Internet nets a marathon champion

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October 2, 2005

By HUGH CONRAD The Tribune-Democrat Sun Oct 02, 2005, 10:55 PM EDT

Love takes people on some challenging odysseys.

Two weeks ago, Justin Gillette was surfing the web, and in doing so, he found a marathon that sounded interesting.

This weekend the man from Niles, Mich., and his girlfriend, Melissa Lehman, of Indianapolis, Ind., ventured east to participate in a marathon – and a half.

Sunday, the couple left Johnstown with some hardware and a sense of satisfaction as a result of their day’s work. Gillette, 22, simply ran away from the field in the 30th annual Greater Johnstown/YMCA Marathon, winning in 2 hours, 35 minutes, 42 seconds, nearly 20 minutes ahead of second-place Willie Nelson (2:55.24) and 22 minutes ahead of third-place Peter Gianaros.

“I just found it on the Internet,” Gillette said about discovering the Johnstown Marathon as he sat on a bench in Central Park after the race. “I read that they give money to the winners. Then I saw that there was a mini-marathon in Beckley, W.Va.”

That led the couple to run the mini-marathon of 13.2 miles on Saturday, followed by the marathon for Gillette and the 10K for Lehman on Sunday.

“I just tagged along (with him),” said Lehman, a graduate student at Indiana University at Indianapolis, after finishing first in the women’s 10K (38:38). “I usually focus on running 10Ks or 5Ks instead of marathons.”

The couple met while each was running cross country and track for Goshen (Ind.) College. Gillette couldn’t stay in Johnstown for long though, he’s a farmer on a 1,400-acre family farm in Michigan, and had to get home to harvest the corn today.

In contrast, the winner in the women’s marathon ventured only 28 miles.

Still, Jill Gnesh of Homer City was hampered by something that she did not envision as she prepared to defend her title.

“It was a little hotter than I expected,” Gnesh said as she waited for a very busy masseuse. “Heat was definitely a factor today.”

Gnesh, 31, a physical therapist at Indiana Regional Health Center, ran a 3:12.3 in defending her title, almost a minute faster than last year.

The second women’s finisher was Sarah Vanderelli (3:37.20) and third was Heather Nibert (3:52.38).

The men’s winner in the 10K was a former Somerset County man who competed for the Conemaugh Township Indians. Justin Gindlesberger, now a civil engineer in Chambersburg, ran a 32:58 for the 10K title.

“It was perfect weather, just gorgeous out there,” Gindlesberger said as the temperatures were in the mid-70s. “I ran it five years ago, but it was a lot harder than I remember.”

The marathon started at the top of the Inclined Plane and ran over 26.2 miles into the city, finishing at Central Park. An enthusiastic crowd at the finish line encouraged them.

Three relay teams competed in the event, with the winning team representing the U.S. Marine Reserve 1st and 2nd Platoon Trucking Company in Ebensburg (3:04.32).

In the marathon, 93 runners completed the marathon, with 125 starting the event.

Froggy 95 was one of the corporate sponsors, along with Highmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Chrysler Jeep, an anonymous donor associated with Ghost Town Trail Training Group.

The Punt, Pass, and Kick contest that is held in conjunction with the marathon, was held at Trojan Stadium at Greater Johnstown High School.

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