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2010 Season Opens with St. Patrick’s Day 8K
By Jim Hage
Washington, DC
March 14, 2010
For the Washington Running Report
Three new event records set in 2010.
Traditionally, the St. Patrick's Day 8K in downtown Washington is the kickoff for the spring racing season, and the 22nd iteration of this now venerable race felt especially welcome after the harsh winter. Even sodden weather seemingly straight from Ireland could not dampen spirits among the 4,237 finishers on Pennsylvania Avenue, most bedecked in some shade of green.
For men's winner Abiyot Endale, the race, however, arrived a wee bit too soon. Exactly one hour too soon, as Endale forgot to spring forward for Daylight Saving Time and meandered from the Metro station to find he had just five minutes before the starting gun.
"I had no warmup," he said, smiling afterward. "I did not know that today was the day" to change the clocks. The lack of preparation hardly mattered, as Endale broke away at the two-mile mark and creased the tape in 24:20, fifteen seconds ahead of fellow Ethiopian Mohammed Awol. Dirk De Heer (28) from Silver Spring took third in 24:36; one week earlier, De Heer had won the Van Metre 5 Mile in Ashburn, running 24:18.
Georgetown University medical student Maggie Infeld (23) dominated the women's race in 27:42, leaving runner-up Muluye Gurma (26) nearly two minutes back in 29:31.
"It's good to get back and race," said Infeld, who won the Jingle All the Way 10K in December. The former Hoya all-American is still a track 
runner at heart and will compete at 1,500 meters in the Penn Relays in April. Both Endale and Infeld won $500.
Peggy Yetman (41) from Leesburg and recently relocated from Texas, finished third in 30:06, beating fellow masters runner Danielle Russell ,45, from Ashburn. Denise Knickman (41) from Baltimore ran 32:10 and took 10th to put three masters among the top ten.
Martha Merz (47) ran 32:37 to place 13th, but the finish meant more than just another fine race. Merz suffered from back pain one year ago and finally had a herniated disc removed in September. "Like most runners," Merz said, "I ran through the pain for a long time." Finally, however, the pain became intolerable--"and you just hope you can run again, much less race. So today, I'm like, ‘Yey!' I'm so excited to be back.'"
Also excited to participate were some 50 men from the Baltimore chapter of Back on My Feet, a running organization for the homeless; most were headed back to Baltimore to compete in a 5K later in the day. A Washington BOMF chapter opens on March 22, said the organization's founder, Anne Mahlum.
"The group meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:00 a.m." for mandatory runs, Mahlum said. "We don't recruit--the initiative has to come from the member." Members, evaluated on attendance, attitude, and presumably not pace, build confidence and self-esteem and become eligible for cash awards that can be put toward their financial independence. The group's Web page is backonmyfeet.org.
Irish Jack McMahon (79) from Rockville was the most senior competitor; he completed the course at a 9:13 per mile pace and 45:48 overall. Irish Jaqueline O'Neil (78) from Washington, DC was one of only two women older than 70; she ran 66:32.
Awards Listing
MALE
1 6 Abiyot Endale 23 M BRONX NY 24:20
2 13 Mohammed Awol 31 M BRONX NY 24:35
3 43 Dirk De Heer 28 M SILVER SPRING MD 24:36
4 1 Demesse Tefera 28 M SILVER SPRING MD 24:43
5 5499 Gurmessa Megeressa 30 M WASHINGTON DC 25:02
6 16 Aaron Church 34 M SOUTH RIDING 25:07
7 5578 Robert Wade 26 M ARLINGTON VA 25:15
8 4932 Thomas Rhodes 26 M ARLINGTON VA 25:41
9 3974 William Hohmeier 21 M EMPORIA KS 25:56
10 3 Adam Condit 26 M ASHBURN VA 25:59
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 01 - 19
1 5367 Seumas O'Reilly 16 M Front Royal VA 26:17 26:17 5:18
2 5392 Matthew Kim 16 M Bethesda MD 27:40 27:38 5:34
3 3970 Elliott Sellers 15 M Jeffersonton VA 27:57 27:57 5:38
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 20 - 24
1 4952 Greg Lane 23 M Arlington VA 26:56 26:55 5:25
2 422 Alex Booth 22 M Bethesda MD 27:32 27:30 5:32
3 1961 Daniel Bucherer 23 M Silver Spring MD 28:55 28:23 5:43
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 25 - 29
1 4301 Pj Meany 25 M Hockessin DE 26:10 26:10 5:16
2 11 Justin Fritzius 25 M Purcellville VA 26:45 26:45 5:23
3 4928 Jossi Fritz-Mauer 25 M Ardmore PA 26:56 26:56 5:25
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 30 - 34
1 5530 Gareth Peters 30 M Annandale VA 26:19 26:19 5:18
2 4049 David Wertz 34 M Arlington VA 28:40 28:39 5:46
3 3632 David Alexander 31 M Washington DC 29:12 28:41 5:47
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 35 - 39
1 3119 Michael Sheehy 37 M Washington DC 27:30 27:30 5:32
2 932 Edi Turco 37 M Arlington VA 28:03 28:01 5:39
3 4921 Scott Koonce 38 M Gaithersburg MD 29:14 29:12 5:53
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 40 - 44
1 5178 Lon Breitenbach 40 M Austin TX 27:17 27:17 5:30
2 5305 Max Lockwood 40 M Washington DC 29:39 29:39 5:58
3 4172 Kevin Bell 41 M Reston VA 29:52 29:50 6:01
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 45 - 49
1 2572 David Haaga 48 M Rockville MD 27:36 27:34 5:33
2 2150 David Cascio 47 M Reston VA 28:19 28:17 5:42
3 1101 Paul Jacobson 46 M Gaithersburg MD 29:01 29:01 5:51
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 50 - 54
1 33 Dan Lawson 54 M Gaithersburg MD 29:25 29:23 5:55
2 4877 Steve Zaharoff 52 M Vienna VA 32:13 32:11 6:29
3 1708 Gustavo Olmedo 52 M McLean VA 32:13 32:12 6:29
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 55 - 59
1 5575 Dan Eddy 58 M Alexandria VA 32:29 32:20 6:31
2 525 Paul Bousel 56 M Alexandria VA 32:57 32:56 6:38
3 39 Richard Adams Jr 59 M Herndon VA 33:41 33:39 6:47
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 60 - 64
1 3651 Bob Chase 64 M Falls Church VA 36:08 36:06 7:16
2 545 Michael Kush 64 M Burke VA 37:53 37:45 7:36
3 5396 William Scott 62 M Glenarden MD 41:29 41:07 8:17
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 65 - 69
1 5353 Lou Shapiro 68 M Silver Spring MD 35:17 35:10 7:05
2 145 John Churchman 67 M Arlington VA 37:11 37:04 7:28
3 4720 Michael Golash 66 M Washington DC 37:28 37:25 7:32
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 70 - 74
1 5354 Skip Grant 74 M Chevy Chase MD 39:31 39:28 7:57
2 40 Chan Robbins 72 M Arlington VA 39:33 39:30 7:57
3 2177 Alan Rider 74 M Reston VA 43:11 43:08 8:41
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 75 - 79
1 3541 Jerry Lewis 76 M Reston VA 42:42 42:39 8:35
2 3224 George Yannakakis 78 M Sparks Glencoe MD 42:54 42:53 8:38
3 3977 Henry Guyot 75 M Washington DC 45:20 44:37 8:59
MALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 99
1 5081 Shelton Roulhac 30 M Upper Marlboro MD 34:41 33:21 6:43
Lou Shapiro (yellow jacket) won the 65-69 age group.
FEMALE
FEMALE
1 3973 Maggie Infeld 23 F WASHINGTON DC 27:42
2 9 Miluye Gurma 26 F SILVER SPRING MD 29:31
3 1785 Peggy Yetman 41 F LEESBURG VA 30:06
4 5219 Danielle Russell 45 F ASHBURN VA 30:43
5 2798 Anna Novick 21 F CAMBRIDGE MA 30:58
6 4652 Sarah Bard 25 F LEESBURG VA 31:08
7 5034 Laura Zeilinger 37 F WASHINGTON DC 31:24
8 2789 Christine Rehwald 30 F ARLINGTON VA 31:43
9 15 Denise Knickman 41 F BALTIMORE MD 32:10
10 2603 Elyse Braner 25 F WASHINGTON DC 32:13
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 01 - 19
1 4220 Nicole Dawson 15 F Jessup MD 33:26 33:24 6:44
2 4769 Morgana D'Ottavi 13 F Silver Spring MD 35:24 35:20 7:07
3 3997 Katie Nagiel 16 F Rockville MD 37:43 35:57 7:14
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 20 - 24
1 1061 Madeline Harms 24 F Arlington VA 32:52 32:49 6:37
2 5336 Leslie Dmichele 24 F Fairfax VA 33:01 33:00 6:39
3 905 Pamela Davis 24 F Vienna VA 34:04 33:54 6:49
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 25 - 29
1 4042 Maureen Carr 28 F Alexandria VA 32:43 32:27 6:32
2 5498 Aimaz Megeysa 27 F Washington DC 32:58 32:57 6:38
3 4472 Melissa Wisner 27 F Washington DC 33:06 33:03 6:39
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 30 - 34
1 1632 Tsvetelina Boyd 32 F Arlington VA 42:52 31:46 6:24
2 3675 Becky Bader 32 F Syracuse NY 33:00 32:58 6:38
3 5128 Bri Gaal 30 F Cary NC 33:17 33:13 6:41
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 35 - 39
1 575 Mijiko Phelps 39 F Reston VA 33:44 33:43 6:47
2 2000 Marie Latulippe 35 F Washington DC 36:09 35:37 7:10
3 5047 Cindy Pfizenmaier 36 F Washington DC 37:34 37:02 7:27
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 40 - 44
1 108 Cheryl Young 40 F Reston VA 34:08 34:07 6:52
2 34 Monique Rico 42 F South Riding VA 34:23 34:21 6:55
3 2328 Genemarie Pade 41 F McLean VA 34:29 34:22 6:55
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 45 - 49
1 32 Martha Merz 47 F Annandale VA 32:37 32:36 6:34
2 1074 Laura Niel 45 F Reston VA 35:43 35:35 7:10
3 3186 Sarah Boswell 45 F Washington DC 36:43 36:37 7:22
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 50 - 54
1 1816 Eleanor Kerr 50 F University Park MD 33:33 33:28 6:44
2 38 Ellahe Amini 51 F Ellicott City MD 37:05 37:03 7:28
3 2602 Elizabeth Baumgarten 53 F Aldie VA 39:02 38:59 7:51
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 55 - 59
1 35 Betty Blank 57 F Falls Church VA 36:29 36:27 7:20
2 4548 Manuela Carvalho 55 F Washington DC 41:02 39:26 7:56
3 974 Peggy Davis 58 F Vienna VA 40:21 40:08 8:05
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 60 - 64
1 1605 Alice Franks 61 F Rockville MD 38:46 38:39 7:47
2 883 Linda Kearney 63 F Oak Hill VA 40:21 40:08 8:05
3 280 Jane Godfrey 61 F Takoma Park MD 44:49 44:23 8:56
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 65 - 69
1 578 Jean Stephens 69 F Manassas VA 66:31 63:20 12:45
2 4148 Elizabeth Toth 65 F Clarksville MD 68:21 66:53 13:28
3 949 Suzanne Ingram 65 F Holland PA 76:03 74:47 15:03
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 70 - 74
1 2086 Judith Camp 70 F Redwood City CA 77:13 74:34 15:00
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 75 - 79
1 1187 Jacqueline Oneil 78 F Washington DC 67:00 66:32 13:23
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 80 - 99
FEMALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 99
1 4496 Offeibea Hanson-Hall 23 F Washington DC 40:43 38:12 7:42
Full Race Day Results
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