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Miles for Matt Relay
Bethlehem, PA, June 19, 1999
Miles for Matt Event Better than Ever!
by Dan Cruttenden & Mark Will-Weber
MILES FOR MATT
7th ANNUAL EVENT BETTER THAN EVER!!
by Dan Cruttenden & Mark Will-Weber
Jets banking from the east into the Lehigh Valley International (LVI)
Airport sometimes are treated to a sweeping view of the bright blue
Moravian College track in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Passengers glancing
out their windows on June 19 would have noticed an unusual amount of
activity down below as hundreds of runners and walkers logged laps and
grooved to the pulsating beat of rock n roll under sunny skies.
The 7th annual Miles For Matt (MFM) Relay was in high gear! Down at
trackside-where a closer view was available-spectators and participants
enjoyed some record-breaking racing in each and every running category.
Country-rocker Shania Twain may have been belting out "That Don't
Impress Me Much" over the sound system, but, in fact, just the opposite
was true!
But the most impressive and important record tumbled in the
fund-raising department, as more than $25,000 poured in to benefit the
National Marrow Donor Program. MFM increases both funding and awareness
about bone marrow testing so that people can receive free testing for
the NMDP. MFM has allowed thousands of people to be tested through bone
marrow drives conducted by the HLA Registry Foundation and the Lehigh
Valley's John and Dorothy Morgan Cancer Center. The monies raised this
year pushed the 7-year MFM total to a lofty $155,000.
The event was launched in 1992 by friends and family in honor of Matt
Worman, a local runner that died of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The format
was based on a 24-hour relay that Matt and nine other local runners ran
(and won) at Millersville University in 1989. They covered 259 miles in
the 24 hours, which meant each runner ran 26 miles! At this year's MFM,
seven of the original relay members were still participating in the
event in memory of a great person, fellow runner and true friend.
The racing this year was top notch due to the quality of the runners.
The race for the most miles covered in 8 hours was hotly contested
between a local group of runners named MOJO and last years champions,
Shippensburg Alumni. The intent of MOJO was to try and cover 100 miles,
a truly Beamonesque effort on their part. To accomplish this EACH
runner would have to run EACH mile in less that 4:50. With the runners
assembled, this was a very reachable goal. The team consisted of a
wealth of talent that has left a huge mark on road running all along
the east coast. Jamie Hibell has won Berwick's Run for the Diamonds,
Spring Lake 5 Miler, and the Rodale Half-Marathon. Joey McVeigh has
been the top finisher for the United States in both the Boston and New
York City Marathons and will represent the US in the Pan Am Games
Marathon this year (he also was one of the top fund raisers). Todd Fach
is also a past champion of Berwick and Spring Lake. Budd Coates
(fitness director at Rodale Press), the "old man" of the group, has been
an Olympic Marathon trials qualifier 3 times. Coates is also one of the
top masters runners in the country. Mark Gerber a talented local runner
has also qualified and run in the Olympic marathon trials. Mark
Will-Weber, another local "old boy" is the Moravian College cross
country and track coach and past winner of many local road races.
Rounding out the team were Mark Jobes and Todd Lippin who too have left
an impression on the local running scene in and around the Lehigh and
Delaware Valley.
The race began very quickly with MOJO taking a slight lead as Jamie
Hibell raced through the first mile in 4:25. By the third rotation (the
24th mile) Ship had taken a slight lead of about 100 meters. By mile 32
MOJO had pulled even again. In the 7th rotation (mile 56) MOJO held a
full lap lead over the Shippensburg team. Determined not to give up,
Ship worked hard to close the gap during the next rotation, pulling
within 200 meters of the leaders through the excellent efforts of Jason
Gish and Brian Crispell. MOJO, with the heat of the day and fatigue
from the torrid pace taking it's toll, reached down and pushed on
extending the lead back to a full lap over Ship by the end of the 96th
mile. The final, MOJO - 98 miles, Ship - 97.75 miles. After 8 hours of
running, less than 400 meters separated these two outstanding teams.
Looking at the pace it was 4:54/mile for MOJO and 4:54.7/mile for Ship.
It was truly an outstanding effort and race by both teams!!!
The women's race also saw the old record shattered with outstanding
performances. A team consisting of Coach Mark Will-Weber's Moravian
girls, ran strong and unchallenged from the beginning to the end. The
team contained four alumni and four current college ladies, thus the
name - Has Been Hounds and the New Litter. Two of the alumni are
previous Division III All-Americans, Tara Wartman and Kristie Reecek.
Two current Moravian runners also have some outstanding credentials.
Heidi Wolfsberger had the fastest 1500 meter time of all freshmen in
Division III in the country this year and Emily Shertzer was the 1999
MAC champion in the 5K and 10k on the track. Rounding out the winning
team were Hannah Wood, Kim Jaick, Becky Page and Maria Grabowski.
Running like they were being chased all day, these women set a new
record and covered 80.5 miles, for a 5:58/mile average. This was
another tremendous effort by a quality group of runners whose team
actually finished 5th overall out of 28 teams!!! The race for the
second place award was quite competitive. Early on the Women's 5K
Classic team established a lead only to see it dwindle as the day wore
on. The DJT Flygirls put on a rush through the middle miles and ran on
to a one mile lead and second place in the women's division, 71 miles to
70 for the Classic team.
In the Masters category the reigning Lock Haven Alumni team lost it's
title to AARP, Aging Athletes Running Proud. Captained by Dave Drabic,
the team also ran unchallenged from beginning to end covering 80 miles,
for a 6:00/mile pace. Dave has been the top fund raiser for this event
EVERY year since its inception. His 7 year total of $19,207.12 is
absolutely outstanding! In addition, Dave has been #1 in three
different categories of this race. His mixed teams have won several
times, he has competed in the walking division (winning that category in
1998) and now has returned to running with a masters team consisting of
some the Lehigh Valley's finest "old timers". Dave received a special
recognition plaque from the race committee for his dedication and hard
work.
The mixed division, containing the greatest amount of teams, seemed to
be the least competitive of the categories. This does not mean that
they did not run fast - they did! The winners, the Death Dogs ran a
record number of miles covering 87.5 for a 5:47/mile pace. These mixed
teams were required to have at least 3 women. The next closest team
was the Horsemen Inc, running 80 miles (6:00/mile pace) for second place
followed by Lock Haven II which ran 76.75 miles. Lock Haven ran the
last 6 hours with just 7 runners on the team, which made the remaining
runners cover a total of 10 or 11 miles.
The walking division (with 30 walkers) did not set a record but still
had some outstanding performances. Dave Drabic says it is much easier
to run than to walk all day. These people have put forth a sizable
effort and deserve a BIG "thank you" from the race committee. Winning
this year was Tom Latza covering 27.25 miles. It is important to note
the there were several very important people that walked throughout the
day - Stan and Benneth Worman, Matt's father and mother, Susan Worman,
Matt's wife, and "Uncle Bob". Uncle Bob, a successful liver transplant
recipient, is one person that livens up the event. He pushes his
walker/chair around the track and entices people to "ride" in his
Cadillac. His humor and grit are noteworthy, constantly smiling and
cracking jokes. But we can not forget the hats! Each lap Uncle Bob
dons a different piece of head gear with a joke and story about each.
The committee appreciates and enjoys his presence at the event.
Finally, the race committee would like to thank all our sponsors for
their continued support, for without them this would not be the class
event that it is today.
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