By Kristin Holtz, Staff Writer
Kathy Haubrich of Shakopee and her daughter, Kristin, finished running the 113th Boston Marathon today.
Kathy ran the race in 4:06:37 to finish 16,835th overall and 878th her division (female, 45-49).
Kristin finished the race in 3:41:25. She finished 10,565th overall and 2,008th in her division (female 18-39).
Kathy and Kristin qualified for the Boston Marathon in October at the Whistlestop Marathon in Ashland, Wis. For Kristin, who took up running as a senior at Shakopee High School, it was her first-ever marathon. She completed it in three hours, 24 minutes — well ahead of the three hour, 40-minute qualifying time.
Kathy finished the marathon in three hours, 55 minutes — a couple of minutes faster than her first marathon in May 2008 and five minutes ahead of the qualifying time for her age bracket.
With qualification paperwork in hand, the Haubrichs decided they couldn’t pass up a chance to run in one of the world’s most famous marathons. They’ve been training for months — separately since Kristin lives in Alexandria where she works as a news reporter and anchor at KSAX-TV — and are now only days away from the race.
“I’m getting really excited,” Kristin, 23, said.
The duo had a little scare earlier this month when Kristin thought she might have to pull out. The former cross country runner at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., suffered a stress fracture. But after doing some cross training, Kristin is feeling good enough to tackle the course.
Kathy, who owns the Dairy Queen in Norwood Young America with her husband Tom, came to running late in life. She caught the runner’s itch attending Kristin’s track and cross country meets at St. Ben’s. While she jokes running was a way for her to justify her love of Dairy Queen Blizzards, Kathy, who is turning 50 this summer, has invested a lot of time and energy into the sport.
“It’s like a wonderful mid-life crisis. I keep telling my husband it’s better than buying a red Corvette.”
Kathy’s first competition was a 5K in the summer of 2006. She had a modest goal at the beginning — to finish without keeling over. But the more she ran, the more addicted she became. In 2007, she ran 5Ks nearly every weekend with Kristin or friends.
In addition to running 5Ks and marathons, Kathy also competes in Muddy Buddy competitions with her partner, Tweety Wolf-Robinette, the former Iowa one-mile record holder. The races pare up running, biking and obstacle courses, ending with a climb through a mud pit. Kathy and Wolf-Robinette have finished first in their age group in every race so far.
Kristin said she’s proud of her mom’s success and dedication since hitting the track. For her, sharing her love of running with her mom is a way she can give something back.
“It’s kind of full circle. She was just a great mom to me growing up and always gave me little tips and stuff, and now I [am] able to coach her in a way and give her some tips back,” she said.
No amount of tips, however, will help the duo on the challenging Boston course, which ends at Copley Square in central Boston. The four “Newton hills” that come between miles 18 and 22 and culminate in Heartbreak Hill are killers for race athletes because they come right when most runners “hit the wall.”
“I’m a little nervous about those hills because they’re at the point of the race where it’s the hardest anyway,” Kristin said. “Running on a treadmill in the winter doesn’t really give you a hill workout.”
Despite the challenges, Kathy is hoping to finish the race in under four hours in order to qualify for 2010 race. Kristin is hoping to keep a pace of seven minutes, 30 seconds a mile to finish close to her time in Ashland. However, the real goal is the finish.
“Crossing that finish line is always the biggest thing. Just having that in my mind, that vision of putting my arms up in the air,” she said.
The Haubrichs are not the only local runners competing in the Boston Marathon Monday. Local racers listed on the marathon’s Web site also include Mike Buenting, Chanhassen; Kelly L. Doering, Chaska; John P. Downing, Prior Lake; Kristen E. Gerlach, Prior Lake; Melissa S. Jevne Larson, Chaska; Shawn A. Husband, Savage; Kari J. Koski, Chaska; Mark J. Kubes, Prior Lake; Tarama G. Sather, Chanhassen; and David R. Whiteman, Chaska.
“It will be just cool to be there. It’s something I’ve always heard of — the famous Boston Marathon,” Kathy said.
Kristin Holtz can be reached at (952) 345-6678 or kholtz@swpub.com.
