By James Moreland
Burke, VA
November 26, 2011
For the Washington Running Report
No times for brakes as the race starts at the top of the hill.
The glorious weather continues to reign (not rain) throughout the busiest weekend of the year. Many runners took a break from the busiest racing day of the year to eat dinner and go out shopping. Friday seemed like Sunday. Then Saturday was almost perfect. Locals even thought it was almost too warm, while a few slender Caribbean transplants announced that anything colder than 70 degrees was too cold.
The sun was already warming up the day as runners lined up just above Burke Lake and released by the magic ‘G’ word plunged down the fast first half mile. From there the course circled around the lake like a necklace with only a few gentle hills. The weather had been dry but not enough to make the gentle layer of leaves crackle. Some of the lead runners played traffic cop and warned unsuspecting hikers that an avalanche of runners would soon be heading their way. Everyone wanted to be out on this day.
Many of the Thanksgiving weekend races are called fun runs as nearly 10% of all the racers for the year come out to play. Still, lots of the top racers are eager to try out their stuff. Early in the race Keith Freeburn, 37, took over the lead duties. Freeburn has been coming on strong for the last year though rarely at the very front of the pack. He knew Rob Bell, 22, was right there with him and that helped propel both of them to very solid times, especially for a course that is half cross country. Right at four miles the runners headed up a steady incline and Bell made his move. The final half mile is mostly a quick downhill but the final 100 meters is the steepest hill on the course. Bell held on to win in 28:42; Freeburn was next in 28:48.
Usually youngsters do best on cross country and, being generally lighter, fly up hills better. Today six of the top 13 men were masters. Fifth place Kevin Lynch, 44, (right)was earliest the top master in 30:06. David Pinnick, 55, commanded the grandmaster field, finishing 20th overall in a swift 33:47.
Looking around the field Laura Ramos, 32, (left) must have felt like the favorite. However, this is a traveling weekend and you never know when a ringer is going to come into town. Olivia Poblacion, 25 of Corvallis, OR came in from the west coast to set the new standard for the event in an excellent 30:59 that made her the eight finisher overall. Ramos followed her in with a very nice 32:42. Before the race Sushila Nanda, 50, smiled and said yes her leg was still bothering her but she had a few more races that she wanted to do before she would fix it. She blasted out with the lead women covering the first mile in about 6:30. After that she settled in some but still had a very nifty 37:14 to finish as the second master and the first runner older than fifty, Cathy Ross was the first master at fourth overall in 34:26. The grandmaster and 20th overall was Janet Janas. Janas is coming off her first WRR Runner Ranking in the fall season.
After the race there were bagels and bananas to go with gallons and gallons of hot coffee with real cream and bottled water. One runner said as he offered his young daughter a cinnamon raisin bagel, “I ran in the race; you eat the food.”
OVERALL MALE (GUN TIME)
Place Num Name Age City Time
===== ===== =================== === ===================== =======
1 212 Rob Bell 22 Gainesville VA 28:42
2 211 Keith Freeburn 37 Centreville VA 28:48
3 232 Adam Roggia 26 Stafford VA 29:47
OVERALL FEMALE (GUN TIME)
Place Num Name Age City Time
===== ===== =================== === ===================== =======
1 109 Olivia Poblacion 25 Corvallis OR 30:59
2 265 Laura Ramos 32 Silver Spring MD 32:42
3 206 Leah Stiegler 21 Vienna VA 33:32
MALE AGE GROUP: 1 - 19 (NET TIME)
1 297 Steven Kool 17 Vienna VA 31:11
2 267 Joe Brough 16 McLean VA 31:25
3 328 Steven Harokopus 15 Vienna VA 36:30
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 1 - 19 (NET TIME)
1 319 Tara Landy 18 Burke VA 35:06
2 89 Kayla Grimmett 18 Burke VA 37:02
3 249 Mary Pollin 15 Burke VA 37:16
MALE AGE GROUP: 20 - 29 (NET TIME)
1 207 Jason Dods 22 Vienna VA 33:05
2 55 Alec Rosenman 23 Fairfax Station VA 34:25
3 54 Mark Brier 26 Wilmington DE 35:33
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 20 - 29 (NET TIME)
1 170 Emily Williams 29 Arlington VA 38:47
2 53 Lauren Rosenman 25 Fairfax Station VA 38:49
3 163 Heather Hunter 25 Fairfax VA 40:47
MALE AGE GROUP: 30 - 39 (NET TIME)
1 85 Michael Feeney 34 Burke VA 29:59
2 359 Frank Gold 34 Warrenton VA 30:28
3 345 Oscar Tiglao 34 Lorton VA 31:48
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 30 - 39 (NET TIME)
1 397 Laura Barringer 35 Fairfax VA 38:41
2 269 Mary Blair 32 Springfield VA 39:08
3 281 Romana Johnson 37 Dumfries VA 39:22
MALE AGE GROUP: 40 - 49 (NET TIME)
1 331 Kevin Lynch 44 Chantilly VA 30:04
2 30 Dennis Billings 42 Woodbridge VA 30:54
3 322 Matt Anderson 45 Fairfax VA 31:04
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 40 - 49 (NET TIME)
1 73 Cathy Ross 40 Burke VA 34:25
2 136 Barbara Murillo 46 Fairfax VA 39:20
3 338 Mary Maver 46 Springfield VA 39:57
MALE AGE GROUP: 50 - 59 (NET TIME)
1 370 David Pinnick 55 Manassas VA 33:44
2 233 Myron Kremer 54 Winchester VA 36:09
3 80 Malcolm Carlyle 54 Leesburg VA 36:17
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 50 - 59 (NET TIME)
1 324 Sushila Nanda 50 Arlington VA 37:13
2 155 Janet Janas 50 Clifton VA 41:04
3 61 Cynthia Martin 54 Springfield VA 41:13
MALE AGE GROUP: 60 - 69 (NET TIME)
1 35 Robert Taylor 61 Alexandria VA 38:11
2 364 Jim Avila 63 Arlington VA 42:12
3 246 Rick Rice 65 Burke VA 43:56
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 60 - 69 (NET TIME)
1 263 Carolyn Rice 66 Burke VA 45:18
2 259 Kathryn Fanelli 62 Annandale VA 1:00:39
3 4 Nancie Becker 61 Rockville MD 1:16:59
MALE AGE GROUP: 70 - 99 (NET TIME)
1 10 Chan Robbins 74 Arlington VA 40:58
2 111 Robert Gurtler 76 The Plains VA 53:01
3 226 Dick Nanto 70 Clifton VA 1:01:11
The final climb to the finish was no “walk in the park.”
