Whatever the motivation, runners find sense of peace in Youngstown event

October 24, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

John Buckley has completed the Youngstown Peace Race enough times that the staff recognize him as he crosses the finish line.

The 86-year-old Youngstown physician was one of the late stragglers making it across the finish line in the 2-mile race before the 10K started Sunday. The staff clapped for him and announced that this was his 24th race, but he says that number is higher.

“For one thing, it tells you how much you’re going downhill each year,” Buckley joked. “Each year, I add about three to four minutes, but I love seeing Youngstown, the crisp air – and I have my kids with me.”

Buckley walks now instead of running. He’s often accompanied by some of his four children and 16 grandchildren each year. He also has two great-grandchildren who are too young for the course and said he walks for his health.

Everyone had his or her own motivation for entering the 42nd edition of the Peace Race. With this year’s race attracting Olympian Makorobondo Salukombo of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenyan standout and overall winner James Kibet, serious runners have come in from all over. Between 1,500 and 2,000 runners participated.

“I looked at the history of the race and saw that people ran fast times here,” said John Raneri, who flew in from Flagstaff, Ariz. “It was on my list for a good 10K tuneup before my fall marathon.”

There were those with more personal goals. Youngstown gym owner Paul Dunleavy carried a 50-pound log across the 6-mile course stretching from Kirk Road and Schenley Avenue and ending at Market and Federal streets. When asked about the log, Dunleavy said he was carrying it for a cousin with cancer and paralysis, a friend’s twins born at 23 weeks, a brother-in-law dealing with addiction and a family friend who died.

“It was kind of a prayer run for me,” Dunleavy said.

The temperatures were in the mid-40s and got warmer as the day went on. There was minimal wind, which the front-runners enjoyed. It also was fine kilt weather for Youngstown’s Ryan Sheridan. He picked up running four years ago while losing 120 pounds.

“What’s going to make me stand out? I’m Irish, so I threw on a kilt for one race – 140 races ago – and I’ve worn it ever since,” Sheridan said.

While the Peace Race is a long-running tradition in some families, it’s fairly new for local distance runner Eric Rupe. He starred at Maplewood High School before a stellar career at Youngstown State. Now an assistant coach with the track team, he joined his brother and mother as annual competitors for his second year in the race. The Peace Race fell in the middle of college cross-country season, so now he’s making up for lost time.

“I love running in Youngstown races, and this is probably the biggest one we have all year,” Rupe said. “I’ll be running it for years and years to come and, hopefully, I’ll win it one day.”