Let Freedom Run 5K Explodes onto the Racing Scene

By Dickson Mercer
Fairfax, VA
July 4, 2011
For the Washington Running Report

In the Lea Gallardo photo above, Laura O’Hara powers to the win with top 40-44 winner Matteo Mainetti on her shoulder and racing legend Alisa Harvey a few strides behind.

Runners in this region say the best way to prepare mentally for a summer race is to expect the absolute worst. In that event, more than 1,500 runners who participated in Capital Running Company’s inaugural Let Freedom Run 5K only had to deal with conditions that were roughly par for a rolling course: Independence Day morning offered overcast skies, temperatures below 80 degrees, and a humidity level which – around here, anyway – would only qualify for the not-so-bad category.

Wearing the No. 1 race bib, Aaron Church, 35, of South Riding, VA set the early pace from the start in Fairfax Corner Shopping Center in Fairfax, VA. The Potomac River Running racing team member proceeded to race head to head with Jordan McDougal, brother of former NCAA champ Josh McDougal, for most of the opening mile. (Although the race itself was new, the roller coaster ride-like course was familiar to those who had run the annual Goblin Gallop.)

By 2K, McDougal, 24, (left) had established a narrow gap he would more or less hold the rest of the way. He won the race in 15:46, with Church only 11 seconds back. Bennett Stackhouse, 27, of Arlington, VA took 3rd in 16:19.

McDougal graduated from Liberty in 2008 and now works for The Running Store in Gainesville, VA. For Let Freedom Run, the store put together a seven-person team that also included McDougal’s wife, Leah.

“You can never be disappointed with a win,” said McDougal, who only recently resumed full-time training following a break from an ultra-filled spring season. He won the 50-miler at the North Face Endurance Challenge in Bear Mountain, NY in May and was second to Matt Woods of Falls Church, VA at June’s 50-mile North Face Endurance Challenge Mid-Atlantic Regional in Washington, DC.

The women’s race was a close one, too. The winner, Laura O’Hara, 31, of Alexandria, VA was running with a pack of men in the final mile when she heard someone cheer for the well-known – not to mention speedy – Alisa Harvey, 45, of Manassas, VA.

“I tried to get on my horse and hold her off,” O’Hara said.

O’Hara won in 18:23. Harvey, the clear-cut taker of the female masters’ crown, clocked 18:29. Jacqueline Gruendel, 36, of Clifton, VA claimed third in 18:44. In photo left, she leads top 45-49 finisher Matt Anderson to the finish.

The Let Freedom Run 5K was O’Hara’s third 5K of the summer and she admitted afterward that she was hoping to run closer to 18 minutes. Still, all things considered, coming as it did at the end of a long holiday weekend, O’Hara said she was happy to pick up the win. Her husband, Dave O’Hara, 35, (below) was fourth overall in 16:44.

Chuck Moeser, 59, of Sterling, VA took the masters title in 17:42, a time that also put him seventh overall.

Numerous runners celebrated the July 4 race – a sendoff to barbecues, parties and fireworks – with red, white, and blue racing uniforms, American flag bandanas, and all sorts of patriotic headbands.

In fact, for some veteran runners, July 4 is the one day they break out what might very well be the finest in old school-meets-patriotic running shorts their collections have to offer.

Racing two weeks shy of his 80th birthday, Larry Dickerson of Burke, VA (325th, 29:13) broke out red, white, and blue shorts he only wears once a year.  A runner of nearly 50 years, Dickerson recalled that he got the shorts “somewhere along the line” while a member of Lockheed Martin’s corporate team.

John Carmichael, 49, of South Riding, VA (76th, 22:21) recalled that he picked up his own pair of red, white, and blue racing shorts sometime in the late 1980s. At Let Freedom Run, Carmichael raced alongside numerous friends as well as family, including his 21-year-old nephew, Dave Carmichael of Grantham, NH.

Dave Carmichael was in town to celebrate his grandmother’s 80th birthday, he said. He ran his first race, a marathon, in January.

“I’m passing on the family torch,” said John Carmichael, who was passed by his nephew with two turns to go. “He’s now the best runner in the family.”

Regarding best-runner-in-the-family status, with Dennis and Kathleen Hogan, both 57, the race is still too close to call. The Annandale, VA couple finished their third 5K together today in about 36 minutes. Since mutually deciding to become more active, the Hogans have been entering 5Ks while training together four or five mornings per week.

Perhaps it was the race’s first-timers division that attracted so many new runners. Among them was Eric Korn, 33, who finished his first 5K in 36:41. “Three months ago I could barely run 60 seconds,” he said.

The Harrisonburg, VA resident ran the race with his father, Bill Korn, 66, of Fairfax. His dad, Korn said, ran marathons in 28 states, his 50-state goal eventually disrupted by hip issues. Korn, who got started with a “Couch to 5K” plan, now dreams of picking up the quest where his father left off.

This was the first race in the Capital Running Race Series, which will culminate with the Veterans Day 10K on November 13 and the Jingle All the Way 10K on December 11. Participants can accumulate points for top 10 overall finishes and for placing in the top ten for three masters age group categories, 40-99 – master, 50-99 – grandmaster, & 60-99 – senior. Runners gain additional premium points by finishing in the top ten of division younger than their own.

Combining all three races the awards will go five deep in the open and three deep in the three age groups.

Sponsors for the Let Freedom Run 5K included Mission Springs, a local water company that produces biodegradable bottles; Uncle Julio’s Mexican restaurant, which awarded all racers a $10 gift certificate for race day; Crunch Fitness; Giant; Fairfax Corner, and California Pizza Kitchen.

                    Awards Listing (No Duplicate Prizes)
                      ChronoTrack Timing and Scoring
                        by Capital Running Company

FEMALE OVERALL
Place Num   Name                  Ag City                  Gun T Net T Pace  
===== ===== ===================== == ===================== ===== ===== ===== 
    1  1015 Laura O'Hara          31 Alexandria VA         18:23 18:22  5:55 
    2     2 Alisa Harvey          45 Manassas VA           18:29 18:28  5:57 
    3   885 Jacqueline Gruendel   36 Clifton VA            18:44 18:43  6:02 
    4  1033 Kaitlin Sheedy        28 Washington DC         19:08 19:04  6:09 
    5  1248 Ashley Kollme         28 Washington DC         19:16 19:14  6:12 
    6   485 Morgan Price          17 Gainesville VA        19:51 19:49  6:23 
    7   384 Jennifer Chapman      26 Centreville VA        19:54 19:53  6:24 
    8  1021 Jessie Hartman        20 Centreville VA        20:16 20:15  6:32 
    9   856 Kate Weaver           27 Alexandria VA         20:20 20:18  6:32 
   10  1229 Dorothy Beal          29 South Riding VA       20:28 20:27  6:35 

MALE OVERALL
Place Num   Name                  Ag City                  Gun T Net T Pace  
===== ===== ===================== == ===================== ===== ===== ===== 
    1   236 Jordan McDougal       24 Culpeper VA           15:46 15:46  5:05 
    2     1 Aaron Church          35 South Riding VA       15:57 15:57  5:08 
    3   325 Bennett Stackhouse    27 Arlington VA          16:19 16:18  5:15 
    4  1016 David O'Hara          35 Alexandria VA         16:44 16:44  5:24 
    5   371 Rob Bell              22 Gainesville VA        16:58 16:58  5:28 
    6   639 Jeff Poindexter       21 Dumfries VA           17:29 17:29  5:38 
    7    11 Chuck Moeser          59 Sterling VA           17:42 17:42  5:42 
    8   572 Frank Spicer III      19 Clifton VA            17:53 17:53  5:46 
    9   298 Keith Freeburn        37 Centreville VA        17:55 17:55  5:46 
   10     3 Eric Makovsky         38 Washington DC         17:59 17:58  5:47 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 1 - 19
    1   575 Hayley Djuric         17 Montgomery AL         22:50 22:27  7:14 
    2   380 Margaret Schroeder    15 Palm Beach FL         24:01 23:15  7:29 
    3   239 Theresa Tweedie       19 Woodbridge VA         24:08 23:50  7:41 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 1 - 19
    1  1235 Alex Kerr             17 Ashburn VA            18:11 18:10  5:51 
    2  1190 Malik Wheeler         17 Decatur GA            18:33 18:30  5:58 
    3  1328 Matthew Thatcher      16 Manassas VA           18:57 18:57  6:06 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 20 - 24
    1   205 Hannah Roller         24 Vienna VA             21:49 21:44  7:00 
    2  1022 Stephanie Gresalfi    23 Arlington VA          22:07 21:52  7:03 
    3   969 Susanne Shannon       24 Arlington VA          22:37 21:59  7:05 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 20 - 24
    1    43 Nathaniel Altom       22 Eau Claire WI         20:16 20:14  6:31 
    2  1111 Danny Phillips        21 Chantilly VA          22:06 21:50  7:02 
    3   867 David Carmichael      21 Grantham NH           22:52 22:21  7:12 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 25 - 29
    1   935 Melissa Wisner        28 Washington DC         21:38 21:23  6:53 
    2  1023 Maria Solomon         27 Cordova TN            21:47 21:32  6:56 
    3   646 Lauren Shaub          27 Arlington VA          22:07 22:01  7:05 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 25 - 29
    1   413 Adam Roggia           26 Stafford VA           19:04 19:03  6:08 
    2   385 Jarrell Warthen       28 Ashburn VA            19:15 19:14  6:12 
    3  1172 Nhan Bui              25 Springfield VA        20:08 20:03  6:28 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 30 - 34
    1   113 Shauna Hanley         30 Falls Church VA       20:55 20:47  6:42 
    2   965 Carol Mattos          30 Raeford NC            22:39 22:29  7:15 
    3   702 Amy Mark              31 Waldorf MD            22:38 22:29  7:15 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 30 - 34
    1    35 Ellins Thomas         30 Gainesville VA        18:21 18:20  5:54 
    2   892 Luke Ryan             33 Oakton VA             19:07 18:57  6:06 
    3  1058 Jesse Izdepski        32 Mandeville LA         19:38 19:38  6:19 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 35 - 39
    1   312 Cathy Ross            39 Burke VA              20:37 20:30  6:36 
    2   696 Cristina Burbach      37 Washington DC         20:48 20:44  6:41 
    3   594 Michelle Andrew       39 Topeka KS             21:20 21:18  6:52 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 35 - 39
    1   997 Christopher Carney    37 Falls Church VA       18:20 18:19  5:54 
    2   934 Eugene Huang          35 Chicago IL            19:49 19:46  6:22 
    3   662 Keith Nelson          36 Reston VA             20:13 20:07  6:29 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 40 - 44
    1  1178 Carmen Chireix        41 Oakton VA             21:43 21:38  6:58 
    2    70 Cheryl Young          41 Reston VA             22:04 21:59  7:05 
    3   226 Charmaine Reed        41 Springfield VA        23:01 22:57  7:23 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 40 - 44
    1  1218 Mateo Mainetti        41 Fairfax VA            18:26 18:25  5:56 
    2   110 Dennis Billings       42 Woodbridge VA         18:32 18:28  5:57 
    3   689 Brandon Hirsch        41 Rockville MD          18:57 18:54  6:05 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 45 - 49
    1  1054 Brenda MacKintosh     45 Springfield VA        22:36 22:28  7:14 
    2  1337 Annie Downer          46 Herndon VA            23:29 22:57  7:24 
    3   498 Ellen Willison        45 Stafford VA           24:08 24:03  7:45 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 45 - 49
    1  1250 Matt Anderson         45 Fairfax VA            18:49 18:49  6:04 
    2  1228 Eugene Holmes         46 Arlington VA          19:06 19:02  6:08 
    3   577 Warren Djuric         49 Montgomery AL         19:11 19:10  6:10 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 50 - 54
    1   743 Tamara Smith          53 Falls Church VA       26:28 26:15  8:27 
    2   109 Becky Moor            51 Alexandria VA         28:11 27:17  8:47 
    3   223 Kate Alleman          50 Springfield VA        28:49 27:26  8:50 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 50 - 54
    1    15 Jean-Christophe Arcaz 50 Rockville MD          18:04 18:04  5:49 
    2  1181 Bob Briggs            54 Springfield VA        18:19 18:17  5:53 
    3   417 Tom Moriarty          51 Vienna VA             18:53 18:52  6:05 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 55 - 59
    1  1233 Kathy Manzo           56 Casanova VA           25:46 25:12  8:07 
    2  1065 Dianne Beville        55 Oak Hill VA           27:20 26:23  8:30 
    3   704 Barbara Schmidt       57 Clifton VA            28:34 27:49  8:58 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 55 - 59
    1   571 Frank Spicer          59 Clifton VA            22:22 22:20  7:12 
    2  1273 Dan Garner            56 Falls Church VA       23:41 23:33  7:35 
    3  1092 Bill Bristow          58 Burke VA              24:41 24:37  7:56 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 60 - 64
    1  1081 Judy Snellgrove       64 Manassas VA           32:15 31:14 10:03 
    2   287 Janice Cooper         64 Annandale VA          36:56 36:05 11:37 
    3   813 Kathryn Fanelli       61 Annandale VA          36:49 36:28 11:44 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 60 - 64
    1    13 Richard Adams Jr.     60 Herndon VA            19:56 19:56  6:25 
    2    14 Malcolm Senior        60 New Market MD         20:27 20:22  6:34 
    3   705 Donald Hodgen         61 Arlington VA          23:13 23:10  7:28 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 65 - 69
    1   251 Mary Wallace          65 Reston VA             45:57 44:25 14:18 
    2   544 Victoria Parra        65 Falls Church VA       59:48 58:37 18:52 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 65 - 69
    1   335 Jim Noone             67 Fairfax VA            22:05 22:02  7:06 
    2   681 Mike Golash           68 Washington DC         23:48 23:42  7:38 
    3   154 Tommy McVean          66 Naples FL             28:22 28:15  9:06 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 70 - 74
    1   804 Ann Feder             71 Oakton VA             61:09 59:09 19:03 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 70 - 74
    1   759 John Gluck            73 Alexandria VA         25:59 25:54  8:21 
    2  1070 Bob Spiller           71 Fairfax VA            41:02 40:21 13:00 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 75 - 79
    1  1341 Ruthie Fulton         77 Washington DC         50:52 49:36 15:58 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 75 - 79
    1  1213 Maynard Weyers        75 Alexandria VA         27:33 27:31  8:52 
    2    16 Alan Rider            75 Reston VA             28:03 27:59  9:01 
    3    12 Larry Dickerson       79 Burke VA              29:24 29:13  9:25 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 80 - 99
    1   591 Barbara Carmichael    80 South Riding VA       51:14 49:58 16:05 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 80 - 99
    1    51 Dixon Hemphill        86 Fairfax Station VA    48:37 48:30 15:37 

MALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 99
    1  1190 Malik Wheeler         17 M Decatur GA          18:33 18:30  5:58 

FEMALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 99
    1   113 Shauna Hanley         30 F Falls Church VA     20:55 20:47  6:42

The center plaza with its water park is already known as a family spot. More than 200 fun runners in this first year race amde that even more so.

 

The top two teams also won awards.

Co-ed Team Results - Open Coed (score 4 by net time)
                     (at least one man and one woman)

  1. 69:32 TRS Racing Team             (17:23)
======================================
  1  15:46  Jordan McDougal       M 
  2  16:58  Rob Bell              M 
  3  18:20  Ellins Thomas         M 
  4  18:28  Alisa Harvey          F 
  5 (21:46) Aaron Kapaldo         M 
  6 (22:27) Leah McDougal         F 
  7 (22:34) Solamite Santos       F 

  2. 72:33 Capital Area Runners        (18:09)
======================================
  1  16:18  Bennett Stackhouse    M 
  2  18:19  Christopher Carney    M 
  3  18:52  George Buckheit       M 
  4  19:04  Kaitlin Sheedy        F 

  3. 76:11 Rogue Racers                (19:03)
======================================
  1  17:29  Jeff Poindexter       M 
  2  17:55  Keith Freeburn        M 
  3  19:03  Adam Roggia           M 
  4  21:44  Hannah Roller         F 

  4. 77:25 Team Scubner                (19:22)
======================================
  1  15:57  Aaron Church          M 
  2  19:14  Jarrell Warthen       M 
  3  19:53  Jennifer Chapman      F 
  4  22:21  David Carmichael      M 
  5 (22:44) John Carmichael       M 
  6 (23:15) Margaret Schroeder    F 
  7 (29:50) Mary Carmichael       F 
  8 (30:25) Anna Schroeder        F 
  9 (33:25) Donnie Carmichael     M 
 10 (42:22) Mark Schroeder        M 

  5. 92:17 team spicer                 (23:05)
======================================
  1  17:53  Frank Spicer III      M 
  2  22:20  Frank Spicer          M 
  3  25:37  Edward Horkan         M 
  4  26:27  Mary Spicer           F 

  6. 104:10 Team Hungover               (26:03)
======================================
  1  23:45  Michael Campbell      M 
  2  24:55  Kendall Scott         M 
  3  27:23  Stephen Pierce        M 
  4  28:07  Casey Custer          F 
  5 (31:24) Melissa Kirby         F 
  6 (34:55) Ryan Proppe           M 

  7. 127:04 Neuronators                 (31:46)
======================================
  1  25:49  Franz Hamilton        M 
  2  32:59  Stephanie Schoenberger F 
  3  34:08  Gretchen Knaack       F 
  4  34:08  Sarah Choi            F 

  8. 127:39 SBA OIG                     (31:55)
======================================
  1  27:18  Travis Farris         M 
  2  28:22  Sydney Manning        F 
  3  31:49  Jack Manning          M 
  4  40:10  Dana Manning          F 

  9. 134:30 Valdez                      (33:38)
======================================
  1  31:28  Marta Depaz           F 
  2  34:19  Abraham Valdez        M 
  3  34:19  Jose Depaz            M 
  4  34:24  Jose Valdez           M 

 10. 135:30 Runners for Forrest         (33:53)
======================================
  1  29:25  Kasey Crowe           F 
  2  30:02  Andy Monaco           M 
  3  35:28  Vanessa Hatcher       F 
  4  40:35  Gavin Forrest         M 

 11. 157:45 Deadman                     (39:27)
======================================
  1  38:53  Ann Deadman           F 
  2  38:54  Isabelle Deadman      F 
  3  39:59  Madeleine Deadman     F 
  4  39:59  Hal Deadman           M 

 12. 169:32 Texas                       (42:23)
======================================
  1  41:04  Reagan Belvin         M 
  2  41:05  Elena Jamison         F 
  3  41:12  Ninfa Guerrero        F 
  4  46:11  Lauren Belvin         F 
  5 (46:15) Ryan Belvin           M 
  6 (46:16) Stephanie Belvin      F

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