Category: Race Report

Tom and I recently traveled to suburban Maryland to attend the wedding of our nephew Will and his beautiful fiancé Amanda. Will’s family lives in Montgomery county, Maryland which is absolutely breathtaking this time of year.

Will is the older brother of our nephew, Ross. For those of you that don’t know, Ross died suddenly in November of 2015. As you can imagine, the death of a 19 year old healthy, young man is hard on a family.

Tom’s sister, Kim, took her overwhelming grief and started a running group in Ross’s honor. Ross loved to run. He loved to be surrounded by others giving all they had. He loved to encourage all those runners along the course. He loved life.

We decided to run a local race in Poolesville, Maryland. Both Will and Ross attended Poolesville High School, and Ross ran this exact course when he was 14! How cool is that?

Standing at the starting line surrounded by our family and friends wearing their “Running for Ross” t-shirts was emotional. I looked around and noticed we were engulfed by the Poolesville High School cross country team. Chills. So, so powerful.

The course wound through a classic Maryland neighborhood, still sleepy on a Saturday morning. A few families gathered on lawns and porches to cheer us on. Little kids ran out to give high fives. I’m sure Ross loved this race.

Right after the starting gun, I tucked in with a few of the CC girls. I recognized a couple as friends of Ross’s younger siblings. We laughed and joked until they saw their coach at the 1 mile mark, then they left me in the dust.

The first mile and a half had a fast downhill taper. The remainder of the race was a painful, slow, uphill climb back to the starting line. But the weather was great and the love was strong, so all we could do was finish with a smile. We were cheered in by family and friends. What an amazing race!

Tom and I felt right at home as we gathered around the finish line talking to the locals. This small town running club was very similar to ours. Everyone knew each other. They cheered each other on. And they all pitched in to help, on whatever level that might be, to ensure an enjoyable race for all.

Thanks SMRC for giving us a place to call home, and a place to share our running adventures! — Paula Korzeniewski

The 14th Annual Country Roads 10K was hold on September 16, 2017 at 8:00 am!

There was a super fast lead pack, and a solid group of runners that came out to run! There were plenty of volunteers along the way as well! Many from our very own SMRC, along with volunteers from other local organizations! It was a great race! The caps that Dave Moody handed out to the finishers were really nice also! I can honestly say that I’ve seen quite a few around town since that day! Great finisher’s prize!

It was humid, but people still charged through that finish line with determination! Robert Bermea was also out there, taking his most awesome race photos, as he always does! Here are just a few of the photos he so graciously shared with everyone! I hope he knows how appreciated he is! Make sure you support him when you can!

Here is a link to the rest of the photos! If you love one, order it! I can speak from experience that the quality of his photos is always top notch.

Robert Bermea’s CR10K Photos

On another note, keep this race in mind for next year. Support Core Running and encourage registration next year to any runner you may know! I know Dave would love to see this race grow!

So, the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. It was cool and sunny and just glorious running weather! Plus, the race directors added a 5K this year! So for those of us who haven’t been running long (ahem….like me), there was a great race option! It was awesome. It was so well organized, too, just as it always is. The beer and food were flowing post race all over the place, too. That always makes us runners happy.

Here are some of the photos for our club members that I was able to track down! Congrats to everyone who placed! I can’t wait to run this one again next year! Although, I heard the 10K route was a bit different this year….and there was some grumbling about hills. Glad I ran the 5K!

I did Skyline 25K Trail Run which was put on by Spectrum Trail Racing in the Davis Mountains State Park (High in the mountains of West Texas). Great race, tough race at least for me!!!
The scenery was beautiful, I am considering doing this race again next year. I felt like a kid, running through streams! Beautiful West Texas!!! They had a traveling pizza oven and we had fresh cooked delicious pizzas after the race! — Eva Sanders