Hurt, Saunders go the distance

Like two brothers locked in an epic battle to show who is the mightiest in the family, teammates Charlie Hurt and Bob Thiele went toe-to-toe through the streets and over the hills of Charlottesville before Hurt (52:02) pulled away in the last half-mile for an 11-second victory at the 34th running of the Charlottesville Ten Miler.

The 2008 champ successfully defended his title on a sunny — and very windy — day, but not without the biggest road fight of his storied racing career. Thiele, the former Charlottesville High standout and UVa All-American, gave Hurt everything he could handle for the first nine miles of the race. Very little real estate separated the two for the first 90 percent of the race as they ran together step for step up and down the many hills of the course. Former Western Albemarle and William & Mary star Hurt threw in several surges along the way, but couldn’t shake the tenacious Thiele until he dropped it down one more time as they made the final turn onto Alderman Road with less than a half-mile to go. Thiele, who had responded to Hurt’s surges with several counterpunches, wasn’t able to answer as Hurt pulled way for his narrow yet impressive win.

“I started feeling like this was going to be a tough race at four miles,” said Hurt, and the long downhill stretch along Preston Avenue was exactly where Thiele made his most significant move of the day, sprinting ahead as he opened up an eight-meter gap. By the time they came off the Downtown Mall at five miles, Hurt had returned the favor and opened up his own narrow lead.

“Every time I surged I thought that was going to be it, but Bob kept coming back,” Hurt said. “He is such an amazingly tough competitor. I kept looking for his shadow after I would get past him and sure enough I kept seeing it.

“After I made my last move on Alderman was the first time all day that I didn’t see his shadow. It wasn’t until that moment that I knew I had the win.”

Sure enough, Hurt closed out with the fastest mile of the day, a 4:54 split that proved to be just enough to outdistance the gallant Thiele, who was running in his first Ten Miler and the longest race of his life.

“It was painful out there pretty much the entire way, but I really enjoyed racing Charlie,” Thiele said. “Both of us going all out to win really helped. The wind was a challenge, but having Charlie close by helped. I think it simply was just all about who ran faster today.”

Meanwhile, Shannon Saunders, who works out with Hurt and Thiele on the same local team training for the 2012 Olympic trials, had her best ten-mile performance as she pulled away from early leader Mina Thorstenson for a 61:39 victory in the women’s race.

“I felt strong and in control most of the way,” commented the former JMU standout. “Even when Mina pulled way for a 50-meter lead on Grady [Avenue], I still felt really good. I’m a rhythm runner and once I locked in I just felt confident and went with the pace.”

Thorstenson, who is from Blacksburg, ran stride for stride at a 6:03 pace with Saunders until the 10-kilometer mark. At that point, Saunders surged, ultimately pulling away for a 49-second win over the last four miles. Harrisonburg’s Melissa Rittenhouse, a former Olympic trials competitor, rounded out the top three with a 64:21 time.

Charlottesville Track Club race directors Alice and Dan Wiggins were pleased with the record turnout, as close to 2,700 people entered the area’s oldest and most prestigious footrace. They were also very appreciative of “all the volunteers along the course” and the support they received from “the city, the university and the many neighborhoods along the course.” All of the proceeds from this year’s event will be donated to local shelter PACEM.