Kenny Janosko relieved some memories as he ran through the streets of his hometown Sunday morning in the Northern Ohio Marathon.
Janosko, a 2009 Mentor graduate, ran down Route 306 near his old high school and passed Bellflower, his elementary school, at one point.
The familiar route and Janosko’s familiarity with long distance running helped him win the 26.2-mile race which was sponsored by Lake Health. It was Janosko’s first marathon, and he finished in 2 hours, 40 minutes, 6 seconds.
‘I don’t really know how to train for a marathon yet,’ he said. ‘I just did things based off of how I felt. I used what my coaches taught me in high school and college today.’
Janosko’s high school coach Bill Dennison was able to see his former athlete win the marathon. Dennison and Geoff Weber were co-race directors of the race.
‘Bill and Geoff put on a great event,’ Janosko said. ‘I have a good feeling toward marathon running because of them. It’s an event by runners for runners. It’s a race that made me have a very positive feeling.
‘It had a family-type atmosphere feel to it. People came out and really showed their support. It helped a lot.’
Janosko, who ran at a pace of 6:07 per mile, took over the lead on the 23rd mile. In the final miles of the race, his former Mentor teammate Tyler Lowe and his father, Dave, biked next to him to offer their support.
‘I couldn’t have done it without them,’ Janosko said.
In the beginning of the race, Janosko, 22, stopped three times to adjust his shoelaces. At one point, the laces were too tight and made running uncomfortable. Once he fixed the problem, he felt strong, especially down the stretch.
‘I felt prepared,’ he said. ‘I am extremely familiar with this area from running in high school. It was a huge benefit to know the course inside and out.’
Janosko ran track and cross country at Mentor. He advanced to state three years in a row with his cross country team to the state meet. His team’s highest finish was his senior year in 2008 when the Cardinals placed third in Division I.
He went on to run track and cross country at Baldwin Wallace University.
At BW, he’s currently a graduate student and an assistant cross country coach. He is set to graduate in December with his MBA in accounting.
His career highlights during college included a Ohio Athletic Conference championship in the indoor 5K and a trip to the NCAA cross country national championship. Due to a self-imposed ban by BW due to improper financial aid procedures, Janosko was unable to compete in the postseason for cross country or track his senior year.
Although his collegiate running career is over, Janosko plans on training for future marathons and ultramarathons. He has competed in four ultramarathons including the JFK 50-miler in Boonsboro, Md., twice. At age 13, he completed the race in 12 hours, 12 minutes. Last November, he greatly improved with a time of 6 hours, 12 minutes. He may compete in the race for the third time on Nov. 23.
‘I love running,’ he said. ‘I’m going to keep on doing it for as long as I can.’
Beth Woodward of Orrville was the top female marathon finisher. The 38-year-old ran 3:10.28. Pam Loftus, 44, of Painesville was runner-up in 3:26.32. Daniel Whisler, 26, of Lakewood was the men’s half marathon champion in 1:16.52. Beth Shutt, 34, of Natrona Heights, Pa., won the women’s half marathon in 1:25.23.
In the 5k run/walk, Christopher Ruszkowski, 13, of Painesville was the top male finisher in 18:17. Dennison’s eight-year-old daughter Savannah Dennison was the top female finisher in 21:37.
