The following runners were chosen by the staff of RUNOHIO and its’ readers as the top runners in Ohio in 2009. RUNOHIO along with the runners of Ohio and the Midwest congratu-late the following individu-als for earning this honor.

Top MaleMatt Folk

Top FeMaleangela Bizzarri

Top Male MasTerT. J. lentz

Top FeMale MasTerGay Hammon

Top Male Grand MasTersTerry McCluskey

Top FeMale Grand MasTerTerry Mahr

Men openMatt Folk

Other top male runners: John Ely, Fred Kieser, Craig Leon, Josh Ordway, Brian Olinger, Chris Reis and Jeff See

Matt Folk, 33, has been run-ning for seventeen years. Matt lives in Perrysburg where he owns the Second Sole Athletic Shoe Store.

Top 2009 performances Glass city marathon ......... 2:31:04 churchill Half marathon ... 1:07:57 Hyde park Blast 4 miler ........19:21 ryan serber 8km ............. 23:55 columbus 10km .................. 30:46 rite aid cleveland 10km ...... 30:46 BG Boy scout Half marathon1:09:07Johnnycake Jog 5 miler ........24:18 peace race 10km ................ 29:19 columbus marathon ......... 2:20:45

When and how did you first start running? “I started run-ning my sophomore year at Clay High School. I was at the age where I was trying a variety of sports to try to earn a varsity letter. My freshman year I played about 5 minutes

on the basketball team and wanted to try something dif-ferent.”

How do you train and what is your favorite workout? “I do a little bit higher mileage at a little bit lower intensity. Dur-ing a normal week in a core of training cycle I usually do 9 to 10 runs a weeks with a long run, a speed workout, and ei-ther a tempo run or a race. The rest of the runs are normally relaxed distance runs between 7 and 7:30 pace. I still think my favorite workout is a surge workout of 1 to 5 minutes hard followed by 1 to 2 minutes easy with the number of reps varying depending on what race distance I am training to race.”

What do you like about running and racing? “I like the challenges, camaraderie, health benefits, and sense of accomplishment after a good run. It has opened up and con-tinues to open up many doors in my life. It has led to many great friendships, travels, and experiences.” Racing is al-ways interesting because even though you try to set yourself up for success with solid train-ing you never fully know what you are going to get. The first reason is you never know who will show up and what kind of shape they will be in. The sec-ond reason is you never fully know how your body is going to respond.

What were your favorite races last year and why? “My favorite two last year were the Columbus Marathon and the Youngstown Peace Race 10k. Both races were very competi-tive with great weather where I had the opportunity to run my best times in a couple years.”

Any advice for runners who want to improve their run-ning? “Set a series of goals both long term and short term that you wish to achieve, come up with a training plan (or plan of attack) that will help you reach your goals, and adjust accord-ingly along the way. Don’t be afraid to mix things up and try some different things. Do-ing the same exact things over and over can easily put you in a rut. Be consistent and have some fun.”

What are your running goals this year? “My main goal for 2010 is to try to set a pr for the marathon and try to qualify for the 2012 Olym-pic Marathon Trials by hitting the standard. I hope to have a great spring and summer of mileage while mixing in some races and go after a solid fall marathon.”

WoMen openangela Bizzarri

Other top female runners: Melissa Converse, Leigh Cordes, Sarah Flament, Bridg-et Franek, Emily Infeld, Chris-tina Johnston, Rachael Kins-man, Jessica Odorcic,, Becki Ordway, Kara Storage and Tara Storage

angela Bizzarri, 22, is from Mason and is a senior major-ing in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois. Angela won the 2009 NCAA Division I National Cross Country Champion-ships in 19:46 for the 6,000 meter course and the NCAA Division I Track and Field 5,000 meter Championships in 16:17.49. Angela was third in the USATF 5,000 meter National Championships in 15:33.02. In the 2009 Big Ten Track and Field Champion-ships Angela won the 5,000 meters in 15:54.86 and was second in the 1500 meters in 4:16.95. Angela was second (20:10) in the Big Ten Cross

Country Championships be-hind fellow Ohioan and Penn State runner Bridget Franek (20:03). Angela running his-tory includes eight Ohio High School State Individual Cham-pionships in track and cross country as well as being an eight time All American in col-lege.

Top 2009 performances1500 meters ...............................4:17 3,000 meters ..............................9:11 5,000 meters .............................15:336,000.........................................19:47

How did you first start run-ning? “I first started running in middle school with a track club called Eastside Pride. It was a great experience for me to not only enjoy time with friends I made but learn about the sport of Track and Field.”

How do you train and what is your favorite workout? “I run 6 days a week, two work-outs a week, a long run, mid-week long run and 2 easy runs. As far as training methodolo-gy goes you would have to ask my coach Jeremy Rasmussen. My favorite workout is prob-ably 400’s we do the week of big races. We usually do 10-12 total broken into about 2-3 sets. I can’t say it’s our tough-est workout but it always feels smooth especially when we have been tapering.”

What do you like about running and racing? “I have always loved to compete. In a specific race competing is against whoever is around me, but overall when I look at how my season went, the competition is myself. Where I was at the previous year is my competitor, I look to see if I im-proved compared to where I was last year, which is always my ultimate goal.”

What were your favorite races last year and why? “The NCAA Cross Country Cham-pionships and U.S. Track and Field Championships 5000m were my favorite races. Both of these races were a lot of fun for me because they were surprising to me. I didn’t ex-pect to finish as high as I did in either of these races and it gave me confidence in my abilities. The NCAA Cross Country Championships was a very dynamic race with a lot of surprises but I was able to stay calm and stick to my own race plan.”

Any advice for runners who want to improve their run-ning? “Running is about do-ing a lot of little things right beyond just running; nutri-tion, sleep, strengthening, mental approach, icing, and stretching to name a few. I think it is impossible to do all these things perfectly but if each season you focus on one of these things to improve on, over time you will generally get better in a lot of these ar-eas.”

What are your running goals this year? “I want to be a better overall runner then last year. The easiest way to see that is pr’s but also seeing improvements in more tacti-cal races where time is irrel-evant.”

What are your plans after you graduate? “I graduate in December so my plans are not concrete right now. But I want to continue running and go to graduate school to become a physician’s assistant.”

2009 runoHio runners of the Year

Matt Folkangela Bizzarri (Photo by www.photorun.net)

MId MaRcH – MId May 2010 RUNOHIO PaGE 5

Men Masterst. J. Lentz

Other top men masters: John Agnew, Curt Backus, Chris Desroches, Ron Dorfeld, Thomas Goldsby, John Hop-ple, Rob Jurgens, Dave Mirth, Brian Stern and Greg Wilmer

t. J. Lentz , 42, lives in Cin-cinnati where is he is Envi-ronmental Health Scientist and has been running for over thirty years.

Top 2009 performances anthem 5 km classic ..................15:24rodes city run 10km ................31:53Papa John’s 10 mile ................. 52:55flying pig Half marathon ........ 1:11:17columbus 10km ....................... 32:03Hyde park Blast 4 mile .............. 20:35 star spangled spectacular 5km . 15:22Downtown Dash 5km .................15:21spirit of columbus Half marathon...................... 1:09:41minster oktoberfest 10km ......... 32:14columbus marathon .............. 2:34:27

When and how did you first start running? “I started run-ning in junior high school at about 12 years old. A friend convinced me to stay after school one Spring day for the track team tryouts. The try-out consisted of lacing up my Converse Chuck Taylors and running around a few neigh-borhood blocks with the rest of the team. At the end of the

run I was leading, so the coach handed me a uniform and told me I was on the team. Later that year I was introduced to cross country and went on to win the Ohio USATF state championship race for 12-13 year olds.”

How do you train and what is your favorite workout? “I’m training much more in solitary these days, pushing myself on tempo runs (25-30 minutes hard) to simulate race conditions on hilly courses. My plans for the New Year are to get back to a weekly track workout, focusing on 1200 and 1600 meter intervals to build strength and speed. That’s been missing from my routine this year and my rac-ing has suffered from it.”

What do you like about run-ning and racing? “I could name half a dozen reasons for why I run, but the top reason is to compete. I enjoy racing, and especially when I am in top form. I also enjoy the fit-ness that comes with running, the friendships I’ve formed through running, and the op-portunity it provides to ex-plore new cities when I travel. Running can be a very inde-pendent and personal activ-ity, but it can also be a shared pleasure. I’m finding a lot of enjoyment in the fact that my wife Renee and two daughters Eeva and Tuula can participate in running and racing too.”

What were your favorite races last year and why? “The Minster Oktoberfest 10km continues to be my favor-ite race, and one I’ve run for nearly 30 years. The Colum-bus 10km is also a great race, and this year had some nice changes with a new course and a fast field. A return to the Columbus Marathon last year also capped a great season for me, with a perfect running day, great crowds, and a well-organized event. I love the fin-ish at the Columbus Marathon now.”

Any advice for runners who want to improve their run-ning? “My best advice has always been to train and race with partners who are seri-ous about the sport. My best improvements came when I was training consistently with a team of runners who were

faster than me. Most workouts were a challenge, and as a re-sult I saw my racing improve considerably.”

What are your running goals this year? “As with last year, I plan to begin the racing season with the Triple Crown of Rac-ing Series in Louisville. Then I want to hone in on some U.S. Master’s National Champi-onships Races - possibly the 25km in Grand Rapids in May and then the marathon in the fall. If I can put in the training, I really think I would like to focus on running a strong fall marathon.”

WoMen MasterGay Hammon

Other top women mas-ters: Joanne Collins, Michele Danne, Laurie Davis, Connie Gardner, Lisa Gorris, Michelle Kitze, Wanda Krebs, and Mi-chelle Rupe.

Gay Hammon, 45, lives in Cincinnati where she is a Fe-dex Courier and has been run-ning for over thirty years.

Top 2009 performancesanthem 5km ............................ 19:25cincinnati Heart mini marathon .................... 1:01:51 flying pig marathon .............. 3:07:07 columbus 10km ........................ 40:01 Hyde park Blast 4 mile ..............26:20 spirit of columbus Half marathon...................... 1:29:12Honor flight 5km ...................... 20:13 fighting Hunger 5km ................20:25

When and how did you first start running? “I first started running competitively in 7th grade when I tried out for the track team. I was a miler.”

How do you train and what is your favorite workout? “I train with my team, the Earth Drummers. We meet 1 to 2 days a week for interval training and long runs. I run the rest of my runs from my house, solo. My favorite work-outs are the long run with my friends.”

What do you like about running and racing? “I run because I can. I consider it a gift from God. There are thou-sands of people who wish they could go out and run, but can’t. I honor the ability God

has given me by rejoicing in every step I take. I run because I love to run.”

What were your favorite races last year and why? “My favorite race last year would be the Flying Pig Marathon, because the marathon is my favorite distance to race and because I ran a PR by 8 min-utes and felt good the whole race. Probably second favorite would be the half marathon in Columbus. We had a warm day and I ran well. I also had a small group of old college friends who had never seen me race before there to cheer me on.”

Any advice for runners who want to improve their run-ning? “I think the best way to improve as a runner is to find a group of people who are dedicated to the sport and run with them. My experience on a racing team has definitely made me a stronger, smarter runner.”

What are your running goals this year? “My main running goal right now is to get healthy. I am currently in-jured with some severe tendi-nitis in my achilles. It is very painful and has sidelined me for a bit. I was hoping to run the whole marathon at the Pig again this year, but I may scale back and just do the half. It’ll depend on how soon and can

get back on the road. My other running goals include setting some new age group PR’s be-cause I just entered at new age group (45-49). I’m also think-ing of a fall marathon if I can’t run the Pig this year. Maybe New York, just because I’ve never done it.”

Men Grand Masters terry McCluskey

Other top men grand mas-ters: Michael Barr, Lon Bussell, Brad Ingram, Ron Legg, Jeff Rawlins, Scott Snyder, Mark Tensing and Rick Ventura

terry McCluskey, 61, lives in Vienna where he is a medi-cal technologist at St Joseph Health Center.

Top 2009 performances Boston marathon ....................2:57:54ogden 20km ..........................1:21:10parkersburg Half marathon ....1:24:58napa to sonoma Half marathon......................1:22:35north coast challenge 5 mile ....29:46Great race 10km .......................38:42Twin cities marathon ..............2:58:26Dublin Ireland marathon ........3:07:07

How did you first start run-ning? “I started back running in 1981 at the age of 33 after my dad passed away. I fell in love with running in 9th grade at Farrell High School in Far-rell, Pennsylvania.

How do you train and what is your favorite workout? “I train year round 6-7 days a week. I change up day with easy days and hard days; short runs of 5-6 miles and longer runs of 9, 12, 15 or lon-ger. My favorite is the long run at 7am in Mill Creek Park, Youngstown, Ohio. Its my fa-

2009 Runohio Runners of the Year, cont.

thomas Lentz Gay Hammon

terry McCluskey

Page 6 runohio Mid March – Mid May 2010

vorite since its the one I run with my friends, George, Tom, Sarah and sometimes Scott.

What do you like about run-ning and racing? “I love both running and racing! I tell ev-eryone that running is a gift that is given to you and you must use it and appreciate it. Racing is a gift that you give to yourself for all the hard work you are doing!”

What were your favorite races last year and why? “All of the races are ‘cream de la cream and I have the most wonderful memories of each one!

Boston of course is the ulti-mate experience and runners Nirvana and the Holy Grail.

Ogden and Parkersburg are both outstanding races and down home hospitality…the most bang for your buck you find in America.

Napa to Sonoma – wow! Pre race pasta party is outdoors on a winery patio, the start is at the doorstep of another winery, the course meanders though fields of grape vines and the finish is downtown Sonama includes wine tasting. The awards include a bottle of local primo wine!! Life is Good :)

The Northcoast Challenge is the best 5 mile race you will run thanks to the race director,

Dave Camerino! He in-cludes lots of short races on St. Johns Hospital lawn for kids of all ages, making this a day of fun for the entire family.

The Great Race is the biggest non-prize money race in the country. And the fastest! The real prize is getting invited to Don and Tammy Slussers’ an-nual post race party!

The Twin Cities Marathon is a true thrill to run this gor-geous urban course! Everyone must put this on their List of Races to do before they die!

At the start of the Dublin Marathon they don’t play their national anthem, the runners are lead in singing the Irish tune “Molly Malone” !!! If you have any Irish Ancestry you must run the Dublin Mar-athon, and after enjoy the tra-ditional music, food, and yes, its worth running just to have a couple pints of properly poured Guinness to celebrate!

Any advice for runners who want to improve their run-

ning? “My advice to any-one who wants to set the bar higher is to set your goals by asking for them and believing you will receive your wish. Once you know you will ob-tain what you want you will start acting in ways that will bring about the training and events necessary to fulfill your dreams. In other words, once you begin to train your-self above the neck, training below the neck follows natu-rally!!!”

What are your running goals this year? “Well I fell 54 seconds short of my goal at Boston last year. I am going to run again this year and see what happens. Mostly, I look forward to traveling to races with my close friends and once there, the reunion with the many wonderful runner-friends and race-officials that I have meet from running. New runners, young runners, old runners, male, and female....It’s all good.”

Top Women Grand masTerTerry mahr

Other top women grand masters: Rita Barnes, Pat Ha-benicht, Janice Kruez, Cookie O’Neal, Nancy Smith, Diane Perriello, Jeannie Rice and Debra Wagner.

Terry mahr, 61, lives in Or-egon and lost her job and is presently looking for employ-ment in the Toledo area.

Top 2009 performances naples Half marathon .......... 1:30:50Gasparilla 5km ..........................20:18subaru Buffalo 4 mile chase ..... 26:57northcoast challenge 5 miler......32:51peace race 10km .......................40:12

How did you first start run-ning? “I didn’t begin running until 1982 after I had moved to the US from England. As a schoolgirl in England, I had been active in various sports but not running. .. When I moved to the US, I realized that the US lifestyle (at that time) was too sedentary for me. At home, I had walked to the station for my commute into London, walked to the office, walked to the shops, walked to mail a letter. When I moved here because of the geographic, I had to use a car to

2009 Runohio Grand Prix Winners and Interviews, cont.

do everything. So I began jog-ging with a neighbor, worked up to a non-stop run of 3 miles then built on that. I started competing and found that I enjoyed it and when I won my first 5km I was hooked. I have been competing ever since al-though to a lesser degree now but I still run regularly.”

How do you train and what is your favorite workout? “I have always trained according to how I feel and I think that is what has kept me relatively in-jury free. Up until my late for-ties I could do intense work-outs with a day’s recovery including regular long runs.

Now, my hard workouts are not so intense or lengthy and I try to concentrate on quality as opposed to quantity. I still try to get regular long runs in as I stepped down from mara-thons to half marathons.

My favorite workouts are speed workouts, whether it’s intervals, tempo, fartlek. Not because they’re easy but they are over quickly.”

What do you like about run-ning and racing? “I like run-ning because it’s something I can do and it’s good exercise. When you are out of town running is a great way to see the sights. As an extension of that I like to race because there is a great camaraderie amongst runners and fellow runners are really supportive. I still enjoy racing but it is hard to maintain impetus and moti-vation knowing you will nev-er run the times you did when you were running and racing well no matter how you train. This age thing really stinks! But all you can do is train and run to the best of your ability.”

What were your favor-ite races last year and why? “Again, the Naples Half-Mar-athon tops the list with the Northcoast Challenge 5 Miler a very close second. Both races are extremely well-organized with an outstanding volunteer base and the races are totally geared to the runner. Also, both races recognize that there are older runners out there and have all categories of mas-ters awards.”

Any advice for runners who want to improve their run-ning? “Runners know what they should be doing to im-prove their running and con-

Terry mahr

ditioning and there are many training plans to log into which can help you. Find a running buddy with the same goals and you can keep each other honest. Be flexible in your training. You don’t have to do certain things on certain days. Mix it up a bit to keep the interest. You have to want to do the work to improve but if you lose the interest you won’t. Keep your goals and expectations realistic - we’d all love to run sub-five minutes miles but for the majority of us, fantasizing about it is the closest we will get. Keep it in perspective and have FUN.”

What are your running goals this year? “My goal this year is to run without injury. I had a foot stress fracture last year which wasn’t diagnosed until October when I finally had a MRI. I had been running on it all year thinking it was an extremely painful neuroma which was taking a long time to go away! I took time off but don’t expect to be back racing until the second quarter of the year.”

15th AnnualshaWnee sTaTe Bear run 5KThursdayApril 22, 2010Portsmouth6:00 p.m.Free to all pre-registered Elementary, Jr. High, High School and S.S.U. students

$10.00 if pre-registered

$15.00 Race Daywww.shawnee.edu/off/athl/bearrun/index.html

Contact:Bear run 5K

shawnee state university

940 second streetportsmouth, ohio

45662 (740) 351-3285

Jesse Owens HigH scHOOl track classic

Ohio state University Saturday • May 8th

starts at 9:30 a.m.admission Only $5.00

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mid march – mid-may 2010 runohio PaGE 7