[Sly Fox]

Time flies for 26.2 miles LEHIGH VALLEY HOSPITAL MARATHON
Allentown-to-Easton fundraising race tests runners' cool, calm.

By Tim Shoemaker | Special to The Morning Call
September 8, 2008

Running a marathon is hard enough, but try doing it when you lose your training watch or, even worse, lose your way. That's what happened Sunday to the top male and female finishers in the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for Via.

About a mile into the 26.2-mile run, Rob Weidman lost his GPS training watch, and with it his ability to keep track of time and pacing. His wristband broke, and the watch bounced off the Hamilton Street bridge and plunked into the Lehigh River.

Around the 22-mile mark, Carol Jefferson took a wrong turn. After several moments of panic with no one around, a race volunteer emerged to help get her back on the course.

Despite this, Weidman and Jefferson emerged as the top male and top female finishers.

And here are the details on Carol ...

Jefferson, a shift supervisor at a Starbucks in Limerick Township, Montgomery County, not only found her way, but was the first woman to finish, in a time of 2:59:28. It was the first marathon for the Perkiomen Valley High and Liberty University graduate.

''I knew I wanted to break three hours, so I guess I did OK, considering I probably could have gone faster if I went the right way the whole time,'' Jefferson said. ''It was a learning experience. I did it for training. I was happy for a while, but when I got lost, I was so frustrated. I was screaming and nobody was answering. I don't like stopping in races.''

And finally it looks like Boston may be in her future ...

Jefferson, 23, said that she figured she would try a marathon because of the training she already put in for her 5K and 10K races. She will run again, possibly in the Boston Marathon, for which the LVH Marathon is a qualifier.

''I've never done a marathon before. I ran the 5K and 10K in college,'' she said. ''I wanted to try this marathon to see how it would be in a marathon. I definitely know I want to continue running. I ran in high school and college, and can't see myself just stopping.''

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