Capitol Hill Classic Sees Uptick on a Muggy Morning

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Despite high humidity Sunday morning, runners came out en force for the 34th annual Capitol Hill Classic 10k, enough that the morning-of demand for bib forced the start back by 15 minutes.

Once the race got started, Abu Kebede, Takele Gerbreljul and Teresa Fekaensatakele wasted no time blowing away the field for a 90+ lead over fourth place finisher Evan Jurkovitch. The three finished in 31:33, 31:34 and 31:35, with Kebede having run 15:10 the day before at the We’ve Got Your Back 5k in Reston.

“Great morning for a little 10k,” Jurkovitch said. “That hill on the way back was rough, but it was a dood hard effort.”

Women’s winner Tera Moody of Boulder, Colo. was in town for her cousin’s graduation from Georgetown University. Having finished third the week prior at the USATF 25k championships, Moody had less urgency during this race—she won 34:13 over Kensington’s Kristen Henehan’s 37:19—but it was not without a challenge. The humidity, the likes of which she does not see in the Rocky Mountains, left her drenched and feeling like she had earned her victory, though she ran without a watch.

“Even if I’m doing a workout, it’s much more fun to run with other people,” she said. “We had miles marked out, that’s better than blindly running places I don’t know. I was so glad I was able to make it part of my trip.”

Moody finished fifth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2008, but sat out last year because of an injury. Along with her 25k finish, she’s matched her 5k PR and come close to her half marathon PR this spring.

“Things have really finally come together,” she said. “I’m just thrilled to be run. I love to race. People out there were so supportive.”

Jonathan Ackaoui of Arlington ran to support his wife, who was making her 10k debut, but find himself motivated to see just what he could do.

“It was awesome, brutal,” he said. “I just sprinted, collapsed at the finish line. There’s no feeling like it.”

He was on pace for five miles, but another half mile in, he felt himself slow. That’s when he launched into the kick that helped him finish 10 seconds faster than his goal.

“I actually made up some ground on the hill, I just ran through it,” he said.

Though a track man in high school Ackaoui started road racing in March when he ran the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon with  his uncle.

“I got the bug,” he said.