Good Times at W&M Homecoming 5K Run
By Rick Platt
The theme for this year's William and Mary Homecoming was "Come Together." Another recent W&M Homecoming had "Let the good times roll!" Last Saturday the 11th annual William and Mary Homecoming 5K Run allowed over 200 runners to "come together" and "let the good [running] times roll," especially in the women's division.
While Homecomings are generally measured by five-year time periods, the Homecoming
Run records were broken by seconds. Former W&M middle-distance track star
Sonja Friend-Uhl, 31, returned for her Homecoming to set a course record, and
all-time Colonial Road Runners women's overall and 30-34 age-group 5K records.
Friend-Uhl ran a 17:03 to break Kathy Newberry's race record of 17:18 (from
2000), Alison Holinka's all-time CRR record of 17:13 (from the 2001 Mental Health
5K), and Lori Robertson's age 30-34 CRR record of 17:33 (from the 1994 Governor's
Land 5K). Friend-Uhl, now living in West Palm Beach, Fla., finished ahead of
all but the top three men in a race with 197 finishers.
Friend-Uhl won the 1996 Homecoming Run in 18:15, a time that could have been
faster, but she ran with her dog that year for the first of two loops. She was
still fast enough to set the still-current CRR women's all-time 25-29 age record.
Friend-Uhl joined Joan Coven, Thad Jones and Rick Platt as the only runners
to hold multiple all-time CRR five-year marks.
Tom Ray used to be in that two-record group, but his 60-64 mark of 19:59 (from
the 1995 Williamsburg Winery Run 5K) was smashed by Williamsburg's Bob Spencer,
who turned 60 this month, and ran a remarkable 19:25. Spencer holds eight CRR
race age-group records from his former 55-59 category, the fastest a 19:09 from
the 2000 Mental Health 5K.
Besides Friend-Uhl (women 30-34, 17:03) and Spencer (men 60-64, 19:25), other
W&M Homecoming race age-group marks were set by Jim Bates (men 45-49, 16:40),
Lindsay Kent (women 14-and-under, 21:21) and Nancy Patron (women 65-69, 26:40).
Patron's time was just two seconds shy of her all-time CRR 65-69 mark of 26:38
(from the 2001 Hospice 5K).
The men's winner was Douglas Marshall, 28, of Mathews in 16:20. Jim Bates, 46,
of Hampton (16:40) outkicked Keith Schumann, 32, of Williamsburg (16:41) for
second.
Although two minutes behind Friend-Uhl, the second and third overall women ran
outstanding personal-record times--Jen Quarles, 30, of Williamsburg (19:12)
and W&M senior Shannon Banks, 21 (19:21).
Quarles continues her remarkable breakthrough year. She broke 20 minutes for
the first time in September at the Ford's Colony Hospice Run (19:41) and now
is close to breaking the 19-minute barrier (perhaps at the Nov. 23 Governor's
Land 5K on a flat and fast course). In between are the hilly Heritage Humane
Society 5K at Stonehouse (Nov. 2) and the Richmond Marathon (Nov. 9).
Shannon Banks has also had an impressive improvement. At West Springfield High,
she had modest best times (21:37 for 5K cross country and 5:59 for the track
1,600 meters), not good enough to consider going out for the W&M team. Training
on her own, she has improved her Homecoming 5K times from 25:00 (freshman year,
1999) to 20:02 (last year, where she was second overall to Holinka) to this
year's PR 19:21 (her previous best was a 19:28 in Northern Virginia). Banks
has also won a number of campus 5K races, including this fall's Alan Bukzin
Memorial Bone Marrow Drive 5K (20:01) and the Alcohol Awareness Week 5K (19:47).
Particularly good at the longer distances, Banks was second for women 20-24
at this year's Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon (1:31:03).
Friend-Uhl (class of 1993) set a W&M school record for 800 meters (2:09.89,
since broken), but it has been her post-collegiate career that has taken off.
Her college 1,500-meter best was 4:32, but she improved that to 4:13.9 and qualified
for the 2000 Olympic Trials track meet, placing 15th overall.
She has also taken to the roads, with PRs of 16:20 (Weston Memorial Day 5K),
33:57 (1997 Pittsburgh Great Race 10K), 4:37 (Fifth Avenue road mile) and 1:17
(Weston Half Marathon). After the Olympic Trials, she was selected to run on
the U.S. team at the Nov. 2000 Chiba Ekiden road relay team in Japan. After
she and husband Brad (W&M '91) had their first child (daughter Brianna on
Aug. 18, 2001), Sonja has returned to road and track competition, with bests
this year of 16:58 (Weston 5K), 4:24 (1,500 meters) and 2:11 (800 meters). Her
goal is to return to the national championships in track in 2003, and the Olympic
Trials in 2004.
Friend-Uhl is now the athletic director of the Athletic Club Boca Raton (a 4,000-member
health and fitness club) and also runs her own coaching business (Strider Enterprises,
Inc.) on the side.