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Schmidt and Gruber provide thrills, suspense and record times in the Shamrock Scamper 2001
In the movies, events follow the script, but in real life, results are rarely predictable. In nearly perfect running weather under cloudless skies, the third annual Shamrock Scamper came as close to being scripted as you can get. Tara Gruber, the 13-year-old running phenomenon from Flower Mound Texas and the defending champion in the women's division, was expected to battle with local favorite, Jennifer Schmidt, for the title, and that is exactly what happened. Competition was so intense that it pushed both women to record times in this race, each recording Personal Records for the distance. Their times were the second and third fastest times for women in Citrus County. Gruber closed out Schmidt at the end in 18.44 with Schmidt close behind at 18.47. This race was so close that the lead changed four times with Gruber taking the lead close to the finish for the fourth and final time.
It was expected this race would produce times from the two favorites at about 19 minutes, but nobody expected sub-nineteen minute times. Gruber finished 11th overall with Schmidt in 12th place. Gruber's split times for miles one and two were 5.55 and 12.02. The third place women's finisher was Joelle Marshall from Nova Scotia, Canada, finishing 24th overall in 20.26, almost two minutes back.
Jennifer hugged Tara after the race telling her how impressed she was and how Tara had pushed her to a new personal best. "And you pushed me" responded Tara. A class act by two first class athletes.
If the women's side played out as scripted, the men's side had no script. Nobody knew what to expect, with no clear-cut favorite having been established. For sure, some very competitive runners entered in Wayne Johnson, Christian Feldt, Ian Feldt and Master's runners Paul Oppenheim, Mike Cooper and Charlie Blaisdell. Throwing into this mix the unexpected and unknown element of 29 Canadians, the men's race was anybody's to win. The first mile for the men was a torrid race between Michael Wad from Canada and local favorite, Wayne Johnson of Homosassa. The one-mile split had Wad through in 5.05, Johnson in 5.06, with Milton Lyons of Floral City in third place at 5.34. At the two-mile split, Wad had lengthened his lead over Johnson to 14 seconds with Mat Baum a distant third, 1.7 minutes back. At this point, the race for first place was pretty much over with Wad continuing to open the lead, winning in 16.21, a minute in front of Johnson. Milton Lyons grabbed third place shortly after the two-mile mark and held off Christian Feldt and Mat Baum for third place. This may have been Milton Lyons' best effort in a 5-K road race. He admitted the effort came from the pressure of Christian Feldt on his shoulder.
In the Masters Division, Charlie Blaisdell won his first masters title in the Shamrock Race in 18.28, besting Mike Cooper by 12 seconds. Cooper finished with an 18.40 for 10th place overall. Paul Oppenheim of Gainesville, coming off an injured hamstring, finished almost a minute back in 19.18. On the women's side, Joy Forbes from Inverness came in first in 24.03, with Pamela Blaisdell finishing 54 seconds back in 24.57.
The attendance at this race was the second largest of any Citrus Road Runners' races with the exception of Beat the Sheriff 2000. The unexpected and welcomed addition of the 29 Canadians, who were attending a kayaking camp in Floral City, pushed the registration to a record 157 runners.
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