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Two Marathon Leaders, and Neither Focused On Winning the NCR

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Loper and Blackman Capture The Half Marathon

Story by George Banker
Photography by Clay Shaw and George Banker

Sparks, MD, November 30, 2024—The Northern Central Railroad Trail, officially known as the Torrey C. Brown Trail, covers nearly 20 miles in Maryland and was the venue of the Baltimore Road Runners Club (BRRC) 35th marathon and 8th half marathon. The BRRC and marathons date back to 1973, and the club has delivered each year with excitement. The size of the field is small, and no runner leaves disappointed. This year the dual event had temperatures in the 37–40 degrees range, even colder in some spots, with winds of 20 mph gusting up to 32 mph.

Leading the marathon was Devin Horseman-Guy of Team Charm City, making his debut at the NCR. Patrick Blair of Catonsville, MD, was a two-time master winner (2022-2:41:51, 2023-2:42:31).

The first half of both races is northbound and gradually uphill. Going into the 10K mark the lead male runners crossed in 36:02 and by the halfway mark their time was 1:16:35. “Devin and I were exchanging the lead through mile 14 and near mile 17, I was having stomach issues and I lost contact. Also the wind was rough,” said Blair.

Nearing mile 20, a large tree with lots of branches fell onto the course. Thankfully, all of the marathoners had passed through the area heading north before this happened. On the southbound trip, just before mile 20, all of the top male and female runners had to negotiate the fallen tree, climbing over and through the branches. (And it certainly wasn’t easy for photographer Clay Shaw to negotiate this via bicycle.) The park service soon arrived with chain saws and cleared the tree for the majority of the field.

Horseman-Guy seized the opportunity to pull away. Blair had lost contact and could not recover. Horseman-Guy did not look back and took the win with a time of 2:31:33 (8th fastest winning time). “My goal coming into the race was to break 2:40. I was not thinking about winning. The wind was a challenge.” said Horseman-Guy.

Blair was also focusing on time. “I wanted to break the master’s record, and I failed the last two years. The wind was rough, and Devin pulled away when I had stomach issues.” Blair was runner-up with a time of 2:34:00. The third time was a charm as a new master record was set. The oldest master record on the books (William Desmond 2:36:03 1991 at the 2nd NCR) has been broken.

Liz Ozeki of Rockville, MD was the leading woman once the runners were on the NCR Trail. Jessica Ponds of  Ellicott City, MD was followed closely by Alison Tucker of Sparks Glencoe, MD. Going through 10K, Ozeki crossed in 42:11 followed by Ponds in 42:32. Tucker was in third position with 42:32. As the race progressed Ozeki retained the lead going through the half marathon in 1:29:25. Tucker had moved into second place with a time of 1:31:09 and Ponds crossed in 1:32:02.

The positions remained the same as Ozeki took first place with a time of 2:59:13 (9th fastest winning time). Tucker was runner-up with 3:05:22 and third was Ponds with a time of 3:06:07 and the first master (5th fastest winning time).

274 runners completed the marathon.

                                                Half Marathon

Leading the way along the NCR for the half marathon was Alexander Loper of Abingdon, MD as he reached the 10K with a time of 33:50. Hayden Schindler of Baltimore followed in 34:12 and in third was Alex Whatley of Cockeysville, MD, with a time of 35:32.

Going into the 7.8 mile mark the positions did not change. Loper passed with a time of 42:47. Schindler trailed in second with a time of 43:10, followed by Whatley with a time of 44:39. Loper remained steadfast and took first place with a time of 1:12:40 (3rd fastest winning time). The runner-up was Schindler with a time of 1:14:00. Whatley was third with a time of 1:14:39.

The third time was a charm for Tanka Magar of Nottingham, MD. After two years of being the master’s runner up (2022-1:22:05, 2022-1:19:37) the title was captured. Magar clocked a time of 1:17:30 (2nd fastest winning time).

Camille Blackman of Baltimore and Isabelle Pardew (2020 winner 1:29:04) of Towson, MD, passed the 10K mark in 39:12. Megan DiGregorio of Baltimore (2023 winner 1:25:00) passed with a time of 40:36. Going into mile 7.8 Blackman was up by a step, with a time of 49:11 to 49:12 over Pardew. DiGregorio trailed in 51:17. Blackman took first with a time of 1:21:27 (3rd fastest winning time) followed by Pardew with a time of 1:22:33. DiGregorio was third with a time of 1:26:43.

Hyunsun Reilly of Bel Air, MD, captured her third consecutive master’s title (2022-1:30:27, 2023-1:27:47 record) with a time of 1:34:39.

A special thanks to Oldfields School, a college preparatory school for girls in grades 8 through 12 in Sparks Glencoe, Maryland. It was founded in Baltimore County, Maryland in 1867 by Anna Austen McCulloch. The school is the host for the NCR Trail Marathon. Thanks to the sponsors, law enforcement, and medical. The BRRC volunteers continue to remain a vital part of the success of the race.

464 runners completed the half marathon.

Marathon Top Women

  1. 2:59:13 Liz Ozeki, 36, Rockville, MD
  2. 3:05:32 Alison Tucker, 28, Sparks Glencoe, MD
  3. 3:06:07 Jessica Ponds, 42, Ellicott City, MD
  4. 3:15:08 Christine Brace, 40, Westminster, MD
  5. 3:17:09 Sarah Wenger, 43, Dallastown, PA
  6. 3:17:26 Marina Martino, 33, Dallas, PA
  7. 3:20:16 Christine Parker, 40, Baltimore, MD
  8. 3:20:22 Mary Pomilla, 33, Brooklyn, NY
  9. 3:21:40 Eliza Mummert, 28, Baltimore, MD
  10. 3:26:41 Alyssa Dressler, 27, York Haven, PA

Marathon Top Men

  1. 2:31:33 Devin Horseman-Guy, 25, Churchton, MD
  2. 2:34:00 Patrick Blair, 43, Catonsville, MD
  3. 2:47:47 Mark Berenson, 42, Washington, DC
  4. 2:48:23 Michael Merkle, 30, Burke, VA
  5. 2:49:38 Jonathan Ettinger, 39, Washington, DC
  6. 2:51:39 Dylan Ascolese, 42, Sudbury, MA
  7. 2:53:46 Eligio Sucup-Gonzalez, 35, Takoma Park, MD
  8. 2:56:27 Nathan O’Hara, 41, Ellicott City, MD
  9. 2:57:12 Jacob Loverich, 48, State College, PA
  10. 2:57:25 Zachary Cordell, 32, Encinitas, CA

Half Marathon Top Women

  1. 1:21:27 Camille Blackman, 30, Baltimore, MD
  2. 1:22:33 Isabelle Pardew, 26, Towson, MD
  3. 1:26:43 Megan DiGregorio, 36, Baltimore, MD
  4. 1:26:50 Kristen Glennie, 28, Fort Collins, CO
  5. 1:28:41 Zhana Ivanova, 19, Frederick, MD
  6. 1:34:39 Hyunsun Reilly, 43, Bel Air, MD
  7. 1:35:57 Caroline Marderness, 25, New Freedom, PA
  8. 1:35:48 Mary Katherine Green, 33, Ellicott City, MD
  9. 1:36:11 Miranda Sachs, 29, Catonsville, MD
  10. 1:37:27 Ashley Fortress, 40, Frederick, MD

Half Marathon Top Men

  1. 1:12:40 Alexander Loper, 37, Abingdon, MD
  2. 1:14:00 Hayden Schindler, 22, Baltimore, MD
  3. 1:14:39 Alex Whatley, 26, Cockeysville, MD
  4. 1:16:54 Ross Kidd, 25, Arbutus, MD
  5. 1:17:30 Tanka Magar, 43, Nottingham, MD
  6. 1:17:43 Nick Hanifee, 32, Cecilton, MD
  7. 1:18:47 Peyton Dill, 20, Sykesville, MD
  8. 1:19:35 Shawn Loper, 46, Bel Air, MD
  9. 1:19:42 Hugo Mainguy, 24, College Park, MD
  10. 1:20:05 Conrad Koehler, 27, Columbia, MD
Devin Horseman-Guy of Churchton, MD leads Patrick Blair of Catonsville, MD going into Monkton. The two kept their places as Horseman-Guy won in 2:31:33; Blair was second in 2:34:00 and set a new NCR masters record.
Jonathan Ettinger #95 of Washington, DC was fifth overall. Dylan Ascolese #47 of Sudbury, MA was sixth in 2:51:39
Jessica Ponds of Ellicott City, MD leads by a step over Liz Ozeki #308 of Rockville, MD and a host of male runners. Ponds was third in 3:06:07. Ozeki won in 2:59:13.
Alison Tucker of Sparks Glencoe, MD was second overall in 3:05:32.
Christine Parker of Baltimore races with Marina Martino of Dallas, PA. Parker was seventh in 3:20:16. Martino was sixth in 3:17:26, two days after winning a diamond in the Berwick Run for the Diamonds..
Mary Pomilla of Brooklyn, NY staying warm after the 29 degree start, finished eighth in 3:20:22.
Caroline Leann of Woodbridge, VA smiles as she runs through Monkton in the NCR Trail Marathon.
Amanda May Schreiber of Farmington Hills, MI brightens the NCR Trail Marathon on a cold morning.
Monkton Station volunteers on a cold morning gave water to the runners four times on the races out-n-back courses. Big time kudos.
Liz Ozeki of Rockville, MD at mile 19 near White Hall on her way to the NCR Trail Marathon win in 2:59:13. She did however have to get through a downed tree just ahead of her at this point.
Sarah Wenger of Dallastown, PA leads Christine Brace of Westminster, MD and Marina Martino of Dallas, PA. Wenger ran 3:17:09 to finish fifth. Brace was fourth in 3:15:08. Martino was sixth in 3:17:26.
Shawn Pinamonti of Middle River, MD ran 3:16:48.
Heather Roe of York, PA ran a lifetime marathon Number 15. Heather is the highly successful York Winter Series director.
Hayden Schindler of Baltimore was second in 1:14:00.
Caroline Marderness #595 of New Freedom, PA was seventh in 1:35:57. Ashley Fortress of Frederick, MD was tenth in 1:37:27.
Alexander Loper of Abingdon, MD was the NCR Trail Half-Marathon champ in 1:12:40.
Tanka Magar of Nottingham, MD was fifth and top master in 1:17:30.
Camille Blackman of Baltimore won the NCR Half-Marathon in 1:21:27.
Isabelle Pardew of Towson, MD was second in 1:22:33.
Megan DiGregorio of Baltimore was third in 1:26:43.
Joshua Jamison of York, PA ran 1:27:02 to place third 45-49 and sixteenth overall.
Zhana Ivanova of Frederick, MD was fifth in 1:28:41. At 19, she was the youngest in either gender in the top ten overall.

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