No cruising to victory

Sunday, December 10, 2006

By BRUCE McLELLAN

Associate Sports Editor bruce.mclellan@htimes.com

Cherobon wins by wide margin but it's not easy

Janet Cherobon didn't look like the woman who used to race in Huntsville for Harding University, seeming to run effortlessly to high finishes and wins.

Instead, she walked stiffly after Saturday's Rocket City Marathon with a ring of dried, salty sweat framing her face.

She found her first marathon rigorous, but Cherobon, 28, still won the women's division and placed 20th overall in 2 hours, 51 minutes, 47 seconds.

"You really need to train (specifically) for it," Cherobon said. "For me, I've been training for halves (half marathons). I guess that's why I hit the wall at 24 miles.

"When I hit 24, I was just thinking, 'I got to finish it. Even if it means walking, I've got to do it.' "

Cherobon knew she had a large enough lead that she could afford to slow. And she still finished more than 8 minutes in front of women's runner-up Melissa Lehman, 24, of Niles, Mich. Former Grissom High runner Barbara Holcomb, 44, of Cullman was third among women and the top female master.

Cherobon is originally from Kapsabet, Kenya, but now lives in Norcross, Ga., with her husband, Jay Bawcom, and teaches preschool at an affiliate of Greater Atlanta Christian. The runner-up in the Cotton Row Run women's division in May, Cherobon received $1,000 for winning Saturday.

Lehman said she was never in position to challenge Cherobon, who started near the front of the field.

"I knew she was way up there," said Lehman, who began running the Rocket City while competing in cross country and track at Goshen College. "I knew I was in second. I didn't know about what was going on behind me. I just tried to stay steady and hold on."

Lehman finished in 3:00:21, her best time here, and earned prize money of $750.

Holcomb finished in 3:03:07 and earned $750 for her masters win and $500 for being third overall. Fourth-place Donna Anderson, 40, of Danville, Ky., earned $250, and fifth-place Michelle Ziegler, 25, of Asheville, N.C., also won $250.