Virginia Tech Victim: Jeremy Herbstritt, Marathoner
Imagine reaching the pinnacle of your sport and completing the dream only to learn later that day a senseless tragedy would wipe the joy from the accomplishment.
That's what happened on Monday to Jennifer Herbstritt, 25, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.
Early last fall, Herbstritt qualified for Monday's 111th Boston Marathon by completing the downhill Steamtown Marathon course in a time of 3:36:16.
This came less than five months after she narrowly missed qualifying in last year's inaugural Pocono Mountains Run for the Red Marathon, held on May 7. She ran the course in that race in 3:42:21 while her older brother, Jeremy, then 26, did the distance in 4:04:33.
The year before in October '05, the two of them ran the Steamtown Marathon in Allentown in which Jeremy outlegged his sister, finishing in 3:48:42. Her debut marathon that day was recorded in 4:04:06.
But her joy of finishing the Boston Marathon on Monday was washed away as she and her family learned upon driving back to Bellefonte - near Penn State University where Jeremy had earned two undergraduate degrees in 2003 and 2006 - that he had been murdered during Seung-Hui Cho's reign of terror on the Virginia Tech campus.
The Centre Daily Times, published in State College, Pennsylvania (where Penn State is located), quoted Tussey Mountainback 50 Mile Relay and Ultramarathon race director Mike Casper as saying that Jeremy Herbstritt had led relay teams in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 events.
In the first year, 2003, Jeremy had been joined by three of his family members as they finished fifth in the Mega division (7-8 runners) of the 50-Mile relay in 6:40:44. The following two years, they posted efforts of 6:40:44 and 6:58:29, respectively, in 2004 and 2005 to finish second and sixth in their Mixed categories.
(Why did I feel compelled to post the information above? When in Vancouver this week, I had noticed that Herbstritt was the only Pennsylvanian that had been murdered and that he was from a small town close to where I was initially raised and had graduated with two degrees from Penn State. I didn't make the connection until this evening when I was going through e-mails and saw a post to an Ultra Running list serv that I belong to by the race director of the Pocono Mountain Marathon referenced above. When I checked for last year's results - its inaugural running, that is when I stumbled upon Herbstritt's name.)
That's what happened on Monday to Jennifer Herbstritt, 25, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.
Early last fall, Herbstritt qualified for Monday's 111th Boston Marathon by completing the downhill Steamtown Marathon course in a time of 3:36:16.
This came less than five months after she narrowly missed qualifying in last year's inaugural Pocono Mountains Run for the Red Marathon, held on May 7. She ran the course in that race in 3:42:21 while her older brother, Jeremy, then 26, did the distance in 4:04:33.
The year before in October '05, the two of them ran the Steamtown Marathon in Allentown in which Jeremy outlegged his sister, finishing in 3:48:42. Her debut marathon that day was recorded in 4:04:06.
But her joy of finishing the Boston Marathon on Monday was washed away as she and her family learned upon driving back to Bellefonte - near Penn State University where Jeremy had earned two undergraduate degrees in 2003 and 2006 - that he had been murdered during Seung-Hui Cho's reign of terror on the Virginia Tech campus.
The Centre Daily Times, published in State College, Pennsylvania (where Penn State is located), quoted Tussey Mountainback 50 Mile Relay and Ultramarathon race director Mike Casper as saying that Jeremy Herbstritt had led relay teams in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 events.
In the first year, 2003, Jeremy had been joined by three of his family members as they finished fifth in the Mega division (7-8 runners) of the 50-Mile relay in 6:40:44. The following two years, they posted efforts of 6:40:44 and 6:58:29, respectively, in 2004 and 2005 to finish second and sixth in their Mixed categories.
(Why did I feel compelled to post the information above? When in Vancouver this week, I had noticed that Herbstritt was the only Pennsylvanian that had been murdered and that he was from a small town close to where I was initially raised and had graduated with two degrees from Penn State. I didn't make the connection until this evening when I was going through e-mails and saw a post to an Ultra Running list serv that I belong to by the race director of the Pocono Mountain Marathon referenced above. When I checked for last year's results - its inaugural running, that is when I stumbled upon Herbstritt's name.)
posted by WalkSports.com | 10:14 PM
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