Ian Schouten dropped to his knees with tears in his eyes when he reached the finish of the HAT Run 50K in Susquehanna State Park Saturday.
He had overtaken Phillip Pawlukovich in the final miles to win the annual race for the third time. The tears weren’t simply for the victory or the difficulty of the 31-mile course he had just conquered. They were signs of joy and disbelief for winning the race at age 53 — 14 years after he last won it — and doing so against tough, experienced competitors.
The veteran runner from Lititz, Pennsylvania, finished in 4:05:16. Pawlukovich, 40, of Kingsville, took second place in 4:14:25, two minutes faster than he ran in placing second three years ago. He was the fastest in the 40-49 age group by 35 minutes. Third went to Kyle Jones of Philadelphia in 4:19:04.
The race drew 418 starters — 45 of them from Harford County — who were rewarded with perfect weather and a course with less mud than usual. There was no snow and very little mud, in contrast to the conditions last year.
“One runner even complained that he wanted more mud,” said Jeff Hinte, the co-race director since the race began as the Hinte-Anderson Trail (HAT) Run in 1988.
There was enough mud, however, to bloody a few kneecaps, like one belonging to Charles Powell II of Aberdeen, who slipped and hit a rock early in the race but resolved "to finish no matter what." He placed 122nd in 6:09:29.
Justyna Wilson of Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, won the women’s race easily in 4:36:50. Hannah Rickman of Baltimore was second in 5:01:44, and Anna Piskorska of Blandon, Pennsylvania, was third in 5:07:28.
Younger runners from Harford County finished well. Trent Seawell of Forest Hill was 11th overall and third in the under-30 category in 4:42:27.
Other Harford men in the top 100 were Matthew Burdette, 18th in 4:57:22; Brian Yeager, 19th in 5:00:17; Greg Peterson, 28th in 5:08:21; William Clark, 62nd in 5:37:02; Jeff Izzo, 74th in 5:43:32; Michael Senko, 79th in 5:48:08; Nick Johnson, 83rd in 5:49:53; and Toby Ehrbaker, 100th in 5:58:52.
The top 10 finishers among local women were: Jennifer Myers, 6:00:55; Kay Sheldon Dyches, 6:12:14; Melissa Morland, 6:14:53; Lisa Gesualdo, 6:23:30; Jenna Newton, 6:25:36; Andrea Miller, 6:43:07; Margaret McDevitt, 6:43:11; Gail Adams, 6:58:48 (second in 60-69); Betsy Roark, 7:06:16; and Chi-Chin Wu, 7:10:56.
Other Harford finishers were Jordan Wells, 6:00:17; Glenn Paisley, 6:02:11; Kirk Bolen, 6:07:06; Drew Henderson, 6:10:12; David Wood, 6:37:10; Kevin Moyna, 6:37:47; Johnny Miller, 6:43:11; Mike Hartley, 6:46:38; Bryan Turner, 6:48:20; Colby Miller, 6:48:32; Steve Whittie, 7:00:29; Jamie Roark, 7:06:15; Dan Taibi, 7:13:26; Scott Kothenbeutel, 7:13:41.
Also, Ruel Nojadera, 7:14:55; Mary Jacob, 7:15:49; Robin Contino, 7:19:17; Ashley Arwood, 7:26:07; Bobi Jean McFadden, 7:28:24; Robert Brosh, 7:33:48; Lisa Moody, 7:35:28; Rob Storey, 7:47:01; Jennifer Perkovich, 7:48:57; August Thurn, 7:54:12; Tom Gamber, 7:59:59; Jacqueline Brock, 8:04:30; Tim Finholm, 8:04:31.
In other races
Jennifer Yezek of Bel Air, finished third in the 40-44 age group in the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon in 1:43:31 Sunday in Wilmington, Delaware. Elizabeth Cook of Bel Air was 10th in 55-59 in 1:59:39. In the 5K, Duane Christy of Havre de Grace finished sixth overall and second in the 50-54 age group.
David Stevenson finished first in 40-44 in the Tim Kennard 10-Mile River Run Sunday in Salisbury. He placed 10th overall among 220 in 1:02:42. David Huryk of Bel Air ran 1:25:23 for 11th in the same age group.
Debbie Hursh of Havre de Grace finished third in 60-69 in The Mayor’s Lucky Charm 5K in Elkton on March 16 in 37:22. Sabra Kurth of Havre de Grace was fourth in 50-59 in 37:44.