Wanderers Perform Heroics in River to Sea Relay

The Wissahickon Wanderers turned in a courageous performance in the 92-mile River to Sea relay across New Jersey in early August. When one of the team members was forced out of the race at the last second because of a job commitment, the Wanderers had to compete shorthanded. Although the six Wanderer runners were small in numbers, they were big in heart.

Rick Etheredge beats the heat on leg 6

while Beth Johnston cooks on leg 8

and Phil Hagerty cruises on leg 11

The race began for the 50 teams competing shortly after dawn along the Delaware River, and did not end for the Wanderers until nightfall. The Wanderers’ work ethic was very much in evidence throughout the race. While most of the teams were partying on the beach at Manasquan after completing the race, the Wanderers were still hard at work out on the course engaged in a furious duel with the Distance Divas and the Windermere Runners. It was not until night had fallen at 8 pm after more than 12 hours of toil that the Wanderers team actually crossed the finish line, and, in the process, kept in tact their record of never having finished last. But their 48th place finish might have been cutting the margin a little too close for comfort, especially considering the last place team was less than five minutes behind.
The Wanderers received only little consolation when the Windermere runners were later disqualified for violating New Jersey child labor laws for using an 11-year-old runner.

The Wanderer squad composed of Jan Deruiter, Rick Etheredge, Beth Johnston, Phil Hagerty, Dan Gordon and Scott Quitel had to endure all sorts of hell just to complete the race. The run began comfortably enough under cloudy conditions. But by afternoon, the race had turned into a cauldron with the sun beating down and the humidity levels soaring. Wanderer runners were later drenched by a thunderstorm and finally had to navigate through darkness to get to the finish line. Team morale bent under the punishing conditions, but never broke.

Scott Quitel shouldered the tough fourth leg which consisted of a long uphill pull, and Rick Etheredge had to first survive searing heat in his first leg and then drenching rains in his second. Phil Hagerty volunteered for so many legs he always seemed to be out on the course.

In a Wanderers world heavily populated by athletic has-beens and running wannabes, Beth Johnston has proven to be a stellar exception. She actually caught and passed several runners on her two legs. “Joopie” Deruiter was the Wanderer’s enforcer out on the course allowing other runners to pass only at their own risk.
The course, which was at first an easy one as it followed the Delaware River, turned into a maze of turns and traffic lights as it proceeded across New Jersey. Luckily, Jan Deruiter had personally annotated the race handbook to keep the Wanderers on course. The document, with its detail and flow charts, has been submitted to the Wanderer archives.

Johnston Sets New Wanderers Mark

Wanderer running sensation Beth Johnston shattered the club’s marathon record with a sizzling time of 3 hours and 31 minutes at the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, PA., on October 7.