Mt. Lebanon High School's Rad Gunzenhauser was running as fast as he could.

He hoped he had put enough distance between himself and North Penn senior Brad Miles that he would be able to hang onto the lead in the boys' Class AAA race at the PIAA championships.

Unfortunately for him, he had not.

Miles passed Gunzenhauser with less than 40 meters to go to win the 3.1-mile race at the Parkview course in Hershey. Gunzenhauser was second in 15 minutes, 49 seconds, just two seconds behind Miles and 14 seconds ahead of North Allegheny's Ryan Gil, the third-place finisher.

Finishing second at the PIAA cross country championships is no easy accomplishment, given the quality of the field. Plus, this was the first time Gunzenhauser had raced on the Parkview course.

He was injured last year and didn't qualify for the PIAA meet.

"I was giving it all I had," Gunzenhauser said of his stretch run against Miles. "I knew he was going to try and beat me at the finish. That's what he did at Carlisle [Invitational] and he got me there [at the end], so I knew he would try it again.

"I knew he was coming, but it was hard to tell how close he was with all the people yelling. Some where yelling 'Go Rad' and others 'Go Brad' so it was a little confusing."

Placing second at the PIAA championships and beating Gil in the process helped make up for a disappointing couple of weeks for Gunzenhauser.

He was beaten by Gil at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association championships Oct. 22 and at the WPIAL finals a week after that. Both of those races took place at the Cooper's Lake Campground course near Slippery Rock.

"Ryan got me there in a race last year, too," Gunzenhauser said. "That's really his course."

Gunzenhauser and Gil have gone head-to-head six times this fall with Gunzenhauser winning four. He beat Gil, a junior, at the Red, White & Blue Classic and the Central Catholic Invitational. Both of those events were run on different courses in Schenley Park. He also finished ahead of Gil at Carlisle.

At the PIAA championships he listened to advice from a couple of North Hills runners.

"Everybody told me that on that [Parkview] course, you have to get out quickly and that's what I did," he said. "It's just so narrow at the beginning that if you don't get out fast or you get pushed behind everybody, that makes it tough.

"I guess I was about 18th at the mile marker and after that I just gradually worked my way up. I fell into an even pace and just kept picking off people."

At the 2-mile mark he found himself near the front with Gil.

"I could tell Ryan was laboring a little at that point and I just tried to conserve some energy," Gunzenhauser said. "When we got to the top of the hill [after 2 miles], I went hard and got some separation. I had practiced doing that last week in Mt. Lebanon.

"There is this steep downhill that leads to a gravel path and the final stretch, but it's so steep that you can't use it to help you out. I started to go as hard as I could with 400 meters left but then he got me."

Although Gunzenhauser wanted to finish first, he wasn't disappointed in his race. He is now looking forward to indoor track season where he will try to get the Tri-State Track Coaches Association record in the 3,000-meter run.

"Miles Becker, a guy from our school, has the record of 8:49 for the 3,000, so I'm going to try and get that," Gunzenhauser said. "And I'm looking forward to running against Ryan [Gil] a few more times."

He doesn't plan on competing in the Foot Locker regional cross country competition in New York.

"My coach said I need a break and he knows best," said Gunzenhauser, who still is up in the air as far as what college he will attend. He does want to run at a Division I school.

It's probably not a bad idea that he relax because he has run in six big races this fall, including the WPIAL and PIAA championships.

So, what did he do Sunday to relax after the PIAA meet?

"I went out for a 30 minute jog," he said. "But now I'm going to take it easy."

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