They came from all over the United States – young adults to senior citizens alike – to compete in the ninth annual Queens Half Marathon.
The New York Road Runners Club (NYRRC) organized the race that kicked-off in front of College Point’s McNeil Park at 7 a.m. on Sunday, September 20. Volunteers from host organization the College Point Road Runners Club (CPRRC) kept the 7,666 recorded entrants on course.
The fourth of a series of five half marathons in New York City – one in each borough – only the Staten Island race in October remains as a tune-up for the 26.2 mile grind on the New York City Marathon on the first Sunday of November.
The course took the runners on a single loop, through residential and commercial streets in College Point, Whitestone, Malba, and Beechhurst and ended back in the park. The runners followed a blue line painted by the CPRRC.
With the unusually early starting time – a source of complaint from a number of entrants – some 40 workers came out at 2:30 a.m. to set up and the park started to fill with people by 5 a.m.
In picture-perfect early morning weather, the race got off without a hitch and just under 71 minutes later, Hector Rivera of Clifton, New Jersey, enjoyed the beautiful water view as he crossed the finish line to win the half-marathon in 1:10.51.
Rivera, who had run the event several years ago when the course was a different, double loop, was hardly challenged as he led all the way and easily dethroned last year’s winner, Phillip Sneller of Astoria.
Sneller, of the Hellgate Road Runners Club, finished third, in 1:12.38, behind another local – Mark Hess of Fresh Meadows, who was clocked in at 1:11.22.
Kew Gardens resident Carrie Majeranowski was the first female from Queens to cross the finish line with her 1:27.10 earning 107th place overall in a field of 5,090 finishers.
The 38-year-old Rivera went out at a 5:17 pace for the first mile. He was clocked at 32:12 at the six mile mark; 53:55 at the 10 mile mark and 64:63 at the 12 mile mark. His slowest mile time was 6:36 between the 11th and 12th miles – toward the end of the race – when Hess tried to make a move, but Rivera pulled away.
“I went out at a good even pace,” said Rivera, a member of the New York Athletic Club. “I wanted to go out at a 5:15-5:20 pace… I didn’t run hard,” he added, noting, “It was a tough course with too many turns,” joining others unhappy with the 67 turns on the course. He’s planning to run in the Chicago Marathon on October 11.
Last year, Sneller finished first with a slower time. Whenever he enters a race, he poses a serious threat to the rest of the field, as he is a very good, strong runner, according to those who know him.
“He’s our top runner and he is training for the Chicago Marathon,” said Jared Mestre, head of the Hellgate Road Runners. “It’s nice to have someone among the top five in the Queens Half. He’s the best runner we’ve ever had and finishes in the top five in the NYRRC races.”
Sneller’s teammate, Andrei Volik of Astoria, wound up 33rd overall with a 1:12.30, in his sixth straight Queens Half-Marathon. “Miles nine and 12 were long,” he said.
The other Queens men rounding out the top 25 were: local hero Matt Dispensa of CPRRC who ran a 1:16.50 for ninth place – two spots ahead of Joel Martinez-Deion of East Elmhurst at 1:17.16. Flushing’s Guillermo Fuentes was clocked in 1:18.13 for 15th place and Jesus Dominquez finished at 1:19.19 for 25th place.
“The winner (Rivera) wasn’t too far ahead of me,” Deion said.
A lot of old timers are not involved in testing the half-marathon distance in a competitive race.
“I think we have a whole new group of younger people, many of whom are college athletes – or just out of college – who moved to New York and are running,” said Jonathan Kranz, a NYRRC worker. “There was a downturn for a while when triathlons and bicycle races became popular. People are back to running now. Our crowds are getting bigger.”
“The weather was perfect and great,” said Josh Schacht, who was clocked in 2:10. “But there were a lot of hills. Running a half-marathon is a good challenge.”
