Ryan Smith crossed the finish line of the Hartford Marathon last month with a grin on his face. The Goshen College graduate had not only won the race, but qualified for the Olympic trials as well, becoming the first male Maple Leaf to do so. The race, which took place in Hartford, Connecticut, on Oct. 12, was Smith’s third attempt to qualify in the 26.2-mile distance.  His first attempt was at the Hartford Marathon last year where he finished in second and missed the 2-hour-19-minute cutoff by 3 minutes and 36 seconds. This year, Smith returned to change the books....

By Sierra Ross Richer • November 13, 2019 • News

Any given day, one might see 35-year-old Justin Gillette, a Goshen College alumnus, running on the Millrace Trail, pushing a stroller as he chips away at his mileage for the week, which averages near 80. Chances are, he’ll wave as he passes, perhaps briefly stop to talk before he continuing down the trail. For many people, to run a marathon would be an accomplishment of a lifetime. For a select handful, the goal is to win a marathon. Gillette takes it one step further; he is well on his way to winning 100 marathons, a feat that would into the...

By Siana Emery • October 31, 2018 • Features

CARMEL, Ind — Brenner Burkholder, a senior, qualified for the NAIA National Championships this past Saturday at the Carmel Marathon. Burkholder finished 11th overall, completing the 26.2-mile marathon trek in two hours, 49 minutes, 39 seconds. Burkholder’s feat was good enough for the qualifying provisional time, making him the 11th athlete in the country to punch his or her ticket to the event. The senior’s finish is the best time thus far of qualifying participants. The NAIA National Championships will be held over the Memorial Day weekend in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The Goshen men’s and women’s track and field team...

By Chandler Ingle • April 5, 2018 • Sports

Goshen College Hymn Club loves to sing, and they are inviting everyone to join them as they sing through a hymnal in a hymn marathon. Hymn Club, along with a number of local churches and other groups from the community, will be singing through the entirety of “Hymnal, A Worship Book,” more commonly known as the blue hymnal. Hymn Club is partnering up with area churches and organizations that will provide song leaders, instrumentalists and snacks. “We wanted to do another hymn sing through the whole hymnal because it is important to us that Hymn Club isn’t just a fun...

By Elsa Lantz • March 9, 2017 • News

This past Saturday, Goshen College’s Latino Student Union hosted the school’s first ever dance marathon at the Recreation-Fitness Center, in conjunction with the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance. The event was an opportunity for people to dance, play and eat all in support of a local cause. The Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance (IUYA) is a youth-led Indiana organization with the mission to bring attention and change to the way policies inhumanely affect undocumented families. The organization provides support to youth who are looking to achieve higher education in Indiana. Goshen College and LSU allied themselves with the IUYA by creating the...

By Josh Stoltzfus • April 7, 2016 • News

On February 20th and 21st, runners competed in the eighth annual Maple Leaf Marathon at the Roman Gingerich Recreation and Fitness Center. Each of the three marathons hosted over the course of the weekend totaled 204 laps on the running track, for a total of over 78 miles in 24 hours. The first marathon started at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and the second marathon began that evening at 5:30 p.m., followed by the third marathon at 2:30 a.m. The Maple Leaf Marathon is also USA Track and Field certified. The USATF certification program is structured to produce accurately measured distances. Courses...

By Lexa Magnuson • March 3, 2016 • News

Rachel Smucker, a senior public relations major and business minor, likes to run. She has chosen to include the sport that many people dislike as a staple in her life. Smucker began running cross-country in middle school, and though the experience was not her favorite, she recognized that she liked running with other people. “Now it’s something I really enjoy and incorporate into my life wherever I am,” Smucker declared.   This has manifested itself in the form of five regular marathons (26.2 miles) and one ultra marathon (31.2 miles), as well as the occasional 5k and months of training....

By Drea Mast • March 12, 2015 • Features

On Saturday, February 21 and Sunday, February 22, marathoners will attempt 204 laps on the indoor track in the Roman Gingerich Recreation and Fitness Center. This seventh annual certified marathon will be a test of endurance and speed for the benefit of local charities.   “This is a nationally recognized marathon that has built a reputation among marathoners,” Doug Yoder, coach of both cross country and track and field teams, said. “There are runners that come from all over the US to run in our marathons.”   This marathon, a grueling 26.2 miles, is different than the half marathon held...

By Hayley Mann • February 19, 2015 • News

Goshen’s first indoor half marathon will be held at the RFC indoor track and will take place over the course of one full week. According to Doug Yoder, organizer of the half marathon and head coach of the cross country and track and field teams, the event is scheduled this way so that students, staff and faculty can run the half marathon whenever it fits their schedules. However, participants are required to schedule the day they will run the half marathon in advance to avoid an excess of people running at the same time. A half marathon on the indoor...

By Briana Schrock • January 15, 2015 • News

Six people completed the Maple Leaf Marathon, six times over, indoors Originally published in Goshen Commons. On Sunday, February 23 at 6:55am, six racers walked leisurely over to the starting line to start their sixth marathon in six days, all on the Goshen College Rec-Fitness Center’s indoor track. As Doug Yoder, who organized the six-day event of 157 total miles, declared the race would start in 10 seconds, only a few bothered to step up to the line. Yoder counted down aloud: “Three…two…one…Go!” and the last 26.2 mile race was underway. Two laps in, Yoder turned up the speakers and blasted...

By Kolton Nay • March 5, 2014 • Features

Originally published in Goshen Commons.   On Sunday, February 23 at 6:55am, six racers walked leisurely over to the starting line to start their sixth marathon in six days, all on the Goshen College Rec-Fitness Center’s indoor track. As Doug Yoder, who organized the six-day event of 157 total miles, declared the race would start in 10 seconds, only a few bothered to step up to the line. Yoder counted down aloud: “Three…two…one…Go!” and the last 26.2 mile race was underway. Two laps in, Yoder turned up the speakers and blasted “Smoke on the Water” to get the racers in the...

By Kolton Nay • March 5, 2014 • Sports

“The most important thing … is not to win but to take part.” Monday afternoon, three people were killed and more than 100 were injured when two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. You’ve heard about that; I almost didn’t mention it for fear of beating a dead horse. Another common statement is that the event was terrible and tragic; while this statement is certainly not wrong, it is, perhaps, an understatement. The concept of sport has an inherent dichotomy of winning and losing, one which played out in the same Boylston Street corridor earlier Monday...

By Tony Miller • April 18, 2013 • Sports

70 runners will participate in the fifth annual Maple Leaf Indoor Marathon this weekend, at least half of them running back-to-back races. The marathon on Saturday begins at 8 a.m., and the one on Sunday at 7 a.m.  The 26.2-mile race consists of 204 laps around the newly refurbished track inside the Recreation-Fitness Center at Goshen College. “It’s the middle of winter, so the idea of being able to run a marathon inside is appealing,” said Doug Yoder, the race director and coach for the Goshen College track and cross-country teams. Of the 70 entrants, 53 are from outside the...

By Goshen Commons Staff • February 21, 2013 • Sports

The fourth annual Maple Leaf Indoor Marathon, held on Feb. 25 and 26, brought runners together from around the nation. Doug Yoder, the cross-country and track coach at GC, played a significant role in organizing the marathon and also participated by running two and a half marathons for the occasion. “It was a great event,” said Yoder. “Everyone was impressed with our organization and with Goshen College in general.” He also noted that the marathon was a great way to nationally spread the word about Goshen College because people came from all over the country to participate. On Saturday the...

By Twila Albrecht • March 8, 2012 • News

Runners from all over the country will gather at the Recreation-Fitness Center of Goshen College on Feb. 25 and 26 for the fourth annual Maple Leaf Indoor Marathon. Participants from 15 states, stretching from Massachusetts to California, Oklahoma to New York, plan to attend the event, which involves running 204 laps around the 200-meter indoor track. Doug Yoder, the cross country and track coach at GC, as well as one of the entrants, organized the event. “In my mind, it’s a big-time event at little Goshen College,” Yoder said. “I’m sure that the college doesn’t realize that, but it truly...

By Lauren Stoltzfus • February 23, 2012 • News