By Dickson Mercer
Washington, DC
December 11, 2011
For the Washington Running Report
It only took the Jingle All the Way 10K six years to outgrow its out-and-back course in Washington, DC’s West Potomac Park. This year, with more than 6,000 registered runners, Capital Running Company moved the race downtown to the same venue that hosts its annual St. Patrick’s Day 8K. The new 8K, which starts on Pennsylvania Avenue and, as with Occupy DC, is staged at Freedom Plaza, was held in cold, yet calm conditions that probably seemed perfect to those who braved last year’s cold drizzle.
If you are wondering how a road race typically held on a frigid day has become such a popular race, look no further than the costumes. At the Jingle All the Way 8K, Santa got the top-seeded number and knee-high candy cane socks paired with elf caps were the opposite of an exception. Today’s oddballs were ever-serious front-runners wearing their usual racing kits.
On the other hand, Claire Hallissey, who won today’s race in 29:18 while sporting candy cane socks, antlers, and the race’s complimentary bells in the laces of her racing flats, is only seriously fast.
Hallissey also sported a pink stripe of KT tape on her leg to aid an aching knee that has lately limited her training. Injuries have bothered the 28-year-old Arlington resident and England native all year. And while they did not stop her from running 2:29:27 in October at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon – the time put her 6th overall and made her eligible to run for England in the 2012 Olympics – it has yet to fully heal from the effort.
Treating today’s race like a tempo run, Hallissey ran purely for enjoyment and to give her knee a bit of a test. She won last year’s Jingle All the Way 10K in 35:17.
If all goes according to Hallissey’s hopes, England’s third and final selection for the Olympic Marathon will be her. In the meantime, a good Christmas-themed costume helped her maintain a low-key race day. “It keeps me from going crazy out there,” she said.
Barb Fallon Wallace, 38, of Alexandria was second in 29:50. Nikeya Green, 29, of Centreville, VA was third in 30:21. The top master, Alisa Harvey of Manassas, VA, was fifth overall in 30:52.
Shortly before the 9:00 a.m. start time, race organizers announced that the Metropolitan Police Department had requested a 10 to 15 minute delay. At 9:22, runners cheered when it was announced that the race would start in two minutes.
The delay did not seem to affect Michael Banks, 25, of Washington, DC Early on, the men’s distance coach at Georgetown University ran smoothly with a front pack that included Temesgen Ilanso, 24, of Silver Spring, Brian Flynn, 28, of Bridgewater, VA, Seife Geletu, 29, of Washington, DC, and Esmetu Tilahun, 31, of Washington, DC.
After coasting through 3 miles in around 15:30, Banks gradually picked up the pace, accelerating ahead of Ilanso on the final turn to win by 8 seconds in 24:45. The former all-American at Georgetown focused on triathlons after graduating in 2009. Recently his focus has shifted back to running.
Flynn was third in 25:02. The top master, Kevin Lynch of Chantilly, VA, ran 29:32.
There were plenty of other ways to take home a prize. All it took to be eligible for a random prize – a heart rate monitor, say – was to submit your race number into a random drawing.
Of the 64 teams entered in the team competition, names ranged from the winning Georgetown University Running Club, which took top honors, to Egg Kissers and Grandma Got Run Over … By Us. Georgetown’s co-ed squad averaged 30:22, topping Capital Area Runners’ 13-member average of 31:10.
At the post-race ceremony at Freedom Plaza, some Jingle All the Way teams – some official, some not official – learned that the competition for Best Costume was as tough as any other.
While standing in line for pictures with Santa, Daphne Kiplinger, 26, and David Shepard, 34, both of Washington, DC, and Dave Steadman – all wearing some sort of red and green, Christmas-themed getup – explained that they had tried to put a team together but their friends had bailed at the last moment. As for the stylish green, holly leaf-style sunglasses that made her outfit pop, Kiplinger said she got those in her Christmas stocking last year.
If you have ever wondered what it is like to run in a Santa suit, let Mike McNiff, 23, of Fairfax tell you: “It was a little hot,” he said. His Santa’s Run Deer team included his sister Katie McNiff plus Tiona Bland, Amanda Hamilton, and Kelly Jamieson. The women wore antlers picked up from a dollar store and wrote their deer names on pieces of paper they taped to their backs. Rather than stay around for the best costume content, the group headed off for brunch.
The team who won for best costume did not mention a team name. They did, however, mention a captain: Libby Wile, 29, of Washington, DC. Their group included Ashley Schambach, Amy Levine, Ellen Taverna, and Katie Robbins. Present among them were a present, a nutcracker, and a dreidel.
Moments before all runners dispersed, two toy soldiers (Terri Crutchman and Ginger Kopecky, both of Woodbridge) posed for a photograph with as many Christmas trees (Jessica Connelly and Abigail Op, both of Washington, DC.)
“We wanted something to run in that would look festive for the holidays,” Crutchman said. “What better than toy soldiers to wake us up and run?”
For Connelly and Op, though, costumes are becoming the norm. Op, who has run marathons, recently roped her friend into running her first race on Thanksgiving. For that, they dressed as Pilgrims. For the Hot Chocolate 15K, they went with a 1980s theme.
According to Op, “This is just more fun: being a goofball.”
Awards Listing
MALE
1 4910 Michael Banks 25 M WASHINGTON DC 24:45
2 5346 Temesgen Ilanso 24 M SILVER SPRING MD 24:53
3 5202 Brian Flynn 28 M BRIDGEWATER VA 25:02
4 5374 Seife Geletu 29 M WASHINGTON DC 25:42
5 5 Dickson Mercer 30 M WASHINGTON DC 26:18
6 5381 Esmetu Tilahun 31 M WASHINGTON DC 26:37
7 4665 Tom Dichiara 34 M NEW YORK NY 26:46
8 3 Stephan Kolata 30 M WASHINGTON DC 26:56
9 4860 Matthew Thomas 37 M ALEXANDRIA VA 27:20
10 3735 Dan Herman 27 M WASHINGTON DC 27:23
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 01 - 19
1 719 Justin Ahalt 17 M College Park MD 27:54 27:54 5:37
2 2989 Alexander Waldt 18 M Baltimore MD 28:25 28:25 5:43
3 5039 Matt Chung 19 M Bloomfield Hills MI 29:51 29:43 5:59
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 20 - 24
1 5038 Jordan Megna 21 M Bloomfield Hills MI 29:31 29:23 5:55
2 5213 Alexander Sciacca 20 M Fairfax Station VA 29:38 29:32 5:57
3 5034 Tim Doughtery 20 M Bloomfield Hills MI 30:44 30:35 6:09
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 25 - 29
1 721 Alec Friedhoff 27 M Washington DC 28:21 28:20 5:42
2 1624 Barry McCarron 29 M Washington DC 28:36 28:35 5:45
3 3644 Sean Wilson 25 M Sterling VA 29:42 29:39 5:58
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 30 - 34
1 1497 Kevin Foley 32 M Bethesda MD 28:46 28:45 5:47
2 4044 James Du Vernay 31 M East Rutherford NJ 29:24 29:22 5:55
3 2527 Monte Hawkins 34 M Arlington VA 29:54 29:52 6:01
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 35 - 39
1 4808 Keith Freeburn 37 M Centreville VA 28:11 28:11 5:41
2 1086 Marc McDonald 38 M Alexandria VA 28:13 28:12 5:41
3 2977 Brian Beary 36 M Washington DC 28:57 28:56 5:50
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 40 - 44
1 4311 Jose Diaz 40 M Bethesda MD 30:01 29:59 6:02
2 3121 Chris McKee 43 M Vienna VA 30:53 30:51 6:13
3 2118 David Venables 44 M Bethesda MD 31:18 31:12 6:17
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 45 - 49
1 3115 Kevin Lynch 45 M Chantilly VA 29:32 29:31 5:57
2 2903 George Lane 45 M Ashburn VA 30:22 30:21 6:07
3 3528 Howard Frost 46 M Falls Church VA 30:30 30:28 6:08
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 50 - 54
1 23 Jean-Christophe Arcaz 50 M Rockville MD 28:44 28:43 5:47
2 863 Paul Ingholt 51 M Vienna VA 33:12 33:08 6:40
3 5111 Wiliam Coquelin 52 M Alexandria VA 33:53 33:45 6:48
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 55 - 59
1 3535 Dave Buzzell 57 M Middletown MD 32:36 32:34 6:33
2 1088 Lennie Carter 58 M Washington DC 33:45 33:43 6:47
3 4664 John McMackin 59 M Chevy Chase MD 36:15 35:58 7:15
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 60 - 64
1 21 Malcolm Senior 60 M New Market MD 32:41 32:39 6:34
2 1012 Robert Taylor 61 M Alexandria VA 37:14 36:59 7:27
3 2121 Charles Divan 61 M Washington DC 39:10 39:07 7:52
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 65 - 69
1 2731 Jim Noone 67 M Fairfax VA 34:09 34:05 6:52
2 5532 Bob Chase 66 M Falls Church VA 35:58 35:53 7:13
3 5390 John Sullivan 66 M Washington DC 42:56 39:59 8:03
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 70 - 74
1 25 Gerry Ives 72 M Washington DC 36:25 36:22 7:19
2 28 Chan Robbins 74 M Arlington VA 40:45 40:42 8:12
3 1228 John Gluck 74 M Alexandria VA 41:15 41:10 8:17
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 75 - 79
1 491 Alan Rider 75 M Reston VA 44:29 44:27 8:57
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 80 - 99
1 59 Edward Green 80 M Washington DC 68:54 65:39 13:13
MALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 99
1 3622 Brad Serwer 38 M Bethesda MD 29:22 29:20 5:54
FEMALE
1 2 Claire Hallissey 28 F ARLINGTON VA 29:18
2 9 Barb Fallon Wallace 38 F ALEXANDRIA VA 29:50
3 4577 Nikeya Green 29 F CENTREVILLE VA 30:21
4 6 Kelly Swain 26 F ARLINGTON VA 30:35
5 12 Alisa Harvey 46 F MANASSAS VA 30:52
6 3585 Elizabeth Laseter 23 F WASHINGTON DC 31:03
7 2491 Emily Buzzell 26 F WASHINGTON DC 31:15
8 3760 Mijiko Phelps 41 F OAK HILL VA 31:54
9 625 Cristina Burbach 37 F WASHINGTON DC 31:55
10 5694 Laura Zeilinger 39 F WASHINGTON DC 32:16
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 01 - 19
1 5045 Clare Murphy 18 F Bloomfield Hills MI 32:31 32:23 6:31
2 3310 Katriona McNeill 14 F Chevy Chase MD 36:05 35:53 7:13
3 5042 Elyssa Skeirik 18 F Bloomfield Hills MI 37:29 37:20 7:31
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 20 - 24
1 2183 Danielle Schaub 24 F Washington DC 37:54 33:17 6:42
2 4033 Monique Girard 21 F Billerica MA 33:33 33:23 6:43
3 324 Jessica Girard 23 F Washington DC 33:38 33:27 6:44
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 25 - 29
1 1988 Phoebe Markle 27 F Alexandria VA 32:33 32:30 6:33
2 420 Alison Deboer 25 F Arlington VA 33:01 32:58 6:38
3 1698 Caitlin Catella 26 F Washington DC 33:26 33:21 6:43
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 30 - 34
1 5612 Jen Yip 31 F Washington DC 32:32 32:23 6:31
2 4061 Rebecca Powell 34 F Alexandria VA 34:48 34:42 6:59
3 716 Lindsay Hauer 31 F Washington DC 35:34 35:29 7:09
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 35 - 39
1 5367 Jen Sober 38 F McHenry MD 32:26 32:25 6:32
2 494 Nancy Eiring 38 F Washington DC 32:46 32:43 6:35
3 4077 Julie Sapper 38 F Rockville MD 34:16 34:12 6:53
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 40 - 44
1 3946 Samantha Cole 43 F Arlington VA 32:36 32:34 6:33
2 4891 Anne Bliss 44 F Burlington VT 33:04 33:02 6:39
3 3402 Sandrine Falgon 40 F Washington DC 33:19 33:18 6:42
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 45 - 49
1 570 Karen Kalber 46 F Crofton MD 36:02 35:41 7:11
2 833 Teresa Lent 49 F Arlington VA 36:12 36:02 7:15
3 2240 Joanna Schmickel 49 F Arlington VA 37:35 37:11 7:29
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 50 - 54
1 4743 Deedee Loughran 53 F Herndon VA 33:20 33:17 6:42
2 22 Win Persina 51 F Washington DC 34:59 34:56 7:02
3 5151 Linda Rotunno 52 F Washington DC 38:23 38:03 7:40
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 55 - 59
1 2912 Ofelia Perotti 55 F Alexandria VA 39:11 38:45 7:48
2 733 Merrilee Seidman 57 F Alexandria VA 41:01 41:01 8:15
3 520 Marcy Foster 57 F Reston VA 45:59 41:09 8:17
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 60 - 64
1 2971 Ginny Hughes 61 F Warrenton VA 38:34 38:33 7:46
2 1786 Jane Sparnon 60 F Arlington VA 42:52 42:38 8:35
3 3974 Mary Fredlake 61 F Washington DC 51:30 45:20 9:08
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 65 - 69
1 5638 Linda Kearney 65 F Oak Hill VA 44:35 42:52 8:38
2 3090 Pat Welch 67 F Vienna VA 49:31 47:47 9:37
3 1581 Nancy Malan 66 F Washington DC 53:44 53:25 10:45
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 70 - 74
1 5232 Helenann Phillips 74 F Arlington VA 56:40 53:27 10:46
2 2679 Susan McGregor 70 F Washington DC 77:57 71:45 14:26
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 75 - 79
1 5112 Ann Coquelin 77 F Alexandria VA 61:57 57:31 11:35
FEMALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 99
1 4033 Monique Girard 21 F Billerica MA 33:33 33:23 6:43
Recent Stories
Looking for our race calendar? Click here Submit races here or shop local for running gear
Coaching high school cross country and track made Kelyn Soong a better runner.
A break from racing one of my favorite events gave me a chance to help other runners reach their time goals.
Eight local runners will compete in the Olympic Marathon Trials Saturday morning in Orlando.
Kensington 8K Race
Three distances – 8K, 2M, and 1K – all starting and finishing at Kensington Town Hall.
The 8K runs through historic Kensington, going past Warner Mansion, along Antique Row, beside 120+ year-old houses and around Noyes Library, the oldest library
