South Jersey Track & Field: 450 Turn Out For Ocean Drive Marathon Sunday, March 26, 2006 By Mark Fletcher SJSports Special Correspondent The eighth annual Ocean Drive Marathon took place on Sunday, March 26th. This 26.2-mile event starts in Cape May, covers the entire length of the boardwalk through Wildwood Crest, Wildwood, and North Wildwood, continues through picturesque oceanfront streets of Stone Harbor and Avalon, and ends on the Promenade in Sea Isle City. This year's winner was Chuck Engle of Jackson, MS in a time of 2:43:32. He was followed by Jeff Propert (2:53:00), Rudy Afanador (2:58:08), Eric Scheffler (2:58:29), and Keith Custer (2:59:14). Amazingly, this was Chuck Engle's twelfth marathon completed so far in 2006. He has eight victories and four second place finishes in those twelve marathons. Chuck has a goal of completing 50 marathons this year. Kristin Decker of Aston, PA was the first female to cross the finish line. Kristin finished in a time of 3:16:43 and was followed by Ann Marie Forestiere (3:17:01), Renee Crisafulli (3:17:01), Tyl Sadoff (3:17:52), and Jill Perry (3:25:36). A companion 10-mile run and 5k run were held along with the marathon. Greg Watson of Media, PA was the winner of the 10-mile run in a time of 55:19. Greg was followed by Lee Cox (56:54) and Matthew Patrick (57:13). Amy Grab of Bethlehem, PA was the first female to finish the 10-mile run. Amy finished in a time of 1:06:47 and was followed by Mylene Cox (1:09:44) and Kelly Devine (1:09:57). Jeremy Scheid of Sparta, NJ was the winner of the 5k run in a time of 17:21. Jeremy was followed by Norby Vondra (18:33) and Chuck Hall (19:19). Kathy Larkin of Sea Isle City, NJ was the female winner of the 5k run in a time of 22:32. Kathy was followed by Maria McMillen (23:14) and Jackie Conklin (23:24). South Jersey Sports Online’s very own Mark Fletcher finished just a little further back at 24:31, good enough for third place in his age group. For complete results of all three races, visit the Ocean Drive Marathon website at http://www.ODMarathon.org. Proceeds from the Ocean Drive Marathon help benefit the Shield the Blue Campaign of the Cape May County Policemen’s Wives Association, the Volunteers in Medicine of Cape May County, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, and the Technology Department of all High Schools in Cape May County. We hope you enjoy the photos that accompany this article. However, due to an agreement with the Ocean Drive Marathon, we regret that we will be unable to sell any photos that were taken at this event. Photos by Mark Fletcher