Local man participates in virtual marathons
By jose negron
jnegron@yourmvi.com
For thousands of runners who planned to take over the streets Sunday for the annual Pittsburgh Marathon, disappointment was felt in mid-March when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the event.
“I wasn’t totally surprised because it seemed like every week there was some new update coming from the government. It was disappointing, though, because it’s something people look forward to every year,” said Steve Spang, a Belle Vernon Area graduate and instrumental music teacher at Elizabeth Forward High School who had planned on pacing the 3:35 group of runners on race day.
While the coronavirus kept large crowds from gathering in support of runners and prevented the usual pomp and circumstance associated with the event, the cancellation didn’t stop runners in the Steel City and beyond from finding ways to get their 26.2 miles in. More than 13,000 people across 43 states and five countries took part in the Pittsburgh Marathon’s virtual race.
Runners had the opportunity to participate in a socially distanced version of the race at various locations and submit their times on the marathon website.
Spang ran on April 4, starting and finishing near Hot Metal Street and running the entire course. He completed in just under three hours (2:56) and ran at a pace of 6:45 per mile.
Not bad for someone who wasn’t even planning on running a full marathon that day.
“I was actually just planning to go out on a 20-mile training run and meet my buddy on Liberty Avenue for the last chunk of the run,” said Spang, who has participated in 18 marathons since 2012. “I thought it was neat you could start whenever you want, wherever you want and if you’re not feeling good that day, you can just do it some other day.
“It was definitely different.”
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