"I took off on the hill. I looked at his (Brian Daugherty's) face and felt that he was feeling the pace. The hill did not bother me. You never know how the other guy is feeling," said Eron Ferriera, of Brazil, now living in McLean, after winning the eleventh annual Leesburg 10K, held Sunday, August 15, 1999, in a time of 32 minutes, 36 seconds, the fastest winning time since 1996.

The race started and finished at Market Station in downtown Leesburg, VA. The course had a few rolling hills between the second and third mile, and the major hill near the halfway mark before the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. The Outreach Committee of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association (NVBIA), the sponsor, designated proceeds from the race to nine local charities, with the focus being to support the less fortunate children and families within the community.

What a difference twenty degrees can make. The cooler morning temperatures welcomed the almost six hundred runners. In the first year (1989) a bandit, a non-registered runner, had entered the course about mid-race, but was not challenged and was subsequently used as the mascot. The intruder was a 700 pound cow; needless to say, the cow has "moo'ed" on to greener pastures.

One challenger was Chuck Moeser, age 47, of Sterling, VA, the 1991 (33:09) and 1995 (32:49) winner who also set the masters record that year. Last year, Moeser was the first master (33:04) and second overall. Other challengers included Eron Ferreira (25), Brian Daugherty (39) of Annapolis, MD, and Patrick Materna (32) of Austria, now living in LaFollette, TN. In August of 1998 Materna won the River Rumble 5K (16:00) in Potomac, MD.

Sharon Servidio (26) of Team Pacers of Alexandria, VA, was the favorite among the females. Servidio was the winner of the River Rumble Half Marathon two weeks earlier with 1:26:17. The challengers included 1996 winner (40:38) and 1997 runner-up (39:26) Patsy Long (33) of Sterling, VA. Long was third at the Mother's Day 5K held last May in Washington with 19:14. Fiona Branton (40) of Arlington, VA, was looking to secure a masters title.

Daugherty took the lead with Ferriera, Materna, and Moeser trailing a couple of steps back. The first mile was 5:05, before a slight uphill. Servidio was the leading female followed by Long and Branton, the first master. Bernadette Flynn of Fairfax, VA, was the second master and the event record holder (1997, 42:22).

Going into the second mile with an elapsed time of 10:25, before Dry Mill Road, Daughtery was setting the pace. Moeser and Materna started to fade, it was down to a two person race. Ferreira waited to make his move. The turning point came halfway up the hill to the W&OD Trail. Ferriera made a decisive move to surge up the hill, and Daugherty could not cover it. Going into the fourth mile, Ferreira threw in a 5:12 mile. The last two miles (split times of 5:17 and 5:05) were along the trail and Ferreira started to widen the lead. Ferreira went unchallenged to win in 32:36.

"I woke up a 4 am to get a drink of water and then looked at the calendar in the Washington Running Report and decided to run this one. I had to stop at the police station to get directions here," said Ferreira. "I was feeling great and my training has been great. If someone would have done a 4:50 mile I could have gone with him. The only problem I had was along the bike path with the little pebbles, they hurt my feet and I may have some blisters. I let Brian lead since I did not know the course. I felt strong and confident," added Ferreira, who runs barefoot.

Daugherty took second with 33:01. Moeser was third and first master with 33:29. Materna held in for fourth place with 34:08. "I was just inducted into my high school (Kenmore) Hall of Fame in Buffalo. I felt good going into the first mile. The hills started to take their toll. Chuck was behind me and I was concentrating on Eron and trying to catch him," said Daugherty. "I was right with the leaders at mile one. At mile two they had five seconds on me and by mile three they had ten seconds. At three and one-half miles I saw Ron Kulik (the 1992 winner with 33:07) and I wanted to make sure that he would not catch me. I just decided to settle for third," said Moeser. "The organizers did a good job and I felt safe, with no traffic, my hat's off to the organizers. I did pick off a guy with a half mile to go," said Materna.

Servidio dominated from the start to the finish and took first with 36:40, the second fastest time in the event's history. "I had fun and I enjoyed it. My first mile was 5:45. I picked it up near the end. I didn't run it as evenly as I wanted to. I thought it was a good race. You run hard the first part and easy on the second part," said Servidio.

A new master's record was set by second place Fiona Branton with 39:31. Patsy Long was third with 40:17. "I felt pretty good. It was pretty tough with the rolling hills. After going up that hill I had to hold on to my water while I was gasping for breath. I tried to catch Fiona, she passed me about mile two. At mile five I could not get closer and I was thirty seconds behind her," said Long.

Bernadette Flynn was sixth and second master with 43:56. "I felt pretty good and I have to work on my endurance. I wanted to run an even pace and then increase the effort. I used my arms more uphill and passed three other women. I like to reel other people in. I thought the other women here were competitive," said Flynn. "Once I get my fitness back I'll be able to push harder in the beginning. Another woman was running with me for two miles and she got me into another gear. This is a nice race after you get past the halfway point," added Flynn.

Tami Graf of Lusby was first in the age group 60-64 with 52:57. Cal Fowler of Reston was second in the men's 60-64 age group with 42:28 (41st place).

NVBIA continues to build on the blueprint to help reshape the local community. The sharing and the caring increases, a community based event which will keep ringing the bells long after the cows come home.