More than 2,000 runners traverse Montgomery County from Rockville to Bethesda as area feels the last blast of summer.

Everybody who ran the third annual Parks Half Marathon, leaving the Rockville Metro Station early Sunday morning, knew they could get a free ride back once they reached Bethesda. Doing so was a tad more strenuous though. As promised, the course was a scenic one. Race announcer Lyman Jordan repeatedly warned everyone that it was still summer. It was still very much a Washington summer and that dense fog the runners saw as the started down Veirs Mill Road was humidity with a capital H.

The race pacer for those daring for 90 minutes, John Howard, warned, "The first two miles will seem very easy . . ." Master standout Cindy Conant (47) of Kensington, MD hit the first mile in 7:00 and pronounced herself, "right on pace." She finished in an excellent 1:32:13 and a marvelously even race. Few others could match that, even paced or not.

Third in his division, Bob Briggs (51) of Springfield, VA was a stride or two ahead in 1:32:07. This former 29:00 10K runner and Olympic qualifier in the 20K race walk was all smiles at the finish. He knew the time was sedentary. He claims, "I ran the last mile in 8:46. Maybe not a great race but a great long run."

Africans swept the top six spots but the times were well off normal. Race winner Patrick Nthiwa (in photo breaking the tape) had run 45:57 at age 18 at the Broad Street 10 Mile in 2002 and nearly broken an hour for the half marathon. Today he eventually broke free of runner-up Abraham Ng'etich 1:08:19 and Jared Abuya 1:08:33 to win in a moderate 1:07:35. Nthiwa is a proto type size for long distance at 5 feet 6 inches and 114 pounds dripping wet. For sure, he was like all the other racers--dripping wet as the race finished.

Nthiwa, with his 27:15 10K speed, would have been a distant 12th overall at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon held 8/31/08 in Virginia Beach, VA. That course is completely flat but it was also totally humid and very warm and the times were slower there than they might have been expected.

Still, Parks, while often in the cooler woods, had its share of up and downs. The first two miles are a net downhill but there were a few little risers on the patched up roads which made it perhaps desirable to watch the ground. Also the final two miles are a long straight line up hill until runners emerge dazed from the tunnel to snake around the corner for the final 150 meters.

Will Christian (25) of Norfolk, VA (in photo) was one of those distance lovers who did both races and finished well in 1:10:27 for 7th overall, this after racing 1:09:00 for 15th place two weeks ago. Christian had won the inaugural Parks race in 2006 with 1:09:14. Steve Crane of Silver Spring, MD was third last year in 1:07:48 when Jynocel Basweti set the course record in 1:06:55. This year he did not even make the final results.

For masters, John Piggott of Williamsburg, VA edged Mark Hoon of Kensington, MD 1:15:43 to 1:15:48 with David Haaga close by in 1:16:48 in 2006. Last year, Christopher Hamley was one of four masters faster than 1:20:00, winning in 1:16:21. Next was multiple grandmaster winner Steve Ward in 1:19:16. This year Hoon did not seem all that excited to be back but ran a solid 1:20:27 to follow master winner Hamley (1:18:31) and David Hagga, runner-up in 1:19:11. Bill Raabe (54) was the grandmaster winner 1:23:16. That should give reigning 55-59 champion Alan Pemberton, (next in 1:25:19) something to think about for next year.

For the sixties, Lou Shapiro has run three times, last year he set the 65-69 standard with 1:35:25. This year Bill Joyce (64) (#1284 in photo) ran 1:30:55 to win his division.

For the women, Meghan Ridgley of Reston, VA won a close battle in 1:22:53 with three other women within 45 seconds the first year. Last year, Irene Mogaka (22) of Chapel Hill, NC crushed the field in a record setting 1:13:42 which would placed her ninth this year just ahead of mega racer Michael Wardian. Heidi Wolfsberger of Scranton, PA (in photo breaking the tape) was third in 1:18:45. This year she returned and dominated the race to win by nearly four minutes in 1:16:45.

Hirut Mandefro (23) of Silver Spring, MD engaged in a battle royale with Phebe Ko holding on to win the runner-up spot by a second in 1:20:15.

Laura Nelson set the opening standard for masters with 1:29:45. That was a couple of minutes ahead of 39-year-old Elizabeth Feldman. The next year Feldman returned improving her time four minutes to 1:28:18 only to watch the juggernaut that is Alisa Harvey set the new record in 1:26:49. This year Harvey slowed a bit to 1:28:02 while battling new masters runner Denise Knickman for the title. Knickman, who has won her age group in 25 races this year while winning a dozen races outright, was nearby in 1:29:05. Feldman (in photo) stayed close for third master in 1:31:23.

Liliana Baron of Potomac, MD took down Alison Suckling's grandmaster record by three minutes in 1:38:25. Chris Craun (62) of Bethesda, MD swept the race all three years, finishing in 1:51:41 this year. At least new senior Alice Franks of Rockville, MD pushed her a little, finishing next in 1:53:18.

As the race ends, people got to see that Bethesda is not that big a town when more than 2,000 runners come racing out of the tunnel. The corral got real busy. There was lots of water and many volunteers running around filling and refilling cups for runners. Still, when it was this hot, ice would be awful nice. [Race director Mick Acuna had his team scour all the local 7-11 stores for ice to take to aid stations] Those aid stations were well manned by enthusiastic volunteers. The band at the back next to baggage check was comfortably volumed. There was ample food for everyone, though eating is not always so high on your list when you have sprinkled about ten pounds of sweat along the Rock Creek Park hiker-biker trail.

Most everyone seemed proud of their accomplishment and ready to enjoy cooling down in festive downtown Bethesda. The results appeared quickly but most of the runners considered this more a measured, monitored run than a race. The awards were cash starting with $500 for the winners and traveling money for the age group winners.

Awards Listing
No Duplicate Prizes

MALE OPEN Gun Time
    1     3 Patrick Nthiwa        25 Fairfax VA         1:07:35  500 
    2    29 Abraham Ng'etich      27 New Rochelle NY    1:08:19  350 
    3     5 Jared Abuya           31 Fairfax VA         1:08:33  250 
    4    28 Joseph Ekuom          38 New Rochelle NY    1:09:17  200 
    5  2027 Denjene Nigussie      24 Potomac MD         1:09:23  100 
FEMALE OPEN Gun Time
    1     4 Heidi Wolfsberger     28 Scranton PA        1:16:45  500 
    2     6 Hirut Mandefro        23 Silver Spring MD   1:20:14  350 
    3     8 Phebe Ko              25 Baltimore MD       1:20:15  250 
    4  2521 Elena Orlova          38 Gaithersburg MD    1:24:34  200 
    5  2138 Amy Baker             24 Manassas VA        1:25:24  100 
MALE MASTERS Gun Time
    1   949 Christopher Hamley    44 Hyattsville MD     1:18:31  100 
FEMALE MASTERS Gun Time
    1    14 Alisa Harvey          42 Manassas VA        1:28:02  100 
MALE AGE GROUP:  18 - 24 Net Time
    1     7 Abiyot Abebe          21 Silver Spring MD   1:09:25   50 
    2    22 Patrick Reeves        23 Silver Spring MD   1:17:01   35 
    3  1311 Jake Green            24 Arlington VA       1:18:51   25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  18 - 24 Net Time
    1  2367 Aidan Van Cleef       23 Chesapeake VA      1:26:26   50 
    2  2256 Emily Kruger          23 Quarryville PA     1:28:08   35 
    3  1618 Amber Hertz           22 Bethesda MD        1:34:40   25 
MALE AGE GROUP:  25 - 29 Net Time
    1    13 Will Christian        25 Norfolk VA         1:10:27   50 
    2    11 Marc Jeuland          29 Carrboro NC        1:12:21   35 
    3  2171 Sam Blasiak           28 Falls Church VA    1:15:38   25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  25 - 29 Net Time
    1  2054 Faith Korbel          29 Washington DC      1:28:43   50 
    2   760 Kendra Versendaal     28 Alexandria VA      1:29:54   35 
    3   632 Holly Devers          26 Damascus MD        1:31:54   25 
MALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 34 Net Time
    1    31 Michael Wardian       34 Arlington VA       1:13:48   50 
    2    21 Christopher Bain      31 Rockville MD       1:18:04   35 
    3   943 Greg Orlofsky         34 Columbia MD        1:27:22   25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 34 Net Time
    1  2283 Carrie Conley         34 Gainesville VA     1:31:48   50 
    2  2114 Kendra Liebert        31 Arlington VA       1:32:40   35 
    3   103 Lisa Reichmann        34 Gaithersburg MD    1:32:59   25 
MALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39 Net Time
    1    19 Frank Sprtel          36 Silver Spring MD   1:17:24   50 
    2  1645 Kevin Yates           37 Olney MD           1:19:53   35 
    3  1593 Michael Elabarger     35 Leesburg VA        1:20:13   25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39 Net Time
    1  1461 Samantha Kirby        39 Arlingtonn VA      1:28:21   50 
    2  2132 Marie Sandrock        36 Alexandria VA      1:36:35   35 
    3   363 Julie Sapper          36 Rockville MD       1:37:36   25 
MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44 Net Time
    1    20 Mark Hoon             43 Kensington MD      1:20:26   50 
    2  1594 Joerg Schroeder       40 Rockville MD       1:21:53   35 
    3  1718 Ian Clements          44 Alexandria VA      1:23:23   25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44 Net Time
    1  2490 Denise Knickman       40 Baltimore MD       1:29:05   50 
    2    16 Elizabeth Feldman     41 Chevy Chase MD     1:31:19   35 
    3  2077 Kerry Rodgers         40 Washington DC      1:37:31   25 
MALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49 Net Time
    1  2115 David Haaga           47 Rockville MD       1:19:10   50 
    2  2057 Jean-Christophe Arcaz 47 Rockville MD       1:23:27   35 
    3  2176 Paul Jacobson         45 Gaithersburg MD    1:25:39   25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49 Net Time
    1  1610 Cindy Conant          47 Kensington MD      1:32:09   50 
    2   291 Jennifer Cooke        45 Washingtonq DC     1:40:38   35 
    3    77 Eleanor Kerr          48 University Park MD 1:40:52   25 
MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54 Net Time
    1   764 Bill Raabe            54 Washington DC      1:23:15   50 
    2  2282 Denis McDonald        54 Woodbine MD        1:30:16   35 
    3   936 Bob Briggs            51 Springfield VA     1:32:00   25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54 Net Time
    1  2035 Liliana Baron         50 Potomac MD         1:38:24   50 
    2  2200 Debbie Flynn          52 Gaithersburg MD    1:39:37   35 
    3  2175 Carole Roeder         51 Ashburn VA         1:44:10   25 
MALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59 Net Time
    1  2297 Alan Pemberton        55 Silver Spring MD   1:25:17   50 
    2  2151 Rod Devar             55 Alexandria VA      1:39:23   35 
    3  1990 Reeves Westbrook      59 Great Falls VA     1:42:21   25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59 Net Time
    1  1958 Kiki Sweigart         57 McLean VA          1:43:38   50 
    2  1694 Anne Ostrenga         57 Derwood MD         1:57:01   35 
    3  1126 Ellen Cooper          57 Rockville MD       2:02:00   25 
MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64 Net Time
    1  1284 Bill Joyce            64 Herndon VA         1:30:53   50 
    2   797 Bernard Wright        61 Pomfret MD         1:34:07   35 
    3  2382 Eric Melby            60 Bethesda MD        1:37:17   25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64 Net Time
    1  1776 Chris Craun           62 Bethesda MD        1:50:19   50 
    2  1414 Alice Franks          60 Rockville MD       1:53:07   35 
    3  1876 Elizabeth Glover      63 Bethesda MD        2:07:15   25 
MALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69 Net Time
    1  1935 Lou Shapiro           66 Silver Spring MD   1:38:26   50 
    2  1685 Harold Rosen          65 Potomac MD         2:05:11   35 
    3   893 Earle Fingerhut       66 Potomac MD         2:08:32   25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69 Net Time
    1   208 Nancy Linck           66 Alexandria VA      2:12:28   50 
    2  1826 Mary McCann           65 Silver Spring MD   2:21:43   35 
    3  1850 Barbara Attardi       65 Rockville MD       2:39:33   25 
MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74 Net Time
    1  2254 Alan Rider            72 Reston VA          2:10:29   50 
    2  2404 Bronek Dutkiewicz     70 McLean VA          2:17:17   35 
    3  1728 Michael Leonard       70 Silver Spring MD   2:17:31   25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74 Net Time
MALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 99 Net Time
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 99 Net Time

Full Race Day Results
Race Day Report for 2008
Photo Gallery 2008
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7