By James Moreland
Ashburn, VA
May 22, 2011
For the Washington Running Report
May is the month of maybe. It may be really hot (2009). It may be real humid (2010). Or it may be both (2011). Running is still booming so the field drew 25% more than last year race for the two events, 5K and 10K. The awards expanded out to two deep in ten year age groups.
Before the race Bernie Gallagher, 70, proudly announced he would be running the 5K with his granddaughters. Gallagher, always near the top of his division when healthy, claims he has recovered from an injured humerus (like he needs an arm to run a race), and will soon be mounting a charge for the division crown. He allowed Greer to step on the ChronoTrack mats a second ahead of him. Her older sister Taitumn jetted on ahead to finish eighth overall in 24:11.
The race is very well marshaled and policed. Still with the 5K and 10K going off together a half block from the first turn onto Ashburn Village Boulevard, bodies jammed the racing lane. The 5K turnaround comes around 2K into the race. As runners fold back, longer distance racers now have clear sailing.
Last year the 5K race was won overall by Katherine Hoenig in 21:22. Before the race Ted Poulos was lining up for the race. Having finished the Atoms 5K yesterday in 17:25, it seemed unlikely that Hoenig would get a repeat. With nearly 5,000 races in his résumé, Poulos saw the hand writing on the wall. Six months shy of fifty, he was not going to take down Justin Fritzius, 26, for the win. As he approached the turnaround he was right with second place Robert Jones, 41, but nobody else. A quick, measured look around and a shot of adrenaline and he whipped past the turnaround to take the lead in the 10K race.
Like most of us Poulos likes to win. In his case, usually about fifty races a year. He had 39-year-old Rob Meadows riding his wake to keep him honest. He would not get to coast to victory today. Christopher Green, 42, was not too far behind hoping to mop up if the heat altered their second half tempo.
Poulos returned to finish line around the last corner alone to win it all in 37:59. Meadows piled in 25 seconds later.
Five of the top eight finishers in the 10K were masters. The first grandmaster was Mark Drosky in 41:02, seventh overall. Coming in next was the first woman 52-year-old DeeDee Loughran (41:46). Comparisons have been made with this race and Pike’s Peek, mostly because both races have been run on the same date, (2009) and killer heat made for some slower times. “Don’t write that this course is flat or fast,” was the refrain heard at the end of the race.
No, the course is not flat but the rolling hills are not monsters that you hear about on the “scenic” courses. None of the little rises were enough to even slow your pace. They just gave you incentive to glide by the runner in front of you that was feeling the reverse placebo effect. Indeed the courses many turns helped because as you turned a corner if you fired up the after burners for a couple hundred meters, the competition would round the corner and think you were gone.
Last year’s woman’s winner in the 10K would have been fifth this year. Runners do go to www.runwashington.com and read race results. When the winning times are soft, the next year there is much stiffer competition. Coming in for her 53rd race of the year, people might think last year’s runner up Karen Young would be due for a vacation. Rumor has it she is going across the pond next week but that she has already lined up four races for next week. She won handily yesterday in Annandale but had to settle for third in her age group today. Tonya Stotler, 44, was the masters winner in 44:16. Stotler won the 5K in 2007 as nearly every year a master runner takes the top spot.
Back to the 5K, Katherine Hoenig repeated as the women’s winner in 21:34, though she was tenth overall this year just behind 59-year-old Dan Eddy, 21:34 (10K equivalent of 44:59). The answer to whether it was hot or slower than Pike’s Peek can be answered by Eddy’s 41:26 at Pike’s Peek. The second woman was also a masters, Susan Winklosky in 22:10.
The 10K race had five runners with a combined 250 races run already this year. Top with 61 races was second grandmaster Bill Stahr, followed by Poulos with 57. Young has 53 races which keeps her just behind 76-year-old Bob Gurtler who has 55. Normally it would not be fair to have an extended 60 and older division. Today, Al Rider, 75, looked around at the finish and said, “I didn’t see any other old guys. I may have won an award.” He did, first place, followed by Gurtler in second.
Karen Young and Bill Stahr relax after a combined 114 races in 2011.
MALE OVERALL
1 9 Ted Poulos 49 McLean VA 37:59 X
2 593 Rob Meadows 39 Ashburn VA 38:24 X
3 636 Christopher Green 42 Sterling VA 38:47 X
FEMALE OVERALL
1 438 Deedee Loughran 52 Oak Hill VA 41:46 X
2 617 Meredith Samson 30 South Riding VA 42:37 X
3 634 Tammy Tribett 38 Manassas VA 43:20 X
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 01 - 12
1 426 Jack Knibb 11 Washington DC 54:10 X
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 01 - 12
1 311 Kate Brunotts 11 Ashburn VA 53:22 X
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 13 - 19
1 59 John Baldwin 19 Reston VA 41:33 X
2 483 Kyle Czech 14 Ashburn VA 54:35 X
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 13 - 19
1 425 Taylor Knibb 13 Washington DC 45:25 X
2 259 Alison Mabery 16 Ashburn VA 1:04:01 X
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 20 - 29
1 71 Gregory Mihalik 27 Ashburn VA 40:20 X
2 378 Adam Jones 25 Ashburn VA 47:41 X
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 20 - 29
1 233 Allyson McKechnie 22 Oakton VA 46:13 X
2 51 Natalie Nguyen 29 Leesburg VA 51:19 X
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 30 - 39
1 266 Rui Rodrigues 35 Ashburn VA 40:46 X
2 320 Sergey Yudkovsky 35 Reston VA 41:45 X
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 30 - 39
1 641 Jennifer Schwartz 39 Bethesda MD 47:42 X
2 468 Rebecca Walter 32 Washington DC 50:22 X
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 40 - 49
1 194 Bryan Tenney 43 Ashburn VA 39:03 X
2 153 Chris Stotler 43 Leesburg VA 42:59 X
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 40 - 49
1 424 Leslie Knibb 47 Washington DC 44:07 X
2 267 Tonya Stotler 44 Leesburg VA 44:16 X
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 50 - 59
1 506 Mark Drosky 50 Alexandria VA 41:01 X
2 630 Bill Stahr 50 The Plains VA 42:57 X
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 50 - 59
1 435 Jan Merna 51 Fairfax VA 53:03 X
2 269 Carol Beaupre 55 Ashburn VA 54:51 X
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 60 - 99
1 603 Alan Rider 75 Reston VA 57:04 X
2 601 Robert Gurtler 76 The Plains VA 1:04:38 X
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 60 - 99
1 491 Pat Welch 66 Vienna VA 59:31 X
Inaugural Race has Room to Grow
By James Moreland
September 27, 2008
Sterling, VA
For the Washington Running Report
With so many races competing for runners, it is hard to draw large crowds. The Wells Fargo Run for the Door 5K started off their first year with a lot of pluses. The race venue had huge parking loot with tons of room for this race to grow ten times as large. The course was coned off well so that even with its many turns, runners could easily stay on course. If you cannot have a fast course, make it real interesting.
Even before the runners lined up to get started, the air was thick with music from the booming music tent. There were fresh bagels and fruit for after the race and bless them, the bottled water was nestled in a bed of ice. After the past few days of chilling rain, runners might have forgotten how warm September really remains. Indeed, the race was a little nervous as the early morning skies contained some thunder and lightning. Fortunately that passed and runners were met with the lightest of drizzle, though the humidity made the air thick.
Ray (#1) and Cathy (#2) Pugsley of Potomac River Running both came out to help the race get started. Usually one of them has to stand on the sidelines. Today both were reasonable bets to finish in the top three and not even a long shot to win it all. Justin Fritzius of Purcellville, VA started on the far side with Pugsley front and center. Fritzius had won three 5Ks out right last summer in less than sixteen minutes. In 2008, he added three more victories in the summer, including the prestigious Annapolis 10 Mile.
The course had runners bolting around the shopping center in a half mile loop before cruising up Ridgetop Circle. The course’s “hills” were really mild and the “ridge top” reached at mile one was by no means daunting. The bear climbing on your back was the humidity as runners hastened down the long hill just after mile one. By this time, Fritzius had built a small cushion over Pugsley but could not shake fellow Purcellville racer Chris Schaeffer. At the tape, the photo makes it look as if Fritzuis is out for a stroll, crossing the line in 16:04, yet Scheaffer (16:07) is close enough to be partially blocked out of the photo.
Meanwhile, Pugsley (16:21) had all he could handle from fourth place David Miller of Leesburg VA, who ran 16:25. The race generously went three deep in ten year age groups and the winners in those divisions were uncontested. Fifth place Gary Grilliot (44) of Reston, VA hammered the masters in a spiffy 17:25. Michael Arrowsmith (149) of Reston, VA glided to glory in 18:51. Richard Adams Jr. (57) of Herndon, VA whiplashed his division bolting out to a forty second lead by the mile and taking it on home in 19:18. With no one competing in the 60-69 division, Maynard Weyers (72) of Alexandria, VA came roaring home to a cheering crowd, emphatically winning in an excellent 24:45.
Julia Rudd (25) of Herndon, VA has run a 5:06 mile this year and was hoping for something in the 17s. That was a tall order in today’s sticky weather. The top five runners (all men) were gone in a flash. She could latch onto to Michael Arrowsmith to help stay on pace, which she did, winning easily in 18:55. Cathy Pugsley started conservatively but by midway it seemed certain she would hold the number two spot, which she did in 19:09. Anita Freres had a great summer including an overall win and a top 5K in 20:09. She usually gets faster as the race wears on but she was not going to catch third place Danielle Russell (44) of Ashburn, VA. Russell, a new face, had an excellent 19:23. Freres, possibly aware that so-to-be-masters Jeanette Dumbrell was on her tail, pulled out her fastest 5K of the year (so far) in 19:56. Dumbrell was close in 20:04 to win her division. In the photo above, Lauren Dalton, just 13, of Sterling, VA gets a nice effort to win in 23:31.
Richards Adams Jr. (57) of Herndon, MD was seventh overall in 19:18. He hurried back to the finish line so he be the first one over to the massage table set up for runners.
Awards
FEMALE OVERALL
Place Num Name Ag City Gun T Net T Pace
===== ===== ====================== == ===================== ===== ===== =====
1 3 Julia Rudd 25 Herndon VA 18:55 18:54 6:05
2 2 Cathy Pugsley 39 Sterling VA 19:09 19:09 6:10
3 103 Danielle Russell 44 Ashburn VA 19:23 19:23 6:15
MALE OVERALL
Place Num Name Ag City Gun T Net T Pace
===== ===== ====================== == ===================== ===== ===== =====
1 127 Justin Fritzius 24 Purcellville VA 16:04 16:04 5:11
2 132 Chris Sheaffer 24 Purcellville VA 16:07 16:07 5:11
3 1 Ray Pugsley 39 Sterling VA 16:21 16:20 5:16
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 01 – 19
1 182 Lauren Dalton 13 Sterling VA 23:31 23:31 7:34
2 109 Natalie Nelson 11 Sterling VA 26:55 26:55 8:40
3 139 Kelly Miller 13 Leesburg VA 29:14 29:13 9:25
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 01 – 19
1 75 Michael Arrowsmith 19 Ashburn VA 18:51 18:50 6:04
2 138 Matt Gambogi 14 Leesburg VA 20:22 20:22 6:34
3 145 Brenden Veler 12 Bristow VA 25:30 25:30 8:13
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 20 – 29
1 111 India Imbs 23 Ashburn VA 26:01 25:54 8:20
2 65 Beth Nagel 26 Ashburn VA 27:24 27:23 8:49
3 70 Vivian Kim 29 Sterling VA 29:12 29:07 9:22
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 20 – 29
1 83 David Miller 25 Leesburg VA 16:25 16:25 5:17
2 69 Daniel Huertas 28 Herndon VA 25:15 25:09 8:06
3 22 Lawrence Lee 29 Sterling VA 25:23 25:16 8:08
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 30 – 39
1 97 Jeanette Dumbrell 39 Falls Church VA 20:04 20:03 6:28
2 106 Diane Lathom 37 Ashburn VA 22:09 22:07 7:08
3 38 Christine Cosgrave 33 Herndon VA 26:38 26:33 8:33
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 30 – 39
1 110 Robert Van Dyke 34 Ashburn VA 22:01 21:58 7:05
2 56 Il June Lee 30 Vienna VA 23:16 23:10 7:28
3 76 Kevin Powell 34 Sterling VA 23:24 23:16 7:30
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 40 – 49
1 140 Anita Freres 43 Reston VA 19:56 19:56 6:25
2 116 Michelle Jakab 43 Sterling VA 26:09 25:59 8:22
3 25 Vicki Lewis 48 Woodbridge VA 26:53 26:48 8:38
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 40 – 49
1 123 Gary Grilliot 44 Reston VA 17:25 17:25 5:37
2 95 Robert Sichau 44 Alexandria VA 19:46 19:44 6:22
3 120 Rob Schlegel 41 Clifton VA 20:20 20:19 6:33
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 50 – 59
1 178 Leslie Kash 52 Round Hill VA 26:51 26:47 8:38
2 67 Karen Leh 51 Sterling VA 29:03 28:49 9:17
3 68 Cheryl Beebe 51 Sterling VA 32:23 32:21 10:25
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 50 – 59
1 29 Richard Adams Jr 57 Herndon VA 19:18 19:18 6:13
2 84 Myron Kremer 51 Winchester VA 20:51 20:50 6:43
3 10 James Moreland 56 Gaithersburg MD 21:04 21:04 6:47
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 60 – 69
1 51 Jean Stewart 65 Washington DC 40:44 40:32 13:03
2 73 Toni Miller 60 Leesburg VA 52:41 52:22 16:52
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 70 – 99
1 113 Maynard Weyers 72 Alexandria VA 24:45 24:44 7:58
2 144 Terry McCarthy 73 Leesburg VA 28:59 28:55 9:19
3 119 Jim Hufford 74 Reston VA 30:24 30:18 9:45
MALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME – NET PACE 1 – 99
1 37 John Bratton 44 M Arlington VA 22:59 22:57 7:23
FEMALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME – NET PACE 1 – 99
1 66 Leila Lucas 46 F Ashburn VA 28:02 27:59 9:01
Wearing his Potomac River Running shirt, David Miller of Leesburg, VA flies home with a Ranked Runner time of 16:25 for fourth overall.
