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As a veteran of the Lightfoot Summer Series, Tim Milenkevich knows most of the course by heart. As a rookie, Jane Maxwell was covering each step of the nine-mile course through East Norwalk for the first time. In the end, that might have proved the difference as Milenkevich won his second Series race in a row, while a late-race wrong turn may have cost Maxwell the chance to win both the female and overall prize.
Milenkevich, of Ansonia, outlasted the rest of the field and the hot, steamy conditions to cross the finish in Calf Pasture Beach in 55:25; New Yorker Maxwell was next, 1:28 back. "When we came into the beach it was confusing at the traffic circle by the entrance and I went about an extra tenth of a mile," said Maxwell, who seemed more chagrined than upset by her miscue. "I didn't really warm up before the race so I used the first couple miles for that, then fartleked the rest of the way, but my hard miles always seemed to be uphill, so my pace was pretty much the same." Fartlek refers to alternately running hard and easy.
In addition to the distance and the hot and humid weather, the runners had to cover a stretch down newly-paved Gregory Boulevard twice. "That brand new asphalt was really throwing off the heat," said Milenkevich. "The fumes were pretty strong, too."
More than a few runners gave in to the conditions, dropping out after the first of the two loops of the course. Still, 122 finished the race, and no serious heat incidents were reported, thanks to numerous aid stations that included liquids to drink and sponges for the runners to douse themselves with. The series continues with an 11 mile race in Silvermine on Aug. 14. Details and results are on the Lightfoot website.
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