Eric Sambolec completed 10 miles in 1:00:06.
LAINGSBURG (8/6/05) - At Running Fit's Legend 10 Mile, Eric Sambolec and Megan Swick experienced the thrill of victory - and some agony of the feet.

"There were some mean ruts and roots out there; you had to watch your step," said Sambolec, 27, of Lansing.

Following a trail on dirt, grass, sand and a tiny bit of asphalt, runners circled Lake Ovid at Sleepy Hollow State Park.

"The course has hills, but not too many," Sambolec said. "I try to do this race every year no matter what kind of shape I'm in, because I love the trails."

It helped him to know the course.

"I was sitting behind a pack of guys at five miles and they turned the wrong way," he remembered. "I yelled, 'Turn left! Turn left!' and they followed me, but lost five or 10 seconds. After that I had the lead for good."

He completed 10 miles in 1:00:06. Eric Laywell, 40, of Florida, finished second overall and first among masters in 1:04:18. Dave Walsh, 47, took third in 1:04:24.

Sambolec, who coaches women's cross country at Lansing Community College, ran the first three miles with one of this harriers, Megan Swick, 18.

Megan Swick, 18, won The Legend 10 Mile in 1:08:43
Swick, who has PRs of 17:58 for 5K and 24:07 for 6K, feels right at home in longer races. She finished second in last year's National Junior College Athletic Association Half-Marathon Championship in Kansas, running a 1:22:53.

"Megan has a ton of endurance and she's been training hard all summer," Sambolec said.

Swick won the Legend 10 Mile in 1:08:43. Gayle Kuipers, 40, of Holland, took second overall and was masters queen in 1:10:01.

"I'm going after the Masters Runner of the Year title," Kuipers said. "This was part of the (Michigan Runner) Race Series, so I went for it."

The Legend didn't involve any true bushwhacking, staying mainly on well-defined trails. But the bushes did whack some people.

"I ran into a berry bush and it definitely left a mark," said Kuipers, pointing out a lightning streak of blood on her thigh. "I got cut and bruised. I twisted an ankle - I don't know how many times.

"But The Legend was fun. I loved it!"

The Legend also included a 5-mile race, won by David Homann, 38, of South Lyon (26:49) and Allison Badder, 19 (37:31).

"It's always more interesting to run on a trail like this than it is to run on the roads," said Homann. "But you have to watch the course. I did see a few people trip and fall." MR