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Crystal City Twilighter 5K Race Report
By James Moreland
Crystal City, VA
July 24, 2010
For the Washington Running Report
Marc Davis has a booming voice to keep the runners informed.
The third Crystal City Twilighter 5K took on the brutally hot summer of 2010 with a new twist. The race might best be called the "human race" because the temperature settled down to about 98.6 at race time. After two years of going north for the out and back, the race proceeded south first passing the start/finish at about 2K in the race. The course as always is fast being dead flat, though there were a number of turns. In the first half mile runners whipped into a circular driveway before snaking back onto the roads.
Last year we were treated with gusty winds and pelted with rain. This year was even hotter than the Twilight 8K last week and we all prayed for rain, settling for misters set up by the fire department. How many races are so hot that they need two water stops in a 5K?
The new course kept the runners closer to the center of town and avoided some of darkness in the later parts of the race, which had been out near the pentagon. Our returning champion Demesse Tefera and Gurmessa Kummsa (3rd last year) were there to challenge for the sub 14:30 bonus. Both dropped in the first mile. Tefera had run 14:35 last year with a blistering 4:24 opening mile. This year was all about the contingency from Chapel Hill, NC. Julius Kogo was already pulling away with a five second lead in the opening mile at 4:27. In the second mile, he fired his second stage rockets with a 4:31 mile to eliminate the rest of the field, gapping them by thirty seconds. With the mile splits at each mile recorded, it was easy to see that everyone was slowing down in the heat. Even with a flat course and a half mile sighting of the finish line, our energy was too sapped for a final burst.
Still, Kogo managed a 4:03 pace final kick after a 5:39 third mile to insure his $100 speed bonus. The next four runners were all going for cash and stayed tight the whole way, though there was no changing of position. Issac Birir was the runner-up in 14:44 with the third fastest time ever. Kipyegon Kirui finished the Chapel Hill team with third in 14:49. Russian Stanislav Anishchenko by way of Gaithersburg, MD was fourth in 14:53, following closely by Andrew Dumm, the 2008 Marine Corps Marathon champion. In just three years, 10 runners have broken fifteen minutes here. Kogo's 14:03 is the fastest time of 2010 in the region as well as the second fastest 5K run in Virginia.
Fast, flat courses with cash awards tend to bring out the really great runners. While many thought that the excessive heat might even suspend the race, the numbers only fell back a bit to 1868 finishers from last year's 2078. Runners were advised repeatedly to run wisely and consider rethinking their racing strategy. Still, many of the racers had monster times. Kristi Markowicz has been having a great year as a new master, winning both the Lawyers Have Heart 10K (36:58) and the new Independence 5K to start July (17:54) outright. She would finish with a tremendous 18:00 for third overall. Still, she was considered a long shot to be top masters.
Last year at age 39, Elena Orlova had finished third overall in 17:11. Watching her zip through her pre race striders, she was the consensus favorite to win the money and maybe even sub 17:00 bonus cash. Even before the "o" in the word Go! was heard, she was blasting away.
Nearly everyone commented on how fast the runners got underway with a ton of fast first miles. But it is the second mile in the 5K where the champions are decided. Though Orlova slowed from 5:24 to 5:39 she pulled away from the pack by nearly a hundred meters. In the third mile, the heat was even more intense and though she pulled further away, she gave ground to bonus money pressing for home and a master record 17:20, the seventh fastest event time. Lisa Thomas of Alexandria reached down deep and pulled past Markowicz on the way home for runner-up money in 17:50. Muluye Gurmu had been sixth place in 17:42 last year. This year she held off a fast charging Erin Swain 18:16 to 18:18 for fourth place.
Though quite a few runners had excellent races, the times and the slow down times in the final mile should put to rest whether heat is harder to run in than wind and rain.
There was music playing throughout the event, described as a party with a 5K race in the middle. After the race runners were treated to room temperature Powerade and cold bottled water as well as fruit. Try to keep ice from melting when it is 98 degrees. The Budweiser truck did keep the beer cold. Our race announcer Marc Davis did a great job keeping the runners informed and the awards ceremony got underway even earlier than it was announced. The top five finishers got a nice bit of cash. The age group winners got a nice red, white, or blue medallion. This year the age group extended to one of the most comprehensive with five age groups up to age 75 and four sub 19 divisions. Click here for event records. Speaking to some of the older runners, note that they really appreciate the recognition.
The race had its first 80-year-old female finishers. Already the first year there was Walt Washburn at 85. The Washington Running Report Runner Rankings is now considering extending there 80 and older to be 85 and older with an 80:84 age group.
The top master of any sex was Elena Orlova. Next in line was just about to be fifty Jean Christophe Arcaz in 17:57, followed by Kristi Markowicz in 18:00. She stayed right on his shoulder the entire way. Does this mean that women can take the heat better than men? The top grandmasters are both on the cusp of sixty. Richard Adams crushed the 55-59 division with an awe inspiring 19:37. Naomi Stanford of Washington, DC made mince meat of her division winning by almost a mile in 23:37. She might have been even faster but she tore out in a speedy 7:04 first mile and ended the night with a final mile in 8:06. It would sure be nice to try this course on a cool fall morning.
Two local Sport & Health offered free showers with all the ammenities.
********** MALE OVERALL RESULTS ***********
Place Bib Name Age City St 1 Mile 2 Mile 3 Mile Gun time Net time
===== ===== ======================= === ================== == ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
1 1942 Julius Kogo 24 Chapel Hill NC 4:27 8:58 13:37 14:03 14:03
2 1943 Isaac Birir 30 Chapel Hill NC 4:32 9:27 14:16 14:44 14:44
3 1945 Kipyegon Kirui 29 Chapel Hill NC 4:34 9:28 14:21 14:49 14:49
4 1851 Stanislav Anishchenko 27 Gaithersburg MD 4:32 9:28 14:23 14:53 14:53
5 18 Andrew Dumm 25 Washington DC 4:40 9:33 14:27 14:55 14:55
********** FEMALE OVERALL RESULTS ***********
Place Bib Name Age City St 1 Mile 2 Mile 3 Mile Gun time Net time
===== ===== ======================= === ================== == ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
1 1846 Elena Orlova 40 Gaithersburg MD 5:24 11:03 16:48 17:20 17:20
2 1665 Lisa Thomas 34 Alexandria VA 5:29 11:24 17:18 17:51 17:50
3 1522 Kristi Markowicz 40 Arlington VA 5:28 11:22 17:25 18:00 17:59
4 2329 Muluye Gurmu 26 Bronx NY 5:30 11:33 17:42 18:16 18:16
5 16 Erin Swain 28 Arlington VA 5:29 11:38 17:44 18:19 18:18
Massage tables for a 5K! Now that is going full out.