The weather--warm and muggy--and the women's winner, Susannah Kvasnicka--second last year, first in 2003--were both familiar at the 30th Annapolis 10 Mile Run. And early on, the men's race shaped up as nothing out of the ordinary, with road racing stalwart Michael Wardian (photo left) shadowed by an unknown competitor but controlling the pace through seven miles. At that point, however, things changed.

"We were running fast through four miles [5 minutes 5 seconds per mile] and I wanted to say, 'Dude, this is a 10-mile race.'" Wardian said. "When he was still there after six, then I wanted to say, 'Who are you?'" But rather than breach racing etiquette with unnecessary chit-chat--and because his weary legs left him no other choice--Wardian conceded the lead at 7.5 miles to Jeff Olenick, from Newport News, VA, who finished first in 51 minutes 29 seconds. Wardian took second, 46 seconds back.

In retrospect, Olenick (26) should not have been such a mystery. He attended Centennial High in Howard County and ran competitively at Goucher College in Baltimore. But it was a girlfriend who lives locally that drew him from the Virginia Tidewater region to Annapolis and the RRCA National 10 Mile championship.

"I didn't expect to win," said Olenick, all smiles afterward. "I felt great at the top of the bridge [near 9 miles] but it was only then that I thought I could win. I think [my girlfriend] will be surprised."

For his part, Wardian felt like a jilted lover. "I just got dropped," he said with equal parts dismay and stupefaction.

Kvasnicka (photo), meantime, dominated the women's field. But for a 14-second loss last year to Mary Kate Bailey, who won the Marine Corps Marathon later that fall, Kvasnicka would have three Annapolis wins in a row. Despite the oppressive humidity, she broke one hour in Annapolis for the first time, running 59:23. Alisa Harvey (39), from Manassas, VA was second in 1:01:58.

"I thought the conditions were harder this year," Kvasnicka said. A shower at the start--too brief to provide relief from the heat--ensured that the humidity would be close to 100 percent. "I never felt comfortable," she said. "But I looked at the competition on the starting line and figured I'd better win."

As the winner at Annapolis and the top local runner at last spring's Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, Kvasnicka remained eligible for the Washington Running Report Ten-Mile Triple, which awards $2,000 to the open and masters winners of those two races plus the Army Ten-Miler on Oct. 2. But Kvasnicka plans on running the women's national marathon championships at the Twin Cities Marathon on Oct. 2.

"Well, I signed up for Army, and Marine Corps [Marathon]," she said. "I'll do what my coach says. But you never know."

Wardian wishes he had that dilemma, but his loss to a Virginia domiciled rival knocked him out of the Triple running. Likewise, masters winner Christina Morgani (40), from Severna Park, MD, who finished third overall in 1:04:46, and Michael Woodman (40), from Timonium, MD, fourth overall in 55:36, knocked out the winning locals at Cherry Blossom.

Chuck Moeser (53), racing again after a brief hiatus, was the first grand master (50 and older) in 58:28. "Retirement's not for me," Moeser said in explaining his return to the roads. Karen Erb (54), from Alexandria, VA was the women's grand master winner in 1:14:06.

Steve Giorgis (50), from Herndon, VA, ran 1:01:39 and was the fastest Naval Academy graduate and 36th overall. John Fry (78), from Annapolis, MD and the Academy Class of '48, took the title as the Fastest/Oldest Goat.

In another blast from the past, Annapolis Striders legend and former race winner Rose Malloy (57), from Annapolis, finished 56th in 1:15:34. Matthew Centrowitz (15, photo below) from nearby Arnold, MD, exactly half as old as this now venerable race, provided a glimpse of the future by running 58:20 and finishing 10th overall.

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