Story and Photos by George Banker

Annapolis, MD  8/25/2024, 49^th Annapolis 10 Mile Run22, August 22, 2024—Each August, Annapolis, Maryland comes alive with the Annapolis 10 Mile Run. The records reflect the first winner as John Astle in a surprise move. “John and I came into Annapolis about a half block from the finish in downtown. John looked only to the finish and said, “Don’t let it ever be said who won the first Annapolis Run.” He took off. I did not expect it. It was that competitive Senator,” stated Randy Fox. This took place on August 22, 1976.

On August 25, 2024, 49 years later, the tradition continues with an event that is rich in history that began with seven runners: John Astle, Phyllis Beardmore, Randy and Debbie Fox, Donna Jay, Bonnie Phillips, and Burt Royhrbach.

Each runner can expect heat, hills, humidity, and a surprise premium each year. The Annapolis Striders, along with the sponsors and volunteers, never disappoint.  
Leading out from the Navy-Marine Stadium was a pack of five, which was down to three within the first half mile. Into the first mile (5:07) the leaders were Clark Otte of the Howard County Striders, Ben Doiron of Washington, and Spencer Tate of Annapolis.

Tate faded after the first mile. Going into the second mile (5:14 split) Otte pulled away from Doiron, who could not maintain. Otte maintained a comfortable lead going into the fourth mile on the Severn River Bridge. Doiron was in second position with a pack of five trailing.

After completing the fourth mile on the bridge, Hannah Betman from the Howard County Striders emerged as the leading woman. McKenna Brownell of Washington was trailing in second, followed by Hannah Flinchum of Gaithersburg, MD.

The two leaders were holding their positions and went unchallenged to claim top honors. Otte had a time of 52:11 followed by Doiron with a time of 53:46 and Joe Reiman of Cottage Grove, MN, was third with 54:00.

“My strategy going into the race was to go out with the lead pack of people and then see how I felt and get into my rhythm after the first mile or two. I ran with a smaller group of guys for the first three miles and then just kept my rhythm and relaxed. I gradually pulled away about the three-mile mark. I think the level of competition was very good. There were several people who ran really solid times for the distance,” stated Otte.

Betman had a time of 58:42 followed by Brownell with a time of 1:01:06. Flinchum was third with 1:02:30.

“I knew the race was hilly, so my plan was to stay controlled through the beginning of the race and to keep a consistent effort, even over the hills, instead of letting the effort to get too high over the hills. I am in the midst of training for the NYC marathon, so my plan was to use this race as a strong workout effort as I was planning to train through the race. The race had more runners than I expected! It was cool to have so many runners from different areas, locally and from out of town,” stated Betman.

In the field was Alexander Hetherington, Marine Corps Marathon Race Director, with a finish time of 1:06:04. Hetherington was the 2004 overall winner (56:16) and the 2013 master’s winner (58:25).

Jill Hargis Snyder of Annapolis finished with a time of 1:25:08. Hargis was the overall winner in 2000 (1:01:30) and the master’s winner in 2001 (1:05:17).

The race served as the RRCA Eastern Region 10-Mile Championship with Otte and Betman the champions.
                                               

Top Men

1. 52:11 Clark Otte, 25, Columbia, MD
2.  53:46 Ben Doiron, 27, Washington, DC
3. 54:00 Joe Reimann, 23, Cottage Grove, MN
4. 54:50 Brian Clapp, 35, Annapolis, MD
5. 55:16 Jordan Psaltakis, 30, Washington, DC
6. 55:30 Spencer Tate, 23, Annapolis, MD
7. 55:32 Joshua Doughty, 21, Waldorf, MD
8. 55:38 Brendan Meehan, 31, Arlington, VA
9. 55:46 Conrad Davis, 22, Hingham, MA
10. 55:48 James Heilman, 29, Lutherville, MD

Men – Masters

1. 58:50 (21st) Scott Koehler, 40, Odenton, MD
2. 58:56 (22nd) Jason Tripp, 52, Columbia, MD
3. 59:34 (25th) Colin Russell, 42, Hanover, MD
4. 59:56 (27th) Robert Norcott, 43, Berkley, MA
5. 1:00:00 (28th) Yosuke Baba, 51, Baltimore, MD

Top Women

1. 58:42 Hannah Betman, 32, Baltimore, MD
2. 1:01:06 McKenna Brownell, 26, Washington, DC
3. 1:02:30 Hannah Flinchum, 27, Gaithersburg, MD
4. 1:05:22 Ellie Abraham, 22, Annapolis, MD
5. 1:06:43 Taylor Pinzone, 25, Annapolis, MD
6. 1:07:37 Liz Ozeki, 36, Rockville, MD
7. 1:07:37 Shannon Clancy, 22, N. Arlington, NJ
8. 1:08:24 Corinne Hamberger, 36, Millersville, MD
9. 1:08:26 Teresa Allman, 48, Honolulu, HI (Master)
10. 1:10:29 Karri Liisi Linask, 50, Rockville, MD (Master)

Additional Masters – Women

11. 1:10:39 Lauren Jacobs, 40, Linthicum, MD
14. 1:11:58 Allison Sauntay, 44, Edgewater, MD
17. 1:13:13 Annie Scott, 40, Annapolis, MD

Categories: Race Coverage

Tags: 2024, featured, George Banker