Heart of America Marathon
Labor Day heart2.gif (4940 bytes) Columbia, Missouri

Multiple sub-2:40's

Three Columbia Track Club runners have twice been under 2:40 and two of them were actually twice under 2:36. Bob O'Connell has the fastest CTC time--2:32:29 in 1981, the fourth best ever for anyone. He followed that with a 2:35:58 in 1982. Steve Stonecipher-Fisher has the sixth best ever with 2:33:38 in 1988 and he has a 2:35:32 from 1980. Dick Hessler is the other CTC runner with two sub 2:40s: 2:39:43 in 1975 and in 1976 only two seconds slower. Stonecipher-Fisher's two sub-2:36s got him two first place finishes, while O'Connell's two got him two seconds, both of them behind Jon Herbert. Hessler's two sub-2:40s gave him third and fourth place finishes.

Robert Steven Cline, Frank Curotto, Jon Herbert and Ron Chisolm all have multiple performances under 2:40. Cline, from Burlington, Iowa, has the most--five--out of his total of 8 HOAs. However, even with two sub-2:36s, Cline never did win an HOA. He has four seconds and three thirds to go with a 5th place finish his first time out in 1978--and that was an excellent 2:43:58. Curotto, St. Louis, has four sub-2:40s with a best of 2:36:42. However, he has three first place finishes out of his total of eleven HOA finishes. Herbert, from Springfield, MO, has three sub-2:36 performances including the second all-time best of 2:30:26. Everyone of those sub-2:36s got Herbert a first place finish. Herbert has yet another sub-2:40 and that was good for a second in 1980. Ron Chisolm, St. Louis, got a first place with both of his sub-2:36s, with his 2:30:43 in 1996 being the third best all-time.
Steve Stonecipher-Fisher also got two first-places with two sub-2:36s, while Bob O'Connell had to settle for two seconds even though he was twice under 2:36. Denton Childs, Tim Hendricks, Dick Hessler, Jeff Mittlehauser and Tony Rodiez are the other HOA runners who have been under 2:40 at least twice.