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Stearns, Van Horn keep running titles in the family

By LISA RIDDLE
The Free Lance-Star

Date published: 12/17/2002

Jen Stearns is back on track--in road races at least.

The Stafford County resident returned to her old dominant form this season while competiting in the Coldwell Banker Grand Prix running series. The 34-year-old re-claimed the series' women's title, a crown she held from 1995-97.

"I'm really happy to win the circuit," said Stearns, who missed some running time during the last four years after the birth of her daughter. "It's what I set my goal for over the winter."

Her brother, Jason Van Horn of Dumfries, kept the series championship in the family by winning the men's title for the second straight year.

Van Horn won the Riverbank 12-kilometer race on Dec. 8 to seal his series title. Stearns claimed the women's title with top-three finishes in the races' first four events. The runners' top six finishes were used to tally their overall series standings.

Van Horn was glad to see his sister back on top after the layoff.

"She's had her share of injuries and went through troubles keeping her running going," he said. "It's nice to see her come through like that."

Two runners took a piece of the women's pie during Stearns' four-year break.

King George's Debi Bernardes won the first of her back-to-back titles in '98, and Liz Boyer of Triangle won the titles in 2000 and 2001.

Stearns stayed under the radar last year, running a few races but not competing for season-ending honors.

This season, she was runner-up in four races, third in one and sixth in another. Unlike her winning seasons from 1995-97 where she won race after race, Stearns claimed the title this season despite no first-place finishes.

That marked the first time in the circuit's eight years that a series winner had no individual race victories.

But Stearns had a strong start--placing second in three of the first four races--to carry her through the rest of the season. Her last race, the Turkey Trot 5-k, wasn't an ideal end for her year as she struggled with an injured right hip. Nonetheless, she still managed to place sixth in the race.

"It reached a point where I thought, 'Wow, this thing might really happen,'" said Stearns, who deemed her victory bittersweet without Bernardes and Boyer still in the running by series' end.

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Date published: 12/17/2002