Fritsch

More than 500 runners went on parade Saturday in the Fila/Foot Locker 5K Preakness Run, and for winner Gerry Clapper, the race represented a Triple Crown of sorts.Clapper, who had won the Howard County Striders' Duckworth Relays 5K and the Clyde's American 10K this year, added the Preakness Run to his laurels with a 14-minute, 48-second finish."Going up Charles [Street] -- going uphill -- was a little tough," Clapper, 33, of Columbia said about the run through downtown Baltimore. "I didn't feel real smooth at the beginning, but I'm gearing up for the Constellation in two weeks, so this was a good tuneup."

Call it grandmasters, Part II.As dominating as Charlie Koester has been in that division (50-and-over) among the men, Randon Fritsch has been among the women.To date this year: She not only has been a winner in the grandmasters division (10 times), but she also has triumphed in the (40-and-over) masters division (seven times) and in the overall division (once).And, no, she is not the mother of Bea Marie Altieri (nee Fritsch).Her overall triumph came Sunday in the Westminster Road Runners Club's Women's Distance Festival 5K at Union Mills, where Fritsch, 50, beat second-place finisher Irene Moffett by 12 seconds.

The Maryland Masters Track Club's Fall Classic is back on the schedule this year, and cross country lovers should be pleased with the footing.The sixth annual 1.5- and 3-mile races will be run at Catonsville Senior High School on Nov. 25."It's cross country, it's on grass, it's not a road race," says the club's Joe Hemler. "It's got a killer hill on it and you've got to be on that twice."Pumpkin pies will be awarded for all age-group winners and $350 in gift certificates will be given away.

Bea Marie Altieri ran off with the Howard County Striders' Women's Distance Festival 5K Friday night at Columbia Mall.Altieri, 28, scored a 44-second victory over Heather Tanner, 17.There were 545 finishers, the most in the history of the Striders' Women's Distance Festival.The run was the second stop in the Potomac Valley Women's Grand Prix Series, which got under way with the Montgomery County Road Runners Club's Festival 5K.Runners who compete in four or more of the races in the series will receive participation awards and invitations to the series award party at the end of the season.

Stacey Nicholson, 33, beat Randon Fritsch, 50, by almost a minute and a half Saturday in the Maryland Race for the Cure 5K at the Inner Harbor.There were a combined 4,950 finishers in the multiple-event race.Franziski Grieder, 36, was the top survivor finisher in 20:03.Tess Deanahan, 13, was third overall in 19:45, and Ellie Murphy, 41, was the top masters runner in 20:06 (Fritsch was placed in the open division because of her second-place finish).The top finishers:1. Stacey Nicholson, 33, 18:16; 2. Randon Fritsch, 50, 19:43; 3. Tess Deanahan, 13, 19:45; 4. Jennifer Lilore, 26, 19:55; 5. Franziski Grieder, 36, 20:03; 6. Ellie Murphy, 41, 20:06; 7. Michelle St. Laurent, 24, 20:07; 8. Caroline Cardullo, 33, 20:11; 9. Christine Kelley, 34, 20:13; 10. Emily Walters, 13, 20:14.

Bea Marie Fritsch made it two victories in as many weeks with her win in Sunday's Caring Cupids 5K at Goucher College.Fritsch, who had won the Clyde's American 10K two Sundays ago, finished first in 17 minutes, 46 seconds. Brad Uhlfelder won the men's division in 15:08."I'm just picking and choosing my road races right now," Fritsch said. "My main goal this year is to qualify for the Ironman Triathlon."Top Cupids 5K finishers:Males: 1. Brad Uhlfelder, 33, 15:08; 2. Jeff Brault, 24, 15:39; 3. Harry Goodman, 40, 15:56; 4. Neville Anderson, 32, 16:14; 5. Michael Hoffman, 20, 16:16; 6. Maurice Pointer, 38, 16:30; 7. Marco Jaurez, 24, 17:32; 8. Paul Olmstead, 47, 17:36; 9. Tony Pridgen, 34, 17:58; 10. Chris Cucuzzella, 29, 18:02.

Bea Marie Fritsch isn't caught short often at the finish line. Maybe that's because she always is long when it comes to setting goals.This year, she has recorded a sub 3-hour marathon at Virginia Beach, has run a personal record mile (4:44) in the Main Street Mile at Westminster and has finished the Cherry Blossom 10-miler with a PR of 60:12.Last month, she qualified for this year's Ironman Triathlon by finishing as the first amateur in the Springfield Ironhorse Triathlon in Springfield, Ill.But Fritsch, an operations manager for a computer software firm, is not content to rest.

If her finishes this year are indication, Bea Marie Fritsch should be setting a personal record in the Annapolis Striders' Ten-Mile Run at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Aug. 29.Not only has Fritsch been placing higher in races than she had in years past, she also is setting personal records in nearly every distance she runs.Consider the following:* In March, she ran the Virginia Beach Marathon and recorded a PR.* In early April, she participated in the Oriole Advocates Home Run 8K and established a PR.* Later that month, she entered the Mount Hebron Viking Run 5K and set a PR.* And in May, she ran the Constellation Classic 10K and finished with a PR."

Perhaps it was the Excalibur limousine that served as lead vehicle that spurred him on, but after Oscar Gomez's weekend running plans ran into a detour, he quickly made up for lost time in the inaugural 5K Viking Run at Mount Hebron High School.Gomez is a 30-year-old student at the University of Maryland Medical School who specializes in track but occasionally runs a road race.Sunday, he ran off with first place in the 5K Viking Run."I was going to run the Johns Hopkins [Spring Fair 8K] run, but they called me four days before the race to tell me that it had been canceled," Gomez said.

Induction day is past and the biggest crowd of the season is gone from Cooperstown, N.Y., but baseball fans by the thousands make it a popular vacation destination.Collectors visiting Cooperstown for the first time (or the first time since the memorabilia boom began) can find a lot to look at.The Hall of Fame, of course, is full of balls, bats, caps, uniforms, sheet music and almost anything collectible connected with baseball. It's a great source of ideas for a collection, and the gift shop sells everything from reproduction old-time caps and jerseys to logo coffee mugs and limited-edition crystal.

On October 4, 2009, MARTHA M. (nee Fritsch); beloved wife of the late Walter S. Long; dear sister of Antoinette Petrecca and Delores Czernikowski and the late Adam and Leonard Fritsch and Marie Spencer. Also survived by several nieces and nephews. A Christian Wake Service will be held at the Lassahn Funeral Home Inc., 7401 Belair Road, on Thursday at 3 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, on Friday at 10 AM. The family will receive friends Wednesday and Thursday 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 PM. Interment Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery.

Matt Birk is the new center for the Baltimore Ravens. He is a big man - 6 foot-4 and 309 pounds - working in a beefy world, so it is not surprising that a large, ground sirloin burger sandwiched between two slices of thick bacon is one of his favorite foods. "I like almost anything with bacon on it," Birk told me. The recipe for this "two-fisted burger," so called because it takes two hands to grasp it, bears Birk's endorsement in the new "Morton's The Cookbook," published by the Morton's restaurant group.

Dr. Michelle A. Fritsch has been appointed chair of pharmacy practice at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland's new School of Pharmacy. Fritsch comes to the college from Alamance Regional Medical Center in Burlington, N.C., where she works as a clinical pharmacy specialist and medication-assistance program director. She will assume her new duties this month. Fritsch, who is an adjunct associate professor in the physical therapy department at Wingate School of Pharmacy, Elon University and Baylor University, has also taught at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and Campbell University.

JEANNE M. FRITSCH, 77, of Woodstock, GA, and formerly of Baltimore, MD and Bradenton, FL, passed away on Wednesday, February 1, 2006 after a long illness and serious injury. Mrs. Fritsch was a homemaker, retired nursery school aide and secretary, who enjoyed collecting recipes and cooking, reading and sewing. She is survived by her husband George, of 55 years, son, Kurt Fritsch, of Pasadena, MD; daughter Linda Walsh of Roswell, GA and grandchildren Jessica Fritsch, Andrew Walsh and Sarah Walsh.

On Sunday, May 1, 2005, VIOLET E. BERRETT, 96, of Woodstock, GA, and formerly of Baltimore, MD and Bradenton, FL, passed away after 16 months at Beverly Nursing Home because of a stroke. Mrs. Berrett was a homemaker who enjoyed sewing, cooking, reading and volunteering at her Church. She is survived by her daughter, Jeanne M. Fritsch, of Woodstock, GA; grandchildren Linda Walsh, of Roswell, GA and Kurt Fritsch, of Pasadena, MD; great-grandchildren Jessica Fritsch and Andrew and Sarah Walsh; a brother, Alvin Hirsch and sister Thelma Seifert of Palm Harbor, FL; and sister Doris Schmidt, of Littlestown, PA. A Memorial Service and Interment will be held in Baltimore, MD at a location, date and time to be announced later.

On December 21, 2004, HENRY FRITSCH, beloved husband of Mable (nee Schriefer), devoted father of Mark, Sr., Matt, Sr., Michael, Sr., Mitch Fritsch and Margie Lee, loving grandfather of Matt, Jr., Mark, Jr., Teresa, Justin, Michael Fritsch, Jr., April, William, and Erin Langill. Funeral Services will be private. Donations may be made to Helping Up Missions, 1029 E. Baltimore Street, Balto., MD 21202. Arrangements by the Connelly Funeral Home of Essex.

On April 19, 2003, Brother WILLIAM FRITSCH, C. Ss.R., beloved son of the late George and Mary Fritsch (nee Turek) and dear brother of Ann Prager and the late Catherine Ament and Brother Augustine Fritsch, C. Ss.R. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Christian Wake Services will be held in St. Michael the Archangel Church (East Lombard Street) on Thursday at 7:30 P.M. Mass of Christian Burial on Friday at 10 A.M. Interment in Sacred Heart of Jesus Cemetery. Visitation will be held in St. Michael Church on Thursday from 2 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M.

Virginia Lovrance "Lovens" Fritsch, who founded the Citizens on Patrol neighborhood watch in Bolton Hill, died Saturday of lung and liver cancer at the home on Laurens Street where she had lived all her life. She was 80. "She was secretive about her age," said Barbara White, a friend from Bolton Hill, "so secretive that when the Mount Royal Improvement Association announced a contest for the person who had lived in the neighborhood the longest, she refused to enter -- even though she had lived here two years longer than the person who won."

The Maryland Masters Track Club's Fall Classic is back on the schedule this year, and cross country lovers should be pleased with the footing.The sixth annual 1.5- and 3-mile races will be run at Catonsville Senior High School on Nov. 25."It's cross country, it's on grass, it's not a road race," says the club's Joe Hemler. "It's got a killer hill on it and you've got to be on that twice."Pumpkin pies will be awarded for all age-group winners and $350 in gift certificates will be given away.

Stacey Nicholson, 33, beat Randon Fritsch, 50, by almost a minute and a half Saturday in the Maryland Race for the Cure 5K at the Inner Harbor.There were a combined 4,950 finishers in the multiple-event race.Franziski Grieder, 36, was the top survivor finisher in 20:03.Tess Deanahan, 13, was third overall in 19:45, and Ellie Murphy, 41, was the top masters runner in 20:06 (Fritsch was placed in the open division because of her second-place finish).The top finishers:1. Stacey Nicholson, 33, 18:16; 2. Randon Fritsch, 50, 19:43; 3. Tess Deanahan, 13, 19:45; 4. Jennifer Lilore, 26, 19:55; 5. Franziski Grieder, 36, 20:03; 6. Ellie Murphy, 41, 20:06; 7. Michelle St. Laurent, 24, 20:07; 8. Caroline Cardullo, 33, 20:11; 9. Christine Kelley, 34, 20:13; 10. Emily Walters, 13, 20:14.