Wilhelm Runs Away and Hides
Women's winner crosses hand-in-hand with runner-up
April 13, 1992 (reprinted from The Blade)
by John Bergener
As he ran through Rossford nearly five miles into yesterday's Glass City Marathon, Tom Wilhelm already was running alone.
Six miles later, as he crossed the bridge over the Maumee River and turned toward Side Cut Park, his lead was a minute.
Nearing the Toledo Zoo, the only sounds were his feet and an elephant off in the distance prematurely trumpeting Wilhelm's victory.
"I really didn't know how far ahead I was until I heard someone say the next person was barely in sight about the 22-mile mark," WIlhelm said. "I never looked back."
Wilhelm destroyed the field over 26 miles, 385 yards, coasting to his first marathon win in 2 hours, 32 minutes, 2 seconds.
Bill Valenzano of Columbus was second, more than two minutes behind.
While those who fostered higher hopes withered and sighed, Wilhelm met one-half his personal challenge.
"I never predict what I'm going to do," he said. "I don't know what I'm going to do. My goal was to run 2:30 or better and to win my first marathon."
Wilhelm, 27, formerly of Fremont and now living in Walbridge, entered the Glass City almost on a whim. During a trainig run with Pete Buehler, Toledo Roadrunner Club president, and a few others, it was suggested that Wilhelm run this marathon instead of one later in the spring.
"They said I had a good chance of winning if I ran it," Wilhelm said.
How prophetic! Among those trailing Wilhelm were his brother Tim, who was fourth, and last year's winner Glen Miller, who was 11th.
"My brother and I train together a lot," Wilhelm said. "I usually beat him (in marathons) and it's not close so he was pretty happy today."
Wilhelm, who works at a car battery plant, and is taking engineering classes at the University of Toledo, was a seldom-used defensive end on the Fremont St. Joseph High School football team when he decided he was better suited for running.
"I had a friend who ran on the cross country team," he said. "I didn't think he was that good. After I was finished with the football season, I went on a 10-mile run with him and thought it would be nothing. I had run before but not a whole lot. I almost died out there.
"It gave me something to shoot for. I wanted to beat him so badly. We ran in a race in Fremont six months later and I cooked him bad."
While Wilhelm ran without company, women's winner Penny Grandstaff of North Manchester, Ind., and runnerup Kristen Mullaney from Okemos, Mich., stayed step-for-step by design.
They met near the starting line five minutes before last year's Glass City Marathon, which was Mullaney's first. Her specialty is triathlons and she was the women's winner in last summer's Sylvania Bud Lite Triathlon.
"I was asking who Penny Grandstaff was," Mullaney said, "I was worried about starting out too fast. When I fund her, I asked if she could run seven-minute miles and keep the pace. She said 'Yes.' Well, we went through the first mile in 6:30."
Mullaney's hamstring muscles began hurting later in that race and she eventually wound up third while Grandstaff was second.
The next time around they were holding hands as they crossed the finish line in 3:05:27.
Grandstaff, 28, was running her 16th marathon. A one-time All-America at Manchester College, she still holds the NAIA marathon record. She was gutting out one of her first marathons when she met the late Sy Mah, the man who is honored by the Glass City event.
"we were both feeling bad," Grandstaff said. "So we told jokes all the way. All of a sudden a TV crew was following us. I didn't know he had the world record for most marathons run."
"This is a friendly marathon," Mullaney said. "Last year, I met a guy from my hometown I didn't even know."
Race director Pam Graver and hundreds of volunteers once again drew praise from many of the runners.
Several area runners turned in excellent performances. They included Jim Heebsh, who was 10th, Miller, 11th, and Ed Osborne, 12th.
Patricia Payette of Sylvania was the women's masters (40-and-over) winner and Vicki Hughes of Lima was the second women's master.
Glass City Marathon - Individual Results
April 12, 1992
Top 10 Male Overall
1 2:32:02 Tom Wilhelm 27 Walbridge, OH
2 2:34:12 Bill Valenzano 32 Columbus, OH
3 2:34:49 John Springer 30 Redford, MI
4 2:36:00 Tim Wilhelm 33 Walbridge, OH
5 2:37:48 John O'Rourke 38 Fairborn, OH
6 2:39:29 Stephen Kaler 26 Grand Rapids, MI
7 2:40:26 Nick Merucci 41 Thamesford, ONT
8 2:40:48 Frank Irwin 33 Fairborn, OH
9 2:41:18 Ron Toby 31 Elyria, OH
10 2:42:29 Jim Heebsh Jr. 27 Temperance, MI
Top 3 Male Masters
1 2:40:26 Nick Merucci 41 Thamesford, ONT
2 2:44:51 Greg Klipan 42 Maple Hts, OH
3 2:44:54 John McDonald 42 Cincinnati, OH
Top 10 Female Overall
1 3:05:27 Penny Grandstaff 28 N. Manchester, IN
2 3:05:28 Kristen Mullaney 31 Okemos, MI
3 3:12:12 Patricia Beach 28 Elmhurst, IL
4 3:26:25 Leah Long 25 Lima, OH
5 3:28:22 Caroline Yarnell 30 Lambertville, MI
6 3:28:29 Kelli Jo Marquette 27 Bowling Green, OH
7 3:28:55 Patricia Payette 40 Sylvania, OH
8 3:29:25 Vicki Hughes 40 Lima, OH
9 3:30:53 Debbie Hoffstot 36 Wilmerding, PA
10 3:32:49 Maggie Zidar 42 Pontiac, MI
Top 3 Female Masters
1 3:28:55 Patricia Payette 40 Sylvania, OH
2 3:29:25 Vicki Hughes 40 Lima, OH
3 3:32:49 Maggie Zidar 42 Pontiac, MI
Modified last on
December 26, 1998 by Steve Darmofal. Please send any comments to darmo@glasscity.net