Williamsburg
Area Running
6th
Annual Williamsburg Jaycees Run For Life 10 K
2002
JCC Jaycees Run for Life 10 K
By Rick Platt
Last year's Colonial Road Runners Grand Prix for the women came down to a close
battle between Alison Holinka (who won seven CRR races for 70 points) and runnerup
Gina Bohlmann (scoring 59 points in eight races). With Holinka having moved
from Williamsburg in May (her husband Brian was assigned to Cheyenne Mountain
Air Force Base in Colorado Springs) and Bohlmann yet to run her first CRR race
for 2002, this year's Grand Prix has a new look.
After Saturday's sixth annual Willamsburg Jaycees Run for Life 10K (the fifth
race of eleven in this year's Grand Prix), Sherry Volk has a commanding lead
with 45 points, followed by Jen Quarles (26), Carol Talley (21), Holinka (20)
and Aurora Scott (20). Holinka had won the first two CRR races this year (Jamestown
Swamp Run 5K, Ford's Colony 8K Run for Shelter), then 12-year-old phenom Aurora
Scott of Portsmouth won the next two (Queens Lake 5K, Mental Health 5K).
Volk had one third and three seconds in those races, then came through with
her first CRR win Saturday at the Jaycees 10K, held at Newport News Park. Volk,
41, of Williamsburg won in 42:37 over Quarles, 30, of Williamsburg (44:40) and
Talley, 47, of Toano (45:45).
The men's race Saturday was won by over 2 1/2 minutes by Michael Mann, 33, of
Hampton, whose 33:04 was a half mile ahead of Louis Padilla, 27, of Virginia
Beach (35:45), Jim Bates, 46, of Hampton (35:48), Daniel Shaye, 33, of Williamsburg
(36:16) and Keith Schumann, 31, of Williamsburg (37:12). Andre Smith (34 points),
who did not run the Jaycees 10K, leads Mann (29) and Bates (21) in the CRR men's
Grand Prix standings.
Jen Quarles has been the big surprise this year in the Grand Prix, as she did
not score a point last year. She and her husband Dan Quarles (assistant commonwealth
attorney for Williamsburg-James City County) had their second daughter Avery
in October (following older sister Haley who will be three in July). Although
Jen ran easy for the first two trimesters of her second pregnancy, she did not
compete.
For 2002 her goal was a modest one, to win an award in the 30-39 age-group category
of the Grand Prix (her 30th birthday was in March, three days before the Jamestown
Swamp Run). After a breakthrough personal record 20:34 at April's Mental Health
5K, however, Quarles should aim much higher. It's almost certain now that she'll
finish either second or third overall for the women.
Her breakthrough is surprising in that Quarles doesn't have much of a running
background. During two stays in England (Bentwaters AFB in Suffolk--her father
Dennis Domin was a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force), Quarles ran track in
eighth and ninth grades. When she returned to York County, she instead played
field hockey (defense) for Tabb High (10th through 12th grades), graduating
in 1990.
At Mary Baldwin College in Staunton (class of '94), she majored in marketing
and communications, but still didn't run much. It was her brother Mike Domin
(a varsity cross country runner for Tabb) who got her inspired. "My brother
motivated me," said Quarles, "because he did racing." Her first
road race was the Kiln Creek 5K five years ago.
At first she ran less than ten miles a week, but since Avery's birth, Quarles
has increased her running to 25-35 miles per week. She attributes her new success
to a combination of weekend long runs (with training partners Talley and Joe
Ogden), and Wednesday CRR interval sessions at Barksdale Field.
Quarles has set most of her PRs this year, including the Mental Health 5K (20:34),
Ford's Colony 8K (36:47), Jaycees 10K (44:40), Carter's Grove 8 Mile (59:26),
and Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon (1:39:59). She ran her only marathon
(Richmond) in 2000 (3:48:40), but will return this year with a goal of breaking
3:40 and qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Another obvious goal would be to
crack the 20-minute barrier for the 5K.
Quarles also volunteers for the CRR, having just taken over the CRR clothing
and T-shirt coordinator's job. Conveniently the Quarles live on Chandler Court,
just a half block from Barksdale Field.
The Jaycees race was held on a new course this year, having moved from the traditional
Bikeway 5.3 mile course, due to parking constraints. The new course was a very
scenic combination of asphalt park roads (1.1 miles total) and mostly flat dirt
trails (including the Swamp Bridge trail, portions of the Bikeway, and a return
across the reservoir on Dam Bridge No. 1). Times were 1-2 minutes slower than
for a typical road 10K.
The men's Jaycees 10K walk was won by Harry Watson, 61, of Suffolk (1:01:44)
over Tom Gerhardt, 51, of Chesapeake (1:03:28) and George Fenigsohn, 54, of
Poquoson (1:08:34). For the women walkers it was Karen Schenck, 47, of Woodbridge
(1:21:38) over Linda Walker, 47, of Lancaster (1:22:34) and Susan Harper, 49,
of Norfolk (1:26:33).
The one mile fun run was won by Natalie Ogden, 9, of Williamsburg (8:57) over
her sister Marley Ogden, 11 (9:04), with Summer Miller, 7, of Toano third (9:09).