By Jim Carbary
Columbia, MD
April 17, 2011
For the Washington Running Report
Not often does a 47-year-old woman win a large format race such as Clyde’s 10K, but that is exactly what Robyn Humphrey did last Sunday, April 17, 2011. The Howard County Striders Master Runner of 2010 led from start to finish and fulfilled a lifelong dream of winning the race.
“It was on my bucket list,” Robyn said. “And I wasn’t getting younger.”
Still, her victory was not a slam dunk. She faced stiff competition from Unsong Ostrowski and Suzy Serpico.
“Suzy was breathing down my neck for a while.” Apparently, though, digestive issues obliged Serpico to check her speed and gave Humphrey a chance to win. Robyn’s time of 40:09 was two minutes faster than last year.
“I also want to thank all the runners who chose to run the Boston Marathon and the Pike’s Peek 10K,” Robyn said, referring to races where her potential competition went.
In the men’s competition, Carlos Renjifo won the race for the second year in a row. He had little competition and, like Humphrey, led from start to finish.
“I was trying to keep up a hard effort,” Renjifo said, “and focus on my time.”
The strong wind gave him some trouble holding that pace, especially on that long uphill on Route 108. “I kept looking at my watch. It didn’t quite work out.” He finished in 33:18 in spite of the wind.
The real battle in the men’s race was for second place. Masters runner Peter Keating bolted from the start as if he was trying to beat Renjifo and managed to hold on to second place for at least two miles. At that point, Karsten Brown asserted himself and took over sole possession of second place, where he eventually finished as distant second to Renjifo.
“I may have finished the race second,” Karsten said, “But I got to the beer before anyone else.” Brown’s time of 34:18 was only 18 seconds from a personal best.
The second woman older than 40 to finish was also the first woman older than 50. She won the prize for first masters woman. Grandmaster Pat Wilkerson nailed a 42:21. She finished immediately behind 12-year-old sensation Avery Cunningham, who placed fourth overall in 2010.
“Yep, she’s a great runner,” Pat said with a smile. The first master male was Keating, but because he finished third overall, the male masters award devolved to Matt Reinhardt from Crownsville.
The 33rd Annual Clyde’s 10K took place on a chilly, breezy morning the day after torrential rains had swept through Columbia. Nearly 1500 registered for the event, with 1299 finished. Afterward, Clyde’s of Columbia furnished the runners with a sumptuous brunch that included pasta, turkey chili, yogurt, bagels, fresh California strawberries, and that beer. The beer was served only to adults.
Clyde’s also provided interesting prizes. In addition to gift certificates from Feet First of Hickory Ridge, the top three men and women received a beach cooler with a beach blanket, a water bottle, a Clyde’s hat, and various other beach necessities. Age group winners got the cooler and/or the blanket.
The Howard County Striders have staged this race for Clyde’s since 1979, making it the oldest continuously sponsored race in Maryland. In spite of competing with Pike’s Peek 10K (Rockville) and the Boston Marathon, the race enjoyed one of its largest fields ever. Dennis Albright directed the race, with the assistance of dozens of Strider volunteers and traffic control by the Howard County Police.
Awards
Overall Male
1. Carlos Renjifo (Columbia, MD) 33:17
2. Karsten Brown (Front Royal, VA) 34:18
3. Peter Keating (Columbia, MD) 34:46
Overall Female
1. Robyn Humphrey (Ellicott City, MD) 40:09
2. UnSong Ostrowski (Laurel, MD) 40:49
3. Suzy Serpico (Columbia, MD) 41:14
Masters Male
1. Matthew Reinhart (Crownsville, MD) 37:46
Masters Female
1. Pat Wilkerson (Columbia, MD) 42:21
1-14 Male
1. Conner Holley (Columbia, MD) 40:45
2. Alec Font (Ellicott City, MD) 41:16
3. Thomas Brumbaugh (Columbia, MD) 42:07
1-14 Female
1. Avery Cunningham (Annapolis, MD) 42:18
2. Devin McIntyre (Ellicott City, MD) 48:08
3. Caroline Johnson (Ellicott City, MD) 55:58
15-19 Male
1. Daniel Rau (Ellicott City, MD) 37:10
2. Sam Siegel (Ellicott City, MD) 37:33
3. Ted Terpos (Ellicott City, MD) 38:39
15-19 Female
1. Jennifer King (Dayton, MD) 45:18
2. Katie Gessler (Ellicott City, MD) 45:22
3. Molly Bumbera (Elkridge, MD) 41:18
20-24 Male
1. David Harris (Boston, MA) 37:31
2. Nathaniel Middleton (Glen Burnie, MD) 37:48
3. Daneil Scheinerman (Columbia, MD) 41:43
20-24 Female
1. Amanda An (Ellicott City, MD) 50:54
2. Danielle Caracciolo (Hanover, MD) 50:56
3. Katie Leffner (Columbia, MD) 51:16
25-29 Male
1. Charles Bowles (Boyce, VA) 37:05
2. Josh Dawson (Cheasapeake Beach, MD) 37:40
3. Andrew Ackley (Hanover, MD) 38:32
25-29 Female
1. Caroline Bauer (Laurel, MD) 42:12
2. Emily Knapp (Baltimore, MD) 44:06
3. Amanda Gdowik (Baltimore, MD) 45:33
30-34 Male
1. Luis Diaz (Jessup, MD) 38:25
2. Jason Miller (Catonsville, MD) 38:58
3. Jeff Berger (Bel Air, MD) 39:03
30-34 Female
1. Tiffany Hevner (Columbia, MD) 41:45
2. Adrienne Davidson (Fulton, MD) 43:53
3. Jaimo Fine (Elkridge, MD) 43:53
35-39 Male
1. Jeffrey Spencer (Millersville, MD) 37:57
2. Mark Aaby (Ellicott City, MD) 38:36
3. Claudio Delfino (Baltimore, MD) 40:36
35-39 Female
1. Elizabeth Flynn (Ellicott City, MD) 43:48
2. Lisa Farias (Ellicott City, MD) 44:31
3. Cathy Boegner (Baltimore, MD) 46:30
40-44 Male
1. Todd Matthiesen (Marriottsville, MD) 38:58
2. Marcellus Vandervalk (Highland, MD) 39:21
3. Stephen Turner (Columbia, MD) 40:06
40-44 Female
1. Gina Rower (Ellicott City, MD) 44:15
2. Becky Ramsing (Columbia, MD) 44:24
3. Dena Brzezicki (Ellicott City, MD) 44:43
45-49 Male
1. Sheldon Degenhardt (Marriottsville, MD) 38:05
2. Jay Sweet (Laurel, MD) 38:14
3. Mark Miller (Fulton, MD) 38:20
45-49 Female
1. Donna Wecker (Elkridge, MD) 42:50
2. Janeth Scott (Columbia, MD) 44:19
3. Lisa Fichman (Columbia, MD) 44:44
50-54 Male
1. Joseph Hanle (Columbia, MD) 39:29
2. Mark Rosasco (Arnold, MD) 41:16
3. Bobby Gessler (Ellicott City, MD) 41:30
50-54 Female
1. Dorothy Beckett (Columbia, MD) 44:44
2. Carole Rosasco (Arnold, MD) 46:56
3. Nancy Thompson (Columbia, MD) 48:30
55-59 Male
1. John Heslin (Ellicott City, MD) 37:50
2. Keith Harrison (Columbia, MD) 47:32
3. Jim Grover (Columbia, MD) 48:11
55-59 Female
1. Mary Lang (Pasadena, MD) 50:56
2. Lynne Douglas (Columbia, MD) 52:19
3. Esther Hoffberg (Reisterstown, MD) 55:10
60-99 Female
1. Ellen Rabe (Columbia, MD) 53:53
2. Natalie Vaslavsky (Pikesville, MD) 1:03:23
3. Fran Daum (Elkridge, MD) 1:11:48
60-99 Male
1. Ronnie Wong (Catonsville, MD) 43:10
2. Pat Gary (Manchester, MD) 43:28
3. Piriya Pinit (Catonsville, MD) 45:57
By Jim Carbary
Last year Dave Berdan won the Annual 10 Mile Challenge in an amazingly fast time of 51:43. At this year’s race, Ryan McGrath, captain of the Falls Road Running team offered a bonus of $100 to his teammate Alexander Battaglino if he could better that time. Having every intention of collecting, Battaglino bolted from the start and immediately assumed a commanding lead.
“He went out so fast that we thought he’d fade and we’d reel him in,” said Carlos Renjifo, captain of the Howard County Strider/Feet First racing team.
Battaglino (left in photo by Doug Hawkland) kept a relentless pace, however, and slowed down only slightly in the hilly section of the course around six miles. “I never looked back,” he said, “so I really didn’t know how far ahead I was.” He finished nearly two minutes ahead of Matt Barresi in second place. Battaglino clocked 51:34 – nine seconds ahead of Berdan’s time— so he earned his bonus.
Falls Road may have claimed the top finisher, but they placed only six in the top 20 finishers, while the home team from Howard County placed seven in the top 20. This was enough for the locals to win the men’s team trophy. The top 12 men scored, with the next 80 serving as “displacers.”
Howard County’s Kara Waters (below in photo by Jim Carbary) won the woman’s race in 1:01:55 by a margin similar to that of Battaglino. She ran the race as an independent last year, but signed on with the Striders this year and ran several minutes faster, mostly competing against the men. “There were some good hills,” Kara said about the course. Her time and margin of victory were all the more amazing since she had just finished the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon (Arizona) a month ago in 2:52:31. She plans to improve her time by doing some speed work in the near future.
Kara’s valiant effort was not enough for the Strider women to beat back the women’s team from Falls Road. Led by Denise Knickman, the Falls Road women collected the next five places behind Waters and swept to a resounding victory in the women’s team challenge. “It was the best race I’ve had in a while,” Knickman said. The top six women on a team scored.
The mixed or coed team victory was decided by a scoring system as complicated as the NFL’s tie-breaker rules. Fortunately, the scoring was handled by a computer, which eventually determined that the men and women of Falls Road had also won the mixed team championship. By dint of its two team victories, Falls Road also took the overall championship. They retained the ancient trophy, which dates to 1980. Battaglino and Waters also took home trophies for their individual victories. The men, women’s, and mixed teams received trophies. But there were no more awards, since this was purely a team challenge race. All finishers did receive the trademark painter’s gloves.
The race was directed by Richard Bernstein, who received support from dozens of Howard County Strider volunteers and the Boy Scouts. The Howard County police not only provided traffic control, they also gave Battaglino a motorcycle escort all through his 10-mile jaunt. The Striders also wish to thank Steve Musselman and the Howard Community college, which served as the venue for the race and allowed use of its gymnasium for post-race ceremonies.
Ten complete teams from all over central Maryland and the District of Columbia competed in the 10 Mile Challenge, which is an official RRCA Championship race. The Challenge race also represents the first race in the Maryland RRCA Grand Prix Championship series. Although 800 signed up for the race, only 564 finished. The registration of the 800 individuals marked the largest field ever for the 10 Mile Challenge and the first time the event ever closed out.
Top Men
| 1. | Alexander | Battaglino | Falls Road | 51:34 |
| 2. | Matthew | Barresi | Howard | 53:21 |
| 3. | Carlos | Renjifo | Howard | 53:27 |
| 4. | Tristam | Thomas | Falls Road | 53:51 |
| 5. | Ed | Aramayo | Falls Road | 53:57 |
| 6. | Dustin | Meeker | Falls Road | 54:02 |
| 7. | Dave | Miller | Unattached | 54:30 |
| 8. | Andrew | Madison | Howard County | 54:37 |
| 9. | James | Henry | Montgomery County | 55:03 |
| 10. | Mark | Buschman | Howard | 55:39 |
| 11. | Garrett | Ash | Falls Road | 56:00 |
| 12. | Kyle | Stanton | Howard County | 56:14 |
| 13. | Luke | Bedford | RASAC | 56:22 |
| 14. | Daniel | Miranda | Baltimore | 56:54 |
| 15. | Karsten | Brown | Annapolis | 57:01 |
| 16. | Alex | Loper | RASAC | 57:09 |
| 17. | Randall | McDermott | Howard County | 57:25 |
| 18. | Seth | Tibbitts | Falls Road | 57:29 |
| 19. | Philip | Diven | Howard County | 57:34 |
| 20. | Matthew | Klaschus | RASAC | 57:53 |
Top Women
| 1. | Kara | Waters | Howard County | 1:01:55 |
| 2. | Denise | Knickman | Falls Road | 1:03:49 |
| 3. | Diane | Heiser | Falls Road | 1:04:17 |
| 4. | Melissa | Majundar | Falls Road | 1:04:57 |
| 5. | Suzanne | Hurst | Falls Road | 1:06:47 |
| 6. | Jaclyn | Truncellito | Falls Road | 1:07:04 |
| 7. | Stefanie | Commins | Howard County | 1:07:16 |
| 8. | Megan | DiGregorio | Falls Road | 1:08:09 |
| 9. | Megan | McNew | Falls Road | 1:08:18 |
| 10. | Robyn | Humphrey | Howard County | 1:08:25 |
| 11. | Donna | Wecker | Howard County | 1:08:28 |
| 12. | Patricia | Soumoff | Montgomery County | 1:08:38 |
| 13. | Caroline | Bauer | Howard County | 1:08:43 |
| 14. | Kristin | Van Eron | Baltimore | 1:08:49 |
| 15. | Nicole | Deziel | Montgomery County | 1:11:00 |
| 16. | Ulrike | Robinson | Montgomery County | 1:11:34 |
| 17. | Utonna | Sherrod | Annapolis | 1:11:57 |
| 18. | Sarah | Lebro | Howard County | 1:12:01 |
| 19. | Alyssa | Godesky | Falls Road | 1:12:19 |
| 20. | Audrey | Perlow | DCRRC | 1:12:20 |
Men’s Teams (low score wins)
| 1. | HCS | 198 |
| 2. | FRR | 222 |
| 3. | RASAC | 522 |
| 4. | MCRRC | 814 |
| 5. | BRRC | 834 |
| 6. | DCRRC | 1199 |
| 7. | FSC | 1433 |
| 8. | AS | 1455 |
| 9. | WRRC | 1885 |
| 10. | PGRC | 2703 |
Women’s Teams
| 1. | FRR | 28 |
| 2. | HCS | 60 |
| 3. | MRRC | 121 |
| 4. | BRRC | 178 |
| 5. | RASAC | 320 |
| 6. | FSC | 333 |
| 7. | AS | 389 |
| 8. | DCRRC | 456 |
| 9. | WRR | 598 |
| 10. | PGRC | 678 |
Mixed Teams
| 1. | FRR | 497 |
| 2. | HCS | 532 |
| 3. | MRRC | 1286 |
| 4. | RASAC | 1350 |
| 5. | BRRC | 1408 |
| 6. | DCRRC | 2056 |
| 7. | FSC | 2322 |
| 8. | AS | 2502 |
| 9. | WRR | 3198 |
| 10. | PGRC | 4490 |
This event was the first race of the 2011 Maryland Grand Prix Championship Series
Below is this year’s schedule.
Maryland State RRCA Championship Series Schedule
1. MD RRCA Challenge (the 1st race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) was run Sunday 2/27/11- 8:00 a.m.
2. Springburst 8K (2nd race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Saturday 4/9/11 – 9:00 a.m.
3. Bel Air Town Run 5K (3th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Sunday 6/05/11 – 8:00 a.m.
4. Fatburger 5 Miler (4th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Sunday 6/19/11 – 8:00 a.m.
5. Dog Day’s 8K (5th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Sunday 8/7/11 – 8:00 a.m.
6. Frederick Mile (6th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Saturday 9/10/11 – 8:00 a.m.
7. Dave Herlocker Memorial Bachmann Valley Half Marathon (7th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Sunday 9/25/11 – 8:00 a.m.
8. Falls Road 15K (8th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Sunday 10/02/12 – 8:30 a.m.
9. Rockville 10K (9th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Sunday 11/06/11 – 8:30 a.m.
10. Northern Central Trail Marathon (10th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Saturday 11/26/16 – 9:30 a.m.
