By Clark Judge
(August 4, 2024) — When Kurt Tiedemann checked in on the morning of August 3, 2024 for the Annual Killingworth Road race, he had a question. It had nothing to do with the course, prizes or weather on an infernally hot and humid morning. No, he was more interested in the field. Specifically, he was interested in two runners.
“Are the Fenglers here?” he asked.
Ah, yes, “the Flying Fenglers” — Stephen and sister Elizabeth. They were the men’s and women’s winners a year ago, with Stephen setting a course record of 21:13, over a minute-and-half ahead of the runner-up, and Elizabeth finishing sixth overall in 25:03 … over a minute ahead of the second female finisher.
Neither pre-registered, and neither appeared.
“Then I have a chance,” the 30-year-old Tiedemann said.
He did. And he almost made it.
But Haddam’s Jack Cozean, a 17-year-old senior at Haddam-Killingworth High School and last year’s second-place finisher, not only re-appeared; like Fengler in 2023, he won by a wide-margin. His time of 22:09 bested his 22:58 finish a year ago and vanquished an exhausted but valiant Tiedemann, who was second overall (23:23), by over a minute.
Afterward, Tiedemann and two others were treated for heat exhaustion by the Killingworth Ambulance Association. Cozean was not. In fact, he seemed unaffected by the weather, accelerating as the race went on despite a steep hill three miles into the run.
“I’m used to running in the heat,” he said afterward, “and we’re trained to run in it (at Haddam-Killingworth High School). So I just kind of tried to stay clear-minded and run the race as best I could. I came off a good week of summer training and felt good. My early goal was to push up the hill and try to maintain my lead, and that’s what I did.”
The victory was the first for Cozean at the annual road race, but it wasn’t for the women’s champion. Linda Spooner, 49, of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, won it in 2018 when a heavy downpour reduced the field to sixty, and she won it again in 2022. Like the Fenglers, she’s part of the Run 169 Towns Society and recognized by other racers.
In fact, soon after Spooner picked up her bib at the morning registration desk, a woman waiting in line spotted her. Then she nodded as she pointed her out to others standing around her.
“She’s really good,” she said.
She was right. Spooner, who took a morning swim Saturday prior to driving to Killingworth, won the women’s division in 26:47 – a time that put her ninth overall and over three minutes ahead of the women’s runner-up, Delaney Aronson. She finished in 30:01.
Two years ago, Spooner won in 26:10, placing her sixth overall in a field of 194. On Saturday, her time was slower, and the field was smaller. But the conditions were different, with the heat such a concern that, afterward, one observer suggested all runners be given blueberry pies reserved for age-group winners.
“It was tough out there,” Spooner admitted, “because of the humidity. The sun stayed in for a lot of it, so that was helpful. Two years ago, it didn’t. It was less humid, but the sun was full on. You just got to be careful not to go out too hard because it will come back to haunt you. I know ‘Liz’ and her brother did fantastic last year when it was low humidity, but they’re incredibly fast.”
‘Liz’ and her brother? Oh, yeah, got it. The “Flying Fenglers” again. Somehow all stories seem to lead to them … but not on this day they didn’t. They were plenty of others, and let’s get started:
THE NOT SO ACCIDENTAL TOURIST
When race organizers reviewed the pre-registration list two weeks ago, someone pointed out a familiar name: West Hartford’s Christian Nelson. Race committee chairman Chuck Langevin remembered Nelson first appearing 17 years ago when he pushed his son, Harry, then two years old, in a stroller. And he said he’s been returning almost every year since.
Nelson confirmed the story Saturday, though he confessed to missing two races – including one while recovering from hernia surgery. But he echoed Langevin’s account of his first run when he … and his son … won a prize.
“Not all races allow strollers,” he said. “The first time here (2007), they actually made a jogging race category because I was here. So I won it. Actually, they had an extra pie, so they created a jogging stroller division winner … and I was the only jogging stroller. So they gave us a blueberry pie. My son ate it with a straw because he couldn’t find a spoon or fork.”
And now? Well, now Nelson races alone. His son, who’s nineteen, is a sophomore at UConn.
“He’s a golfer now,” Nelson said.
YOUTH WAS SERVED
Five of the first eight finishers, including winner Jack Cozean, were teenagers ranging from fifteen to nineteen years of age. So were two of the first four female finishers – second-place finisher Delaney Aronson, 18, and fourth-place finisher Rowan Baucom, 17.
Heavily represented was the Haddam-Killingworth High School Boys cross-country team, including Cozean, with four of the top nine finishers.
SO WAS THE HEAT
Fortunately for everyone, the Killingworth Ambulance Association made its second consecutive appearance at the race. A year ago, EMTs James Fretz and Mary Robbenhaar-Fretz were on site, but not summoned. That wasn’t the case this time around when KAA president Dan O’Sullivan and Robbenhaar-Fretz were called to assist three runners suffering from heat exhaustion
“We were just glad we could help,” said O’Sullivan. “But that’s a lesson for everyone. As many times as the race announcer (Langevin) mentioned it, some people weren’t hydrating before or during the race. In fact, the hydration starts the day before, not an hour before. They should know that.”
They do now. One runner barely made it to the finish line. Another collapsed just short of it but was helped to her feet and finished. Both not only couldn’t stand, they were disoriented. A third also required supervision, but all seemed to recover and were able to walk away.
Photos by Clark Judge
