by Blair Hogg
The Scranton Half Marathon is one of the races that I consider every year for my race calendar, since it’s my hometown race. I grew up in the city, and ran track and cross country for West Scranton High School. I’ve done it several times, and a few of those were with Tony Agentowicz, who was a teammate of mine with WSHS XC.
I’ve tried over the years to get a few other Pacers to join me; however, no one other than Tony had until this year, when Lisa Domeshek gave in and registered for the race. We started training in January with a training program Lisa had used for the Philly Half. (She followed it better than I did.)
We started planning the logistics behind the race and decided that, given it’s a 2 hour drive to get there, it would be better to head up the day before and stay the night. This would allow us to pick up our bibs on Saturday for the race on Sunday. We stayed at the Radisson Lackawanna Station hotel, a wonderful old train station from the Erie Lackawanna railroad.
Lisa’s boyfriend Jerry and my wife Karen joined us on the trip. Jerry happens to be a fan of the TV show The Office, which was set in Scranton. We had a delightful dinner at Cooper’s seafood restaurant, which is also a bit of a museum, and where Jerry and Lisa found a gift shop full of Office-related items. But we were there to run, so it was back to the hotel for a good night’s rest.
Race-day morning greeted us with cool weather and light rain. Not the best running conditions, but not the worst. Lisa and I drove the short way to the starting area at Scranton’s Memorial Stadium, where I had run track meets many years ago. Parking was near impossible, but we found a spot and made our way to the starting point.
The race started at 8 a.m., with a light rain still coming down. Despite there being a small field of about 1,500 runners, the start was rather hectic. Lisa made her move to get out of the crowd about a half mile in, hoping for a PR. I didn’t try to keep up with her, as I was fighting a lingering knee issue and didn’t want to push it.
Despite the weather, the race was well-supported by volunteers and folks from the community cheering the runners on. About halfway through the race, the rain stopped, but at that point, it didn’t matter, as we were already fairly damp. The race winds its way around different neighborhoods in the city and through the downtown area, finishing on a paved rail trail that runs along Roaring Brook, a medium-sized creek which runs through the city. The actual finish is on the stadium track where I ran meets in high school.
The route took us near the hotel where we were staying, and Jerry and Karen were able to see us at two points during the race. They were also able to meet us at the finish.
Lisa ran a great race, finishing in just over two hours, but not quite enough for a PR. With better weather conditions, I think she would have done it. I came in at 2 hours and 18 minutes, a bit off my best time. Two years ago, I had finished this race in 1 hour 57 minutes. Hopefully next year will be better.
After the race, we enjoyed burgers and beers at the hotel pub, a well-earned reward for our efforts. It might have been an effect of just having completed the race, but I thought it was one of the best burgers that I’ve had in some time.
Maybe next year I can convince some more friends to join me in my hometown race!
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