Navigation
The Komen Global Race for the Cure 5K Raises Awareness Around the World
Participants Demonstrate Their Support for the Fight Against Breast Cancer
By Drew Woodrich
June 7, 2009
Washington, DC
For the Washington Running Report
Runners numbering in the tens of thousands jammed the streets bordering Washington's National Mall on Saturday morning, June 6, during the 20th Annual Komen Global Race for the Cure 5K. The streets were dry and the air was unusually cool and crisp for a June day; three days of rain had left the region just in time to provide comfortable weather conditions for the runners, walkers, and supporters.
The Washington version of the Komen Race for the Cure 5K has a twenty year history of attracting some top local talent; winning times have been fast. This year's race continued the tradition: Meghan Ridgley (30, left in photo) of Reston, VA, a 2004 Olympic Trials-Women's Marathon qualifier, took control of the women's race with a winning time of 17:47. Among the men, two athletes battled in a close contest for the title; Neal Hannon (27) of Washington, DC caught Dave Moore in the final mile and finished first (16:15), four seconds ahead of Moore. The female runner up, Martha Nelson (28) of Chevy Chase, MD, maintained a solid sub-6:00 pace and posted a time of 18:19.
The enormous number of participants in the 5K race requires runners to get a fast, early start to avoid a congested race course further back in the pack. It's like crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on a Saturday morning during the summer--if you start later, it is necessary to resign oneself to a reduced speed limit. The first few thousand runners are able to race in top gear during most of the race; the top fifty male and female finishers perform well, with times that are sub-20:00 and sub-23:00 respectively. 
Photo at left: Men's winner Neal Hannon ran by the Washington Monument on 15th Street during the second mile in the lead chase pack.
Beyond those groups of top male and female racers, there are age group winners who also produce outstanding finish times. A sample of those performers in the 2009 Global Race for the Cure 5K: Lyda Slade (73) of Washington, DC ran 27:30 (net); Richard Pane (66) of Herndon, VA (21:24); Mattie Pitts (68) of Mitchelville, VA (26:16); and Max Ahmadi (55) of Dunn Loring, VA (20:01). There were also familiar faces who ran superb races: Merrilee Seidman (54) of Alexandria, VA (23:51); Bill Raabe (55) of Washington, DC (18:30); Jane Godfrey (60) of Takoma Park, MD (26:27); and Jacqueline O'Neill (77) of Washington, DC (36:33).
This year's Komen Global Race for the Cure 5K in the nation's capital featured a notable innovation: use of the ChronoTrack timing system with disposable D-tags made same day race results on the Web possible.
Photo at left: Martha Nelson, on left, halfway through the race as she began to establish her second place position.
The 2009 event attracted a large number of participants, and it produced another big fundraising effort that has raised $4.3 million to date. The Vice President's wife, Dr. Jill Biden, has picked up the baton in the relay race started in 1990 by U.S. Naval Observatory resident Marilyn Quayle with Gretchen Poston (former Carter White House Social Secretary) and Nina Hyde (who was the Washington Post fashion editor). Mrs. Quayle handed the baton stick to USNO resident Tipper Gore, followed by a hand-off to former First Lady Laura Bush. The involvement of these bold, high profile women in the city where public policy is voted upon and ratified has guaranteed credibility, clout, and vocal leadership in the fight to fund research for a breast cancer cure, and implement community programs to detect the killer disease as early as possible.
Â
Photo on left: Dave Moore held the leading position near the halfway mark, and finished second.
See Searchable Race Results
About the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K Series
Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker founded the Susan G. Komen for the Cure more then 27 years ago as a promise to her sister Suzy, who died of breast cancer at age 36. Brinker has urged each participant in the Komen races to find a way to make an impact on the deadly disease of breast cancer. "Without a cure, in the next 25 years, an estimated 11 million will die from the disease worldwide. That's more than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. We can stem the tide of the growing crisis; we can share what we have learned; we can end breast cancer forever, all around the world. And with each of us doing our part, we will." To learn more about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, see www.komen.org or call 1-877-GO KOMEN (465-6636).
Vice President Jospeh Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, served as Honorary Co-Chairs of the 2009 Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure® 5K held in Washington, DC. Motivated by the diagnosis of four of her friends with breast cancer, Dr. Biden started the Biden Breast Health Initiative (BBHI) during the mid-1990s; in the past 15 years, BBHI has educated more than 10,000 ninth through twelfth-grade girls in Delaware about proper breast health.