Photos by Stephanie Harry

The race idea was a great one. Let us have another signature race in our nation's Capital. The cause was a potent one that everyone could get behind: Let us honor the brave and dedicated men and women who serve and protect us in our country. More than 18,000 of these heroes have sacrificed their lives, including 125 in the nation's capital, for the safety and freedom of all of us. The names of these stalwarts are listed on the memorial here at Judiciary square. Bagpipes played before the race.

With the competition of the fall flurry of races throughout the region, this race started out a little slow. Then just as they do when a call for help comes, they burst into action, getting the word out. In the final two weeks, they ramped up and nearly six hundred runners signed up for this inaugural event. Naturally, the course was expertly managed. These men and women know the streets well. There was no need for cones or arrows; each street was blocked off allowing the runners to concentrate on running alone.

The Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, Cathy L. Lanier, (in photo) was on hand to start the race on the north side of the square. Runners burst around the corner and headed south towards Pennsylvania Avenue. Crossing in front of the Capitol, the only real hill came at the best time, right after the first mile before runners had a mid race let down. Hills later in the race spell trouble for fast times. In this case, runners knew that most of the second mile would be a ferocious charge back down Capital Hill.

This year the course was not certified and most of the runners up front knew on the way back that the course was a tad short, really 3 miles. Circling around the base reflecting pool at the bottom of the hill, runners blasted off Pennsylvania Avenue for the final charge up 3rd Street. Turning onto E Street, there was about sixty meters of ferocious sprint to cross the ChronoTrack gators.

The cool October morning was perfect racing weather and the bright sunshine warmed up the morning for the tired runners as they headed for the refreshments area. There was plenty of Gatorade and Bottled water as well as snacks to refuel the runners. A potent sound system helped buoy spirits as runners recovered and excitedly discussed their race adventure.

The awards went three deep in the overall and two deep in ten year age groups. Many of the top runners were from out of town, coming here for training in Quantico as well as to support the theme of the race. The race T-shirt was in patriot red, white, and blue. In a world of not so nice, commercial ridden T- shirts, this one is definitely a keeper.

For the men, forty is the new young with fifty not far behind. The top six runners were forty and older and sixty percent of the top 25 were as well. From out west Andrew Duncan of Las Vegas, VA out dueled Antonio Eppolito of Albuquerque, NM, winning in 15:57 by three seconds. The next four runners, representing our three states, Maryland, DC, and Virginia, finished about in a pack about a quarter mile behind.

The grandmaster leader was Bruce Delaplaine of Bethesda, MD in 18:44 with Michael Cannon of Springfield, VA a few steps behind in 18:50. Cannon was third on Saturday at the Stone Ridge 5K in 19:51.

The woman's race was more of a youth movement. Early on Dionis Gauvin (34) of Alexandria, VA darted away, running with the men. She cruised home easily in 18:31. She was quick to note the shortness of the course, saying she did not believe that she was quite ready for such an improvement over her last race.

In the downhill first half mile some of the other women may have paid the price before hitting that major hill on the south side of the Capitol. They rearranged their early sprint and dug in for the rest of the race. Andrea Forton (26) of Washington, DC was all alone in second place with 19:57 with Karane Williams (26) in third with 20:45.

The next two minutes produced a flurry of finishers with tenth place Naomi Sullivan as top masters in 22:09. The only other master in the top twenty five was 54-year-old Fran Knoll of College Park, MD.

Above, Maya Brown (32) of Washington, DC is second in her division with a ChronoTrack net time of 21:11.

Below, Leo Wyne (71) of Falls Church, VA is the top runner in the 60-99 division with 25:40.

Awards

FEMALE OVERALL
Place Num   Name                   Ag City                  Gun T Net T Pace  
===== ===== ====================== == ===================== ===== ===== ===== 
    1   168 Dionis Gauvin          34 Alexandria VA         18:31 18:30  6:10 
    2   292 Andrea Forton          26 Washington DC         19:57 19:49  6:37 
    3   440 Karane Williams        25 Washington DC         20:45 20:44  6:55 
MALE OVERALL
Place Num   Name                   Ag City                  Gun T Net T Pace  
===== ===== ====================== == ===================== ===== ===== ===== 
    1   444 Andrew Duncan          41 Las Vegas NV          15:57 15:57  5:19 
    2   343 Antonio Eppolito       40 Albuquerque NM        16:00 15:59  5:20 
    3   311 William Bray           43 Fairfax VA            17:08 17:07  5:43 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 01 - 19
    1   373 Lauren Blackburn       15 Springfield VA        21:48 21:45  7:15 
    2   362 Nicole Arroyo          13 Springfield VA        27:18 27:03  9:01 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 01 - 19
    1   431 Shaun Flynn            19 Washington DC         18:10 18:09  6:03 
    2   424 Gerald Chase           14 Washington DC         18:44 18:44  6:15 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 20 - 29
    1   443 Coleen Duncan          28 Las Vegas NV          21:54 21:51  7:17 
    2   418 Jennifer Somma         27 Arlington VA          22:00 21:56  7:19 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 20 - 29
    1   552 Ronald Nelson          29 Washington DC         18:09 18:08  6:03 
    2   188 Philip Mahoney         28 Arlington VA          19:18 19:14  6:25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 30 - 39
    1   144 Rali Roesing           34 Beach Lake PA         21:03 21:00  7:00 
    2    70 Maya Brown             32 Washington DC         21:42 21:11  7:04 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 30 - 39
    1   473 Mike Hiller            31 Reston VA             18:05 18:04  6:02 
    2   351 Pat Martin             36 Washington DC         18:22 18:20  6:07 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 40 - 49
    1   511 Naomi Sullivan         44 Triangle VA           22:09 21:56  7:19 
    2   195 Michele Culp           49 Washington DC         25:50 25:09  8:23 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 40 - 49
    1   521 David Johnson          42 Washington DC         17:36 17:36  5:52 
    2   542 Dan Wallace            42 Alexandria VA         17:36 17:36  5:52 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 50 - 59
    1   248 Fran Knoll             54 College Park MD       23:25 23:22  7:48 
    2   307 Veronica Floyd         52 Alexandria VA         28:45 28:10  9:24 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 50 - 59
    1   544 Bruce Delaplaine       53 Bethesda MD           18:44 18:44  6:15 
    2   241 Michael Cannon         50 Springfield VA        18:50 18:49  6:17 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 60 - 69
    1   400 Mary Brown             61 Fairfax Station VA    27:04 26:50  8:57 
    2   432 Blair Jones            64 Washington DC         32:31 31:52 10:38 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 60 - 69
    1   448 Don Blue               66 Washington DC         29:50 29:18  9:46 
    2    99 Raymond De Frees       66 Fairfax VA            41:06 40:44 13:35 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 70 - 99
    1   319 Leo Wyne               71 Falls Church VA       25:40 25:36  8:32 
MALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 99
    1   287 David Espiritu         41 M Chula Vista CA        19:18 19:17  6:26 
FEMALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 99
    1   107 Linida Blake           25 F Oxon Hill MD          22:07 22:06  7:22 

Above, third place William Bray (43) of Fairfax, VA is the top local runner in 17:08.

Below, just one place back, David Johnson (42) of Washington, DC wins his division with the exact time as fifth place Dan Wallace. He got a mere tenth of a second faster start.

Full Race Day Results
For more information about the reason for the Race to Remember