By Brenda Barrera
Washington, DC
October 30, 2011
For the Washington Running Report
Charles Ware wins it all in a near Olympic-class 2:19:16.
What a weekend with so many elements of drama. A rare fall storm hit the mid-Atlantic on Saturday bringing not only rain, but hail, sleet, slush, and snow. On Sunday, however, the skies cleared in time for the 36th Marine Corps Marathon where Army 1st Lt. Charles “Chad” Ware from Wheeling, IL won in an impressive 2:19:16 and Tezata Dengera, from Ellicott City, MD by way of Turkey, claimed the women’s title in 2:45:28.
With early morning temperatures hovering in the mid 30s and a slight breeze kicking up, there was nary a trace of the storm from the prior day except for a few slick spots on the roads and muddy fields as 20,895 runners completed ‘The People’s Marathon’ under bright sunshine and blue skies.
“Cold weather is a good thing for me,” smiled Ware, 27, as he soaked in his victory after giving thanks by looking upward, giving the number one sign and breaking the finish line tape.
A head taller than most of the lead runners, the lanky Midwesterner was easy to spot during the race. “I felt good through the early hills,” he said, then lost a little ground at mile 13 before he made his move at mile 19 to take the lead for the rest of the race.
When asked, Ware claimed he was not aiming for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials standard time of 2:19:00, but he knew it was within his grasp.
“If I kept on 5:18s [per mile], I knew I could get it,” he acknowledged. By the last couple of miles, however, he slowed a bit, narrowly missing the qualifying standard by 16 seconds.
Brushing off that topic, Ware emphasized the honor to run for the All-Army Team. “It’s a privilege to be able to represent the Army and wear the Army singlet,” he said. An Army Reservist, he will be going on active duty this January.
While most of Ware’s competition was either dropped or dropped out, stalwart Michael Wardian, who gives his all whether the distance is a 5K, 42K, or 100K, was trying to reel in the leader.
“I saw him at Crystal City and thought that wasn’t too far,” remarked Wardian who thought he might be able to catch Ware but was not able to do so. The Arlington running icon took the runner-up spot three minutes later in 2:23:46. Representing the Coast Guard, Patrick Fernandez, 24, from Alexandria finished next in 2:26:37.
Finishing in the top ten was Adam Condit, (left) a familiar runner on the local scene who recently moved to Cedar Rapids, IA. Condit ran the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon two weeks ago finishing in 2:27:20. At this race he ran 2:29:28 to clinch 5th place.
The women’s competition as not decided until after the 35K mark where the trio of Tezata Dengera (217), Emily Shertzer (146), and Getachew Shiferaw(3) all went through in 2:16:44 battling for top honors. It was after that mark when Dengera and Shertzer pulled away from Shiferaw, making it a two-woman race to the finish. Dengera prevailed to cross the finish line 27 seconds ahead of her competition, 2:45:28 to 2:45:55.
In photo race winner Dengera (217) races in a tight pack through Georgetown early in the race.
Two weeks ago Dengera ran the Under Armour Baltimore Marathon finishing 7th among the women in 2:37:52. So it is understandable that, while her time was a bit slower, capturing the victory was certainly sweet.
Shertzer, 31, from Jonestown, PA and representing the Air Force, made her marathon début this past May at the National Guard/Lincoln Marathon. On Sunday, she crushed her May début time (2:54:20) with her 2:45:55 runner-up finish and also qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials. Shiferaw, 27, from Ellicott City, MD (ETH) took the final podium spot with her 2:47:30.
Arlington’s Lindsay Wilkins, 33, cracked the top 10 with her 6th place finish in 2:53:28 after running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon two weeks ago where she posted a 2:50:41.
Top wheelchair finishers in the rim category were Jacqui Kapinowski, 48, from Point Pleasant NJ in 2:05:46 and David Swope, 45, New Windsor MD in 2:12:12. The wheelchair crank field boasted almost 100 competitors. Leading the way in this division were Scot Seiss, 44, from Ricky Ridge, MD who crossed the finish 1:28:41 and Erica Davis, 30, from Carlsbad, CA who was the first woman in 2:13:52.
Most runners did not recognize a participant without his trademark wide-rim black glasses, but TV host and comedian Drew Carey, 53, finished his first marathon in 4:37:11. Carey finished 555th among the 1,170 competitors in the 50-54 age group.
Also among the marathon finishers . . .
Chas Bellew, 27, from Washington, DC who ran at Princeton decided to enter this race in 2010 and posted a 3:00:53 finish. He improved this year, bringing his time down quite a bit to 2:38:53.
Wearing bib #101, two-time Marine Corps Marathon champion Darrell General (1995, 1997), who is 45, ran a 2:48:06, placing third in his age group and 72nd overall. “My legs never loosened up,” he said afterward.
Kaitlin Koplin, 27, (left) from Washington, DC tried hard to break 3 hours but had a hard time warming up. She had to settle for 3:00:13. “I was still cold even at mile 8,” she said.
Speaking of cold, Maria Kozloski, 46, (right) from Bethesda, MD was all smiles at the finish but laughed as she recalled the chills earlier in the morning, “My teeth couldn’t stop chattering at the start.” Kozloski’s 3:08:54 was good enough for a second place in her age division. She has now completed 20 marathons.
Caroline Bauer, 28, from Columbia, MD credits the group runs with the Howard County Striders for helping her finish in 3:17:35.
Among the many runners who raced in a costume was Sean Kelly, 25, from Annapolis MD. Here is a clue to his race day outfit: What is black and white and waddles? Yup, he donned a penguin suit and finished the race in 4:20:31. Kelly said the comments along the route included: “Go Penguin!” “Great, now I’m getting beat by a penguin!” and “Go Happy Feet!”
Araceli Uranga, 40, from Vienna, VA was dressed in pink from head to toe, including a tutu and even ran with a wand. Her time was 3:50:25.
At the runner finish area, Matt Stevenson, 40, from Arlington was happy to get off his feet and rested with his back against a fence, soaking up a little sun after finishing his 6th Marine Corps Marathon in 4:34:29.
The MCM 10K had 6,867 finishers and a new course record. Reuben Mwei, 25, from Acworth, GA handily won in 30:37, smashing the former record of 32:52 (Wyatt Boyd, 2009). Brian Dumm, 28, from Colorado Springs, CO finished next in 32:52 followed by the top local, Luke Belford, 29, from Nottingham, MD who finished the race in 33:13.
In the women’s 10K competition, Navy Lt. Amanda Rice, 27, from North Bethesda, MD, cruised to a 36:30 win. Rice said in an E-mail that being a member of the Armed Forces made the experience even more rewarding. Showing her competitive side, Rice admitted to adjusting her game plan mid-race from not only winning the women’s title, but seeing how many men she could beat. Her overall place was 14th and she beat 2,708 men. Jennifer Perrottet, 31, from San Marcos, CA took the runner-up spot in 39:22 and was followed by the top local Christine Rehwald, 32, from Arlington who crossed the line under 40 minutes with her 39:54 finish.
By James Moreland
Washington, DC
March 20, 2011
For the Washington Running Report
Below Gurmessa Megerssa breaks the tape.
In typical Washington Metro the weather juked us better than scoring guard in a NCAA March Madness tournament. Colder than normal most of the winter we were torched by nearly eighty on Friday. Saturday racers were greeted with wonderful spring weather in the mid sixties. Then as the real spring dawned at Freedom Plaza the temperatures dipped below freezing.
No matter; this race was all about awareness of a deadly cancer that can, in many cases, may be prevented by vigilant screening. The race was about raising money to find a cure. Just as with the other major “Cure” events, 05-01-11 Race for Hope – DC Presented by Cassidy Turley to benefit the Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (Washington, DC) and the largest of all the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure set for June 4, 2011 in Washington, DC, this event brings caring, sharing people who want to find a cure.
The event had close to 2,000 finishers and nearly twice as many men as women. Nearly all of the runners that moved down Pennsylvania Avenue after crossing the ChronoTrack starting mats were there to celebrate survival of loved ones and the determination to move forward to a cure.
There were some top flight racers there as well. Three women had been ranked first in the area. Two of the men had as well. At the start Bert Rodriguez, 31, of Arlington, VA looked over the field but he already had a plan to break 15:00. The weather was perfect and the flat course was, “almost like a track.” He was advised that the overall went just one deep and top ranked Gurmessa Megerssa was standing close by. Megerssa had finished a solid third overall at the Van Metere 5M in 24:49 just 24 hours ago.
Rodriguez, known as an 800M specialist, could not wait. The start was a 1-2-3 countdown by visiting Redskin Cheerleaders and he was off. He quickly took the lead, following by Adam Condit and Megerssa, who loped along after him like a dog playing in the park.
The race runs down to the Capitol and then does a loop on the eastern side before returning home. As runners approached that loop, many gasped and one shouted out in surprise as these two racing titans were already heading home, racing neck and neck. The wind was pretty mild. Still, Rodriguez lamented later that maybe he should have let Megerssa take some of the lead duties. At mile 2.25 Megerssa made his move which Rodriguez could not quite cover. Megerssa scored another overall win for the year in a very nice 14:55. Rodriguez broke the magic 15:00 barrier by a second.
Almost forgotten Condit (in photo) had a nifty 15:08 to take third overall and first in his age group. Fourth place is a former rankings champion who had won the St. Patrick’s Day race three times back when it was a 10K. Philippe Rolly, 38, of Arlington, VA has been training mega miles and is gearing up for next weekend’s National Marathon. He even ran the last year’s JFK 50.2 mile in a very credible 6:52:15. He lamented that he does not have much speed right now. His time of 16:42 would make most of the rest of us very proud. With abbreviated age groups, he settled into second behind Rodriguez.
Another Frenchman took the top masters spot. Jean Christophe Arcaz, 50, of Rockville, MD was a mortal lock in the traditional 50-54 division. Today the expanded set up with 45-59, he had his work cut out for him. He succeeded in 17:14 with a close battle from Robert Denmark, 45, of Arlington, VA flying home next in 17:26.
For the women, Susannah Kvasnicka, 36, of Great Falls, VA has had 34:30 10K speed. She might have been a co-favorite with Samia Akbar,28, of Herndon, VA the Army 10M record holder from 2009 with 55:25 or Claire Hallissey, 27 of Arlington, VA (below) who had won it all at the winter’s biggest 10K, the Jingle All the Way 10K in 35:17.
Kvasnicka has been absent and healing and is pretty much starting over. Her last race was sixth overall at the Kaiser Permanente Pike’s Peek 10K in April 2010 with 35:57. Akbar had finished second overall in the Fall Runner Rankings with her 27:00 overall win at the HCS 8K in the fall. Still it was clear Kvasnicka was just getting her feet wet and Hallissey only had to hold off Akbar which she did 17:52 to 17:56. Neither were ecstatic with their times but the season has just begun. Both will be faster than 17:00 by Memorial Day. Shortly after that Kvasnicka will be there too.
In the masters division, Lisa Chilcote, 40, of Oakmont, PA keeps moving up. She took the masters division by more than two minutes, finishing in 19:02. She was ninth in the fall Runner Rankings when she was listed as from Bethesda, MD. In the winter she moved up to fifth. He time today is her best masters effort…so far.
The stream of blue race T-shirts continued on for more than an hour. After the race, there were many nice refreshments for all of the participants.
Awards Listing
MALE OVERALL
Place Num Name Age City Gun T Net T Pace
===== ===== ====================== === ===================== ===== ===== =====
1 5 Gurmessa Megerssa 31 Washington DC 14:55 14:55 4:48
FEMALE OVERALL
Place Num Name Age City Gun T Net T Pace
===== ===== ====================== === ===================== ===== ===== =====
1 2329 Claire Hallissey 28 Arlington VA 17:52 17:51 5:45
MALE AGE GROUP: 1 - 19 (NET TIME)
1 1962 Jack Beecher 19 Washington DC 17:24 17:22 5:36
2 1075 Joseph Giammittorio 18 Falls Church VA 20:08 19:52 6:24
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 1 - 19 (NET TIME)
1 2604 Gillian Kramer 16 Cheverly MD 22:55 22:48 7:21
2 2519 Christine Downie 18 Arlington VA 26:09 23:32 7:35
MALE AGE GROUP: 20 - 29 (NET TIME)
1 747 Adam Condit 27 Ashburn VA 15:08 15:08 4:53
2 263 Neal Hannan 29 Washington DC 17:09 17:08 5:31
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 20 - 29 (NET TIME)
1 3 Samia Akabar 29 Oak Hill VA 17:56 17:55 5:46
2 1950 Nikeya Green 28 Centreville VA 19:11 19:10 6:10
MALE AGE GROUP: 30 - 44 (NET TIME)
1 2050 Bert Rodriguez 31 Arlington VA 14:59 14:59 4:50
2 1105 Philippe Rolly 38 McLean VA 16:42 16:42 5:23
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 30 - 44 (NET TIME)
1 2474 Kristin Murphy 30 Newton MA 18:19 18:19 5:54
2 1560 Lisa Chilcote 40 Oakmont PA 19:02 19:01 6:08
MALE AGE GROUP: 45 - 59 (NET TIME)
1 19 Jean-Christophe Arcaz 50 Rockville MD 17:14 17:14 5:33
2 2172 Robert Denmark 45 Arlington VA 17:27 17:26 5:37
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 45 - 59 (NET TIME)
1 1998 Patti Galleher 53 Denver CO 21:06 21:03 6:47
2 2334 Cathy Grable 45 Charlotte NC 21:21 21:17 6:51
MALE AGE GROUP: 60 - 99 (NET TIME)
1 2609 Bill Ference 60 Clifton VA 23:38 23:35 7:36
2 153 Michael Loney 60 Silver Spring MD 24:18 24:14 7:48
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 60 - 99 (NET TIME)
1 906 Deborah Schnabel 61 Fairfax VA 33:03 31:52 10:16
2 573 Stephanie Dalton 67 Washington DC 36:41 35:29 11:26
With the football season far away, Redskins Cheerleaders take a look at the new Washington Running Report.
