Chris Compston
Amy Compston at the Gnaw Bone Marathon on May 10, 2014.
ERIE, Pa. – Amy For Africa marathoner duo Amy and Chris Compston will take on the Erie Marathon on Sunday.
The 41st annual Erie Marathon advertises itself as quite possibly the flattest course in the country with world records being set on this course in 2003 and 2005.
It is the third-largest qualifier for the Boston Marathon and thus attracts a large field for the traditional two-loop course run on Presque Isle State Park.
Thirty-two percent of the 2013 Boston Marathon participants qualified for this year’s Boston Marathon.
It’s a fast track, for sure. The male record is held by Terrence L. Stanley (2:19:27) in 1978 and the female record is owned by Katie Aldridge (2:55:00) in 2010.
Runners take advantage of favorable conditions (flat, paved surface, shade, moderate climate and plenty of aid stations) to get their best times in the Erie Marathon.
The start/finish is in the Rotary Pavillion Area.
This will be the sixth of eight marathons this running season for Amy, who has finished first (twice), second and third in her last four marathons.
She hopes to finish among the top 30 in the Erie Marathon, which will have some of the fastest women in the world competing.
Her husband, Chris, is running his fifth of sixth marathons and he’s aiming to set a personal best in the race. He has been consistently under the 4-hour mark and has improved with each marathon run.
Both Amy and Chris will be running in the Chicago Marathon in October and then Amy completes her eighth marathon in eight months with the New York City Marathon on Nov. 2.
The Amy For Africa mission that both Amy and Chris run for has raised $25,000 since May. In 17 months, AFA has been able to collect more than $80,000 for missions in Moyo, Uganda.
Amy runs especially for the children in the five Penne Paris Schools that are sponsored through United Christian Expedition (UCE).
Only two weeks ago Amy was in Moyo with UCE missionary Floyd Paris. She was able to train while there until contracting a bacterial infection that slowed her down.