florida lawyer Sheryl Rosen was also a repeat winner, taking the women's title for a second straight year while placing seventh overall in 1:22:07. 186 athletes finished the race.


The signs said Boston, but there was no mistaking the South Georgia town for the Massachusetts metropolis. For instance, right after the race started, a truck hauling bales of cotton stopped for the runners. After less than a mile the race was outside the city limits and the runners passed the first cotton fields. The course was on Dixie Road. Unpaved side roads were bright orange clay. Later on, the race went by pecan orchards, and cows resting under live oaks draped with Spanish moss. Whether or not it was Georgia, it was certainly not New England.

2018 Boston (mini) Marathon
The Leaders

Going by the first cotton fields, six runners were out in front--Charlie Johnson, Chris O'Kelley, Brad Busboom, Charlie Kline, two-time Boston Mini winner Vince Molosky, and defending champion Joshua Grant. Five of the six were Tallahassee runner, the exception being Grant, who had traded his New England address for one in Albany, Georgia. Grant had started to open a gap on the other five runners by the two-mile mark. Molosky and Johnson broke away from O'Kelley, Busboom, and Kline to chase Grant, but Grant's lead only increased. At six-and-a-half miles, the runners turned around to head back to Boston. There they realized they had been racing with the wind.


"It felt great going out," said Grant. "But then we turned around and there was the headwind. I'm sure a lot of people ran faster going out than coming back."

Charlie Kline, Brad Busboom
Charlie Kline & Brad Busboom

No one ran faster coming back than Grant. Continuing to leave the rest of the field behind, Grant returned to Boston to cross the finish line in a winning 1:15:48. Charlie Kline was almost as fast as Grant on the return trip. Although he didn't make up any ground on the leader, he overtook the rest of the field and finished second in 1:18:45. Johnson was third in 1:19:15, O'Kelley fourth in 1:19:44, and Busboom fifth in 1:19:53. David Graf of Tallahassee was the first master runner in the race, placing sixth overall in 1:21:43. Molosky, who had run with the leaders early in the race, was eighth in 1:23:00.


Sheryl Rosen wasn't just the defending women's champion at the Boston Mini. No other athlete had won more women's titles at Boston than Rosen, collecting eight wins from 2006 to 2017. But as Rosen raced for win number nine, she had company early in the race. Blakely, Georgia's Ann Centner was right alongside Rosen as the two left Boston. Centner remained next to the defending champ for miles. Early in the fourth mile, the course crossed from Thomas County into Brooks County. Even if you missed the county line signs, you had to notice that the Thomas County stretch of Dixie Road had been recently resurfaced, while the Brooks County miles were still a treacherous mosaic of cracks and crevices. Going up the hill toward the county line, Centner moved behind Rosen. She had only given up a few inches to Rosen, but it was the first few inches. By the turnaround, those inches had grown into a hundred-yard lead. Rosen had expanded that to 800 yards by the end of the race, finishing as the first woman and seventh overall in 1:22:07. Centner was the women's runner-up and ninth overall in 1:25:01. Near the turnaround Alyssa Terry of Tallahassee had moved into third in the women's competition; she was still third at the finish line and nineteenth overall in 1:35:58. Katasha Cornwell of Crawfordville, Florida was the first woman master and twelfth female finisher, 35th overall in 1:43:08.

Sheryl Rosen, Ann Centner
Sheryl Rosen & Ann Centner

The race had started just after 8:00 AM. By 11:30 AM the last athlete had left the course. The 2018 Boston Mini Marathon was over, but as the signs at the city limits used to remind everyone, the race comes back every year on the “last Saturday in October.” Next year that would be Saturday, 26 October 2019. Mark your calendar, because you don't want to miss the 40th Boston (mini) Marathon!


Top Ten Men, 2018 Boston (mini) Marathon
  1. 1:15:48, Joshua Grant (M, 27) Albany, GA
  2. 1:18:45, Charlie Kline (M, 26) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 1:19:15, Charlie Johnson (M, 38) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 1:19:44, Chris O'Kelley (M, 25) Tallahassee, FL
  5. 1:19:53, Brad Busboom (M, 30) Tallahassee, FL
  6. 1:21:43, David Graf (M, 42) Tallahassee, FL
  7. 1:23:00, Vince Molosky (M, 37) Tallahassee, FL
  8. 1:25:35, Jack McDermott (M, 49) Tallahassee, FL
  9. 1:25:41, Tom Parker (M, 36) Tallahassee, FL
  10. 1:27:05, Ryan Truchelut (M, 32) Tallahassee, FL

Top Ten Women, 2018 Boston (mini) Marathon
  1. 1:22:07, Sheryl Rosen (F, 34) Tallahassee, FL
  2. 1:25:01, Ann Centner (F, 26) Blakely, GA
  3. 1:35:58, Alyssa Terry (F, 25) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 1:37:56, Deanna McVay (F, 35) Tallahassee, FL
  5. 1:38:59, Laura McDermott (F, 39) Tallahassee, FL
  6. 1:39:49, Jillian Heddaeus (F, 35) Tallahassee, FL
  7. 1:40:04, Melissa Thompson (F, 34) Thomasville, GA
  8. 1:41:53, Carsen Pastirik (F, 23) Atlanta, GA
  9. 1:42:06, Nikky Manausa (F, 37) Tallahassee, FL
  10. 1:42:18, Jenny Early (F, 35) Tallahassee, FL

Boston (mini) Marathon Champions, 1979 - 2018
DateMenWomen
27 October 201875:48, Joshua Grant82:07, Sheryl Rosen
28 October 201774:47, Joshua Grant85:42, Sheryl Rosen
29 October 201667:00, Stanley Linton83:05, Allison Eagen
31 October 201579:50, Drew Rabun96:10, Jillian Heddaeus
25 October 201472:20, Chris Lake85:15, Katie Sherron
26 October 201371:17, Stanley Linton80:42, Sheryl Rosen
27 October 201273:46, Chris Lake83:27, Sheryl Rosen
29 October 201169:29, Kevin Sullivan82:10, Sheryl Rosen
30 October 201075:13, Vince Molosky86:59, Lisa Johnson
31 October 200979:49, Vince Molosky87:10, Sheryl Rosen
25 October 200881:50, Myles Gibson86:19, Sheryl Rosen
27 October 200776:18, John Seppala87:35, Sheryl Rosen
28 October 200681:18, Michael Martinez82:49, Sheryl Rosen
29 October 200581:11, Myles Gibson96:32, Jennifer Kilinski
30 October 200483:55, David Yon91:57, Jane Johnson
25 October 200376:20, Myles Gibson97:52, Lisa Whitworth
26 October 200284:38, Mike Posey92:41, Carrie Weyant
27 October 200182:36, Steven Walker95:24, Carrie Weyant
28 October 200075:28, Art Remillard83:20, Sarah Docter-Williams
30 October 199978:22, Corey Cherr95:28, Julie Carico
31 October 199880:25, Rusty Jones97:01, Peggy Simpson
25 October 199781:21, Rusty Jones82:55, Michelle LeFleur
26 October 199676:26, Jeff Nielsen86:12, Carrie Weyant
28 October 199578:21, Paul Hough91:01, Katherine Perez
29 October 199472:42, Paul Hough92:34, Diane Turchick
30 October 199375:33, Paul Hough86:09, Carrie Weyant
31 October 199277:45, Steve Carney86:05, Carrie Hunnicutt
26 October 1991

27 October 199079:33, Brian Murphy86:44, Donna Miller
28 October 198971:23, Alex Walmsley93:10, Mary Jean Yon
29 October 198874:22, T. C. Carroll1:41:54, Nancy Widener
1987no race heldno race held
8 November 1986

11 November 198567:30, Herb Wills88:06, Patti Sudduth
27 October 198474:21, Scott HinkleDot Skofronick
29 October 198370:25, Noel Shuman87:01, Patti Sudduth
30 October 198267:48, Noel Shuman91:41, Donna Murdock
31 October 198169:57, Gary Slayton88:56, Lt. Vickie Monroe
25 October 198071:49, Gary Slayton96:03, Judy Taylor
27 October 197970:52, Bruce Carpenter1:47:13, Robin Anderson
Got any information on the missing years? Let me know! Send an
e-mail to hwills@gmail.com, or leave a comment below.


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