Roxbury Race Series #36
Roxbury, CT

Jim Tharp fades, barely hangs on

    A mile into this week's 3.95 miles Roxbury Fall Championship, it looked like the race was over.  Jim Tharp enjoyed a 20 second lead on Jim Zoldy, 33 seconds on Tony Benivegna and the Old Fossil, Ed Sandifer, and he was looking good.  

    By two miles, it looked like a rout.   Tharp's lead had grown to about 45 seconds.

    But then came the hills.  The second half of this course is a cruel, relentless climb, varying between steep and steeper, and the oak leaves on the jeep trail made the footing slick and treacherous.  Slowly, inch by inch, Tharp started drifting back.  By the time they got back to the pavement, Zoldy had closed to just 50 meters, and Sandifer was just five meters behind that.

    Tharp continued to fade, and Sandifer oozed past Zoldy, but his legs, too, were trashed by the jeep trail, and Tharp held on for an eleven second win.  Sandifer was second, and Zoldy was just five seconds behind that.   It was one of the closest finishes of the year.

    Meanwhile, Peg Molina, just after her 3:28 Chicago Marathon, romped for the women.  Last week's winner, Kimberly Thompson, finished second among the women, a minute and a half back.

    The field of 40 was the largest field of the year, besting the 37 who ran on April 8.

This week's Roxbury results