On another day, it might be a close call as to which was the bigger story at Saturday’s annual Killingworth Road Race — the weather or Ben Szuhaj. But this was not another day.
Granted, it seemed more like mid-to-late September, with temperatures in the high 60s for the 8:30 a.m. start and, unlike previous years, no humidity. But as welcome as the conditions were for the 170 runners, they could not surpass what Szuhaj accomplished.
He not only won the race; he broke the record for the four-mile course, set just two years ago.
His 20:55.8 finish bettered the previous mark of 21:13 by 17 seconds, with Szuhaj averaging 5:14 per mile. Moreover, he was so far ahead of the field that he finished a whopping six minutes ahead of second-place finisher Brandon Shatraw of Higganum (26:54) and nearly eight minutes in front of the women’s champion, 22-year-old Kaila Lujambio of Coventry (28:37.6).
But Szuhaj conquered more than the field. He also beat a steep hill that’s three miles into the run and so intimidating that some runners — including the women’s winner — stopped to walk parts or all of it.
“I knew about the record,” said the 28-year-old Szuhaj, a 2019 graduate of Dartmouth College, “and I really wanted to beat it. There were some moments of doubts, though. I got to the (two-mile) turnaround, and I was under 10 minutes. I was way under the course record, but, obviously, it had been downhill.
“Then, when I’d gotten to a half-mile to go, the seconds were slipping away. I was pretty much right on the course record, so I knew I had to kick it in. I also knew that if I could get to the crest (of Wolf Hollow Road) averaging the course record, I could pick it up a bit.”
And he did, finishing over a mile ahead of his closest competitor — or so far ahead that one spectator questioned if he was really one of the competitors or just someone out for a Saturday morning run. He was both. A consultant from Washington, D.C. who’s run a 29:48 10K and 49:31 for 10 miles, Szuhaj and his girlfriend, Sophie, were on their way to visit her parents on Cape Cod when they decided to stop in the area and stay overnight, not leaving until Szuhaj completed the Killingworth road run the following morning.
“Selfishly,” he said, “I would’ve liked to go a bit faster. But I will take under 21 minutes, that’s for sure. I was gassed afterward, and I think it was the hill and a lot of rest-stop food (Friday) that was responsible. So, I wasn’t feeling my most prime going up the hill.”
Really? When race organizers first looked for Szuhaj prior to the post-race awards ceremony, they couldn’t find him. It turns out he’d gone out for a two-mile cool-down jog, running it as he had the race — alone.
Lujambio’s finish was equally impressive. She was eighth overall, holding off Sara Zuba, 42, of New Haven, who was only 12 seconds behind (28:49.4), and two places behind her 24-year-old brother, Julen (28:23.2). But that’s not all. Four members of the Lujambio family were in the top 35, with father Julio finishing 31st overall in 33:19.8 and mother Carolina 35th overall in 34:13.2, while her grandparents — both from Argentina — stood and watched near the finish line.
“That makes this very meaningful,” said Kaila. “With all my family here, it’s really special.”
Lujambio, who just completed her first year of dental school at the University of Connecticut, is training for her first half-marathon and conceded she was “a little bit surprised” by the victory — especially when the demoralizing hill on Wolf Hollow Road compelled her to stop.
“I did walk sometimes, like 10 seconds, but then I kept going,” she said. “When I was running I kept thinking: ‘I’ve got to keep going,’ especially when I turned around and I saw (Zuba) was close. I just told myself: ‘Just keep going, Kaila. You got it.’ ”
And she did.
WEATHER NOT THE ONLY CHANGE
When road race organizers moved this year’s race from the first weekend of August back three weeks, they hoped for cooler weather … and they got their wish. But it was more than the race conditions that changed. So did the number of entrants, with 182 signed up and 170 who ran — a field that approximated the 2022 record turnout of 190 and, as usual, included a large group (think approximately 60) from the Run 169 Towns Society.
It also included WTNH-TV meteorologist Gil Simmons, a race regular who participated in what he estimated as his 12th or 13th Killingworth road run. So, who, he was asked, deserved credit for Saturday’s unseasonable weather — Simmons or Mother Nature?
“Me, of course,” he said, laughing. “I take the credit. Trust me, I don’t want to be blamed when it’s bad. So I’ll take this.”
FIRST ONE IN
She wasn’t first across the finish line, but Sherri Condon was first to appear Saturday, showing up at 7:10 a.m. for the 8:30 start. A member of the Run 169 Towns Society, Condon drove in from Middletown to accompany friend Kelly Pabilonia, also a member of the 169ers.
“I love this race,” said Condon, who’s run it before.
Pabilonia had not. She arrived after driving two-and-half hours Saturday morning from Yarmouth, Mass., on Cape Cod.
“I got up at 4 o clock,” she said. “And I’m driving back afterward.”
So what lured her to the race?
“I need this town.” She said. “This is 164. So I’m getting very close (to 169). My friends think I’m nuts. They use the word ‘insane.’ “
And her husband?
“He’s still in bed,” she said.
A DOG”S LIFE
Not all participants ran on two legs. Two dogs joined their owners, too, including two-year-old Poppy, a golden retriever/great Pyrenees’ mix that ran with Colebrook’s Denise McLaughlin.
“She led the way,” said McLaughlin. “She goes out fast.”
McLaughlin is another member of the Run 169 Towns Society. In fact, she’s on her second tour of 169 towns, qualifying her as one of the Society’s “queens.” And Poppy? She’s a member of the 169ers, too. True story.
“I slowed her down,” said McLaughlin. “This is town 31 for her and the longest she’s run. But she got plenty of water and liked the bananas at the end.”
NEVER TOO YOUNG
Entrants ranged from 9 to 75 years young, with Clinton’s Mason Beeker the only one in single digits. He ran with his father, Jason, and finished 90th in 40:52.8.
“The hardest part was the hill,” he said in a familiar refrain. “We walked and ran it.”
“But,” said his Dad, “he pushed it at the end.”
A fifth grader at Clinton’s Eliot Middle School, Mason said his interests include running and hiking — both of which he does with his father at Chatfield Hollow. But Saturday’s road race was Mason’s first ever … and probably not his last.
“He said, ‘I want to do it,’ “ said his father, “and I said, ’Why not?’ “
Good question.
