In the race's ninth year, great weather, more than $3,000 in cash awards, and a random prize of a week's vacation bring out the largest crowd since 2000.

Disqualification of the top two finishers lent a touch of controversy to the 9th Veterans Day 10K in West Potomac Park. But for more than 1,500 other finishers out for a 6.2-mile jaunt on a perfect fall morning, the valedictory event of the 2008 racing season was a mix of business with pleasure as usual.

Abraham Ngetich, from Kenya via New Rochelle City, NY, and Tesfaye Girma, from Ethiopia via the Bronx, finished first and second overall but had failed to preregister. Race director Rick Freedman said National Capital Park Service rules prohibit registration on public grounds and that no race-day entries are permitted. Moreover, Freedman said, he spoke with the runners on the telephone the night before the race and warned them they would not be able to compete.

"Our permit prohibits us from accepting registrations on park property," Freedman said. "We're not going to jeopardize our relationship with the Park Service."

The top runners had received complimentary bib numbers before the race from volunteers who were not properly versed in Park and company policy, Capital Running Company spokesman James Moreland said.

So Ngetich's time of approximately 29 minutes 36 seconds, which would have been an event record, went out the window, and third- place finisher Abiyot Abebe , an Ethiopian from Silver Spring, was awarded first place and the winner's check of $500.

"This is by chance," Abebe said. "We didn't make any mistake," he added, noting that he and his fellow Ethiopian runners had registered ahead of time. Abebe, who ran 30:04, said his next race would be November 15 at the Richmond 8K.

Salome Kosgei, (in photo above) from Kenya, the first woman, was originally disqualified but race officials later determined she had properly preregistered. Kosgei, like Ngetich, a former Iona College standout, won in a course-record 33:19. Last year's winner, Hirut Mandefro, finished second in 34:32 and her fellow Ethiopian training partner, Alemgena Desta (27), from Silver Spring, took third in 34:47.

Steven Crane (27), from Arlington, officially finished second in 30:31. Crane (in photo) improved his 2007 time by 26 seconds, even though he ran alone the entire second half of the race.

"We went through 5K in 14:52," he said, "and then they took off. Once I was gapped, I slowed down the whole way in." Crane led the Pacers-Brooks racing squad to the team title; Pacers- Brooks' four men and Barb Fallon Wallace (fifth among the women in 36:58) averaged 32:22. Georgetown Running Company, led by third-place finisher Wilson Komen, was the second team, averaging 33:51.

Alisa Harvey (43) was the first masters woman sixth overall in 37:18. Mark Stickley (46) was 13th and the top master's man in 33:21.

Awards - Men

MALE Open
    1    50 Abiyot Abebe         22 Silver Spring MD      30:04 
    2     3 Steven Crane         27 Arlington VA          30:31 
    3    38 Wilson Komen         30 Washington DC         31:14 
    4     7 Bert Rodriguez       29 Arlington VA          31:18 
    5    19 Willy Viviani        26 Arlington VA          31:28 
    6    15 Steve Mance          24 Alexandria VA         31:31 
    7     9 Nate Brigham         25 Washington DC         31:33 
    8  1020 David Angell         32 Blue Ridge VA         32:32 
    9  1302 Greg Jubb            18 College Park MD       32:47 
   10    21 Scott Anderson       34 Washington DC         32:53 
MALE Masters
    1    30 Mark Stickley        46 Winchester VA         33:21 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 19
    1 Matt Karlin          19 M LIVINGSTON NJ         33:15 33:13  5:21 
    2 Victor Ho            18 M WASHINGTON DC         33:54 33:53  5:28 
    3 Geoff Treat          19 M COLLEGE PARK MD       35:38 35:36  5:44 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 20 - 24
    1 Peter Silverman      24 M WASHINGTON DC         33:53 33:52  5:27 
    2 Daniel Ball          24 M ARLINGTON VA          34:06 34:04  5:29 
    3 Erik Westlund        24 M BALTIMORE MD          34:27 34:26  5:33 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 25 - 29
    1 Dave Miller          25 M LEESBURG VA           33:28 33:27  5:23 
    2 Diego Miralles       25 M COLLEGE PARK MD       33:33 33:32  5:24 
    3 Daniel Meikamu       29 M SILVER SPRING MD      33:43 33:41  5:26 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 30 - 34
    1 Marco Rosasgalicia   33 M SILVER SPRING MD      36:32 36:30  5:53 
    2 Joseph Pope          34 M WASHINGTON DC         37:11 37:10  5:59 
    3 David Bernand        33 M MCLEAN VA             37:22 37:21  6:01 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 35 - 39
    1 Eric Makovsky        35 M WASHINGTON DC         36:12 36:10  5:50 
    2 David Kent           36 M ARLINGTON VA          36:14 36:13  5:50 
    3 Jeffrey Hiott        35 M WASHINGTON DC         36:52 36:51  5:56 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 40 - 44
    1 Ian Clements         44 M ALEXANDRIA VA         35:59 35:57  5:48 
    2 Victor Papagno       40 M HUGHESVILLE MD        36:45 36:45  5:55 
    3 Malcolm Lester       41 M WASHINGTON DC         37:10 37:08  5:59 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 45 - 49
    1 Jean-Christophe Arca 47 M ROCKVILLE MD          35:22 35:20  5:42 
    2 Dave Berardi         48 M BALTIMORE MD          35:34 35:32  5:44 
    3 Terry McLaughlin     48 M SPOTSYLVANIA VA       37:35 37:33  6:03 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 50 - 54
    1 Eduardo Rodriguez    52 M MADRID SPAIN          36:30 36:29  5:53 
    2 Weems McFadden       51 M COLUMBIA MD           37:06 37:04  5:58 
    3 Gustavo Olmedo       50 M MCLEAN VA             39:11 39:09  6:18 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 55 - 59
    1 Chuck Moeser         57 M STERLING VA           35:29 35:26  5:43 
    2 Alan Pemberton       56 M SILVER SPRING MD      37:58 37:58  6:07 
    3 Richard Adams Jr     57 M HERNDON VA            38:11 38:11  6:09 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 60 - 64
    1 Carlos Rosales       61 M ALEXANDRIA VA         41:39 41:39  6:43 
    2 Michael Wesbecher    60 M OAKTON VA             42:31 42:26  6:50 
    3 Michael Kush         63 M BURKE VA              47:15 46:37  7:31 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 65 - 69
    1 Lou Shapiro          67 M SILVER SPRING MD      42:58 42:54  6:55 
    2 Richard Pane         65 M HERNDON VA            44:43 44:35  7:11 
    3 Malcolm O'Hagan      68 M CHEVY CHASE MD        45:47 45:39  7:21 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 70 - 74
    1 Chan Robbins         71 M ARLINGTON VA          47:05 47:05  7:35 
    2 Carl Cox             71 M FALLS CHURCH VA       49:49 49:45  8:01 
    3 Martin Harms         71 M ALEXANDRIA VA         49:54 49:48  8:01 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 75 - 79
    1 Jack McMahon         78 M ROCKVILLE MD          54:49 54:42  8:49 
    2 Edward Green         77 M WASHINGTON DC         61:02 60:52  9:48 
MALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 99
    1   213 Alemayehu Tamirat    26 M Washington DC   37:58 37:52  6:06 

Soldiers from the Virginia National Guard supported the race at the finish and throughout the course.

Awards - Women

FEMALE Open
    1    36 Salome Kosgei        28 Bronx NY              33:19 
    2    51 Hirut Mandefro       23 Silver Spring MD      34:32 
    3    14 Alemgena Desta       27 Silver Spring MD      34:47 
    4    53 Yunilesh Delelecha   27 Washington DC         36:30 
    5    10 Caroline White       23 College Park MD       36:52 
    6    18 Barb Fallon Wallace  34 Alexandria VA         36:58 
    7     4 Alisa Harvey         43 Manassas VA           37:18 
    8    37 Erin Swain           26 Arlington VA          37:48 
    9     8 Erica Nemmers        36 Herndon VA            38:22 
   10  1853 Carrie Conley        34 Gainesville VA        38:28 
FEMALE Masters
    1   991 Anita Freres         43 Reston VA             39:37 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 01 - 19
    1 Elaine Twigg         19 F FALLS CHURCH VA       43:54 43:48  7:03 
    2 Nicole Dawson        14 F JESSUP MD             44:42 44:18  7:08 
    3 Susan Falt           19 F ANNAPOLIS MD          48:58 48:51  7:52 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 20 - 24
    1 Lydia Malley         24 F WASHINGTON DC         41:54 41:38  6:42 
    2 Elyse Braner         24 F WASHINGTON DC         41:50 41:49  6:44 
    3 Jamie Lewin          20 F WASHINGTON DC         42:20 42:14  6:48 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 25 - 29
    1 Michelle Harburg     26 F WASHINGTON DC         39:35 39:34  6:22 
    2 Katharine Labanca    25 F WASHINGTON DC         42:43 42:37  6:52 
    3 Cecily Brewer        29 F WASHINGTON DC         43:28 43:10  6:57 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 30 - 34
    1 Ingrid Peterson      30 F WASHINGTON DC         43:45 43:28  7:00 
    2 Christina Vanucci    30 F WESTLAKE OH           44:04 43:46  7:03 
    3 Maya Brown           32 F WASHINGTON DC         45:02 44:09  7:07 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 35 - 39
    1 Mary Davison         36 F BRISTOW VA            38:43 38:43  6:14 
    2 Christie Yang        37 F FALLS CHURCH VA       43:41 43:09  6:57 
    3 Laura Zeilinger      36 F WASHINGTON DC         44:28 44:27  7:10 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 40 - 44
    1 Tatiana Maslova      42 F WASHINGTON DC         40:02 40:01  6:27 
    2 Rebecca Nathan       43 F ARLINGTON VA          40:04 40:03  6:27 
    3 Ragan Petrie         42 F ATLANTA GA            42:32 42:32  6:51 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 45 - 49
    1 Sheryl Kline         45 F ARNOLD MD             41:21 41:21  6:40 
    2 Leslie Knibb         45 F WASHINGTON DC         43:50 43:34  7:01 
    3 Christine Hackman    45 F ALEXANDRIA VA         45:45 45:41  7:21 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 50 - 54
    1 Ofelia Perotti       52 F ALEXANDRIA VA         42:16 42:16  6:48 
    2 Leslie Mertz         54 F ARLINGTON VA          48:48 48:47  7:51 
    3 Elizabeth Weaver     54 F CHEVY CHASE MD        50:32 50:03  8:04 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 55 - 59
    1 Ginny Hughes         58 F WARRENTON VA          48:35 48:20  7:47 
    2 Suanne Shocket       55 F MANASSAS VA           49:04 48:57  7:53 
    3 Joan Darrah          57 F ALEXANDRIA VA         53:41 52:29  8:27 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 60 - 64
    1 Chris Craun          62 F BETHESDA MD           46:27 46:19  7:28 
    2 Linda Kearney        62 F HERNDON VA            47:39 47:34  7:40 
    3 Alice Franks         60 F ROCKVILLE MD          48:18 48:13  7:46 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 70 - 74
    1 Tami Graf            72 F LUSBY MD              60:14 60:11  9:42 
    2 Jamie Wollard        70 F N BETHESDA MD         71:33 71:04 11:27 
FEMALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 99
    1   300 Ingrid Peterson      30 F Washington DC   43:45 43:28  7:00 

Full Race Day Results
Race Day Report for 2008
Photo Gallery 2008