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Welcome to the Washington Running Report
Winter 2008
Holiday Races of Winter Fill up with Runners
2008 WRR Winter Runner Rankings
By James Moreland
May/June 2008
For the Washington Running Report
"Cause I keep on running, there's no way to catch up with me,
Running with pack, never looking back."
- Bad Company 1976
In the early days of the Runner Rankings the Open Division was first--not masters while masters was anyone 40 and older. Soon it became apparent that ten year and eventually five year age groups were necessary to fairly define the quality of the performances of the racers. This did neglect the truly elite runners who by no fault of their own belonged competing with the Open division runners of 20-34 for status in what should really be called the Elite Division.
Often these runners as old as mid 60s and as young as 13 found themselves finishing as overall winners in a race. The first person to cross the finish line is the OVERALL winner, not merely an age group winner, regardless of their age.
When we opened the OPEN doors to all comers, we had a flood of talented runners. One winter, we had an elite master finish second in this division and a teenager has won it all. For the men, runners as old as 51 have earned a spot in the division. If Chuck Moeser decides to move back from Greta Garbo to Madonna we could have a 56-year-old runner in the Elite Division.
For the women, this winter Ofelia Perotti (51) matched the men as the oldest Elite Division Qualifier. More than half of the 47 women in the division are outside of the former 20-34 age group. In fact, the runner-up and third place overall are 35 and 18, respectively. Though the men's division is only half as large as the women's this period, one sixth of them are outside traditional ages with a teen again the overall champion.
The torrid pace of increasing race participation slowed a little. Still, this is the largest winter ever, with 154 races in which runners ran a qualifying time and nearly 2,600 ranked times among the nearly 56,000 finishers. Do not tell me you could not find a race on Thanksgiving as there were 23 of them and 23,000 of your fellow racers running. Instead of three, there were eight races this year with more than 1,000 finishers.
There were 36 races that had more than ten percent of their runners ranked. Only one, the RRCA Challenge 10 Mile, had more than 500 finishers. It was easily the largest with 110 ranked runners. Acumen Solutions Jingle All the Way 10K, in its third year, was second with 82, followed by the two largest 5 milers, the Celtic Solstice 5M with 79 and the Alexandria Turkey Trot 5M with 74 ranked times. Next in line were the February giants with 70 times. They were the GW Birthday 10K (the second most competitive major at 8.6%) and the Colonial Half Marathon (8.1%). The Bethesda YMCA Turkey Chase 10K was the largest race with more than 3,300 finishers. The 5K was well represented with three having more than 50 ranked runners, including the largest, the Virginia Run Turkey Trot, and the most competitive major 5K at 8%, the Red Ribbon. In March, the period ended with the B&A Trail HM with the fifth largest percentage (6.5).
Eleven races had more than 1,000 finishers. Forty races had more than 20 qualifying times. The top 12 races had more than 40 qualifiers.
Parity remained about the same as 895 different men and 698 different women ran at least one qualifying time. Two hundred seventy-four men and 235 women were ranked. Generally, the women's numbers fall off in the older ranks. They had 47 open runners. Normally the men's largest division, the 60-64 division had 46 runners. This period the 50-54 division challenged with 45. The teen divisions are growing, especially the women with 47 runners racing more than 300 times. In all of the races, 4.58% of the finishers were ranked runners. That is the lowest percentage in the last five years. Still, each year there are more races and more ranked finishing times.
Runners who win the race or win their division in a race earn an asterisk beside their name. Open runners only get an asterisk for an overall win. The Speed Alone is the fastest qualifying time run for each division. In BOLD, it means the division champion ran it.
Now let's see who made it to the top.
Women's Winter 2008 Rankings
Men's Winter 2008 Rankings
For a complete explanation of how the rankings are compiled, please see Rankings Explained.
The Current Qualifying Standards for the 10K
Age Group Men Women
Open 34:20 41:15
19 & Under 38:20 46:05
35-39 36:40 44:10
40-44 38:20 46:05
45-49 39:45 48:45
50-54 42:00 51:45
55-59 43:55 54:30
60-64 49:45 62:05
65-69 52:50 75:00
70-74 56:20 89:40
75-79 1:32:30 1:39:00
80 & over 1:45:00 1:50:00
The ranking periods for the 2008 ranking year:
* Spring Runner Rankings, March 8, 2008 through May 18, 2008:
reported July-August 2008
* Summer Runner Rankings, May 19, 2008 through September 1,
2008: reported November-December 2008* Fall Runner Rankings, September 2, 2008 through November 16,
2008: reported January-February 2009* Best of 2008: reported March-April 2009
Races Used in the Winter Ranking Period
| Event | Location | Date |
| Alexandria Turkey Trot 5M | Alexandria, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Arlington Turkey Trot 5K | Arlington, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Ashburn Turkey Trot 10K | Ashburn, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Ashburn Turkey Trot 5K | Ashburn, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Blue Talon Bistro Turkey Trot | Williamsburg, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Boars Head Turkey Trot 5K | Charlottesville, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Drumstick Dash 5K | Roanoke, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Genesis House Turkey Trot 5K | Lynchburg, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Gonzaga Thanksgiving Classic 10K | Alexandria, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Laurel Turkey Trot 5K | Laurel, MD | 22-Nov-07 |
| Richmond Turkey Trot 10K | Richmond, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Stephens City Thanksgiving Day 5K | Stephens City, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Towson YMCA Turkey Trot 5K | Towson, MD | 22-Nov-07 |
| Toys For Tots Holiday 10K | Newport News, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Toys For Tots Holiday 5K | Newport News, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Turkey Trot 5K | Westernport, MD | 22-Nov-07 |
| Turkey Trot 5K | Hagerstown, MD | 22-Nov-07 |
| VAB 28th Annual Turkey Trot 10K | Virginia Beach, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5K | Centreville, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Way Station's Thanksgiving Day 5K | Frederick, MD | 22-Nov-07 |
| YMCA Bel Air 5K Turkey Trot | Bel Air, MD | 22-Nov-07 |
| YMCA Turkey Chase 10K | Bethesda, MD | 22-Nov-07 |
| YMCA Turkey Trot 5K | Fredericksburg, VA | 22-Nov-07 |
| Northern Central Trail Marathon | Sparks, MD | 24-Nov-07 |
| Turkey Burnoff 10 Mile | Gaithersburg, MD | 24-Nov-07 |
| Turkey Burnoff 5 Mile | Gaithersburg, MD | 24-Nov-07 |
| Burke Memorial 5K | Westminster, MD | 01-Dec-07 |
| Charlottesville 4 Miler | Charlottesville, VA | 01-Dec-07 |
| DCRRC Gar Williams HM | Alexandria, VA | 01-Dec-07 |
| Fort Story Army Navy 10K | Virginia Beach, VA | 01-Dec-07 |
| Greenbelt Wright Stuff 5K | Greenbelt, MD | 01-Dec-07 |
| Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis | Ellicott City, MD | 01-Dec-07 |
| Jingle Bell Run/Walk For Arthritis | Norfolk, VA | 01-Dec-07 |
| Peaks of Otter 5K | Bedford, VA | 01-Dec-07 |
| Peaks of Otter 10K | Bedford, VA | 01-Dec-07 |
| St. Kateri's Run With the Son 5K | Tabb, VA | 01-Dec-07 |
| SVR Mystery Distance 4.59M | Front Royal, VA | 01-Dec-07 |
| Timo's Run 5K | Pleasant Grove, VA | 01-Dec-07 |
| TRRC Championship 7M | Petersburg, VA | 01-Dec-07 |
| Fall Into Winter 10K | Reston, VA | 02-Dec-07 |
| HCS Metric 5K | Columbia, MD | 02-Dec-07 |
| HCS Metric Marathon | Columbia, MD | 02-Dec-07 |
| RASAC Charity 5K | Bel Air, MD | 02-Dec-07 |
| Holiday Classic 5K | Farmville, VA | 08-Dec-07 |
| Lewis-Gale's Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis 5K | Roanoke, VA | 08-Dec-07 |
| Reindeer Romp 5K | Reston, VA | 08-Dec-07 |
| Reindeer Run 5K | Chantilly, VA | 08-Dec-07 |
| Santa Claus Shuffle 5K | Norfolk, VA | 08-Dec-07 |
| Solomons Jingle Bell Run/Walk | Solomons, MD | 08-Dec-07 |
| Acumen Solutions Jingle All the Way 10K | Washington, DC | 09-Dec-07 |
| Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell Run 5K | Baltimore, MD | 09-Dec-07 |
| AS Anniversary 15K | Annapolis, MD | 09-Dec-07 |
| Blue Gray Half Marathon | Fredericksburg, VA | 09-Dec-07 |
| BRRC Masters 10K | Sparks, MD | 09-Dec-07 |
| DCRRC Bread Run 10K | Glen Echo, MD | 09-Dec-07 |
| HCS Swansfield 5K | Columbia, MD | 09-Dec-07 |
| RASAC Rockfield 5M | Bel Air, MD | 09-Dec-07 |
| Toy Run 5K | Richmond, VA | 09-Dec-07 |
| Celtic Solstice 5M | Baltimore, MD | 15-Dec-07 |
| Davis Corner Rescue Squad 5K | Norfolk, VA | 15-Dec-07 |
| Rudolph's Red Nosed 10K | Fairfax, VA | 15-Dec-07 |
| SVR Jingle Bell 5K | Winchester, VA | 15-Dec-07 |
| HCS Elkhorn 10K | Columbia, MD | 16-Dec-07 |
| MCRRC Jingle Bell Jog 8K | Rockville, MD | 16-Dec-07 |
| RASAC Holiday 5K | Bel Air, MD | 16-Dec-07 |
| Christmas Caper 10K | Washington, DC | 22-Dec-07 |
| Christmas Caper 5K | Washington, DC | 22-Dec-07 |
| Long Branch Pre-Hangover 5K | Millwood, VA | 29-Dec-07 |
| Festival of Lights 5K | Centreville, VA | 31-Dec-07 |
| Red Ribbon 5K | Fairfax, VA | 31-Dec-07 |
| Charlottesville New Year's Day 5K | Free Union, VA | 01-Jan-08 |
| DCRRC New Year's Day Predictions and Resolutions 5K | Rosslyn, VA | 01-Jan-08 |
| Father Time 5 Mile | Baltimore, MD | 01-Jan-08 |
| Hair of the Dog 5K | Virginia Beach, VA | 01-Jan-08 |
| MCRRC New Year's Race | Gaithersburg, MD | 01-Jan-08 |
| New Year's Day 10K | Richmond, VA | 01-Jan-08 |
| New Year's Day Resolution Run 5K | Baltimore, MD | 01-Jan-08 |
| RASAC Covered Bridge 10K | Fallston, MD | 01-Jan-08 |
| Rehau Rotary Resolution 10K | Leesburg, VA | 01-Jan-08 |
| Sentara 5K | Hampton, VA | 01-Jan-08 |
| SMCN Resolution 2008 5K | Prince Frederick, MD | 01-Jan-08 |
| DCRRC Al Lewis 10 Mile | Kensington, MD | 05-Jan-08 |
| Tidewater Striders Tune-up 10K | Fort Story, VA | 05-Jan-08 |
| Tidewater Striders Tune-up 20K | Fort Story, VA | 05-Jan-08 |
| HCS Burleigh Manor 5M | Columbia, MD | 06-Jan-08 |
| SVR Treasue Hunt 3M | Berryville, VA | 12-Jan-08 |
| HCS Longfellow 10K | Columbia, MD | 13-Jan-08 |
| HCS Longfellow 15K | Columbia, MD | 13-Jan-08 |
| Loch Raven 8 Mile | Baltimore, MD | 13-Jan-08 |
| Mighty Medford Freeway 5K | Westminster, MD | 13-Jan-08 |
| DCRRC JFK 20K | Washington, DC | 19-Jan-08 |
| DCRRC JFK 5K | Washington, DC | 19-Jan-08 |
| MCRRC Shooting Starr 5 Mile | Hillandale, MD | 19-Jan-08 |
| Mud In Your Eye XC Series 5K Run | Virginia Beach, VA | 19-Jan-08 |
| UNOs Snowflake Chase 5M | McHenry, MD | 19-Jan-08 |
| HCS Atholton 5K | Columbia, MD | 20-Jan-08 |
| Frozen Finger 5M | Baltimore, MD | 26-Jan-08 |
| Lewis Memorial 10 Mile | Frederick, MD | 26-Jan-08 |
| SVR Stickman's Tandem 5K | Strasburg, VA | 26-Jan-08 |
| Tidewater Striders Tune-up 15K | Fort Story, VA | 26-Jan-08 |
| Tidewater Striders Tune-up 25K | Fort Story, VA | 26-Jan-08 |
| Frostbite 15K | Richmond, VA | 27-Jan-08 |
| HCS Thunderhill 10K | Columbia, MD | 27-Jan-08 |
| RASAC North Harford Loop 10K | Pylesville, MD | 27-Jan-08 |
| East Beach 5K | Norfolk, VA | 02-Feb-08 |
| East Beach HM | Norfolk, VA | 02-Feb-08 |
| Frosty 5K | Blacksburg, VA | 02-Feb-08 |
| Grafton Cold Feet 5K | Grafton, VA | 02-Feb-08 |
| MCRRC Country Run 5M | Olney, MD | 03-Feb-08 |
| Penguin Pace 5K | Columbia, MD | 03-Feb-08 |
| RASAC Fox 5K | Bel Air, MD | 03-Feb-08 |
| Super Bowl 5K | Dundalk, MD | 03-Feb-08 |
| Super Bowl Trail Runs | Baltimore, MD | 03-Feb-08 |
| AS Valentine 5K | Millersville, MD | 09-Feb-08 |
| DCRRC Custis Lee 12K | Arlington, VA | 09-Feb-08 |
| Joe Moore Memorial 5K | Hampton, VA | 09-Feb-08 |
| Mud In Your Eye XC Series 6K Run | Virginia Beach, VA | 09-Feb-08 |
| Run for a Rose 5K | Stephens City, VA | 09-Feb-08 |
| HCS Jeffers Hill 10K | Columbia, MD | 10-Feb-08 |
| HCS Jeffers Hill 15K | Columbia, MD | 10-Feb-08 |
| RASAC Hinte Tune-up 15K | Aberdeen, MD | 10-Feb-08 |
| Sweetheart 4 Mile | Hartwood, VA | 10-Feb-08 |
| Walnut Hill Ribbon Run 5K | Gaithersburg, MD | 10-Feb-08 |
| Amnesty 5K | Charlottesville, VA | 16-Feb-08 |
| BRRC Valentine 10K | Baltimore, MD | 16-Feb-08 |
| By George 10K | Washington, DC | 16-Feb-08 |
| By George 5K | Washington, DC | 16-Feb-08 |
| GW Birthday 10K | Alexandria, VA | 16-Feb-08 |
| Sweetheart 8K | Midlothian, VA | 16-Feb-08 |
| Tidewater Striders Tune-up 20K | Fort Story, VA | 16-Feb-08 |
| Tidewater Striders Tune-up 30K | Fort Story, VA | 16-Feb-08 |
| Arctic Road 5K | Lynchburg, VA | 17-Feb-08 |
| GW Marathon | Greenbelt, MD | 17-Feb-08 |
| HCS Burleigh Manor 5M | Columbia, MD | 17-Feb-08 |
| Mud In Your Eye XC Series 8K Run | Virginia Beach, VA | 23-Feb-08 |
| Predicted Time 4 Mile | Winchester, VA | 23-Feb-08 |
| Youngblood 5K | Midlothian, VA | 23-Feb-08 |
| Anheuser Busch Colonial Half-Marathon | Williamsburg, VA | 24-Feb-08 |
| Colonial 5K | Williamsburg, VA | 24-Feb-08 |
| RRCA Challenge 10 Mile | Columbia, MD | 24-Feb-08 |
| Cox Falcon 5K | Virginia Beach, VA | 01-Mar-08 |
| Explore Your Limits 5K | Roanoke, VA | 01-Mar-08 |
| Flying Feet 5K | Westminster, MD | 01-Mar-08 |
| Fort Eustis 10K | Newport News, VA | 01-Mar-08 |
| Move for the Mission 5K | Lynchburg, VA | 01-Mar-08 |
| Retro Ramble 3.8M | Winchester, VA | 01-Mar-08 |
| B&A Trail Half Marathon | Severna Park, MD | 02-Mar-08 |
| B&A Trail Marathon | Severna Park, MD | 02-Mar-08 |
| DCRRC Burke Lake 12K | Burke, VA | 02-Mar-08 |
| HCS Longfellow 10K | Columbia, MD | 02-Mar-08 |
| HCS Longfellow 15K | Columbia, MD | 02-Mar-08 |
| Huguenot Park Cross Country 3 Mile | Midlothian, VA | 02-Mar-08 |
| Tim Kennard 10K Mile River Run | Salisbury, MD | 02-Mar-08 |
| Tim Kennard 5K Mile River Run | Salisbury, MD | 02-Mar-08 |