By Clay Shaw

New Holland, PA, March 26, 2022, Garden Spot Half Marathon—One of my favorite races, we ran the inaugural Garden Spot Marathon in 2009.  It has now transitioned into a boutique half marathon, with a companion low-key 10k. In the past we have earned four “Road Apple” plaques from doing both Garden Spot Half-Marathon and the Bird-In-Hand Half Marathon.  The events start ten miles apart, and their courses overlap slightly in a few places.  This year runners from 14 states made New Holland a destination for this unique course.  541 finished the half marathon, and another 184 did the companion 10k. 

Madelena Rizzo of Wyncote, PA who was second in 2021, earned first in the women’s race this year with a 1:29:55.  Meg Griffith of Manheim, PA also moved up on the podium from third in 2021 to second in 2022 with a 1:32:30.  Carol Wittlied-Weber of Media, PA was third in 1:34:47 and for Runner’s Gazette editorial purposes was also the first master.  Falon Doutrich of Gap, PA was fourth in 1:37:23.  Amy Reed of York, PA was fifth in 1:37:47.

Ramsey Sybel of East Petersburg, PA won the men’s race in 1:20:06, running with the lead for most of the race. On Sybel’s Facebook page, he stated “Only took 35 years to get 1^st place in something.”  He went on to thank the Garden Spot Village team and their volunteers for their great organization. 

Lyle Stauffer of Ephrata was second in 1:20:07, and for Runner’s Gazette editorial purposes was the first master.  Elmer King of Bird-In-Hand was third in 1:21:17.  Jay McMillan of Columbia, PA was fourth in 1:21:36, as the Franklin and Marshall runners were prominent in this event.  Alexander Byrnes of Tunkhannock, PA was fifth in 1:21:54.

Garden Spot Village is a retirement community, and starts their masters categories at 50, while most races start masters at 40. 

See you at Bird-In-Hand, PA on Sept 10.

Top Women

1. 1:29:55 Madelena Rizzo, 30/34, Wyncote, PA
2. 1:32:30 Meg Griffith, 30/34, Manheim, PA
3. 1:34:47 Carol Wittlied-Weber, 40/44, Media, PA
4. 1:37:23 Falon Doutrich, 30/34, Gap, PA
5. 1:37:47 Amy Reed, 35/39. York, PA
6. 1:37:51 Sara Crimmel, 30/34, East Petersburg, PA
7. 1:39:11 Katelyn Mellinger, 30/34, Paradise, PA
8. 1:39:40 Denise McMillan, 50/54, Colombia, PA
9. 1:40:23 Gretchen Stevenson, 35/39, Akron, PA
10. 1:40:29 Brenda Hodge, 50/54, L:ancaster, PA

Top Men

1. 1:20:26 Ramsey Sybel, 35/39, East Petersburg, PA
2. 1:20:27 Lyle Stauffer, 40/44, Ephrata, PA
3. 1:21:17 Elmer King, 25/29, Bird-In-Hand, PA
4. 1:21:36 Jay McMillan, 45/49, Columbia, PA
5. 1:21:54 Alexander Byrnes, 25/29, Tunkhannock, PA
6. 1:22:39 Timothy Noble, 30/34, Ephrata, PA
7. 1:24:23 Nick Miguelino, 20/24, Ellicott City, MD
8. 1:24:45 Parker Adams, 20/24, Harrisburg, PA
9. 1:25:20 Joshua Chang, 35/39, Timonium, MD
10. 1:27:17 Mark Hanna, 50/54, Bethlehem, PA

Categories: Race Coverage

Tags: 2022, featured, Garden Spot Half Marathon