• HOME
  • FEATURES
    • Best Of Cover Shoot
    • Pet Owner’s Stories
    • People
    • Places
    • Issues
    • Remembering
    • Things
    • To Do
  • DEPARTMENTS
    • Finance / Real Estate
      • Financial Articles
      • Top 10 Most Expensive Homes Sold
      • Real Estate
        • Real Estate Experts
        • Articles
    • Attorney Directory
    • Ask the Experts
    • Business
      • Belle Hall Shopping Center
      • Lowcountry Women in Business
      • MP Business
    • Entertainment
      • Golf
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Food & Drink
    • Giving Back
    • Health & Wellness
      • COVID-19 Articles & Resources
    • House & Home
    • Learning
      • Wando High School
    • Love & Marriage
    • Pets
    • Relax & Retire
  • Read Magazine
  • MORE MAGS
    • Charleston Women 👩‍🏫🏢
    • Lowcountry Cuisine 🧀🍷
    • Best of Mt Pleasant Mag 🏆🏆
    • Charleston Women in Real Estate 👩🏘️
    • MP Business Mag 🏢
    • MP Pets 🐶🐱
    • Charleston Independent School Directory 🏫
    • MP Senior Living 👴👵
    • More Mags
      • IOP Mag
      • SI Mag
      • MP Town Hall Magazine
  • OUR TOWN
    • MP Town Hall
    • MP Town Council
  • DIRECTORIES
    • East Cooper Church Directory
    • East Cooper Fitness Directory
    • Local 2019 CPA Tax Directory
    • Mount Pleasant Apartment Directory
  • SUBSCRIBE

Mount Pleasant Magazine

Mount Pleasant Magazine (Mount Pleasant, SC) informs residents and visitors about people, places and happenings around our area.

Shop Belle Hall
  • Best of Mount Pleasant
    • Best of MP Podcast
    • 2021 Best of Mount Pleasant including Previous Years
    • Best of Mount Pleasant Winner Articles
    • 2021 Best of Mount Pleasant Cover Photo Shoot
    • Best Of Magazines
    • Best Of Videos
    • Best Of Party Photos
    • Best Of Plaques
  • VOICE for MP Podcast
  • Real Estate Podcast
  • Our Winners
  • Advertise
    • Advertise With Us
    • Media Kit
    • Video Testimonials
  • MORE
    • MP Neighborhoods
    • East Cooper Online Network
    • Real Estate Experts
    • Attorney Directory
    • News
    • Contact

Born to Run: Local Kids in the Races

Posted by MPM Leave a Comment

5K Race in 2017With exceptional recreation facilities, popular walking trails and predominantly mild weather, Charleston has become a haven for those who love the sport of running. Some run for fun, exercise or to de-stress. Others run to compete, and there is no shortage of local road races offered to enthusiasts from all walks of life. One group of runners often stands out more than the rest. Many can’t legally drive and still have homework most nights, but these young competitors are making a huge splash on the local running scene.

Mount Pleasant resident Marshall Hodges regularly competes in many of the local 5K and 10K events, including the Cooper River Bridge Run, the largest running event in South Carolina and the third largest in the country. Running since he was in the fourth grade, Hodges is now a freshman at Academic Magnet and a member of the school track team.

“I really enjoy being on the team and representing the school,” Hodges said. “Competing in local road races is a lot of fun, and I love being part of them.”

Hodges got his first experience with running when he joined the Mount Pleasant Track Club in 2013. Participating in cross country in the fall and track and field in the spring and summer, he gained enormous experience competing and is now a regular in many local running events.

His father, Burt Hodges, said he and Marshall often compete together, running as a team in a few road races, including the Peyton Wild and Wacky 10x5K held each year since 2015.

“We ran as a two-man team last year and won,” he said. “It’s an activity we can do together, and we really enjoy the camaraderie of the local running community.”

Patrick Spychalski running
Patrick Spychalski

Zane Jackson, a sophomore at Palmetto Scholars Academy, has become a force to reckon with at any race in which he competes. Running for his school and MPTC, he has become known for his incredible speed and endurance, which have catapulted him to record-breaking success each season. Competing in the Bridge Run last year, Jackson placed in the top 50 overall out of almost 40,000 runners. He is also the first MPTC team member to claim four All-American titles in four different events in one track season. Jackson regularly participates in many local races and is recognized as a tough competitor.

“The first 5K I did, I didn’t do too well,” Jackson said. “But I kept challenging myself and got faster, and now I love competing in as many races as I can.”

Tami Dennis, head coach of the MPTC, said she loves seeing the kids challenge themselves by entering local races.

“While it depends on where we’re at in the season, if they can compete in other races, I think it’s a great boost to their confidence if they’re able to run in these events,” she said. “When they perform well in a highly-contested, very competitive local race like the Bridge Run, it’s wonderful. It’s a great experience and great visibility for themselves.”

Another local young runner moved to Mount Pleasant when he was 9 years old and immediately joined the MPTC cross country team. Now a senior at Wando High School, Patrick Spychalski has been running for almost 10 years.

“I was an average runner at first but started to improve and continued to rank higher,” he said.

As a member of Wando’s track team as well, he has earned multiple titles and awards over the years.

Regularly competing in local races, Spychalski has participated in the Cooper River Bridge Run, Turkey Day Run, Reindeer Run and numerous others. While many races are arranged by age group, he has not only received top honors in his demographic but overall as well. In the 2017 Reindeer Run, he ranked fourth out of about 3,500 participants and was top 10 in the Turkey Day Run, beating more than 8,000 runners last year.Zane Jackson running a race

“Whenever I hear about any local road races, if I don’t have a school track meet, I sign up,” he said. “I really enjoy the people and atmosphere of these events. It’s a sport that’s very individually competitive, but it’s also a team sport. People are also very gracious and show great sportsmanship.”

Spychalski has committed to run for Villanova University in Philadelphia and will be heading to school in the fall.

“It’s a great school and we have family there, so I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.

Chuck Magera, owner of Charlestowne Road Race Services since 1980, said he handles the timing for about 100 races each year and sees many of the same kids competing in multiple events.

“I do races all over the state and see a lot of familiar faces,” he said. “Many of these local runs have such a huge following, and I’ve seen some phenomenal young runners.”

Magera said many of the younger participants have set national records and are often outrunning even the more experienced adult athletes.

“While there’s a greater variety of sports available for kids these days and they have so much technology to distract them, I still see a lot of young runners getting into this sport and becoming tough competitors,” he pointed out.

Dennis agreed and has not only seen tremendous growth in the MPTC membership over the last few years but a significant increase in young competitors at local events.

“What I see more and more of is that kids are the driving force of getting into these road races. It used to be the parents asking about it and signing them up, but it’s flipped,” she said. “Now the kids are motivated to get the parents more involved. It’s an interesting twist on how the sport has grown.”

By Diane Pauldine
Photos provided.

Sharing is Caring

Possibly Related:

No related posts.

Filed Under: People Tagged With: March/April 2018, racing

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search the Site


We're on Facebook We're on Twitter Mount Pleasant Magazine Youtube Channel We're on Pinterest Mount Pleasant Magazine Facebook Community We're on Instagram
READ ONLINE
Read the digital magazine now.
GRAB A COPY
Where can I pick up a copy of Mount Pleasant Magazine?
SUBSCRIBE
Get Mount Pleasant Magazine Delivered.

2021 Best of Mount Pleasant Final Results

Best of Mount Pleasant Podcast

Backyard Retreats, Mount Pleasant, SC​ - Where Your Retreat to the Good Life Begins!
Mount Pleasant's ONLY source for everything PETS!
Read Charleston Women Magazine online now.
Need a doctor? Charleston Physicians can connect you with Mt Pleasant doctors.


Online Magazines

Mount Pleasant

Lifestyle Magazine

Read Isle of Palms

Magazine Online

Read Sullivan's Island

Magazine Online

Take a Bite

Lowcountry Cuisine Magazine

Convergent Financial Group - Planning & Investment Advice You Can Trust
Isle of Palms Magazine - family of sites logo
Mount Pleasant Magazine - family of sites logo
North Mount Pleasant Magazine - family of sites logo
Sullivan's Island Magazine - family of sites logo

Recent Posts

Southern Bell Living: A Wealth of Experience in Real Estate

By Lindsay C. Bishop In a place like Charleston, where houses go under contract the same day they’re listed, there’s no shortage of Realtors®. With so many well-qualified professionals to choose … Continue Reading

GrandScapes: Highlight Your Home

By Stacy Domingo Winner of Best Landscaper and also a nominee for Best Place to Work, GrandScapes is the go-to company for landscaping services in Charleston. Open since 2009, GrandScapes has … Continue Reading

Daniel Island Section

Keeping the Dream of Playing Tennis Alive: The South Carolina Junior Tennis Foundation

Since 1973, South Carolina’s Lowcountry has welcomed players from the Women’s Tennis Association once a year for the annual Volvo Car Open, North America’s largest women-only tennis tournament. … Continue Reading

Truly One-of-a-kind: 369 Ralston Creek Drive

Big cities certainly have advantages – culture, dining, employment opportunities and excitement. But face it: Sometimes people yearn for a peaceful, serene atmosphere where they can relax, raise a … Continue Reading

More Daniel Island Section Posts

SEARCH

Featured Pages

Mount Pleasant Apartments
East Cooper Online Network

Copyright © 2021 · Mount Pleasant Magazine, All Rights Reserved. Advertise With Us.