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Wanderers’ Trail Enthusiasts Display Their Grit at the Half-Wit Half-Marathon

Race report by Irene Nagle

The only thing that can make running 13 miles in Pennsylvania during August more grueling is when the course is that of the 12th annual Half-wit Half-marathon, a race forged from the diabolical mind of the designer of the most vicious race courses in all the land, the notorious Ron Horn. 

Thus on the fateful morning of August 12th, 2007, ten lowly humble Wanderers set out to face the brutal bashing to be had from this dumbfoundingly long length of rugged terrain, only to emerge as its triumphant conquers.  Perhaps even more impressive than the fact that these brave, bold warriors were able to tame a trail whose topography was intentionally made to be intimidating and treacherous, the Wanderers also made a display of courage and strength that far outshined that of their competition.

Indeed, the other groups and individuals who took on the challenge of the Half-wit had the extra disadvantage of being weak in the knees of their already bruised legs when the mighty Wanderers took them by storm and ended up with Wanderers across all age groups taking home plaques and trophies.  Out of the 471 total participants in the race, six wanderers were acknowledged at the awards ceremony, with Helen Cheung placing 3rd female overall with a time of 2:00:26 and Irene Nagle placing 4th female (therefore 1st place in her age group, female 18-29 age group) close behind her with a time of 2:00:51.  Both excellent times, indeed, however it is speculated that both would have broken the two hour threshold if not for the short amount of time running off course that they both did by taking a wrong turn just after mile ten. 

Finishing close behind them with a time of 2:12:28 was Polly Jansen to place 3rd in the female 30-39 age group.  Our group also had the pleasure in this race of being rejoined by our beloved Barbara Gorka, who placed 2nd female 40-49 with  a time of 2:13:24.  As for the male showing, Bob Reynolds placed 2nd in the 50-59 age group with an impressive time of 1:47:56 and Matt Joose came in 5th place 18-29 and 11th finisher overall with a stunningly swift time of 1:43:11.  Two other wanderers, Chris Verry and Noah Shusterman, were among the 50 finishers who managed to finish under the two-hour threshold. 

An additional nine members succeeded in conquering the monster of a course, including Doug Dubrosky, Susan Hurrey, Brian McKenna, Maureen Mignogna, Dennis Crowne, Ken Evans, Anita Zalewski, Erik Johnson and Joshua DennisChris Moore also came to support and successfully bolstered the spiritedness of his fellow wandering compatriots during the race, and also charitably distributed free cliff bars to all participants afterwards.

All and all, an excellent showing that we are a group that collaborates together under the athletic virtues of stamina, endurance, strength, courage, backbone and most of all, utter craziness for the thrill of venturing forth into the wilderness in the heat of August to challenge ourselves to see how fast we can overcome 13 miles of rough trails that left many of us bruised, scraped and bleeding in the name of those same virtues. 

Half Wit Half Pictures

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Helen, Noah & Irene turned in great performances at their Half-Wit Half debuts

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Babs, Chris V. and Matt J. took care of business on the trails

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Susan & Polly say, "Who you callin' a 'Half-Wit'?!"

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Doug brought his very own cheering section! Family says, "You owe us ice cream!"

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Babs is happy to be back amongst the Wanderers

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Chris V., Maureen, Ken and "The Great One" were there to cheer the remaining Wanderers to the finish line

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Dennis flies to the finish line!

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Anita is looking forward to the pain being over!

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Chris V. has a thought, "Mmmmmm . . . pizza!"

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"Mad Doc" Irene happily receives some post-race "medical" attention

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Chris M. & Bob are all smiles after the race

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Brian says, "Did I really miss that beer stop twice?!"

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Helen blew away the competition finishing 3rd female overall!

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Irene kicked it into high gear finishing 1st in her age group

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Speedy Matt J. finished 11th overall & 5th in his age group

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Polly bagged 3rd in her age group

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Wanderers sport their "horse's ass" hardware - Irene, Helen, Polly, Barb & Matt

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