December, 2004   The Milliwatt   < Prev Page 3 Next >

BALTIMORE MARATHON A SUCCESS

Fellow Baltimore Marathon Amateur Radio Volunteers,
Corrigan Sports Enterprises and Maryland Special Olympics, the organizers and volunteer and logistics coordinators for the 2004 Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival, asked me to relay their thanks to the Amateur Radio volunteers who provided communications in support of the event. 19 Amateur Radio Operators and 2 hams-to-be came out to support Baltimore's largest public service event. Some 1573 men and 779 women completed the 26.2 mile run in about 7 hours.

The first male marathoner was #6 John Itati of Kenya in 2 h 14 m 51 s. (7 Kenyans were among the first 10 men). The first female marathoner was #27 Ramilia Burangulova of Russia in 2:40:21. Scott Herrick #1130 of Mt. Airy was the first local male in 2:36:11 and Lee Dipietro #34 of Ruxton was again the first local female in 2:53:04.

Thanks to BARC and BRATS for the support of their members and use of their repeaters. Special thanks to net control BARC President Elect Joe AJ3X, BRATS President Ed N3GXH who covered a water stop, BARC past President Robin AA3SB who shadowed the Race Director, and Howard AA3WD who was bike mobile tailing the lead female.

Baltimore Marathon October 2004
Photo by Ian, N3CVA
Since its start in 2001, the Baltimore Running Festival - comprising the Baltimore Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K - has generated more than $1.5 million for area charities such as Baltimore Reads, Health Care for the Homeless, Special Olympics, Police Athletic League, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the AIDS Foundation and Tissue Bank International.

We had a very good turnout of 19 amateurs but we needed even more operators to cover all 18 water stops, shadow all of the important officials, and deploy some tools like APRS and ATV. I hope you enjoyed your participation this year and look forward to having your help again with the next Baltimore Marathon on Saturday, October 15, 2005. Congratulations on an operation well done!

73 and Sincere Thanks de Ian, N3CVA

Hams Participate in Drill

Dogs, horses and search and rescue personnel from the Mid-Atlantic region gathered at Cunningham Falls State Park Sunday for a training drill. The Maryland Search teams Task Force (MSTTF) held its annual Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX) Friday through Sunday. Teams have gathered for the training since 2000. Teams attend workshops, seminars, and mock searches to hone the skills needed to respond to emergencies. Canine and equestrian search and rescue teams and ground searching , man tracking, technical rescue and medical rescue services all participated. Workshops included canine air scent and wilderness search, lost person behavior, man tracking, survival skills, land navigation, search management and mounted search and rescue. The classes range from very basic to advanced. Amateur radio operators were on site, demonstrating advanced technology for tracking searchers who are involved in a rescue. The Frederick County chapter of the American Red Cross used Sunday's mock search for training its volunteers. All Maryland search team members are volunteers. (Frederick News-Post, 11/8/04 via N3CVA)

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