LYNN — Since it began in 2014, the 1-Hour Run event held at Manning Field has seen several participants put their names into the event’s American Age Group record books.
On Sunday, two more runners joined in on the history as Sheri Piers of Falmouth, Maine and Laura Bruess of Boulder, Colorado both set National Women’s Age Group records.
During the 1-hour run participants run as many laps (full and partial) around the 400 meter track as they can in one hour. Bruess ran 8.631 miles in the 45-49 age group to break the previous record of 8.49 miles set by Lynn’s Becky McGovern last year. Piers ran 9.773 miles to blow by the old record of 9.22 miles set in 1983 by Marilyn Harbin in Santa Rosa, CA.
“It’s a legacy,” event coordinator Joe Abelon said. “[Bruess] had sent me emails and wanted to come all the way from Colorado to regain the record she previously held that had been broken last year. She saw that and said ‘I’m coming to do it.'”
It may seem strange for a runner to travel across the country to Lynn to try to reclaim or set American records, but the 1-hour run at Manning Field is the only annual event of its kind in the country, Abelon said.
“We are the only city in the country doing this,” Abelon said. “I think for the city it’s a big thing, you look and see where the event is run and you will see Lynn there and that is really amazing.
“Piers from Falmouth, she was a superior runner,” Abelon added. “A very good runner that broke the record by a half a mile, that’s huge.”
The event was founded in 2014 to expand the already existing races run at Lynn Woods. The idea to give runners a chance to get on the track at Manning was Bill Mullens, who helps organize Lynn Woods races with Abelon.
“Bill had a mixture of events like 5k’s and last man standing races. The 1-hour run was part of that package,” Abelon said. “Pretty soon after talking to USA Track and Field New England, we realized there were runners in the area that could set national records in this event.”
Since 2014, nine American age group records have been set at the annual race, partly thanks to the recruiting job of Abelon.
“I sit in front of the computer and look up road races. I look at distances and times especially if it’s an older person,” Abelon said. “I try to reach out through telephones and emails and I’m able to inform people of the race. I can pretty much judge people’s capabilities and see if they have a chance to break records.”
The run is made possible by help from USA Track and Field New England, Lynn Parks and Recreation and plenty of volunteers including the Lynn English ROTC Abelon said. Abelon believes that the history of records is just the beginning in an event that he expects to grow.
“We didn’t get many this year with six runners,” Abelon said “We will be getting more. I’m getting a sense we are going to get more and more people coming. Anybody can run this event, but we are trying to spread the word to people to come here if you want to set a record.”
