Out of an extraordinary 21,398 finishers of the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC, on Oct. 25, Easton High School student, Maggie Vogelsang, was one of two 15-year-olds medaled by a Marine at Arlington Cemetery, marking the end of the 26.2-mile race. Maggie was a participant in Marathon ROCKS, a 6-month charity marathon training program sponsored by Easton ROCKS After School to benefit youth development and enrichment programs at the YMCA of Talbot County. In support of her peers, Maggie raised $1,000. A member of the Chamber Singers Choir and EHS Drama Club and a performer with the Coffee House, Maggie also raises money for the EHS Drama Department.
Undaunted by her age and inexperience as a long-distance runner, Maggie originally joined the team to support her mother, Joan Vogelsang. “Although the age limit to run in the MCM is 14, I am not a big fan of teenagers running marathons,” says ROCKS Coach Amy Eutsey. “The first thing I asked Joan was whether Maggie was done growing because for some teens, their bodies can be different every month, making them awkward and more prone to injury.”
Training for a marathon is tough both physically and mentally, but then there’s the other aspects that teens take exception to: Saturday 10- to 20-milers starting at 6 a.m.; squeezing two 3- to 4-mile maintenance runs in during the week, even during vacation; and looking way less than your best at the end of it all. But after the first few weeks of training, none of this mattered to Maggie; she was hooked on the deep sense of empowerment and satisfaction one gets from running. “She’d arrive Saturday mornings barely awake,” remarks Coach Lea Ann Robinson, whose own 
daughter, Taylor, a recent EHS grad, trained with the half-marathon team for a second season this year, “but once she got going, she was on.” A friendly and sociable person, Maggie looked forward to running with her pace group buddies and catching up on the week’s events.
By her own account, the week leading up to race day was nerve wracking for Maggie. “But her performance on race day never betrayed a lack of confidence,” says Eutsey. “When I finally caught up with her at Mile 18, she looked just as fresh and determined as she did at the starting line. I was inspired!”
Forty local runners, most first-time marathoners, finished either the VA Beach Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon or the Marine Corps Marathon this year, raising more than $52,000 for our local middle- and high-school youth. Marathon ROCKS is a noncompetitive and fully supportive charity marathon training program that welcomes participants of any fitness level, from beginner to seasoned athlete, and has been Easton ROCKS After School’s biggest fund-raiser for 3 years.
