COUDERSPORT – There were nearly as many interesting stories as
there were participants in Saturday’s 33rd running of the God’s
Country Marathon:
* Retired Army officer Wayne Wright, 58, of Melbourne, Fla.,
completed the rugged 26.2-mile course just two months after
undergoing quadruple heart bypass surgery.
* Henry Heikoop of Jordan, Ontario, Canada, was stunned to find
nine family members who made the long drive from home waiting for
him at the finish line as he fulfilled a lifelong dream of
completing a marathon.
* Paul Marraccini, 64, of Monongahela and 63-year-old Park
Barner of Harrisburg continued their tradition of completing every
God’s Country Marathon since the race’s inception in 1974.
* Wesley O’Loughlin, 22, of Ridley Park made a triumphant return
from multiple leg fractures he suffered when he was struck by a car
while training for last year’s race.
From a competitive standpoint, the big winner was 40-year-old
Thomas Banchy of Baltimore, Md., the only runner to crack the
three-hour mark. Banchy crossed the finish line at the courthouse
square in Coudersport at 2:49.41, more than 12 minutes ahead of the
runner-up.
Banchy was stunned by his margin of victory.
“Every time I looked back, all I could see was a runner with
black shorts right on my tail,” Banchy said. “Down the stretch, I
just quit turning around and ran as if he was still there.”
Pushing Banchy for the first 20 miles was three-time God’s
Country Marathon winner and defending champion Tom Lipsie of
Indiana, Pa., who fell victim to the high heat and humidity about
three-quarters of the way into the race. Lipsie faded to a fifth
place finish at 3:07.0.
“I hit the proverbial wall,” Lipsie said. “I guess it was
someone else’s turn to win.”
Some 164 runners registered for Saturday’s race on one of the
toughest courses in the northeast, due to the tortuous incline and
long descent of Denton Hill. That unique challenge and the personal
touch by the race sponsor, Potter County Visitors Association, has
made God’s Country a popular attraction for marathoners.
Wayne Wright wasn’t worried about trophies or publicity as he
and his wife, Fiona, trotted along Route 6. A week earlier, he
tested out his rewired heart in a grueling 50-kilometer race.
“We’d like to run in at least one marathon in every state that
has one,” Wright said. “My only complaint about today’s race is
that my wife beat me, but I’ll take care of that next week in the
Hatfield/McCoy Marathon.”
Race director Kim Mitchell and PCVA executive director David
Brooks were on hand at the finish line to greet each runner and
make sure his or her needs were taken care of.
Brooks pointed out that the race is far more than an athletic
event.
“It brings to Potter County so many people from different walks
of life,” he said. “They stay in local motels, eat in our
restaurants and we hope they come away with a positive impression
of the community.”
Those were also the goals of God’s Country Marathon founder
Ralph Wentz when he started the event in 1974. The field of runners
peaked at nearly 500 in the late 1970s, but faded as marathoning
became less popular.
Entries dipped under 100 in 2002, before things started to turn
around. The marathon has averaged about 175 runners since 2005.
