Robbie Wade of Arlington, VA and Kristen Henehan of Silver Spring, MD were the top male and female finishers in the inaugural running of the Run for the Rainforest 5K to benefit the Amazon Conservation Team. Warm and humid conditions greeted the 383 runners as they embarked on the challenging course along the bike paths of Arlington. The weather and the terrain combined to produce times that were somewhat slower than expected, but otherwise the race received rave reviews from all participants.

The 25 year old Wade, an Irish native who moved to Arlington in February to work and race for Pacers Running Stores, surged to a big lead in the predominantly downhill first half of the race, but then had to hold off a hard charging Derryn Bray in the final mile to win in 15:42. Bray, a 24 year old from Poquoson, VA, followed close behind in 15:46 with Brendan Brown of Arlington grabbing third in 17:01. Wade commented afterward "I don't normally like to look back when I'm racing, but I snuck a peak over my shoulder with about a quarter mile to go and saw him (Bray) coming. I relaxed a little too much in the last mile thinking that I might try to race again on Sunday and had to put in one more surge to hold him off."

The 28 year old Henehan, the 2007 Marine Corps Marathon Champion, had a somewhat easier time of it in the women's race. She opened up a 10 second gap on Pacers teammate Lindsay Wilkins (in photo) in the opening mile and never looked back in racing to a 38 second margin of victory in 17:23. Wilkins, a 30 year old Arlington resident and 2:52 marathoner, raced home in second place in 18:01 ahead of Erica Nemmers in third place in 18:54.

There were several top age group runners in attendance at the race. Among the more notable performances were 64 year old Bill Joyce running away with his age group, and beating down most of his younger competitors in an outstanding 19:18. The ageless Chan Robbins captured the 70+ age group in 23:36 and 43 year old Anita Freres of Reston dominated the women's masters field with her 20:48.

At the post-race gathering at Marymount College, many runners were heaping kudos on race director Lisa Hundley-Reeves for putting on an outstanding first-time event with the assistance of Kathy Dalby of Pacers Events. The course was well marshaled, clearly marked with accurate mile markers, had ample post-race refreshments and the results and awards were available in a timely fashion. Hopefully this race will become a fixture of the DC running scene.

Full Race Day Results