20080416 Westminster Main Street Mile runs Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Westminster Main Street Mile runs Wednesday evening, April 16, 2008

April 15, 2008

Photo credit: April 19, 2006 Westminster Main Street Mile at the Westminster Volunteer Fire Department on John Street in Westminster. /Kevin Dayhoff

For additional information the Westminster Road Runners web site can be found at: http://www.carr.org/~wrrc/.

The annual Westminster Road Runners Club “Main Street Mile, a Carroll County rite of spring, will be held Wednesday evening, April 16, 2008 in Westminster.

The annual event dates back to 1981 and is known as “one of the fastest one-mile courses in the world” because it begins at the top of East Main Street at Fair Avenue and follows Main Street west to the Westminster Branch of the Carroll County Public Library - all downhill, with a total vertical drop of 144 feet.

Main Street will be closed to traffic for the event which attracts 700 runners and hundreds of cheering spectators and family members who come out in support.

The event always begins at 7 PM sharp, rain or shine and the race is run in two “heats.” Heat #1 is officially timed and scored with prizes awarded. To qualify for Heat #1, you must be age 11 or older and be capable of running a mile in less than 10 minutes.

Heat #2 is the “Connor Smith Memorial Fun Run.” It will neither be officially timed nor scored. A clock showing an unofficial race time, however, will be at the finish line.

Because so many young people participate, the Main Street Mile is known as a fun family event. Even the “race numbers” are fun, since everyone under the age of 10 wears a race identification badge, which bears the number “1.”

The cheers for the “number 1’s” always seem the heartiest, since finishing is quite an accomplishment for the little runners. Every “number 1” is awarded a medal at the finish line.

Every year over fifty volunteers, in addition to the Westminster Police Department and the Westminster Volunteer Fire Department and the Fire Police come together with members of the Westminster Road Runners Club and the Main Street Mile race director, to make sure it is a success.

Race directors in the past have included Liuda Galinaitis and one of the founders of the event, the late Dave Herlocker.

According to this year’s race director, Beth Weisenborn, registration for the 2008 Main Street Mile is now closed. The 700-runner limit has been met.

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My upcoming column in the Westminster Eagle will be on Dr. Herlocker. I'll also be doing another YouTube on Dr. Herlocker in addition to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16U48TUjSB8

My columns in the Westminster Eagle can be found here: http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?NPV2Datasource=mywebpal&pnpid=978&show=newscast&CategoryID=18317

Other posts which mention Dr. David Herlocker may be found here: Sports Running or Westminster Road Runners Club or Westminster Sidewalks and Trails on “Kevin Dayhoff – Soundtrack.” www.kevindayhoff.net.

Or dave herlocker: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/tag/dave+herlocker (– or - westminster road runners club or westminster sidewalks and trails. or westminster annual main street mile or sports running) on “Kevin Dayhoff - New Bedford Herald.” http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

In addition to a video on my YouTube account http://youtube.com/user/kevindayhoff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16U48TUjSB8

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

P. O. Box 1245

Westminster, MD 21158

(410) 259-6403

www.kevindayhoff.net

http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff

http://www.livejournal.com/

http://gizmosart.com/dayhoff.html

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed

“When I stop working the rest of the day is posthumous. I'm only really alive when I'm writing.” Tennessee Williams