Navigation
Welcome to the Washington Running Report
Women Winter 2005
2005 Winter WRR Runner Rankings
Women's Division
By James Moreland
May/June 2005
Washington Running Report
Photo: Mary Davison of Chesapeake, VA won her division every time she raced except when she ventured to Alexandria. She ran 38:21 at the GW Birthday 10K.
Open Women
Outback Steakhouse 8K, 26:47. 10K = 34:00
The top runners seem to be getting faster. Just as soon as one woman runs a great time, another comes roaring back. Anne McGranahan of Newport, VA had the top three times for qualifiers. She rode two swift sub 17:00 5Ks to victory. Her best time was at the champion maker Outback 8K in 27:01 where she finished fourth overall. Aurora Scott of Chesapeake, VA takes the next spot with her Colonial 3 mile in 16:27.
The next four places are separated by just ten seconds. Marina Bychcova of Germantown, MD garners third by the slimmest of margins. She ran 28:23 for eighth overall at the Outback 8K and then six days later punished the Alexandria Turkey Trot 5M course in 28:25.
Mary Kate Bailey of Arlington, VA lost two close races with Susannah Kvasnicka of Great Falls, VA. Kvasnicka ended 2004 with a thirteen second victory at the Red Ribbon 5K in 17:40 to Bailey's 17:53. Again in February the difference was small with Kvasnicka winning the GW Birthday 10K in 35:39 to 35:49 for Bailey. Look for this rivalry to continue through the year.
Jill Krebs of New Windsor, MD split the two women, nudging Kvasnicka to take the fifth with her overall victory at the RRCA Challenge 10 Mile in 59:50. Krebs also won the competitive hill fest at the Celtic Solstice 5M in 29:25.
Seventeen women joined the Elite division from other divisions swelling its ranks to the biggest division of all. One hundred thirty ranked times were spread among 88 women.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 McGranahan, Anne** 25 Newport VA
2 Scott, Aurora**** 15 Chesapeake VA
3 Bychkova, Marina 28 Germantown MD
4 Kvasnicka, Susannah** 32 Great Falls VA
5 Krebs, Jill** 24 New Windsor MD
6 Bailey, Mary Kate** 30 Arlington VA
7 Vancour, Kristy** 22 Pulaski VA
8 Pool, Diana 24 Westminster MD
9 Manero, Lauren* 23 Arlington VA
10 Davison, Mary**** 32 Chesapeake VA
11 Sun, Feng ** 35 Columbia MD
12 Mudge, Michelle* 28 Richmond VA
13 Freix, Laura*** 43 Centreville VA
14 High, Renee*** 23 Virginia Beach VA
15 Burns, Megan**** 41 Virginia Beach VA
16 Selmer, Carrie 20 Mt. Airy MD
17 Haupt, Diane**** 38 Virginia Beach VA
18 Eckstaedt, Christine* 22 Arlington VA
19 Humphrey, Robin* 41 Timonium MD
20 Mancini, Jinx** 38 Richmond VA
21 Beven, Helen* 39 Kensington MD
22 Thienel, Julie* 41 Columbia MD
23 Buckwalter, Connie 34 Lititz PA
24 Huizing, Marjan** 36 Gaithersburg MD
25 Nappa, Laura* 27 Baltimore MD
26 Nelson, Laura** 39 Woodstock VA
27 Himes, Suzanne* 35 Virginia Beach VA
28 Selmer, Carrie 20 Mt. Airy MD
29 Zerfas, Patricia 43 Kensington MD
30 Hall, Maureen** 40 Lavale MD
31 Post, Colleen* 25 Centreville VA
32 Sawvell, Linda** 39 Newport News VA
33 Hargis, Jill ** 44 Annapolis MD
34 McDonald, Bonnie** 40 Roanoke VA
35 Jacobs, Eileen** 42 Richmond VA
19 & Younger Women
Colonial 3-Mile, 16:27. 10K = 35:28
Great Scott! Aurora Scott of Chesapeake, VA just turned fifteen this year. She is a major threat to the Open division. With all the young women racing today, she is head and shoulders above everyone in the division. Her slowest race back in November when she was fourteen was a 17:48 Jingle Bell 5K. Her four races were all overall victories. At the Colonial 3 Mile she blazed a 16:27, which equates to a 35:28 10K.
Eighty-three other girls ran ranked times, none as young as number two. Eleven-year-old Brittany Rooks of Baltimore, MD edges past fifteen-year-old Shannon Ralston of Virginia Beach, VA. Rooks ran the RRCA Challenge 10 Mile in 69:12 while Ralston won her division at the Santa Claus Shuffle 5K in 19:55. Last fall when Brittany was ten she was the overall winner at the Union Mills 8K in 36:39.
Beth Links of Westminster, MD won the Bear Run 4 Mile in 26:02. In Columbia, MD the young one to watch is Nicole Shouse who raced the Atholton 5K in 20:06 for fifth place in the division.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Scott, Aurora**** 15 Chesapeake VA
2 Rooks, Brittany* 11 Baltimore MD
3 Ralston, Shannon*** 15 Virginia Beach VA
4 Links, Beth* 17 Westminster MD
5 Shouse, Nicole 15 Columbia MD
6 Roane, Ashley 17 Chesapeake VA
7 Chichester, Jennifer ** 16 Washington DC
8 Scott, Amanda* 17 Chesapeake VA
9 Dickerson, Karen* 18 Springfield VA
10 Chapman, Sarah 17 Hampton VA
11 Geary, Maria 19 Radford VA
12 Sherrod, U'Tonna 19 Baltimore MD
13 Keally, Katie* 17 Virginia Beach VA
14 Machich, Megan 17 Richmond VA
15 Sanders, Ashley 14 Chesapeake VA
16 Dicarlo, Kristen 17 Virginia Beach VA
Women 35 - 39
Outback Steakhouse 8K, 29:15. 10K = 37:05
How many times does a marathon win the division? I cannot remember the last time. Feng Sun of Columbia, MD bested the three-hour mark by four hundreds of a second at the B&A Trail. Look out, division! Her other race was a training run, 18:37 win, on Valentine's Day.
Eight of the top nine runners also qualified for the Open Division. Diane Haupt of Virginia Beach, VA won her age group five times in distances from 5K to 30K. Her best race was a 1:45:02 TS Tune-up 25K. Then it all goes crazy.
Helen Beven (photo above) of Kensington, MD runs an RRCA Challenge in 66:09. Jinx Mancini of Richmond, VA runs a Hugenot 3 Mile in 18:26. Elizabeth Feldman of Chevy Chase, MD runs a 31:19 at the MCRRC Jingle Bell Jog 8K. All three races equate to exactly 39:45 for a 10K. To make matters worse, Marjan Huizing of Gaithersburg, MD runs the Country Road 5M in 31:42. All but Beven are overall winners.
Laura Nelson of Woodstock, VA out leans Mancini's second race, the Frostbite 15K, 61:44 to 61:50, and Suzanne Himes of Virginia Beach, VA runs an identical equivalent to Nelson at the Colonial HM in 1:28:49.
So, times four through nine are six different women wrapped tight as can be. Mancini earns the third spot with her 15K and nearly identical Sweetheart 8K in 32:19 to Beven's second time a 32:18 at Outback. Beven gets fourth and Huizing passes Feldman for fifth by virtue of her head to head win at the Country Road Run 5M.
Elizabeth Feldman's time of 32:45 makes her the only one in the group not to make the Open division. Nelson outlasts Himes with four age group wins to one and much quicker third and fourth times. Forty-five women had ranked times.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Sun, Feng ** 35 Columbia MD
2 Haupt, Diane***** 38 Virginia Beach VA
3 Mancini, Jinx** 38 Richmond VA
4 Beven, Helen** 39 Kensington MD
5 Huizing, Marjan** 36 Gaithersburg MD
6 Feldman, Elizabeth* 36 Chevy Chase MD
7 Nelson, Laura**** 39 Woodstock VA
8 Himes, Suzanne* 35 Virginia Beach VA
9 Sawvell, Linda** 39 Newport News VA
10 Wigle, Barbara 37 Centreville VA
11 Miller, Beth* 35 Fairfax VA
12 Volpe, Susan 35 Arlington VA
13 Nathan, Rebecca* 39 Arlington VA
14 Dumbrell, Jeanette 35 Falls Church VA
15 Lamb, Shelby 36 Chesapeake VA
16 Hansen, Mary Lynn* 38 Woodstock MD
17 Edgar, Suzanne** 38 Leonardtown MD
18 Casey, Beth 36 Oak Hill MD
19 Takakusaki, Yuko 37 Arlington VA
Women 40 - 44
Outback Steakhouse 8K, 30:24. 10K = 38:36
Laura Freix of Centreville, VA is no stranger to the top. Her three age group wins trump the four of Megan Burns of Virginia Beach, VA. Freix won her division at Outback in 30:24. Burns won the whole enchilada at the TS Tune-up 30K in 2:06:01. That translates to 38:56. Freix raced the Virginia Turkey Trot 5K in 18:51, Burns ran the TS Tune-up 20K in 1:25:45. Freix won it all at the Rudolph 10K in 39:47. Burns did the TS Tune-up 10K overall win in 40:07.
Meanwhile, the battle for Columbia rages on at the RRCA Challenge. Julie Thienel wins over Robyn Humphrey of Ellicott City, MD 66:18 to 66:56. Humphrey, in turn, outlasts Patricia Zerfas of Kensington, MD in 67:03.
Julie Thienel, a multi-record holder at five of the Howard County Striders weekly races, gives up the third spot to Robyn Humphrey for her 19:01 Atholton 5K victory. Thienel holds the course record set in 2003 of 18:55. One hundred and nineteen ranked times came from sixty-one different runners. Nine of the top ten masters runners qualified for the Open division.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Freix, Laura*** 43 Centreville VA
2 Burns, Megan**** 41 Virginia Beach VA
3 Humphrey, Robyn 41 Ellicott City MD
4 Thienel, Julie*** 41 Columbia MD
5 Zerfas, Patricia 43 Kensington MD
6 Hall, Maureen** 40 Virginia Beach VA
7 Hargis, Jill *** 44 Annapolis MD
8 McDonald, Bonnie*** 40 Roanoke VA
9 Friedel, Cathy** 40 Lusby MD
10 Jacobs, Eileen 42 Richmond VA
11 Conant, Cindy*** 43 Kensington MD
12 Hayden, Julie* 44 Ashburn VA
13 Boyd, Majorie 43 Annapolis MD
14 Foley, Linda 42 Oak Hill VA
15 Rath, Terry 40 Ashburn VA
16 Elder, Donna* 42 Forest VA
17 Kline, Sheryl 42 Arnold MD
18 Lovett, Pamela*** 42 Newport News VA
19 Fedon, Leslie** 41 Norfolk VA
20 Tata, Kendall* 42 Virginia Beach VA
21 Black, Beverly*** 44 Frederick MD
22 Volk, Sherry* 43 Williamsburg VA
23 Ware, Elizabeth* 40 Virginia Beach VA
24 Edeburn, Melissa**** 42 Washington DC
25 Layson, Lynda* 44 Severn MD
26 Bevis, Gwendolyn 43 Washington DC
27 Knapp, Marcella * 42 Arlington VA
28 Buckheit, Sarah* 44 Reston VA
29 Wagner, Andrea 42 Richmond VA
Women 45 - 49
Outback Steakhouse 8K, 29:35. 10K = 37:33
Debi Bernardes (photo) of King George, VA really stuck the landing at the Potter Homes 5K. Her 19:44 overall win crushed the second best time in the division, her Fall into Winter 10K in 41:53. Her Frostbite 15K in 66:55 was another minute down the old 10K equivalency scale. Perhaps a 3K or a mile would be in order.
Alison Suckling of Arnold, MD ripped off three age group wins, which included a B&A Trail HM in 92:58 and an AS Anniversary 15K in 65:34. That all seems to bode well for her switch to the grand master division this year. Still, Margaret Starnes just made the move up and is one of the few multiple age group winners who seemed to get faster as she turned fifty.
Nancy Ferris of Goode, VA wins her division in southwest Virginia, including a 42:46 at the Peaks of Otter 10K. Linda Fournier of Richmond, VA ran a Jingle Bell 5K in 20:54 for fifth place. Dorothy Beckett of Columbia, MD was next with a NCT Marathon in 3:24:36. Fifty-one runners have a ranked time.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Bernardes, Debi*** 46 King George VA
2 Suckling, Alison*** 49 Arnold MD
3 Starnes, Margaret* 49 Street MD
4 Ferris, Nancy*** 48 Goode VA
5 Fournier, Linda* 46 Richmond VA
6 Beckett, Dorothy* 47 Columbia MD
7 Segal, Sheri** 47 Norfolk VA
8 Goodwin, Robin**** 46 Timonium MD
9 Roed, Becky* 45 Springfield VA
10 Koffler, Karen 45 Severna Park MD
11 Betz, Jean* 45 Cabin John MD
12 Recto, Liza* 48 Lexington Park MD
13 West, Renee 49 Bethesda MD
14 Carl, Joan 46 Richmond VA
15 Hagan, Cindy* 45 Lusby MD
Women 50 - 54
Photo: Merilee Seidman of Alexandria, VA is halfway to the top, finishing 8th of 16 in the grandmasters division
Alexandria Turkey Trot 5M, 33:34. 10K = 42:20
Man, everyone knows that Betty Blank of Falls Church, VA is the one to beat. Sure, she can get beat; that is why they call it a race. Still, all senior women are wary when Betty stops joking and lines up at the starting line. Normally, winning all eight of your races, including an overall win at the Christmas Caper 5K in 20:34, would start us writing BBs on the top of the list.
Then along comes Margaret Starnes of Street, MD. We know she owns RASAC racing and usually gels an overall win on home ground, including the Holiday Run 5K in 20:21. Now it gets a little dicier. Blank has the top time with her Alexandria Turkey Trot 5M in 33:34 and places three through five with sub- 21:00 5Ks. That gives her just enough to withstand Starnes's RRCA Challenge 10 miler in 72:27. Someone is knocking on the door.
Jenny Rexrode of Fredericksburg, VA is south of all this. She is running around winning her age group and often the race as well, including a 21:03 Jake's Reindeer 5K overall win. Linell Smith of Baltimore and Kathy Hibbert of Woodbine, MD are crowding her for the third spot. Smith is closest with her B&A Half Marathon victory over Hibbert, 1:37:45 to 1:38:04.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Blank, Betty******** 51 Falls Church VA
2 Starnes, Margaret**** 50 Street MD
3 Rexrode, Jenny***** 50 Fredericksburg VA
4 Smith, Linell* 52 Baltimore MD
5 Hibbert, Kathy** 50 Woodbine MD
6 Gilley, Patricia* 52 King William VA
7 Lang, Mary** 51 Pasadena MD
8 Altschuler, Rona** 50 Newport News VA
9 Seidman, Merrilee 50 Alexandria VA
10 Shields, Maria* 54 Davidsonville MD
11 West, Renee** 50 Bethesda MD
12 Arnold, Christina** 53 Virginia Beach VA
13 Davis, Peggy 52 Falls Church VA
14 Ostlund, Buffy 51 Singers Glen VA
15 Snodgrass, Patricia 50 Annapolis MD
16 Aaronson, Susan** 50 Arlington VA
Women 55 - 59
VAB Turkey Trot 10K, 43:29
It is great to see Rose Malloy of Annapolis, MD running a lot of races. Malloy owned the Annapolis 10 Miler through many of her masters years. She ran a 2:08:40 20-Mile and a sub-3:00 Marine Corps Marathon as a masters runner. All the top four runners are undefeated in their age group.
Barbara Mathewson of Virginia Beach, VA is the one with the swiftest times. At the beginning of the period, she ran the VAB Turkey Trot 10K in 43:29. Then, she started the year off by acing the Jennifer Braun 5K in 20:36. Malloy started the season with a second overall 44:53 at the Cold Turkey 10K. In March, she journeyed to the B&A Trail HM in 1:40:27.
Alice Franks of Rockville, MD runs everywhere. She owns half of the top sixteen times and a 35:52 age group win at the Outback 8K.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Mathewson, Barbara**** 55 Virginia Beach VA
2 Malloy, Rose **** 56 Annapolis MD
3 Franks, Alice****** 56 Rockville MD
4 Viviani, Anne**** 55 Arlington VA
5 Godfrey, Jane* 55 Silver Spring MD
6 St. Clair, Christy** 56 Glen Arm MD
7 Price, Helene** 59 Williamsburg VA
8 Brothers, Betty 57 Virginia Beach VA
9 Derring, BJ** 56 Virginia Beach VA
10 Akers, Donna** 55 Narrows VA
11 Poole, Jane 57 Falls Church VA
12 Peters, Linda* 57 New Kent VA
Women 60 - 64
Photo: Janet Newburgh, age 63 of Rockville, MD
Alexandria Turkey Trot 5M, 38:25. 10K = 46:41
This division was as close as can be. All twelve qualifiers have won their age group at least once. Perennial champion Sharon Dolan is nowhere to be found. Last year's runner-up, Priscila Prunella, has been running longer races. Longer races are tougher to get good ranked times.
Janice Stoodley of Falls Church, VA won both her races, the Alexandria Turkey Trot 5M in 38:25 and the Red Ribbon 5K in 24:30. Joan Coven of Williamsburg, VA ran the lightning fast Governor's Landing 5K in 23:18 and the Colonial 3-Mile in 22:37. Both her 5Ks are much faster than Stoodley's. Still, Stoodley's triumph at the biggest 5-miler of the period was four seconds faster in its 10K equivalent.
Dee Nelson of Gaithersburg, MD runs many 5Ks among her sixty plus races a year. This period, her best was the Way Station 5K in Frederick, MD in 24:11. She also ran second in her age group at the Red Ribbon 5K
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Stoodley, Janice** 63 Falls Church VA
2 Coven, Joan** 63 Williamsburg VA
3 Nelson, Dee*** 61 Gaithersburg MD
4 Prunella, Priscila** 61 Rockville MD
5 Gilbert, Judy*** 61 Stevenson MD
6 Welch, Pat* 60 Vienna VA
7 Linck, Nancy** 63 Alexandria VA
8 Hess, Andrea****** 60 Midlothian VA
9 Stark, Barbara*** 60 Suffolk VA
10 Newburgh, Janet*** 63 Rockville MD
11 O'Connor, Mary Ann* 63 Reston VA
12 Smith, Betty* 63 Rockville MD
Women 65 - 69
Potter Homes Turkey Trot 5K, 26:49. 10K = 55:50
Tami Graf of Lusby, MD is another runner who races fifty or more times a year. With nine of the top eleven times among qualifiers, Graf is generally considered a sure thing, Her Outback 8K in 45:19 won her division. Lurking in the weeds is Arlowene Garland of Warsaw, VA who owned the Speed Alone best for her only race.
Betty Munden of Norfolk bested Pauline Ely of Hampton at the VAB Turkey Trot 10K 64:39 to 65:19, though Munden's best was Davis Corner 5K in 29:26. Ely raced the Governor's Landing 5K in 29:35.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Graf, Tami****** 68 Lusby MD
2 Munden, Betty*** 65 Norfolk VA
3 Ely, Pauline** 66 Hampton VA
4 Wollard, Jamie** 66 Rockville MD
Women 70 - 74
Governor's Landing 5K, 30:01. 10K = 62:30
Pat Ewell of Williamsburg, VA leads the way with the top three times, including the Colonial HM in 2:27:25. Yvonne Aasen of Severna Park, MD ran the Anniversary 15K in 1:55:40 for second place.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Ewell, Pat*** 71 Williamsburg, VA
2 Aasen, Yvonne** 73 Severna Park, MD
3 Ibarra, Avelina* 70 Norfolk, VA
Women 75 - 79
None racing this period.
Women 80 & Up
Blacksburg 5K, 42:50. 10K = 89:11
Louise Akers of Christiansburg, VA ran two 5Ks, including the Star City in 43:05
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Akers, Louise** 80 Christiansburg, VA
See the Men's Winter 2005 WRR Runner Rankings