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HomeNewsArchivesST. CROIX'S LETITIA DUSICH 1ST WOMAN IN 8 TUFF MILES

ST. CROIX'S LETITIA DUSICH 1ST WOMAN IN 8 TUFF MILES

Feb. 28, 2004 – Saturday saw a huge upset in the 8th annual 8 Tuff Miles race when the top man and the top woman, both first-time entrants, handily beat out last year's winners. Jeremy Zuber of St. John and Letitia Dusich of St. Croix were faster than the 515 people who completed the 8.375-mile course along Centerline Road from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay.
Zuber, 23, of St. John set a new course record when he crossed the finish line in 49:32.
"I knew I got out fast. I separated from the rest from the get-go," Zuber said, only a bit winded after his remarkable finish at the Coral Bay ballfield.
Zuber, the concierge at Caneel Bay Resort, said he trained for four months to participate in the event. An Iowa native, he said he wasn't used to the hills.
"When I first got here, I could barely run the hills," he said.
Jacob Cooper, 29, came in second with a time of 51:56. He was here on vacation at Estate Zootenvaal in St. John from his home in Brooklyn, N.Y., when he heard about the event. Scheduled to go home on Saturday, he postponed his departure by a few hours so he could participate.
"It was hard — the hills," he said, noting that Brooklyn has only one hill. Cooper, who works for Emergency Medical Services in New York, said he runs lots of marathons, but this one was the hardest ever.
Third went to George Jules, 34, of St. Croix, who was just 32 seconds faster than fourth-place finisher Calvin Dallas, 50, of St. Thomas.
The two were chatting just after the finish about the race. "It was close all the way," Dallas said.
Jules' time was 52:10. Dallas finished with a time of 52:42.
Zuber, Cooper, Jules, and Dallas bested the 2002 and 2003 winner, Austin Thompson, 18, of Evergreen, Colo. All four broke Thompson's course record, set last year, of 53:15.
Thompson, a high school student, finished fifth with a time of 52:48. His time broke his own record. "I was disappointed not to win again, but I ran it about 30 seconds faster," Thompson said, adding that Zuber's time was "phenomenal."
Dusich, 23, who works in a scuba shop, set a new women's record with a time of 57:15. She shaved two seconds off the record set last year by Regina Randazza. Randazza won in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
"She's awesome. She was so fast. She wouldn't let up," Randazza said.
Randazza, 30, a St. John resident who sews at Maho Bay Camps, came in second with a time of 57.39.
Dusich said she felt good throughout the race, but acknowledged that the last hill was tough.
"But the downhill was no problem," she said, referring to the last lap into Coral Bay.
Libby Arnold, 21, of St. John, took third in the woman's division with a time of 1:08:37. "I thought I'd be hurting more on the hills, and my legs are more tired than my lungs," she said.
In the walkers category, Rick Jay, 58, of St. John took top honors with a time of 1:42:26. Corey Ringh, 25, of St. Thomas was the fastest woman walker with a time of 1:45:36.
Doug Kurtis, 51, of Detroit, Mich., was one of the participants. Kurtis, who didn't learn about the race until he arrived last week on vacation at Ajax Peak in St. John, said he holds the world record for winning in marathons — 40. And he holds the world record for running marathons in under 2:20. He said he has run 76 marathons in under that time.
Kurtis, who writes a column on running for The Detroit Free Press and now organizes marathons, said his goal was just to finish. "I'm semi-retired," he said as runners continued to stream across the finish.
Sen. Louis P. Hill, whose celebrity was probably unknown to many of the participants, finished a respectable nine out of 18 in his 40 to 44 age group. His time was 1:19:35. Hill, like many of the St. Thomas participants, had to hitchhike from Coral Bay to Cruz Bay in order to catch the ferry home.
Moe Chabuz was one of that age group's finishers. An owner of Skinny Legs Bar and Restaurant in Coral Bay, where the awards ceremony was held, Chabuz said that running was the easy part. He said the hundreds of volunteers who staff the water stations and tend to myriad other details work the hardest.
"We get pampered by all the support people," he said.
Perhaps the hardest working is Peter Alter, who initiated the first race eight years ago and continues to serves as the guiding force. "I couldn't sleep last night," he said, sitting on the ground after he passed the finish line in what he said was 1:07.
Alter said the Catherineberg water station got the prize for the best water station. He said that a couple of kids were dressed up as the television character Sponge Bob and handed out wet sponges to cool the participants.
"They were cute as hell," he said.
Alter estimated that more than 200 people volunteered.
The money raised goes to help the St. John Kids and the Sea program. Alter did not know at press time how much money the event raised.
Alter said he knows of only one serious injury. A 57-year-old man fell as he neared the end of the course. He was taken to Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center for treatment of injuries to his nose.
Here's a wrap up of the winners by age group. Top men and women runners and walkers do not get age-category awards.
Runners
Men 12 and under
1. Lincoln Liburd, 12, St. John, 1:09:51
2. Johnny Lenahan, 12, St. Thomas, 1:12:58
3. Shaiman Lalich, 11, no address, 1:17:17

Men 13 to 16
1. Tyler Joseph, 15, St. John, 1:13:13
2. Ryan Costanzo, 16, St. John, 1:14:02
3. Sean Costanzo, 16, St. John, 1:17:53

Men 17 to 19
1. Austin Thompson, 18, Evergreen, Colo., 52:48
2. Alexander Riviere, 17, no address, 1:25:04
3. Chris Berry, 17, St. Thomas, 2:14:59

Men 20 to 24
1. Luke Hendricks, 24, no address, 1:04:48
2. Colin Hilliard, 23, St. John, 1:12:13
3. Dan O'Brien, 23, St. John, 1:13:28

Men 25 to 29
1. Jacob Cooper, 29, Brooklyn, N.Y., 51:56
2. Terry Hollowell, 25, St. John, 58:07
3. Joel Gibson, 25, St. John, 1:01:42

Men 30 to 34
1. George Jules, 34, St. Croix, 52:10
2. Bruce E. Sewer, 33, St. Thomas, 1:06:28
3. Kent Hardenbrook, 33, St. Thomas, 1:12:01

Men 35 to 39
1. Andy Cherry, 38, no address, 54:36
2. Mike Klein, 39, St. Croix, 1:01:28
3. Adam Thill, 38, St. John, 1:02:32

Men 40 to 44
1. Ted Patton, 40, Duluth, Minn., 1:04:25
2. James McManus, 41, St. John, 1:05:50
3. Peter Alter, 44, St. John, 1:07:21

Men 45 to 49
1. Roger Davis, 46, Rydal, Pa., 58:47
2. Kelsey Taylor, 45, Bow, N.Y., 1:08:19
3. Brian Vanden Broucke, 46, St. John, 1:08:34

Men 50 to 54
1. Calvin Earl Dallas, 50, St. Thomas, 52:42
2. Steve Burkholder, 52, St. John, 59:14
3. Doug Kurtis, 51, Detroit, Mich., 1:00:56

Men 55 to 59
1. Bill Reilly, 56, Brownfield, Maine, 1:01:05
2. Dennis O'Brien, 57, no address, 1:18:07
3. Mark Harrington, 55, Marblehead, Mass., 1:25:53

Men 60 to 64
1. Ted Seymour, 62, St. Croix, 1:12:30
2. Bob Faucett, 60, St. John, 1:24:09
3. Doug Pfaff, 60, St. Thomas, 1:25:47

Men 65 to 69
1. William Fisk, 66, St. John, 1:28:02
2. Monte Coffman, 67, no address, 1:31:49
3. Marvin Glenn, 66, St. John, 1:32:59

Men 70 and over
1. Bill Morris, 72, St. John, 2:02:23
2. Hal Brown, 73, St. John, 2:04:59

Women 12 and under
1. Emily Egelhoff-Whalen, 12, St. John, 1:21:06
2. Mimi Roller, 12, St. John, 1:41:58
3. Carolyn Chabuz, 11, St. John, 1:45:31

Women 13 to 16
1. Jaurel Harley, 15, St. John, 1:36:37
2. Emily Dysart, 15, St. John, 1:49:50
3. Carly Kauffman, 14, St. John, 1:56:33

Women 17 to 19
1. Sherika Turnbull, 18, V.I., 2:35:36
2. Deenica Fuertes, 17, St. Thomas, 2:45:20

Women 20 to 24
1. Libby Arnold, 21, St. John, 1:08:37
2. Mauri Eibel, 23, St. John, 1:11:33
3. Allison Schnoke, 24, St. Thomas, 1:23:55

Women 25 to 29
1.
Jillian Hansen Collins, 25, Stowe, Vt., 1:09:23
2. Cheryl Jamerino, 29, St. Thomas, 1:09:57
3. Bonnie Kingsbury, 25, Vineyard Haven, Mass., 1:10:54

Women 30 to 34
1. Regina Randazza, 30, St. John, 57:39
2. Aimell Crowell, 34, St. John, 1:15:28
3. Cecilia Georges, 32, Franklin, Mass., 1:18:47

Women 35 to 39
1. Danielle Buerker, 37, no address, 1:15:10
2. Kristin E. Tuohy, St. Thomas, 1:18:29
3. Pam Ridinger, 35, no address, 1:21:09

Women 40 to 44
1. Lisa Mastronardi, 41, St. Thomas, 1:11:44
2. Jodie Tanino, 44, St. John, 1:12:44
3. Grace Tuma, St. Thomas, 43, 1:17:35

Women 45 to 49
1. Christine Meyer, 45, St. John, 1:15:40
2. Carol House, 45, no address, 1:19:12
3. Patti A. Harrison, 47, Jay, N.Y., 1:23:29

Women 50 to 54
1. Jill Duffield, 53, no address, 1:26:44
2. Nancy Polucci, 50, no address, 1:27:20
3. Patricia Fisk, 50, St. John, 1:29:15

Women 55 to 59
1. Patricia Mahoney, 59, St. John, 1:22:16
2. Judy Reilly, 55, Brownfield, Maine, 1:33:15
3. Susan Stair, 56, St. John, 1:35:59

Women 60 to 64
1. Betty Davis, 60, Cambridge, Mass., 1:35:03
2. Joyce Pfaff, 60, St. Thomas, 1:40:02
3. Ellen Cervo, 60, no address, 1:40:35

Women 70 and over
1. Catherine I. Shade, 75, Reading, Pa., 1:48:33
2. Velma Pullen, 75, St. John, 2:16:58

Walkers
Men 20 to 29
1. David Keuten, 27, St. John, 2:03:02

Men 30 to 39
1. Andrew Ringh, 37, St. Thomas, 1:45:34
2. Gus Textrum, 38, St. John, 1:55:43
3. Wayne Greenleaf, 33, St. John, 1:56:28

Men 40 to 49
1. Bruce White, 46, no address, 1:46:58
2. Brion Morrisette, 47, St. John, 2:02:50
3. Randy Schechter, 46, no address, 2:21:22

Men 50 to 59
1. Daniel Gralnick, 58, no address, 2:09:53
2. Larry Best, 53, St. John, 2:15:50
3. Laurence Boxerman, 59, no address, 2:17:36

Men 60 and over
1. Thomas Lee, 60, St. John, 1:53:17
2. John Fuller, 62, St. John, 2:09:12
3. Kent Savel, 66, St. John, 2:09:43

Women 19 and under
1. Jenna Dicola, 12, no address, 2:15:20

Women 20 to 29
1. Ashley Coerdt, 23, no address, 1:57:40
2. Chrystal Daley, 25, St. John, 2:12:51
3. Mollie Lamm, 27, St. John, 2:21:06

Women 30 to 39
1. Dalia Perez, 39, St. John, 1:53:52
2. Marissa Marhoul, 30, St. John, 1:55:44
3. Jill Farley, 31, St. Thomas, 1:56:19

Women 40 to 49
1. Cathy Smith, 48, St. John, 1:56:04
2. Rosemary Joseph, 40, St. John, 1:57:38
3. Kim Hart, 41, no address, 1:58:32
Women 50 to 59
1. Debbie O'Neill, 53, no address, 1:55:58
2. Helen Porter, 55, St. John, 2:00:00
3. Mary R. Dufur, 56, St. John, 2:03:07

Women 60 and over
1. Agnes Perkins, 67, St. John, 2:00:53
2. Ann Glenn, 64, St. John, 2:09:59

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