- WEEKLY POLL
Northwood runners combine efforts in marathon
By J. Patrick Eaken
Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com
What more can two prep long distance runners do after placing in nearly every meet they’ve participated in?
They can run a marathon. That’s exactly what Northwood senior
Dale Balister and sophomore teammate Greg Avery did — signing
on as a team, each running a half-marathon (about 13.1 miles) at the
Glass City Marathon.
“They like to work. You don’t find too many kids that like running that much. They do it in their free time, and they work all the time,” said Northwood track coach Eric Johnson.
Balister and Avery had to work hard to complete the marathon, they had to traverse the worst elements.
“It was cold because it started snowing before I ran, and it started snowing while (Greg) was running,” Balister said. “It was very cold, very wet, and very rainy. But I felt good about it. I passed a lot of people running.”
Combined, they finished in about 3:18, each running for about an hour-and-a-half. Among about 17 male-male teams registered for half-marathons, they finished near the front.
“We just both wanted to go ahead because that would be the longest distance we ever ran,” Balister continued. “I like to run. Possibly, I may do the whole thing (someday). I think I may wait a few more years to do it simply because the training involved is a lot harder than what we do for track.”
While Balister had mostly flat land, Avery said he had to traverse bridges, more curves, and hills as well. They found ways to pass the time as they ran.
“Greg had to go over the two bridges and up and down the hilly road along Rossford and Perrysburg while Dale ran in the worst of the weather that day. They worked hard getting ready and did a great job coming in fifth in their race for their (division),” wrote Greg’s parents, Michael and Carol Avery, in an e-mail to The Press.
“I started out kind of fine, than at mile five was when the harder weather started to hit and I didn’t like it as much,” Avery said. “I passed some, stuck with some old guys sometimes and talked to them about their first marathon, so we were just talking for like a mile or two.”
In track, Balister has placed in every mile and two-mile event this season. In the fall, Balister was First Team All-Toledo Area Athletic Conference in cross country, placing fourth, while Avery was second team.
“Dale is having an outstanding year. He’s a real good leader, he works really hard in practice, he gets everything done, and he’s having some of the best times he’s ever ran, so he gets whatever he wants,” Coach Johnson continued.
“Greg is still young. His times are pretty steady, and we look for a lot of good things from him in the future. He works hard and his work ethic will get him where he wants to be, I think.”
Balister believes the Rangers can win a TAAC track and field championship this spring, but for the long distance runners, he expects strong competition from Ottawa Hills.
On Tuesday, the Northwood boys defeated non-league foe Lake 89-36 as Balister won the 3,200 meter race in 10:50 and was second in the 1,600 finishing one second behind teammate Mendoza (5:05). Avery was on the 4x800 team that finished in 9:37, defeating Lake by 10 seconds, and he was third in the 3,200 ( 12:25).
The Rangers are fortunate to have Mike Skitkowski on board as cross country coach, and as the track team’s long distance specialist. Skitkowski is a veteran of the Boston Marathon and other marathons nationwide.
“He’s awesome, so he’s a great resource for the kids to do this,” said Coach Johnson, who specializes in sprints and hurdles.
The concern coaches had was that the Glass City Marathon was one day after Balister and Avery had competed at the Lakota Invitational.
“I knew they were doing something. I didn’t organize it or anything. They did it on their own. I just said, ‘Alright guys, whatever, it’s early in the season but if you want to run, go ahead,’” Johnson said.
Balister and Avery said the only tips coaches gave them were when and where to show up, and where Avery had to be for the transition.
“(Coach Johnson) was just glad we were running it. I don’t know how it affected us running the invitational,” Balister said. “I didn’t do anything different. I did eat a bowl of cereal before we went out. I did the usual stretching. I ate probably more during the race than I did before.”
However, Balister is proud of his back-to-back performances. At Lakota, he got three personal bests, and said he then “ran a really fast, personal half-marathon in an hour and a half.”
Balister was sixth in the mile at the Lakota Invite, fourth in the two-mile, and the 4x800 team that both Rangers participated in placed. Still, they admit the two-day weekend took some energy out of them.
Balister said he slept for five hours after the marathon. Avery waited for his parents, who had a set of dry clothes and food. Then he sat motionless, resting in a chair for a couple hours.
“At home, I was just really tired and didn’t move that much,” Avery sighed. “We had the training for it, but it probably wasn’t very smart having an invitational the previous day.”
Avery says next time, his preparation will be different.
“I usually sleep a lot before a race day, pasta the night beforehand, and in the morning I’ll have a good breakfast and just stretch a lot,” Avery said. “(Next time) Maybe we’ll just try to get some longer runs in whenever we can since we haven’t done a really long run in a while,” Avery said.
This summer, both plan to compete at various 5K events, and Balister wants to take a stab at his first triathlon in June.
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