After an eight-year hiatus, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge run/walk returned in style this past Sunday morning, November 9.
The Across the Bay 10k—the newest, and arguably most exciting, branding of the Bay Bridge event—was complete with approximately 20,000 registrants. The 10k course involved crossing the entire 4.3 mile bridge span, which reaches a peak height of 186 feet above the Chesapeake Bay itself.
The population of runners was divided into 10 waves, the earliest of which hit the starting line at 7:00 a.m. The final group toed the line at 9:30 a.m. Runners began at the Northrop Grumman on the west side of the bridge and finished on Romancoke Road on the east side.
"We met a variety of runners at the finish line," said David Hirshfeld, Owner and President of Holabird Sports. "There were a number of people who completed their very first 10k, and there were others who have been elite runners for years."
Among the elite runners was Steve Kartalia, 49, of the Baltimore Washington Athletic Club, which is currently sponsored by Holabird Sports. Steve finished in second place with a time of 33:36 (5:22 per mile), outpacing the next masters runner by more than four minutes. He finished mere seconds behind the winner Steve Heagy, 31, of Lansdale, PA. Heagy ran 33:29 for the 6.2 mile distance.
"I was closing as hard as I could," said Kartalia. "But he had too much of a lead."
Susan Hendrick, the top female, ran a time of 38:35 (6:10 per mile). Hendrick was almost a full minute ahead of second place finisher Anne Putnam (39:30).
Fanfare awaited runners at the finish line, including a concert lineup of local bands, multiple vendors, official race gear, food, and beer.
Holabird Sports was the proud retail sponsor of the race and sold the official race gear through the online store at holabirdsports.com and through the two-day race expo at Navy Stadium.
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