Run for Chardon: Supportive nature of sport comes from a common bond

2015 Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon

Even while competing, it's not uncommon to hear runners offering each other encouragement during a race.

(Chuck Crow, Plain Dealer file photo)

Cliff Pinckard, an overnight editor / reporter for Cleveland.com, is using his training for the New York City Marathon to raise awareness for the Chardon Living Memorial Park, which will honor 2012 high school shooting victims Demetrius Hewlin, Russell King and Daniel Parmertor. He will post updates about the effort until the race on Nov. 1.

CHARDON, Ohio -- It's not unusual to see tempers flare in the world of competitive sports.

It's one of the reasons I walked away from "adult" softball about seven years ago. More than once, players on the same team had to be separated for some inane reason, for a game that would be nothing but a blip in the agate section of a local newspaper ... maybe.

Meanwhile, I've been in more than 100 road races over the years, from 5Ks to full marathons, and I've never seen two competing runners end up in fisticuffs during or after a race. I've never even heard a harsh word exchanged.

Instead, what I've encountered at races is encouragement from other runners ... from those many people passing me during a race, and even those few that I manage to catch.

"Keep going, you're looking strong! Don't give up! You're almost there!"

Ask other runners about this and they'll tell you they hear the same thing. Sprints to the finish line often end with laughter and an exchange of high-fives.

So how can this be? How can runners be fiercely competitive and yet still supportive?

"I don't know why it is this way but it certainly is unique," said Jay "JT" Wittman, 33, of Concord Township, who with Justin Thomas, 31, of Roaming Shores, is helping me train for the New York City Marathon.

Wittman said while passing a runner during a recent race, both offered each other encouragement.

"After the race he came up to me and thanked me and said if it weren't for me catching him and giving him that one quick bit of encouragement he would have packed it in and just jogged to the finish," Wittman said.

Brenda Scinto, a Mentor resident and a runner who specializes in sports nutrition, offers an interesting theory about the supportive nature of the sport.

"As runners, we're all in it because of something we struggle with," Scinto said. "Because we've all found this common bond, that's what pulls us together.

"I think we all respect how hard it is."

Bingo. Anyone out there pounding the pavement, no matter how fast or slow, earns the respect of most other runners because we do understand the dedication ... and sometimes the agony ... it demands.

Thomas and Wittman are both elite runners and compete for the Achilles Running Shop race team. Both finished the Rock Hall Half Marathon in August more than 30 minutes ahead of me, but they were there near the finish line to help me finish strong.

"I know to me I personally love finishing a race and congratulating everyone who finished ahead of me, and then cheering for the finishers that are coming down the finish line," Thomas said.

Like Scinto, Wittman believes runners are usually supportive of others because they understand the struggle.

"We know how much work it takes to get ready for races and to run well," he said. "Through our own experiences we know how frustrating it is to bonk at the end of a run and how gratifying it is to see all the hard work for training pay off. Because of our own experiences we empathize with the bad days and live vicariously when we see someone achieving something that they have worked so hard for."

Training update: Wittman and Thomas scaled back my mileage a bit last week, with a long run of 15 miles on Sunday. This week is a bear: Tuesday brings a 10-mile pace run, then Saturday the long run jumps back to 20 miles. After that is the much-anticipated taper leading to the marathon. I can't wait.

Upcoming events: I'll be running in the Andrews Osborne Academy Phoenix 5K on Sunday. It begins at 9 a.m. at the academy's campus in Willoughby. The race is organized by Angela Pohl, a Chardon resident who has been supportive of the Run for Chardon. The race will be electronically timed by Great Lakes Race Timing, a new company formed by Thomas, Wittman and fellow Achilles Race Team member David Jacobson. A pancake breakfast is offered after the race, which is good thinking ... before the race would create a real mess at the finish line.

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