Sweat can cure many of life’s minor ailments, but not pancreatic cancer. More than 4,000 runners and walkers raced down sunlight-studded Pennsylvania Avenue on June 15 in support of research for pancreatic cancer in the PurpleStride 5k, held by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.The 5k provided a venue for local runners and for more than 90 cancer survivors, plus families and friends of people affected by the disease. T-shirts and signs in honor of loved ones filled the street, as did anything purple — tutus, dyed beards, glittering wigs.

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Although the walk has been part of the D.C. scene for four years, the race was added just last year.

“It’s a way to bring people into our movement and learn about pancreatic cancer that aren’t necessarily impacted, people who are just runners and want to have a good run on Saturday morning,” said Julie Fleshman, president and CEO of the California-based Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Men’s overall winner Travis Boltjes, who lives in D.C., was part of that group. He said he doesn’t know anyone affected by pancreatic cancer, but he recognized that the race supported an important effort.

“Great course, good cause, beautiful day,” he said.

His time of 16:28 represents his best effort of the year, even though the race wasn’t necessarily circled on his calendar.

“I try to have fun and enjoy the summer,” he said. “These [races] are part of that.”

However, overall women’s winner Megan Heidt, Silver Spring, had felt the life-altering effects cancer brings to a family. She ran for an aunt, also a runner, whose stage IV pancreatic cancer was diagnosed last year.

“I have a lot of aunts and uncles, but we’re the closest,” Heidt said. “We thought we’d show our support. This one was important to us.”

Heidt competes for the Potomac River Racing Team in about 10 events each year. Her 18:47 winning time is consistent with other finishes.

“Not my best,” she said, “but I’m happy with it for right now.”

Both winners pulled away in the final stretch toward Freedom Plaza, with the Capitol on the horizon at their backs.

Boltjes ran with second-place finisher Marshall Martin to within a few blocks of the finish before pulling ahead. Heidt stayed with a small lead group of women for most of the race. Her kick put her in first place within a few hundred meters of the finish.

For all the competitiveness, the mass of purple-clad runners were part of an effort much bigger than any 5k. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s DC affiliate raised $740,000 dollars for cancer research this year, a new record and the highest grossing event in the history of the national organization. Last year the local effort topped $500,000.

Team Andra raised $35,000 for the D.C. event, the top fundraising team. Andra Tamburro, D.C., learned her diagnosis in January.

“It’s overwhelming to have all my friends and family here running on my behalf,” she said. Chemotherapy treatments held her back from joining the group on the course, but she said she walks as much as she can in preparation to run again.

“Next year,” she said.

Peter Cashion, Tamburro’s husband, said the disease has changed the outlook for races.

“You’re usually here to run for a good time,” he said. “It’s a bigger reason for being here.”

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 45,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer will be diagnosed this year in the United States. The pancreas sits behind the stomach. It provides enzymes needed to break down food and also supplies some insulin, which controls sugar levels in a person’s blood.

This form of cancer is so deadly because symptoms can be minimal and no good tests exist for early diagnosis. After five years, less than 15 percent of stage I pancreatic cancer patients survive, compared with 88 percent of stage I breast cancer patients.

Washington resident Jessica Bernstein didn’t have cancer, but she developed a tumor in her pancreas.

“It was summer, and I couldn’t walk,” she said. “I was skipping out on things with my friends.”

Her doctors thought her stomach pain might be a reaction to the anxieties of high school life.

Instead, she had surgery at age 16. She said she hasn’t experienced any further side effects in seven years.

“I started running when I moved to D.C.,” she said. “I didn’t know a lot of people. I had time to do something. I feel like everyone in D.C. runs.”

The capital is definitely a running town, but not everyone runs, including Noelle Perillo. She’d tried to embrace the sport several years ago. Then she got pregnant. When her dad’s pancreatic cancer was diagnosed, she said she found renewed motivation.

“I never expected to run a 5k,” Perillo said, “but I never expected my dad to be diagnosed with cancer.”

Perillo, of Silver Spring, completed her first race while her dad watched. Yet even as a newcomer to the running family, she shares a common story with Julie Weiss, the California “Marathon Goddess,” whose father  also had pancreatic cancer.

Qualifying for the Boston Marathon headlined her list of goals in 2010.

“It was my biggest dream that he would be there to see me qualify,” she said. “He was very athletic. When I started running, we got much closer.”

She hit the qualifying mark a week after her dad died.

Weiss decided to try for 52 marathons in 52 weeks as a personal challenge that would also raise money and awareness. She finished the feat at the Los Angeles Marathon in March.

Her new goal is to collect $1 million. The money will benefit needed research, but events like the PurpleStride 5k still revolve around the people, not the science.

“This is my family,” she said. “This is my why. These people. These are my heroes: the survivors, the family members, the caretakers.

“You see all these people who’ve lost someone or are going through it themselves. They’re turning that pain and that grief into something so powerful and so positive.”

Hundreds of those runners, survivors and supporters returned to Pennsylvania Avenue in the week after the race to talk with members of Congress and advocate for more research funding.

 

Claire Hallissey wasn’t expecting to run an event record Saturday during the Lawyers Have Heart 10k.

“I did a track workout on Thursday,” the 2012 British Olympian said.

Yet the 30-year-old Arlington resident still ran a 34:33, bettering the previous event record by 9 seconds on a cool, overcast morning in Georgetown.

In fact, Hallissey and second place finisher Susanna Sullivan of Falls Church are only the second and third women to break 35 minutes in the event’s 23-year history, taking advantage of the good, June running conditions.

“She turned it on the last mile and just blew me away,” Sullivan, 23, who won last October’s Marine Corps 10k, said.

Sullivan finished in 34:48, just off the previous event record of 34:42 set in 1992 by Baltimore’s Charlotte Thomas.Wayinshet Hailu, 26, came in third at 36:06.

Event organizers called the 1992 10k course much more difficult than Saturday’s having trekked through many more hills around Georgetown’s residential areas.

The course has changed several times in the event’s history. This year’s started on K Street under the Whitehurst Freeway in Georgetown. Runners looped up to the freeway, ran down Canal Street, and turned back near Georgetown’s reservoir.

Hallissey’s appearance on Saturday took runners and event organizers by surprise, not expecting the Olympian, who turned in a 2:35:39 marathon in last summer’s London games, to run.

“I’m happy with how I’m running right now,” Hallissey said, noting her last few 10ks were in the 34-minute range.

Sullivan was trying to sneak up on Hallissey after a slower start and moved just a few strides behind her at the race’s turnaround point near the reservoir.

At that point, Capital Area Runner teammate and men’s leader Chris Mills shouted encouragement, seeing her in second place.

“Then, it was game over,” Sullivan said, referring to Hallissey’s talent and experience. “I had to show my cards.”

Hallissey said later she knew a female competitor was on her heels from the crowds yelling support to those behind her.

Mills, who went on to win the men’s race, called the high 60 degree weather at the start the “perfect temperature.”

Mills of Falls Church broke away from the pack after about 3.5 miles and cruised to a time of 31:15, better second place finisher Birhanu Mekonen by 26 seconds. Dave Burnham of Arlington came in third place with a 32:03.

The men were well off their event record of 29:51 set by Ethoipia’s Gurmessa Kumsa in 2006.

Mekonen and Hailu said after the race they were hampered by a late arrival to the race site and didn’t have a chance to conduct their full warm up.

Mills was proud of his running even splits, coming through the 5k at 15:38. The 23-year-old expected to run a great time, following a 29:09 performance at April 20’s Pike Peek 10k in Rockville.

Women’s fourth place finisher Barbara Fallon Wallace ran a 36:33 and called the conditions a bit muggy. The 39-year-old won last year’s race just 18 months after giving birth to twins.

“At least it was cloudy,” Fallon Wallace said. “It could have been 90 degrees.”

In fact, extreme temperatures two years ago caused organizers to shorten the race to a 5k.

But the event hosted a 5k – aside from 2011’s impromptu change – for the first time in several years in 2013.

The Capital Area Runners dominated the women’s side, taking the top three spots. Erin Taylor, 31, of Arlington led the way with an 18:08, followed by Ashley Kollme of Chevy Chase in 19:07 and Mary Christopher of Washington in 20:32.

“Whenever you can get your teammates in the top three, that’s great,” Taylor said.

Jack Riely, 19, of Silver Spring won the men’s 5k in 16:38.

Kristi Markowicz, 43, of Arlington was the women’s masters winners with a time of 39:13. Edmund Burke, 43, of Burkesville, Md. won the men’s masters race in 33:27.

The event, held annually since 1991, benefits the American Heart Association. Flocks of the law firms around the area organize teams to generate money for the group. So far, the event has raised more than $8 million for the cause.

So far this year, teams have raised in excess of $750,000, according to the event’s website. McDermott Will & Emery raised nearly $20,000 as of Saturday.

“It’s just nice to see some law firms — who don’t have a reputation for promoting the common good — have one Saturday where we’re out for the common good,” Jones Day attorney Ben Katz, 28, said following the race.

His firm raised more than $2,600 for the American Heart Association.

“In the legal community you hear a lot about people who have heart disease,” Jones Day’s Owen Conroy, 30, said. “It’s just nice to show support.”

The backs of Krooth & Altman’s bright yellow team shirts read “Run to remember, Run to Prevent,” an ode to the event’s well-being message.

“A lot of us have had family members or friends we’ve lost to heart disease,” paralegal Kelly Behr said.

The grandfather of Jonathan Singer, 29, of O’Melveny & Myers had a stroke, and building awareness for that was important to him.

“We want to serve the community in a legal capacity, but also give back,” Singer said, adding he ran his first ever road race Saturday, finish the 5k in 32:06.

His team had about twice as many people run this year with about 32 runners.

Many area attorneys run merely for the camaraderie.

“We’ve done this four years now, and every year have doubled in sized,” Paul Brinkman of Quinn Emanuel said.

Lawyers competed in teams of based on law firm size and practice type. Individuals competed for awards based on time in categories such as private practice, corporate lawyer, government lawyer, non-lawyer legal professional, paralegal, law student, and summer associate.

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David Dang’s reaction to the aftermath of the Springfield 15k was completely appropriate. He sat in the shade of a tent on the Lee High School field and cooled his head with a bag of ice that was rapidly melting in the late spring heat.

It was a rough day for Dang, for any number of reasons, but he was undeterred in his dedication to running.

He signed up Thursday night at Metro Run and Walk, near his home in Springfield.

“I went in to buy some shoes, then thought, ‘hey why not sign up for a 15k,’” he said.

Though he went on to regret his decision initially, after two hours of sleep the night before and rushing to start the race as the last walker crossed the starting line.

“I passed a lot of people, but then I just got gassed out,” he said, before walking much of the second half of the race, which started at the Springfield Mall, followed Commerce Road and Ole Keene Mill to the cross county trail before turning around at Lake Accotink and following Highland back toward the high school for a finish on the track.

“I feel a little bit disappointed in myself because I used to run a lot and it shows this is something you have to keep up consistently,” he said. “I ran a marathon two years ago, but then I got a girlfriend, we started going out to eat and now I’m walking the second half of a race. This is the kind of kick I need to get back at it.”

John Geraghty also came out for his hometown race and found the weather, humid in the mid 70s by the 8 a.m. start, a little oppressive.

“I started out fine for the first three miles, hung in there for the middle three, and the last three were ugly,” he said. “There were a lot of volunteers though, they kept us going.”

He did the race last year, another hot one. His wife, Lauren, pushed their children Jack and Elin in a stroller, though Jack got out and ran alongside when tensions boiled over with his little sister.

“She likes to ride along when I run and he needed to get away from her for a while, so we all did our things there,” she said.

The distance wasn’t a problem for Riaz Tyler, who is finishing his sophomore year at Hayfield High School. The young man from Lorton signed up for the race because he wasn’t ready to be done for the year after track season ended. He put a gap on Vienna’s Chris McGarrigal six miles in and won by more than half a minute in 59:51.

“It was extra hot, so you had to push through that,” he said. “I might do another hot race. With a longer race, you get more of a racing experience. Track races are over in a hurry.”

Katie Spaulding from Strafford surprised herself, despite a more challenging course than she expected and slowing down to avoid overheating and PRed.

“I haven’t run many 15k races, so it’s not hard to PR, but I’m happy with it,” she said.

She’s been on a tear since giving birth to her son, Kevin, three days after she ran the Arlington 9-11 5k. She and her husband also ran the Veterans Day 10k the morning after their wedding in “Mr.” and “Mrs.” t-shirts and she struck a smile during the race that led to her photo gracing the cover of the Washington Running Report, RunWashington’s prior iteration.

“I was lucky with my pregnancy, I could run the whole time,” she said. “Four weeks later, I was running again and I PRed at a Turkey Trot.”

She and her husband, who shares her son’s name and birthday, train with their nine-month old in a jogging stroller, which she credits with helping her with resistance training.

“When I’m not using it, I can really run fast,” she said.

 

Trying to schedule a friendly get together in the past four months with Monique Young has been no easy task. In order to meet her weekly mileage goal in preparation for the 50 Mile North Face Endurance Challenge, her days started at 5 a.m. and ended at 8 p.m. But waking up and going to sleep that early to get enough miles under her legs has been worth the trade off for her.

While she described the course through the woods of Algonkian Regional Park, her face lit up. “Amazing” was a common word for Young to describe the mostly dirt and gravel course that she said smelled like honeysuckle.

[button-red url=”http://results.bazumedia.com/event/results/event/event-4201″ target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red]While Young left road running for trail running to be closer to nature two years ago, the North Face Endurance Challenge marked one of several 50 mile trail races that she has completed.

Laura Coogan, first place finisher in the women’s marathon with a time of 3:57:31, conveyed a similar nightlife situation—which she said has been on the decline since college. While balancing a time-demanding training schedule and nursing school life, Coogan took great delight in indulging in the North Face Endurance Challenge post-race festival, which consisted of ice baths, food, beer and many other activities.

“It’s like a big party,” Coogan said. “Except that you have to run a marathon. But at least you earned that party.”

The North Face Endurance Challenge consisted of an entire weekend of trail racing. And with a eight different events, including a 50 mile, 50k, marathon and marathon relay race, there was something for everybody.

All that George Johnson could remember from last year’s North Face Endurance Challenge marathon relay were trees, shade and cool temperatures. But all that Johnson could remember from this year’s race was the sun beating down on him.

While Johnson appreciated the lack of rain that muddied up the course in last year’s course, he said the start and finish that took place in an open field with no shade was quite the challenge this year.

Above the Potomac River, the well-marked courses included three miles of tip-toeing and hopping along bluffs on the River Trail with climbs up to 300 feet. In return for their brave climbing skills, the shaded areas of the park blocked them from temperatures that steadily rose to the mid-90’s.

Potatoes, salt, chicken broth and chips were served throughout the race to keep runners fueled. Gallons of water and sport drinks were guzzled down all in an effort to conquer the heat and finish the race.

Among the several local note worthy athletes that competed in the Endurance Challenge included Elite Ultra Runner Michael Wardian of Arlington, Virginia, who took first in the 50 mile race with a time of 6:45:36. In the women’s 50k, Rachel Clattenburg of Washington, DC won first place with a time 5:05:05.

 

[button-red url=”http://www.mcrrc.org/jeremys-run-10k” target=”_self” position=”left”] 10k Results [/button-red] [button-red url=”http://www.mcrrc.org/jeremys-run-5k” target=”_self” position=”left”] 5k Results [/button-red]Just minutes prior to wiping off sweat, many runners were wiping tears. During an emotional pre-race ceremony, Jeremy’s Run Race Director Cyndi Glass lit candles to honor those in drug addiction recovery and as a symbol of hope for those suffering from drug addiction.

The fifth annual Jeremy’s Run consisted of a one-mile fun run, 5k and 10k. Hundreds of runners and members of the community came out to support the race and cause that was dedicated to Jeremy Daniel Glass and others who have died of complications from drug addiction.

Glass, who is Jeremy’s mother in addition to race director, said she appreciated the turnout, which has continued to increase over the years.

“I want to help my cause,” Glass said. “And having more people means more support for my cause. That’s the reason I’m doing this.”

This year marked Stephen Raye’s second year participating in the race. Raye participated in the 5k and has a son who suffered from drug addiction. He said he came out to show his support for the important issue.

“Everybody thinks it’s a weakness,” Raye said. “And it’s just…you’d be okay if you got your head together. But we learned a lot from our son going through the process of recovery and learned that it’s a medical condition and it’s got to be thought of that way.”

Corey Graeves of Silver Spring, Md. took advantage of the first half of the downhill 5k course to take the lead within the first half mile. Though Graeves said the slight uphill on the way back to the finish sort of “broke” him, he finished 1st place with a time of 17:16.

In the women’s division, Audrey Perlow of Arlington, Va. also held the lead for the majority of the race. Finishing with a personal best time of 19:41, Perlow said she was happy to see the community come out to support the cause.

The 10k overall winner, Aaron Anderson, of Germantown, Md., took the lead with one mile left to go. He finished with a time of 34:55. The 2011 1st-place finisher in the Jeremy’s Run 5k said that he has recently increased his mileage because he is training for a shot to compete in the 2016 Olympics.

Vying for the overall women’s 1st-place 10k trophy was Katelyn Rogus and Megan Llewellyn. Rogus had the home-turf advantage having grown up within a few blocks from the starting line and took home the 1st-place trophy.

“When you run a race, you’re doing something for yourself,” said Paula Galliani, Gaithersburg, Md. “But you’re also doing something for somebody else and it feels really good.”

Though Galliani has been running for nearly 25 years, she said that she felt a calling to compete in Jeremy’s Race. A mother of teenagers, she added that the race website brought her to tears.

 

While Josef Tessema and his three pursuers were sprinting through the streets of Reston in hopes of first prize at the We’ve Got Your Back 5k, Carly Rebeiz of Sterling, Va. was thrilled to just be running.

[button-red url=”http://prracing.racebx.com/files/results/4d9205ce-7a0c-46c1-8929-4f56c0a86522/51978d1c-157c-4a3e-845b-7d23c0a86524/2013%20We’ve%20Got%20Your%20Back%20Overall.htm” target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red] Three years ago, she ran into a goalie while playing soccer and herniated two discs in her neck. Her husband, Alex was there and saw her fly back six feet. After 10 months of testing and conservative treatment options, she opted for spinal fusion surgery, and bone from her hip replaced those discs. With therapy, strengthening and additional treatment, she has reclaimed her life and gotten back to [button-red url=”https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.660884560605446.1073741847.189448104415763&type=1″ target=”_self” position=”left”] Photo [/button-red]where she can play soccer several nights a week.

“It got to the point where it was so painful, you have to do something about it,” she said.

“My life was on hold for a few years, but I missed soccer too much to give it up, it was too much of a part of my life.”

Having that treatment option motivated her to come out to run the race, which benefitted the Spinal Research Foundation. Alex ran with her, a partner to her accident, treatment and recovery.

“I ran the whole time, I completed it,” she said. “Alex was with me through this whole three year journey: driving me to appointments, taking care of dinner, walking the dog. He was there for so much.”

She was excited by the number of people who came out to the race, and hopes they took the cause’s message to heart.

“It’s so important to have the right treatment options,” she said. “Living with that kind of pain should not be necessary you just want to live your life.

Up front, Tessema, of Springfield, gunned it, with good reason. With $300 in prize money, he was anxious to see if he had shaken an illness that had kept him under the weather for two weeks. He found out less than four minutes in that he was just fine. Splitting 4:30 for the mile and 9:11 for the two mile, he eased in to finish in 14:49, 21 seconds ahead of Reston’s Abu Kebede and Washington’s Demissia Gulti, who edged Washington’s Takele Gebrelul by one second to shut him out of the prize money.

Barbara Fallon Wallace of Alexandria returned to the race and retook her top spot in 17:27 from Vienna’s Anna Holt–Gosselin, who had defeated her here the year before. Holt-Gosselin moved up in the second mile ahead of Clifton’s Jackie Gruendel.

Fallon Wallace, a physical therapist, sends some of her patients to the Spinal Research Foundation and wanted to celebrate the cause.

Some of the foundation’s physicians helped bring the Stanciu family from Vienna out to the race. Michelle brought her children, Victoria and Daniel, who impressed her with their efforts.

“I’m so proud of them,” she said. “They didn’t train for it other than their normal daily activity, they got up early, chose to run the 5k instead of the mile, it’s so incredible.”

Victoria, who loved the portion of the race on the W&OD Trail, was so enthusiastic about finish that she sprinted from her mom, who was left holding her long-sleeved shirt with her timing bib on it, prompting Michelle to chase after her so her finish could be recorded.

Daniel ran ahead of them, capitalizing on the fitness he gained playing basketball and reveling in the event.

“I mostly like the running part,” he said. “I got to see my friends, it was fun.”

 

For one day, instead of putting their noses to the grindstone early, hundreds of federal employees from all branches of government showed up in Anacostia Park to run the ACLI Capital Challenge.

[button-red url=”http://www.capitalchallenge.com/2001_cabinet/history2001.html” target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red] Several members of Congress participated, and several acquitted themselves well over the three-mile course Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Kelly Ayotte (R- N.H.) finished first among U.S. Senators and Reps. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) were the first from the House to cross the line.

[button-red url=”https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.659491597411409.1073741846.189448104415763&type=1″ target=”_self” position=”left”] Photo [/button-red]Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s office was represented well up front by Paul Balmer, who began working for the Oregon democrat. Balmer finished fourth.

It was Blumenauer’s 16 time running out of the 17 years he’s been in office.

“It’s a terrific event, the whole office participates,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to focus on an event. I don’t train anymore but still run four or five times a week.”

Blumenauer tries to schedule meetings during runs or walks.

“It’s an efficient use of time, when you have endorphins kicking in, you think better,” he said. “The world would be a better place if more people ran, walked, or biked.”

The U.S. Coast Guard swept the top individual spots, with Patrick Fernandez in 14:46 and Rachel Beckmann in 17:59. Fernandez went on to win the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon five days later.

The FBI (Full Blooded Intensity) eeked out a team title over Navy, which FBI team member Jim Keesling hoped for but did not expect.

“It has been a fun and storied rivalry and a challenge trying to stay competitive with Navy,” he said. “I have really enjoyed running with them and competing in such a great event. I ran my first Capital Challenge in 1998 when we narrowly defeated Navy and saw them easily beat us the past two years so it was really fun coming up victorious this year. Their team captainSue Himes knows how to put together great teams and I wish her the beat in retirement.”

Himes has also served RunWashington and the Washington Running Report for several years as its Military Running columnist.

Matt Thomas of Alexandria was running late to join his Navy teammates. He was able to make it to the start in just in time.

“It was a rude awakening to run that hard off of no warm up,” he said. “Two and a half miles in and I was like ugh, I felt that breakfast gripping me pretty tight.”

Holley Simmons, was the most tired of her Washington Post Express teammates and put up the least fight when they dressed her like a copy of the commuter daily. She is a fashion and dining editor who is not a habitual runner.

“It got pretty hot under there,” she said.

 

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Despite high humidity Sunday morning, runners came out en force for the 34th annual Capitol Hill Classic 10k, enough that the morning-of demand for bib forced the start back by 15 minutes.

Once the race got started, Abu Kebede, Takele Gerbreljul and Teresa Fekaensatakele wasted no time blowing away the field for a 90+ lead over fourth place finisher Evan Jurkovitch. The three finished in 31:33, 31:34 and 31:35, with Kebede having run 15:10 the day before at the We’ve Got Your Back 5k in Reston.

“Great morning for a little 10k,” Jurkovitch said. “That hill on the way back was rough, but it was a dood hard effort.”

Women’s winner Tera Moody of Boulder, Colo. was in town for her cousin’s graduation from Georgetown University. Having finished third the week prior at the USATF 25k championships, Moody had less urgency during this race—she won 34:13 over Kensington’s Kristen Henehan’s 37:19—but it was not without a challenge. The humidity, the likes of which she does not see in the Rocky Mountains, left her drenched and feeling like she had earned her victory, though she ran without a watch.

“Even if I’m doing a workout, it’s much more fun to run with other people,” she said. “We had miles marked out, that’s better than blindly running places I don’t know. I was so glad I was able to make it part of my trip.”

Moody finished fifth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2008, but sat out last year because of an injury. Along with her 25k finish, she’s matched her 5k PR and come close to her half marathon PR this spring.

“Things have really finally come together,” she said. “I’m just thrilled to be run. I love to race. People out there were so supportive.”

Jonathan Ackaoui of Arlington ran to support his wife, who was making her 10k debut, but find himself motivated to see just what he could do.

“It was awesome, brutal,” he said. “I just sprinted, collapsed at the finish line. There’s no feeling like it.”

He was on pace for five miles, but another half mile in, he felt himself slow. That’s when he launched into the kick that helped him finish 10 seconds faster than his goal.

“I actually made up some ground on the hill, I just ran through it,” he said.

Though a track man in high school Ackaoui started road racing in March when he ran the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon with  his uncle.

“I got the bug,” he said.

 

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When the runners of the Semper Fi 5K lined up to the starting line Saturday at Anacostia Park, each had their own motivation for racing that day. For many, running the race was a way to support the mission of the Semper Fi Fund, a non-profit organization that raises funds for wounded Marines and Sailors as well as members of the Army, Air Force and Coast Guard who serve in support of Marine forces. For others, the race served as a source of motivation, camaraderie, or a goal to work towards following a period of adversity.

Overall winner Justin Snair, 30, from Arlington, Va., who led the pack with a time of 15:39, chose the race to support the U.S. Marine Corps, and also because it presented a good opportunity to close out his strong spring training season. A former Marine himself (though, as indicated by their slogan Semper Fi, always faithful, there are no “former” Marines), Snair found the race to be fast and flat, with a talented field but not overwhelmingly crowded. Third place overall finisher Travis Boltjes, a pilot in the U.S. Air Force and a consistent presence on the local 5K race circuit, found the Semper Fi 5k to be extremely well organized, and in part due to the flat, fast course and great weather, performed his best so far this year with a 16:44 finish.

Local runner Elizabeth Rappaport, winner in the 45-49 age group in 24:12, chose to run the race as her first 5K after beginning to train with a local running coach, Mike Hamberger, three months ago. While a seasoned trail runner, Rappaport had never tried track workouts before, but found that with her coach’s help and regular training sessions, she is getting in shape and avoiding injuries for the first time in recent memory.

A sense of teamwork and group fitness motivated other runners to wake up early for the race. After deciding to begin training together three months ago, a group of Coast Guard staffers, led (some would say cajoled) by Chief Ron Elliott showed up with the goal that each member would finish the race without stopping (or dying). They achieved that goal, each finishing below 30 minutes. (see picture)

For other participants in the race, it was a way to start back on the road to recovery after getting through personal challenges. Tony Cook, an Air Force Veteran from Alexandria, Va., suffered from severe asthma since childhood, until the point of being bedridden, on oxygen, and unable to work just three years ago. Following an operation known as Bronchial Thermoplasty, Cook has a renewed lease on life. Finishing the race in 24:45, his goal now is to keep getting back in shape and leave his days of wheezing far behind. For Marine Corporal (Ret.) and disabled veteran Darrin Snyder, who now competes in the hand cycle division after blowing out both knees during his Marine days, the race represented one of just many he does for fun with his wife Jackie and service dog Remy.

In all, representatives from the U.S. Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard completed the race. The Semper Fi Fund was created in 2005 and has raised more than $73 million and assisted more than 9,200 Service Members since its inception. More than 900 participants and volunteers came out on Armed Forces Day (May 18) to support the Semper Fi 5K, and the race raised more than $44,000 for the Fund.

 

The factors that made Sunday’s race could have been the perfect weather, the flat course on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath, or months of hard work and training. Whatever the factors were, the 10th annual Potomac River Run Marathon seemed to have the perfect combination of elements that allowed many participants to qualify for the Boston Marathon and, for many, achieve a new personal record.

[button-red url=”http://youngrunner.smugmug.com/Race-Photo-Galleries/PRR-2013-Marathon-Half/i-vDjDfS6″ target=”_self” position=”left”]Photos[/button-red]Weeks before Strength Running Coach Jason Fitzgerald passed the leader at mile 24.5 at Sunday’s race, he was cheering on two of his athletes in the Boston Marathon at mile 25.5. Afterward, he went to a restaurant in Cambridge, where his phone started to ring. His family and friends had heard what had happened at the race.

[button-red url=”http://www.safetyandhealthfoundation.org/20130505.html” target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red] “It was a challenging time to be in Boston,” Fitzgerald said. “Even more so if you were a runner and coach.”

Fitzgerald clenched the first-place prize in the Potomac River Run Marathon. His goal in the race was to qualify for the Boston Marathon by 10 minutes. Although he had qualified before, he had never taken advantage of the opportunity. But just moments after making qualifying time, Fitzgerald said he plans to compete in the 2014 Boston Marathon. Fitzgerald said that next year’s race will be that much more special for anyone running.

Albeit a chilly start, temperatures rose to what many runners considered perfect. Along with “Air Quality Awareness Week,” the marathon celebrated “World Laughter Day,” which prompted race director Jay Wind of the Safety And Health Foundation to tell jokes at the starting line.

“There’s nothing quite so funny being out on a race day wearing very little clothing,” Wind said. “We really just try to have fun with it, that’s the bottom line.”

Kirby Mills joined the many athletes who accomplished a qualifying time for the 2014 Boston Marathon and a new personal record. Prior to competing in the race, Mills, who serves in the Marine Corps and is currently stationed at Quantico, missed a Boston qualifying time in March by only 34 seconds.

“I fought to get orders back in Virginia to be close to my family and knock out some races on the east coast,” Mills said. “As I move around in the Marine Corps…I hope to run a Marathon in every section of the United States.”

Mills is a member of the National Marathon Maniacs group, which has a minimum requirement for members to run three marathons every 90 days. The Potomac River Run Marathon marked Mills’ 54th marathon.

“You can’t beat the virtually flat, in-the-shade course, with trees blocking the wind,” Mills said. “It was an easy course with no real tangents to worry about.”

The twice out-and-back course on the sandy—but sometimes rocky—C&O towpath had the potential to be a mental challenge for some. But Chip Warfel and his Mid Maryland Triathlon Club teammates, Heather Beutel and Dan Mooney were not fazed. In fact, Warfel said that he liked the two-time turnaround course.

“Having a turn-around broke up the race,” Warfel said. “It was almost like running a mile—you knew you only had four laps to go.”

At the beginning of the triathlon season, Warfel, Beutel and Mooney all wanted to make the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon—and they did. Warfel said that after the Boston Marathon bombings, he was more motivated to qualify for the race.

“I really want to be there next year to show that no one is going stop anybody from doing this,” Warfel said.

Warfel’s teammate, Deb Taylor, who served as a pacer during the race, will also join her teammates of the Mid Maryland Triathlon club to compete in the 2014 Boston Marathon.

“There’s not a lot of things we can do,” Taylor said. “But as runners, the one thing we can do is show up.”

The Safety And Health Foundation Board of Directors agreed the day after the Boston Marathon bombings to donate $1,000 to the One Fund Boston, an organization that was established to assist the victims of the bombing at the finish line.