Belfast coaches stand out at Masters meet

loading...

One age-old saying would have you believe that “those who can, do … and those who can’t, teach.”

On Saturday, three Belfast-area coaches (and athletes) showed that in their cases, those who teach, can.

The three – Dale and Jo-Ann Nealey and Henri Bouchard – all fared well at the USA Track & Field National Masters championships at the University of Maine’s Clarence Beckett Family Track Complex.

Dale Nealey of Northport, the boys track coach at Belfast High, won a national title in the pole vault for 35- to 39-year-olds.

The 38-year-old former UMaine standout cleared a best of 11 feet, 113/4 inches.

His wife, Jo-Ann, also a former UMaine star, was second in the 10,000 meters in the 40-44 age group. Jo-Ann Nealey, the cross country coach at Belfast High, ran the 6.2-mile race in 38 minutes, 57.55 seconds.

Bouchard, 41, a teacher and coach at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast, took took second in the 40-44 10,000 with a time of 35:49.20. Bouchard was one of the state’s top road runners in the 1980s and 90s and is making a return to competitive racing.

Jo-Ann Nealey said the proximity of the meet was the main selling point for her and her husband.

“Dale and I figured we’d do it, since it was right by home,” she said. “I don’t know if we’d travel very far for it, but it was so close.”

Jo-Ann Nealey said she supplemented her regular distance training by returning to the track once a week for speed workouts in preparation for the meet.

It paid off.

“My goal was to break 39, so I was happy [with my time],” she said. “I really haven’t raced too much this year because we’re really busy with our children’s schedules.”

Jo-Ann Nealey said that her husband left the meet feeling good about his performance.

“He was was hoping to go 12 feet, and would be satisfied with 12 feet,” she said. “Unfortunately, he was struggling with a strained hamstring he got in a speed workout nine days before the meet.”

Hillgrove gains Labor Day honor

Each year for the past five years, organizers of the Bangor Labor Day 5-miler have celebrated the race’s long history by “retiring” the number of some of the area’s road-running legends.

The honor gives the chosen runner free admission to the race each year, as well as the same bib number.

When the 40th edition of the venerable race is held on Sept. 2, Hampden’s Sheila Hodges will join that elite company.

Race organizer Ed Rice said the program was begun by Mike Lucas of Bangor Recreation and Parks back in 1998.

“He said, ‘Let’s start honoring the people who made this race,'” Rice said. “And a race that has 40 years of history has something that a lot of races in the state don’t have.”

Hodges, who won the race five times, will join Dave Farley (1998), Bob Hillgrove (1999), Robin Emery (2000) and Mike Gaige (2001), along with special recipients Fred Merriam and Rice (2001) as the race’s honorees.

Hodges set a course record (since surpassed) of 32 minutes, 45 seconds during one of her victories, but her speed isn’t the only thing that sets her apart, Rice said.

“She’s one of the really great people in local road racing,” Rice said. “She’s very unpretentious. She comes out, gives it her very, very best shot, and is very gracious. She’s someone we all really like.”

Rice pointed out that Emery’s history of sustained excellence (she won 15 Labor Day titles, including 14 in a 17-year span), along with Hodges’ domination during the 1990s, will give organizers a tough task in the future.

“I joked with people that it’s going to be pretty hard to pick another woman in the near future because with Robin’s 15 [titles] and Sheila’s five, that pretty much takes care of the women’s [history],” Rice said.

Finishing kick: Racers looking for a place to run this weekend may want to check out the venerable Machias Blueberry Run, a 5-miler that’s being held for the 27th straight year.

The race begins at 9 a.m., and racers finish in the middle of a large crafts fair. Registration will be held at the courthouse in Machias.

Another option: the Breakaway 5K is set for Old Orchard Beach, also on Saturday.