Urbana Woman Runs QC Marathon to Honor Her Lost Father
Argus/Dispatch Posted online: September 24, 2006 11:17 PM
Print publication date: September 25, 2006
By Marc Nesseler, mnesseler@qconline.com
Belinda May of Urbana ran the 26.2 miles of the Quad Cities Marathon with a heavy heart on Sunday morning. Earlier this year, May had planned to run the marathon with her father, J. Denis May, as his Sept. 24 birthday present. The native Texans were "desperate to find a marathon on that date," and were ecstatic when they found out the Quad Cities' one coincided.
Then, on July 29, Mr. May went for an 18-mile, early morning run. Belinda later found out a 19-year-old driver drove off the shoulder of the road and struck her dad in a hit-and-run.
"Despite this unbearable setback, running continues to soothe my soul," May told race director Joe Moreno. She said she participated in the Sept. 24 event "to run the marathon in my dad's honor and in celebration of his life as my father and as a runner." Prior to the race, Moreno asked the field of 2,775 participants to dedicate the race to J. Denis May. He would have been 52 Sunday. His daughter was rewarded that same bib number in his honor prior to Sunday's race.
-- Father back at it: A left knee injury kept Father Michael Driscoll of Peoria from the 2005 QC Marathon, ending his standing as an "Interstate Road Warrior," the diminishing group that has run all of the QC events. However, he was back in '06, and better than ever.
Rev. Driscoll, 44, finished in 2:51:38 for 8th place overall, his best-ever QC finish. He also was second in the Masters Division to net $200. "The smartest thing I've done was not run last year," said Rev. Driscoll. He said he forced himself to run with the knee injury, thus sending his hip out of place. "It killed me not to run last year; in fact, I told Joe Moreno a month before last year's race that I couldn't do it, and he said, `Oh no, you're a Road Warrior!'"
-- The wheel deal: Jack Eherenman of Waterloo, Iowa, was the first marathoner to cross the finish line, in 1:49:56, doing so with the benefit of a hand cycle. "I do this to make people aware of wheelchair racers and hand-cycle racers," said Eherenman, adding his 27-speed riding machine cost about $3,500. Eherenman has a 21-year-old son, Sean, who has spina bifida. A high-school champ in the shot put and discus, Sean competes in wheelchair events.
Eherenman plans to start a sports camp for kids in wheelchairs. Anyone interested can e-mail him at jeconstruction@hotmail.com.
-- Speedy 10-year-old: Tyler Rasso of Colona looked out of place in the 5K. The 10-year-old finished with a time of 19:56. "I was running with him early and I thought he'd turn off at the mile mark," said 5K women's champ Kelley Timmerman. "I was surprised to see him keep going." Rasso says he runs to help his soccer endurance. Plus, he topped his personal goal of 20 minutes by four seconds. The 5th-grader at Colona Elementary said he started running competitively when he was 8.
-- Cheers for Velge: To Mabel Velge of Rock Island, age is just a number. At 79, she finished the half-marathon in 3:27.42. "It's not easy," Velge said. "I've run 20 marathons, and in my first marathon at this one, I won my age group because there was no one else in it."
Velge, who started road racing after she reached her 50s, jokes that she likes road racing because of the beer at the finish line, but then seriously adds, "It's the friendships you make."
-- Team champs: The Davenport quintet called IKYAC won the 5-person men's relay with a time of just over 3 hours. The winning team consisted of Nick and Chad Retzl, Jonathan Bugman, Guy Heller and Matt Glyder. In the women's team relay, the Runnin' Women won. The team of Kaitlin Schneider, Erin Jordan, Julie Erikson, Emily Hirt and Rachel Carstens finished in 3:41:20.
-- Line of the day: QC Marathon race director Joe Moreno scurried to the assembled media at the finish line and said, "The course record is 2:18, and Jynocel Basweti has a 2:12 at the 25-mile mark." To which WQAD-TV sports director Dan Burich replied, "Well, could you tell him to hurry up?!?"
Print publication date: September 25, 2006
By Marc Nesseler, mnesseler@qconline.com
Belinda May of Urbana ran the 26.2 miles of the Quad Cities Marathon with a heavy heart on Sunday morning. Earlier this year, May had planned to run the marathon with her father, J. Denis May, as his Sept. 24 birthday present. The native Texans were "desperate to find a marathon on that date," and were ecstatic when they found out the Quad Cities' one coincided.
Then, on July 29, Mr. May went for an 18-mile, early morning run. Belinda later found out a 19-year-old driver drove off the shoulder of the road and struck her dad in a hit-and-run.
"Despite this unbearable setback, running continues to soothe my soul," May told race director Joe Moreno. She said she participated in the Sept. 24 event "to run the marathon in my dad's honor and in celebration of his life as my father and as a runner." Prior to the race, Moreno asked the field of 2,775 participants to dedicate the race to J. Denis May. He would have been 52 Sunday. His daughter was rewarded that same bib number in his honor prior to Sunday's race.
-- Father back at it: A left knee injury kept Father Michael Driscoll of Peoria from the 2005 QC Marathon, ending his standing as an "Interstate Road Warrior," the diminishing group that has run all of the QC events. However, he was back in '06, and better than ever.
Rev. Driscoll, 44, finished in 2:51:38 for 8th place overall, his best-ever QC finish. He also was second in the Masters Division to net $200. "The smartest thing I've done was not run last year," said Rev. Driscoll. He said he forced himself to run with the knee injury, thus sending his hip out of place. "It killed me not to run last year; in fact, I told Joe Moreno a month before last year's race that I couldn't do it, and he said, `Oh no, you're a Road Warrior!'"
-- The wheel deal: Jack Eherenman of Waterloo, Iowa, was the first marathoner to cross the finish line, in 1:49:56, doing so with the benefit of a hand cycle. "I do this to make people aware of wheelchair racers and hand-cycle racers," said Eherenman, adding his 27-speed riding machine cost about $3,500. Eherenman has a 21-year-old son, Sean, who has spina bifida. A high-school champ in the shot put and discus, Sean competes in wheelchair events.
Eherenman plans to start a sports camp for kids in wheelchairs. Anyone interested can e-mail him at jeconstruction@hotmail.com.
-- Speedy 10-year-old: Tyler Rasso of Colona looked out of place in the 5K. The 10-year-old finished with a time of 19:56. "I was running with him early and I thought he'd turn off at the mile mark," said 5K women's champ Kelley Timmerman. "I was surprised to see him keep going." Rasso says he runs to help his soccer endurance. Plus, he topped his personal goal of 20 minutes by four seconds. The 5th-grader at Colona Elementary said he started running competitively when he was 8.
-- Cheers for Velge: To Mabel Velge of Rock Island, age is just a number. At 79, she finished the half-marathon in 3:27.42. "It's not easy," Velge said. "I've run 20 marathons, and in my first marathon at this one, I won my age group because there was no one else in it."
Velge, who started road racing after she reached her 50s, jokes that she likes road racing because of the beer at the finish line, but then seriously adds, "It's the friendships you make."
-- Team champs: The Davenport quintet called IKYAC won the 5-person men's relay with a time of just over 3 hours. The winning team consisted of Nick and Chad Retzl, Jonathan Bugman, Guy Heller and Matt Glyder. In the women's team relay, the Runnin' Women won. The team of Kaitlin Schneider, Erin Jordan, Julie Erikson, Emily Hirt and Rachel Carstens finished in 3:41:20.
-- Line of the day: QC Marathon race director Joe Moreno scurried to the assembled media at the finish line and said, "The course record is 2:18, and Jynocel Basweti has a 2:12 at the 25-mile mark." To which WQAD-TV sports director Dan Burich replied, "Well, could you tell him to hurry up?!?"
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