ROCK HALL — History repeated itself last week with the 43rd running of the Flat Five when Erica Zaveta and Cody Zwerlein placed first and second, respectively, for the second year in a row.
Zaveta, 36, of Bucks County, Pennsylvania headed the field of 69 finishers in 29 minutes, 41 seconds.
She made race history in 2025 when she became the first female to win the Flat Five, establishing the course record of 28:20 for women.
Zwerlein, who had won the Fourth of July race the year before, was only 27 seconds behind front-running Zaveta.
Zaveta, whose parents have had a home in Rock Hall for a number of years, was a winner in her Flat Five debut in 2025.
This year her margin of victory was more substantial — more than a minute and a half.
Zaveta and Zwerlein were running one-two at the 3-mile mark, separated by about 8 seconds, when she started to pull away at Boundary Avenue.
Zwerlein, 41, of Philadelphia ultimately stopped the timer in 31:29.
Noah Wood was third in 32:43, followed by Anthony Marion in 33:17 and Erin Lohr in 34:15 to round out the top five.
Eighty runners and walkers took the gun at 8 a.m. in conditions that were less than ideal; it was stifling hot and humid, which likely contributed to generally slower times, according to race founder and longtime race director Dennis Herrmann.
As to why only 69 completed the 4.7-mile race, Herrmann said, “We had quite a few walkers and maybe they just said ‘This is nuts’ and stopped.”
“Those who finished were very happy with the race,” he added.
Despite the forecast of triple digits — the temperature reached an all-time high of 102 degrees at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, breaking the previous Baltimore-area record of 100 degrees — Herrmann said he never considered canceling the race.
He pointed to the popularity of the Flat Five, which is one of the signature events of Rock Hall’s extended Independence Day celebration. While only 15 people had signed up by June 27, the number of registrants ultimately reached 88, which is on par with “the last couple of years,” according to Herrmann.
As the overall winners, Zaveta and Zwerlein each received sports bags with the Rock Hall Flat Five insignia. The first-, second- and third-place finishers in various age groups received gift certificates from Java Rock coffeehouse.
All runners received a commemorative T-shirt with a logo designed by KCHS track alumna Joella Cooper, Class of 1986.
Java Rock coffeehouse and the Town of Rock Hall sponsored the race.
Prize-winners are listed here.
OVERALL WINNER: Erica Zaveta, 29:41
OVERALL MALE WINNER: Cody Zwerlein, 31:29
JUNIOR FEMALE, under 20: Mia Nordhoff, 35:49, 10th overall; Josie Reed, 38:39; and Clare Padula, 39:10.
JUNIOR MALE, under 20: Colton Kleeblatt, 46:29.
OPEN FEMALE, 20 to 35: Erin Lohr, 34:15, fifth overall; Madeline Boyle, 38:43; and Rachel McCormack, 43:09.
OPEN MALE, 20 to 35: Anthony Marion, 33:17, fourth overall; Tom Lohr, 34:43, sixth overall; and Bennett Nordhoff, 36:40.
SUBMASTER FEMALE, 36 to 49: Laurie Themistos, 35:07, eighth overall; Melissa Poeppel, 37:12; and Jessica Sharp, 39:19.
SUBMASTER MALE, 36 to 49: Noah Wood, 32:43, third overall; Chris Blanchard, 35:01, seventh overall; and Marek Koska, 35:20, ninth overall.
MASTER FEMALE, 50 and older: Cecily Carr, 43:47; Valerie Reihl, 52:54; and Christie Grabis, 56:55.
MASTER MALE, 50 and older: Peter Kleeblatt, 38:22; Don Wilson, 39:17, and Sean Greene, 39:40.
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The Flat Five, which Dennis Herrmann founded in 1982, initially was a 5-miler.
In 2014 the course was shortened to 4.7 miles when Herrmann moved the finish line from the center of town to alleviate the traffic tie-up that was becoming common as the race grew in popularity.
Charlie Scales, then 18, of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania established the “new” course record of 26 minutes, 58 seconds in 2016.
