Beverly Pritts with Bill Rodgers at the 1997 Cherry Blossom Expo
[Click here for a higher-resolution photo (211K)]
The Washington area lost a star runner on February
7 when Beverly Pritts of Alexandria died of lung cancer. She was
48.
Beverly was born October 10, 1950, in the coal mining
town of Champion, Pennsylvania, the youngest of six brothers and sisters.
Echoing the movie "October Sky,"
Beverly
grew up believing that achieving excellence was her ticket the future.
A good student and athlete in high school, she even tried out for the football
team. Her essay on the Problems of Democracy earned her a job offer
immediately upon graduation at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
She moved to Washington to take the job when she was just 18.
As Beverly rose through the ranks at USDA in 31
years of service, she began running footraces. By 1997, Beverly was
running about 10 races a year, consistently finishing near the top in her
age group. She trained regularly on the track and trails with Northern
Virginia Running Club and worked out at the USDA gym.
At a memorial service held for her at Lighthouse
Baptist Church in Alexandria on February 20, her trophies, photos, and
scrapbook were on display. The scrapbook contained her bib numbers,
finisher ribbons, and newspaper results dating back to 1987, when she ran
the New York City Marathon. In recent years, as a 45-49 year old,
Beverly ran
o 33:47 at the 1996 Alexandria
Turkey Trot 8K, earning her a 4th place ranking in Washington
Running Report
o 45:02 at the 1996 Rudolph's Red
Nose Run 10K to win her age group, and 7th among all women
o 73:15 at the 1997
Reston 10M to win her age group
o 44:09 at the 1997 George Washington's
Birthday 10K
o 35:34 at the 1997 Alexandria
Turkey Trot 8K
o 1:42:01 at the 1997
Belle Haven Half-Marathon
At the memorial service, Beverly's brother and sister
and many co-workers, friends, neighbors, and running buddies spoke fondly
of her dedication, her energy, her soft smile, her blue eyes, and her love
of her dog Willie. They recalled her frequently-offered advice:
Drink lots of water, exercise, and quit smoking.
At the adidas
D.C. Invitational Track and Field Meet at George Mason University the
night before the memorial service, the veteran men's/masters women's mile
was in memory of Beverly Pritts. Had she been healthy this winter,
she might have wanted to run it.
NOVA runner Jane
McKinley (janemckinley@erols.com) is collecting donations in Beverly's
name for the Hospice of Northern
Virginia, where Beverly spent her last months. Donations
can be sent to: Jane McKinley, PO Box 2721, Arllington, VA 22202.