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Welcome to the Washington Running Report
35th Annapolis Ten Mile Race Report
By James Moreland
Annapolis, MD
August 29, 2010
For the Washington Running Report
Photos by Lainey Bernstein
Last year Matt Llano torched the field with a rare, for the last twenty years, sub 50:00 win. Both runner-up Justin Fritzius (54:11) and third place Keith Matiskella (54:27) were back. The event had its usual 4500 plus finishers but most were here for the fun of it with little concern for the serious faces up front.
From the beginning, fourth place Karsten Brown (left) noticed a lot of jockeying for position. He can be forgiven as he had never run the course before. The first mile of this massive event has a few quick turns and as runners flame out from adrenaline loss in the first few dips on Farragut, bodies do bounce around. The second mile is a screeching blast down Rowe Boulevard with nearly everybody still maintaining pace. Just past mile two, the road goes up and as runners turn the corner by Church Circle the field begins to thin out. It is always fun to charge down Main Street to the dock and the crowd is always supportive.
After that, runners have got to get to work. The fourth mile is pretty flat but the sun is also higher in the sky. That salty moisture on your skin tells you that the third water crossing is going to be even harder. In the early days of the race, it was a narrow draw bridge. Now runners have a half mile up hill in the now blazing sun. Experienced A-10ers know that the ride to the bottom of the bridge will be followed by another momentum-stopping climb to mile five.
The next three miles have the highest concentration of neighbors out with hoses and sprayers to help the runners. Still, anyone who run a negative split in the second half is a very good runner. The out and back leg just past the 10K point gives you a chance to see how the other half lives. Then just past mile seven it is time to hit the highway. The climb is steady, unlike your tired legs, to crest at mile eight. From there the bridge does not look so bad. You can charge down the hill and allow your momentum to carry you the top. Actually you get about three strides of benefit and then it is all work to crest the bridge. Almost at a standstill, you can feel good about passing many runners who just had to walk. Yet, you are almost at a stop when you finally reach the summit. From there you have to go downhill and you choose the nine mile mark in front of you as your next goal. The tenth mile is also deceivingly hilly. Much of it is about the heat, humidity, and the nine miles before that. After all the volunteers are still cheering wildly for you. You turn the corner onto Taylor and it is less than a half mile away. The stadium is not a mirage. In the distant past, the race ended with a 100 meters dash in the grass along the roadside. Now you wind your way back to the starting line on top of the hill. In the final 100 meters you can hear the roar of the crowd and see the finish clock. You swear you really are getting closer but it seems so long and someone else is just bound to catch up to you.
Then the race is over and you quickly receive a cool, wet hand towel to protect you from the sun. The announcer stridently urges you to keep moving and you swear you really are doing that. The crowd around you deepens but you push ahead, trying not to panic. You do know that they will be plenty of beer left even with your late arrival to the after-race party. You grab a bagel and a banana and a cold bottle of water and follow the sounds of the band, The Rovers, to the beer stand. You feel proud that you have completed one of the harder ten mile courses in the region.
Earlier in the day, the battle for the coveted title was being battled by four runners. Last year 18 runners broke an hour. This year it was cooler, much cooler than the rest of the summer, and the hills were just the same. But the third "H," humidity, allowed only 14 runners to break an hour. Justin Fritzius from last year's third place finish had a rough ride finishing 25th by chip in 61:51. Matiskella (in photo) took the lead and held off everyone to win in 55:04. Brown, who has won nearly half of his 70 races this year, was riding in second place for the first half. Mark Buschman moved past him soon after and pulled away for the runner-up spot in 55:38. Note that he did not start at the front of the race. Seth Kampf passed Brown later to take third in 56:43. Brown finished in 56:58, his second fastest 10 mile race. He had run 55:26 at the PR maker Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10M this spring.
Back in 1996 a younger Matiskella had toasted the field with a 51:32. The following week he won the Larry Noel 15K in 51:31. That was the year Ted Poulos (third in 56:09) was interviewed by Runner's World for his prolific racing that including six races that weekend.
Maurice Pointer, who will be 55 in September, again won the masters title. He was well ahead of all the other masters runners with his 60:51 but far off his brilliant 57:47 from last year. Ronnie Wong will be 64 in two weeks. He slowed a minute from last year's time but again won the title. This time he ran 69:47.
Kri
stin Blanck (left) had won last year in 63:23. Wearing the prophetic bib number two seemed posed to take another victory. She stuck close to Kaitlin Koplin through five miles even though both were way over the heads. She hit the halfway point in 30:03, forty meters behind Koplin's 29:50. From there Koplin hit the whip and finished tops in 62:10. Blanck ran 63:15 to better her 2009 time in the runner-up spot. A minute later Doreen McCoubrie, 48, of Malvern, PA hurried past the finish arch in 64:16 to take the third spot. Samantha Cole reprised her 2009 masters victory, running a slightly slower 2010 finish in 1:07:32. Robin Goodwin also had a slower time than last year but her 1:16:18 was good enough this year to win the masters crown.
The band was delightfully entertaining. There was a really nice race sport's expo. There were hundreds of energetic volunteers taking care that we had plenty of food, drink, and that we would not lose our way. They were not required to cheer for us; they just did. www.Brightroom.com was at the race so there will be lots of great race photos. Gorgeous Jeanne Larrison (below) was on hand again to sing out National Anthem. It really was a nice day...for August 2010.
Runners will be getting a neat racing shirt in the mail. Normally the premium is passed out on race day to finishers only. This year a small glitch meant the item was not going to be ready in time. The results of a big race such as this can be daunting. There were some issues so runners did not have awards passed out on the day of the race. The event wanted to be sure that the results were just right before proceeding, so those coveted sailboats will be mailed.
The full results became available Tuesday morning and can be viewed HERE.
CLASS 5M Chip 10M Clock CHIP
ID# PLACE PLACE FINISHER TIME TIME TIME PACE
Open Men
3139 1 1 Keith Matiskella, 38, Apo, AE 27:21 55:04 55:03 5:30
627 2 2 Mark Buschman, 26, Ellicott City, MD 27:06 55:38 55:17 5:32
2454 3 3 Seth Lindsey Kampf, 25, Phoenixville, PA 27:32 56:44 56:43 5:40
Open Women
2664 27 1 Kaitlin Koplin, 26, Washington, DC 29:50 1:02:18 1:02:16 6:14
2 36 2 Kristin Blanck, 33, Annapolis, MD 30:03 1:03:15 1:03:10 6:19
3192 52 3 Doreen McCoubrie, 48, Malvern, PA 1:04:26 1:04:16 6:26
Masters Men
3 19 1 Maurice Pointer, 54, Baltimore, MD 28:44 1:00:51 1:00:50 6:05
Masters Women
5 95 1 Samantha Cole, 41 33:02 1:07:36 1:07:32 6:45
Grand Masters Men
3209 46 1 Weems McFadden, 53, Annapolis, MD 30:50 1:03:46 1:03:39 6:22
Grand Masters Women
1833 403 1 Robin Goodwin, 52, Timonium, MD 36:14 1:16:27 1:16:18 7:38