David Berdan, 32, a science teacher and cross-country coach at Garrison Forest School, became the first Baltimore area runner to win the Baltimore Running Festival Marathon, Saturday, Oct. 12, in the 13-year history of the event.
Fulfilling a longtime dream, Berdan, who lives in Owings Mills, Md., finished in 2:30:05, almost nine minutes faster than Brian Crispell, 37, from Philadelphia, who ran 2:38:56. Brian Rosenberg, 33, of Mechanicsburg, Penn., was third in 2:40:07.
Elizabeth Perry, 36, of Pittsburgh won the women’s race in 2:58:00, with Julia Roman-Duval, 31, of Columbia, Md., finishing second in 3:00:29 and Silvia Baage, 37, of Rockville, Md., taking third place in 3:05:09.
All the runners were greeted at the finish line Saturday by Erika Brannock, the 29-year-old Towson, Md., preschool teacher who lost her lower left leg in the Boston Marathon bombing. She had been waiting near the finish line in Boston to see her mother finish the race when the bomb went off.
Brannock, who was also the official starter for the Baltimore Marathon, told the thousands of runners gathered at the start, “You can do this, and you will do this.”
Her mother, Carol Downing, stayed close to Brannock on Saturday as the courageous, inspiring young woman encouraged the runners from a wheelchair.
Brannock, who spent 50 days in a Boston hospital after the bombing, has made huge progress in her recovery. Last week she used a prosthesis for the first time and has returned to work part-time. She even has plans to participate in a 5K in Charlotte, N.C., in November!
But back to Saturday’s race, David Berdan and Elizabeth Perry actually became the first Americans to ever win the Baltimore Running Festival Marathon! That’s because this year, unlike in years past, the marathon didn’t offer prize money.
As the Baltimore Sun reported, “Without prize money, the race didn’t draw the elite runners it had previously. And Saturday’s race was considerably slower than last year, when Kenyan Stephen Muange won in 2:13:08.”
David Berdan, who held a little American flag in his right hand as he crossed the finish line, was happy to win nevertheless. He explained, “It’s still awesome to win it, but … if there’s no prize money, I guess that’s why I had a chance. I still consider myself somewhat elite, and I mix it up with (the elite runners).”
He had led the first half of the 2011 marathon before eventually falling back and finishing 10th.
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