By James Moreland
Great Falls, VA
May 15, 2011
For Washington Running Report
Like Sleepy Hollow, the Great Falls section along Georgetown Pike is a pretty well kept secret. Not that many races get held there. The ones that do have names like Difficult Run, named after one of the many parks along the roadside. You really do [button-red url=”http://www.joecassellafoundation.org/about-us.php” target=”_self” position=”left”] More About Joe [/button-red]have to slow down to transverse this section of town with its winding turns and steep hills but the view is great.
Last year in the inaugural year the skies opened up a drenched the field. Everybody proclaimed the course a challenge. “So you are going to Great Falls. Expect a really hilly course.” We did and it wasn’t. Great Falls Village went all out. The police cordoned off all the roads. The rumored shortage of parking was just that – rumor. One veteran runner was told to prepare for a tough finish and ran too timidly in the first half only to learn that there were virtually no hills on the course.
The entire course was lined with more cones than you could shake a stick at. No chance of getting lost.
The scores of kids returning from the mile fun run were all laughter and smiles, probably because they knew what the 5K racers would find out soon enough, the course was actually fast. A pack of three flew away recklessly up the opening rise. The first time anybody knew something was up was about a half mile into the race when we heard a couple of squeals as two young runners went down. Then turning the corner we discovered the course was going cross-country. The country already soaked from last night’s rain was a steep down hill in the mud. That only lasted for fifty meters and after another hundred meters of flat on the grass runners were on the road again. Just before the 2K sign runners returned along the path, making the course technically a cross country race.
Cresting the hill there was a chance to see runners taking on the down hill, which was distinctly tougher than the uphill. The rest of the way the race tilted up and down a tad but barely past flat with the steepest down hill section the final tenth of a mile.
As late as two miles the pack was still three with Birhanu Feysa, 29, of Silver Spring, MD leading the way. The other two were straining some and third place Seife Geletu, 29, of Washington, DC (left) fell off the pace to finish in 16:22. That was still well ahead of Edi Turco’s event record from last year at 16:46. Turco, 38, a fine submaster, could not stay with the lead pack. Today he did well to hold off Vinnie Derocco 17:25 to 17:35. Derocco came in from San Diego to take a shot at the 30-39 age group medal. Ryan Foster, 25, was runner-up and earned $100 for a nifty 15:51. Feysa stayed golden to set the new standard with 15:47 and take home $200.
Before the race, runners noted that there were a lot of fast women runners. Fast is the technical term for runners that spend lots of times running warm-ups in front of the starting line. Last year champion Mijiko Phelps of Reston, VA(below). She won in a runaway 19:59, ahead of Gina Cassella’s 21:30. This year it was evident early that she was running for second place. At forty, her time of 20:20 was impressive. Keneni Orgesa, at 39, was one of only two runners in the top eight younger than 40. She pulled away easily winning it all in 19:18. Fourth place Anita Freres, 46, was third master in 21:49. That was well off her normal pace. Her husband noted that she had finished fourth yesterday at the We’ve Got Your Back 5K in 21:05. She started slower than normal, possibly a victim of hilly hearsay heresy.
Perhaps the biggest story of the women’s race was 56-year-old Heather Sanders. From McLean she must have known the course. She ran a very nice 23:34 for the top grandmaster spot. She had the second best age graded time behind Orgesa for the women and edged out all of the men from Turco on back.
Ted Baca, 65, is back after taking some time off from racing. He definitely started too conservative, thinking hills, but still had a very nice 23:44.
After the race there were so many pastries, muffins, fruit, and beverages (hot and cold) to choose from. With four massage tables and music playing in the lovely courtyard it was so nice the rain held off to allow runners to linger. At the finish line of the race, friends and family of Joe Cassella lined up to congratulate runners with high fives as they crossed the ChronoTrack mats.
Awards
Overall Male Place Name City Age Overall Chip Gun Pace 1 Birhamu Feysa Silver Spring, MD 29 15:47 15:47 5:05 2 Ryan Foster Washington, DC 25 2 15:50 15:51 5:07 3 Seife Geletu Washington, DC 29 3 16:22 16:22 5:17 Male 14 & Under 1 Daniel Hulett Great Falls, VA 12 35 23:02 23:10 7:28 Male 15 to 19 1 Benjamin ShaperoGreat Falls, VA 17 523 22:08 22:08 7:08 Male 20 to 29 1 Chris Hamel Methuen MA 27 6 18:07 18:07 5:51 Male 30 to 39 1 Edi Turco Arlington, VA 38 4 17:25 17:25 5:37 Male 40 to 49 1 Stephen Crago Vienna, VA 42 10 19:19 19:19 6:14 Male 50 to 59 1 Michael Sundel Falls Church, VA 50 22:34 22:39 7:18 Male 60 to 69 1 Ted Baca Arlington, VA 65 43 23:41 23:44 7:39 Male 70 & Over 1 Bill Pepelko Great Falls, VA 76 230 34:51 35:13 11:22 Overall Female Place Name City Age Overall Chip Gun Pace 1 Keneni Orgesa Washington, DC 39 9 19:18 19:18 6:14 2 Mijiko Phelps Reston, VA 40 14 20:20 20:21 6:34 3 Afsaneh Azar Vienna, VA 41 18 20:58 20:59 6:46 Female 14 & Under 1 Adriana Rosas Silver Spring, MD 11 23:34 23:34 7:36 Female 15 to 19 1 Kathryn West Great Falls, VA 17 42 23:40 23:44 7:39 Female 20 to 29 1 Katie Muething Arlington, VA 25 25 22:11 22:13 7:10 Female 30 to 39 1 Carolyn Reiderman Chantilly, VA 30 23:52 24:01 7:45 Female 40 to 49 1 Anita Freres Rockville, MD 46 22 21:49 21:52 7:03 Female 50 to 59 1 Heather Sanders Mc Lean, VA 56 38 23:32 23:34 7:36 Female 60 to 69 1 Diane Goyette Reston, VA 65 204 32:59 33:23 10:46 Female 70 and over 1 Marjorie Crago Gainesville, FL 70 35:07 35:51 11:34
By James Moreland
Crystal City, VA
July 23, 2011
For the Washington Running Report
A look at the start before the runners lined up.
This race is an event. Wandering around the center you could easily see this event was fully prepared with food and drink, from Budweiser to Muscle Milk with a side of ice cold water in between. Some of the other events closed up shop with the record heat wave this week but Pacers knew that runners are a tenacious bunch.
They knew they would be coming in record numbers. Some would be reveling in the fact that it was so hot. Last weekend Rockville Rotary Twilight 8k proved that a well planned can handle just about anything. Those who did not know they could not handle it… handled it. Michael Wardian coming off a treadmill marathon the night before was all smiles before launching into a solid 16:24 that made him the top submaster.
Wardian, (left) among a long list of Chuck Moeser fans, echoed his credo that anything is possible just go after it was zest. Mega mile Mike has already qualified for the Olympic Trails qualifying PR at Grandmas (2:17:49). Still, he was justly even more proud of his third place finish at the where few dare to tread Bad Water Ultra Marathon where he ran 135 miles in 26:22.
Steve Hallinan, winner of last fall’s Capital Running Company Veterans Day 10k in 29:54, was the clear favorite as the massive field pressed across the starting line. Make no mistake even with tough conditions; this field like past years is packed with elite runners. Last year was nearly as hot as Julius Kogo hosed the field with an incredible 14:03. This year while much of the field was winding past the finish line at the halfway of the double out and back course, Hallinan was easily winning in the 11th time in the first four years that was faster than 15:00.
Seventy meters back Birhanu Feysa glanced nervously over his shoulder like he was making a jail break. Then he turned back realizing that he had number two in the bag with a swift 15:02. The next three came in with a rush, led by Fasil Bizuneh of Flagstaff, AZ. Frank Devar had his fastest time of three races in 15:10 though the first two years was a slightly different course that was perhaps slightly hillier.
This course is pancake flat though runners seem pleased by the downhill (maybe a foot) in the first mile versus the dreaded last mile (maybe two feet up hill). Maybe there were just a little more heated then ya think?
Fifth place Andrew Dumm may have felt the heat even more as the last two years he had been well under 15:00. His time of 15:13 was just ahead of Bert Rodriguez who had been faster than 15:00 when he won it all at the Clarendon 5K last fall.
The top master was no surprise though it was well off Edmund Burke’s overall win at the Crystal City Friday race in the spring. Anytime you have 25 men faster than 17:00 who know you have a competitive race.
For the women, before the race Alisa Harvey, 45, was alluding to how hard hot weather can be on racers. Modest but realistic, when she is not expecting to be the overall winner, you know you have a tough field. Last year another masters runner Elena Orlova won it all in 17:20, and she was 20th overall. Did we mention that it was hot this year? After the race Harvey was asked if she saw Orlova. Her answer was “Briefly at the start and then whoosh!”
Tezata Dengarsa has been dominating all year winning the spring rankings. She raced Pike’s Peek in 33:59 while Orlova has been regrouping for the first six months of the year and had a tepid race there in 38:12. Last week she ran the Twilight 8K to a masters victory in 29:36 but Dengarsa had a 5K victory in June at 16:42. At the gun Dengarsa pulled away to win in 17:11. That was the same time that Orlova ran in 2009 to finish third overall.
This year Erin Koch moved ahead at the finish in 17:36 to edge Orlova (17:38) and hard charging Lisa Thomas (17:41). Thomas had been third overall last week in Rockville with 28:47 so it is clear that Orlova is making her way back to the full speed that earned her the highest ranking for a master runner in 2010.
Alisa Harvey (left) is at her best in the first mile of a race with world class middle distance speed. Still her masters win in 18:34 would have made all but seven of the women jealous. She had been third overall in the inaugural year with 17:42.
For the grandmasters, Jean Christophe Arcaz continues to make it look easy with a blazing 18:25. Heather Sanders, 56, whipped all the runners 50-59 by at least a minute, and there were appropriately fifty of them.
Before the race runners were continuously warned about the heat. There were two water stations on the course as well as and sponge station and a mist making machine. We all sweated copiously anyway. At the finish there were many barrels of iced water bottles. Eager runners clustered around the first couple of barrels which were refilled a number of times. Smarter, stronger runners moved past them to the still full and ultra chilled barrels further back.
Just past the liquid was the food tent. After runners walked through grabbing chips and fruit there was a Muscle Mile stand. Following that was the McCafe truck and then the King of Beers as runners circled back around to their bag check area. Hundreds hung around listening to the invigorating music. Now the breeze seemed almost cooling in the shaded park in the middle of the square. That is where the awards started promptly at 9:30.
With plentiful free parking and all these amenities, it is no wonder why this twilight race continues to grow.
AWARDS LIST
FEMALE OVERALL RESULTS
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ======== ========
1 2653 Tezata Dengarsa 29 Arlington VA 17:10.40 17:10.40
2 16 Erin Koch 23 Chevy Chase MD 17:35.79 17:35.79
3 2109 Elena Orlova 41 Gaithersburg MD 17:38.00 17:38.00
4 2075 Lisa Thomas 35 Alexandria VA 17:40.69 17:40.69
5 2375 Stefanie Slekis 23 Dumfries VA 17:58.69 17:58.69
MALE OVERALL RESULTS
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ======== ========
1 11 Steve Hallinan 25 Washington DC 14:50.08 14:50.08
2 2650 Birhanu Alemu Feysa 29 Silver Spring MD 15:01.32 15:01.32
3 1153 Fasil Bizuneh 31 Flagstaff AZ 15:06.21 15:06.21
4 1152 Frank Devar 23 Washington DC 15:09.45 15:09.45
5 67 Andrew Dumm 26 Arlington VA 15:12.84 15:12.84
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 1 - 5
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 1607 Ella Harrison 5 Falls Church VA 44:43.6 42:20.0
MALE AGE GROUP: 1 - 5
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 1638 Alex Horowitz 5 Washington DC 37:43.4 34:55.0
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 6 - 10
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 2122 Anissa Cheikh 10 Annandale VA 30:45.5 30:30.4
2 1759 Michelle Emery 10 Arlington VA 34:11.9 32:53.5
3 2364 Olivia Nammo 8 Arlington VA 36:37.1 35:16.7
MALE AGE GROUP: 6 - 10
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 1610 Rheinhardt Harrison 7 Falls Church VA 24:27.3 24:13.2
2 1578 Blake Deterding 7 Alexandria VA 29:48.4 29:00.4
3 2946 Michael Halpern 7 Anchorage AK 32:50.4 32:19.1
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 11 - 14
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 2005 Brenda Rosas 12 Silver Spring MD 23:34.2 23:34.2
2 2035 Katie Rogers 13 Alexandria VA 24:17.7 23:55.8
3 2451 Adriana Rosas 11 Silver Spring MD 24:38.8 24:38.8
MALE AGE GROUP: 11 - 14
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 2381 John Rangel 14 19:43.0 19:42.4
2 1540 Alex Min 14 Burke VA 25:05.7 23:21.2
3 1921 Lozie Goolsby 14 Alexandria VA 24:03.5 23:40.9
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 15 - 18
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 1281 Amanda Parker 18 Burke VA 22:31.6 22:06.3
2 2053 Kendall Cowne 16 Chantilly VA 24:00.3 22:22.8
3 2413 Nina Srikongyos 17 Springfield VA 23:19.3 22:30.0
MALE AGE GROUP: 15 - 18
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 2909 Lou Colson 15 Alexandria VA 16:42.1 16:40.7
2 2048 Dagmawi Abebe 17 Gaithersburg MD 17:09.1 17:09.1
3 2113 Luke Levan 18 Burke VA 17:14.2 17:13.7
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 19 - 29
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 2649 Keneni Chala 28 Washington DC 18:24.4 18:24.4
2 2038 Erin Swain 29 Arlington VA 18:38.4 18:38.4
3 68 Laurel MacMillan 21 Arlington VA 19:07.5 19:07.5
MALE AGE GROUP: 19 - 29
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 60 Will Viviani 29 Arlington VA 15:24.0 15:24.0
2 57 Jeff Brannigan 22 Washington DC 15:27.2 15:27.2
3 2356 Ryan Foster 26 Arlington VA 15:33.4 15:33.4
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 30 - 39
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 2040 Lindsay Wilkins 33 Arlington VA 18:17.7 18:17.7
2 2929 Jackie Gruendel 36 Clifton VA 18:52.6 18:52.5
3 100 Annie Grondin 38 Arlington VA 20:22.6 20:17.4
MALE AGE GROUP: 30 - 39
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 1807 Bert Rodriguez 31 Arlington VA 15:18.4 15:18.4
2 2652 Tareku Bokan 30 Herndon VA 15:30.4 15:30.4
3 2248 Michael Wardian 37 Arlington VA 16:23.2 16:23.2
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 40 - 49
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 18 Alisa Harvey 45 Manassas VA 18:34.2 18:34.2
2 58 Kristi Markowicz 41 Arlington VA 19:09.5 19:09.5
3 1682 Corky Sturtevant 41 Springfield VA 22:51.7 22:36.3
MALE AGE GROUP: 40 - 49
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 53 Edmund Burke 42 Burtonsville MD 16:54.0 16:54.0
2 1446 Bill Pemberton 40 Alexandria VA 17:17.5 17:16.0
3 2666 Derik Thomas 45 Alexandria VA 17:38.6 17:38.6
Female Age Group: 50 - 59
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 2627 Heather Sanders 56 Mclean VA 23:40.4 23:33.4
2 2010 Linda Kennedy 50 Alexandria VA 24:52.0 24:08.7
3 2805 Dorothy Wright 53 Dumfries VA 27:18.0 26:56.1
Male Age Group: 50 - 59
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 2613 Jean-Christophe Arcaz 50 Rockville MD 18:25.1 18:25.1
2 1107 Peter Cini 53 Fairfax VA 19:57.1 19:55.2
3 1141 Scott Livingston 51 Pittsburgh PA 20:27.5 20:24.5
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 60 - 69
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 1755 Mary Kessler 62 Wallingford PA 26:41.9 26:30.4
2 1754 Melanie Brennan 61 Alexandria VA 32:20.2 32:07.9
3 1932 Wilma Uribe 61 Alexandria VA 35:48.4 34:49.8
Male Age Group: 60 - 69
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 2209 Bob Hersh 60 Arlington VA 25:20.9 24:39.6
2 1716 James Carey 60 Alexandria VA 27:28.7 26:47.9
3 2698 Richard Turner 60 Washington DC 28:25.7 26:49.9
Female Age Group: 70 - 99
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 1428 Frances Widmann 76 Chapel Hill NC 32:48.2 31:52.6
Male Age Group: 70 - 99
Place No. Name Age City St Gun Time Net Time
===== ===== ===================== === ================== == ========= =========
1 1515 Ken Quincy 73 Vienna VA 29:18.1 29:14.7
2 2134 Robert Gurtler 76 The Plains VA 33:40.0 32:54.6
3 1251 John Finney Jr. 71 Arlington VA 34:15.0 33:09.4
