"I look back at the memories and it feels so special. I wanted a Boston qualifier. The DC Road Runners played host to our group and we stayed in runner's homes. The race was a no- frills, no spectator event. It was typical of races then. The temperature was in the upper 30s and there was a strong wind which beat on you for about four miles on each loop. This marathon experience reflected the hard-core runner experience that I was running in the early years, no hype, just running," stated the 1977 winner (3:07:00, second fastest winning time) Anna Forshee-Crane of East Lansing, Michigan. The event had 27 females registered.

On Sunday, February 15, 2009 the DC Road Runner's Club will host the 48th Washington's Birthday Marathon (WBM) and the 20th three-person relay. The race is located in Greenbelt, Maryland on the grounds of US Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Agriculture Research Center. This is the race your mother warned you about. The event does not offer the crowds of the Marine Corps Marathon or New York but you will find the hospitality and the small crowd flavor where runners are taken care of. You can be prepared for 18 hills and three loops with the excitement of a hill at mile 25. The race is a prime trainer for the Boston Marathon.

The USATF certified course has the three loops which run counter clockwise with a distance of 9.7 miles, 7.3 miles, and the last 9.2 miles. The both events start at 10:30 a.m. and the common exchange point for the relay is the USDA Visitor Center. There are course marshals at key intersections and fluid replenishment stations along the course. The strategy is to take advantage of the flat sections of the course and use moderation to negotiate the hills. The first loop is the confidence builder. The runners who respect the hills always finish strong. The course is ideal for training as it will point out your weak points and your ability to change your movements between flat and hill running.

The registration fees are $30 for the marathon and $48 for the three-person relay teams. On-line registration located at 48th Annual Washington's Birthday Marathon and Marathon Relay.

The temperature can be a challenge. On February 18, 1968, 40 runners started and 20 finished due to the bitterly cold and windy conditions. In 2003 the race was cancelled due to weather. In 2008 the weather was close to ideal with the temperature in the 40s, mild wind and partly overcast sky.

"The hills were a surprise; I drove the course the night before. When we started, I tried to stay to the back. At about mile 17, I was told I was in the lead, my wife (from the side line) told me there were a bunch of people in front of me. I never won anything before. I didn't believe it. The intent was to use it for training for Boston to see what I had to do and to gauge my progress," stated John Weaver of Silver Spring, MD, winning time of 2:57:57 (44th fastest winning time, 2000).

"It feels awesome to win; I didn't expect it this year. In the first loop a volunteer said, "You are in the lead, I thought she was talking to someone else. I was thinking about winning. I've been running marathons since 1982. The hardest part was going into the second loop where the wind hit me. I think I spent a lot of time concentrating on the wind," stated Lisa Bandiera of Fairfax, VA, the 2000 winner with 3:29:12. She won in 1999 with 3:09:30 and returned in 2002 and won with 3:35:24. Since 1971 (the first female to run the race was Anna Mae Diehl, age 16 of Baltimore, MD, in 3:43:10) there has been one other three-time female winner, Margaret Horioka of Williamsport, MD ('83- 3:07:19, '86 - 3:14:12, '87 - 3:09:13).

"Six of us came from Ohio, our schedule called for long sustained workout and to get a good effort in, I had a good effort. If I was over the barrel, I was going to keep going. Getting up that last hill was tough. Our coach, Budd Coates, gave us a strict rule, not to go below a six minute pace, it felt good and I knew that I was in the lead after the first loop. I broke away at mile 21. I was on my own. It was more wind exposure and it was mentally challenging. I had a good feeling that no one was going to creep up on me. It was good to know that you could surprise yourself," stated the 2001 winner (2:44:14), Todd Fach of Para Heights.

To break the event records for the marathon will require a strong desire and determination:

Event Records:

Open
1978	Bobby Doyle			28	2:22:14	Baltimore, MD
1988	Rose Malloy			39	2:53:29	Annapolis, MD
Master
1969	John McDonogh		        45	2:31:58	New York, NY
1993	Claudia Ciavarella		43	3:13:17	Arlington, VA	

"This was our first time at the race and we really didn't know what to expect as far as who the other teams were. The three of us were pretty evenly matched as we had hoped to break 2:40. As far as the hill at the end, someone warned me, but not adequately. What a killer! I felt lucky that I was only doing one leg. I felt sorry for the people running the full marathon. That must really hurt," stated Connie Buckwalter of Team Lancaster after taking first place in the coed division with a total time of 2:43:42 at the 14th WBM Ekiden Relay in 2002.

There are five division for the three-person relay, open men and women, master men and women and coed.

The relay event records

Open Men	1998 Cumberland Valley Athletic Club		        2:26:50
		     Bowman, Dick, Mower
Open Women	1989 Washington Running Club Warriors		        2:48:38
		     Cathy Ventura-Merkel, Patricia Walker, Donna Elliot
Master Men	1997 Your Cheatin' Hart				        2:27:29
		     Steve Ward, Mike Hart, Kevin Burke
Master Women	2002 The Speedy Myliers				        3:11:08
		     Lisa Fichman, Dorothy Beckett, Pat Wilkerson
Coed		1991 Washington Running Club			        2:36:04
		     Jim Hage, Cathy Ventura-Merkel, Jerry Merkel

Marathon runners are permitted to run on a relay team but they must run the first leg. A relay runner can only run one leg. The relay offers a good workout and the distances are 9.7 miles, 7.3 miles, and 9.2 miles.

Volunteers are an integral part of the race and on race day they are needed to serve as course marshals and to assist at the water stops. If you are not able to run your support is appreciated or passes the information along to others. The point of contact is Pat Brown 703-576-5765.

Full race details and registration located 48th Annual Washington's Birthday Marathon and Marathon Relay.