Running commentary

As spring turns to summer, it looks as though Sisters area runners are ready for a summer of racing and quality training if the results of races in the region are any indication.

Bend's Dirty Half-Marathon, held earlier this month, culminated the spring race schedule as nearly 800 runners took part in the seventh annual event including a very competitive contingent from Sisters.

Local ultra-runner Sean Meissner led all locals with his 10th place finish overall in 1:24:11, which earned him third place in his age group.

Former Outlaws runner Casey Glick caught current junior Parker Bennett in the final half-mile as the pair placed 15th and 16th, respectively, just over a minute behind Meissner putting both in second place in their respective age group.

Taylor Steele (1:37:05) and Hayley Palmer (2:05:57) each took first in the 14-and-under category and Claire Kanzig (1:49:48) won the 15-19 women's division.

Other Sisters finishers in order of finish included Joel Palanuk, Joe Cockrum, Lindsay Gaviglio, Lucas Glick, Rikki Glick, Lindsay Chick, Jen Healy, Kristen Chadwick, Trish Wren, Mike Conrads, Kent Boles, Emi Conrads, Ryanne Conrads and Erin Kanzig.

Earlier in the spring Casey and Rikki Glick traveled to the Big Sur Marathon, which is considered one of the most beautiful and rigorous marathons in the U.S.

Casey surprised even himself with a 39th-place finish among 3,202 participants in a fine time of 3 hours, 3 minutes and 55 seconds. His sister ran 3:54:50, finishing in 587th place.

"It was tough, but I felt really ready for the challenge," said Casey.

As Dave Glick waited near the finish for his offspring, he had a moment of disbelief when the announcer called out, "And our first finisher, from Bend, Oregon..."  While the announcer paused Dave had a fleeting thought it might be Casey (the Glicks have a Bend address) but just then Andy Martin came flying into view, to finish in 2:29:50.

As far as summer training goes, the Sisters High School cross country team invites all runners to meet Mondays at 7:30 a.m. at the Buck Run trailhead. Other running times will be published in the upcoming weeks as well.

There are some locals training for ultra-marathons and triathlons this summer, so results of those adventures will be included in the next column.

It's always good to change up the routes you run, so in the next column I will publish some "Favorite Runs" from three or four local runners. If you have a trail or course you would like to share, please e-mail me at [email protected]