Thiele beats heat in Women’s 4-Miler

The last time Dana Thiele finished first at an area race was in March, when she was all business in using the Charlottesville 10-Miler as a final tune-up for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. This time around, Thiele, who out-kicked former UVa teammate Dawn Cromer to win the Charlottesville Women’s 4-Miler, was running for pure enjoyment and to experience the area’s single largest participatory event.

The twist of the tape is that Thiele, 29, had to work a lot harder to win the second jewel of the area’s version of the Triple Crown (the 10-Miler, the Women’s 4-Miler and the Martha Jefferson 8K). Thiele out-legged the 10-Miler women’s field by more than five minutes last spring, but Saturday’s race turned into a four-way battle with Thiele’s winning time of 24 minutes, 25 seconds, edging Olympic Trials steeplechaser Cromer by one second and 47-year-old Ivy resident Andrea Wright by five seconds.

In fact, the top four finishers were separated by a mere eight seconds, making it the closet finish in race history. Earlysville’s Eliza O’Connell, who briefly led the race at the halfway point, rounded out the top four with a time of 24:33.

“I had to work hard out there today,” said Thiele, who is now co-coaching the area’s first-ever post-collegiate Olympic development team. “I knew Dawn was going to give me a go for it, but I was especially impressed with Andrea and Eliza, who pushed me the entire way. It was really fun being a part of this special event.” Thiele didn’t take the lead for good until the final turnaround at the 5-kilometer mark.

Both Wright and O’Connell, who train together throughout the year, were pleased with their efforts. “It was so much fun racing in a pack,” Wright said. “There were eight of us racing stride by stride at the halfway point, and that really helped us to keep pushing the pace.”

A record number of women participated in the 26th running of the race. Over 3,000 females entered and despite grueling weather conditions, close to 2,500 women crossed the finish line. With searing temperatures in the 80s and 100 percent humidity, the women were battling with what race organizers called some of the most challenging conditions in the race’s history.

Even bigger news was the amount of money raised by so many of the women who participated, as over $310,000 had been raised for UVa’s Breast Care Center. Veteran Charlottesville Track Club race director Cynthia Lorenzoni was pleased with the record amount raised.

“I’m in awe of what our women have been able to accomplish, both physically with their training and with all that they have raised to help us fight this horrible disease with such effective means and at a local level,” she said. “I’m also grateful for all the wonderful community folks, who volunteered their time in making this event such a grand success.”

The field included 120 cancer survivors, who either ran or walked there through some of the thickest humidity of the summer. Area runner Kristen Smith Bain was among those survivors and finished as this year’s top fundraiser. Her friends and family helped her to donate a record $21,000 to the cause.

Brand new Breast Care Center director Christi Sheffield, who was witnessing her first Women’s 4-Miler, was “in awe of the special celebration” at Foxfield.

Dr. Robert Wilder, who headed a staff of medical volunteers at the race, commented that “the conditions were quite challenging and definitely played a significant role in the outcome of many of the women’s races”.

There were countless personal success tales among the record field, including Western Albemarle lacrosse duo Nancy and Jordan Haws, the top mother-daughter finishers out of 23 such teams. Maureen “Mo” Garmey, a cancer survivor, teamed up with a dozen friends to run as Team “Mo”tivation. Kim Parson led a group of 90 State Farm employees, and over 100 finishers came from Team ACAC, including many from Joan Esposito’s Women’s 4-Miler training program.

One of the most memorable stories of the day was the “Last Mile to the Aisle” team, led by Hannah Sylvester, who kicked off her wedding day by racing with her entire bridal party and her mother.

Blue ribbons were awarded to the following age group winners: Kellyn Kusyk (10 and under), Nicole Douma (11-14), Laura Hendrie (15-19), Shalane Carlson (20-240, Dawn Herrick (25-29), Sara Hagerty (30-34), Eliza O’Connell (35-39), Nicola Ratcliffe (40-44), Christian Defries (45-49), Hosni Haghighian (50-54), Wendy Golden (55-59), Kay Jones (60-64), Jane Hansen (65-69), Nancy Fraser (70-74) and Lois Crossett (75+).