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Run! Geek Run! 8K Offers First Look at Autumn Racing
By James Moreland
Washington, DC
September 18, 2010
For the Washington Running Report
Above in photo, Maggie Infeld pulverizes the event record.
The third annual Run! Geek Run! 8K got under way on a wondrous, week-early preview of an autumn morning in Washington. "Sunshine, blue skies, what a day to take a run in the park!" With scores of races to choose from, nobody was going to find a flatter, faster 8K course to run. Shade your eyes as you head east along the Potomac River for the journey from West to East Potomac Park. Race announcer Judy Floy, who could barely contain herself in welcoming all the geeks to the race, explained how Mr. Hains, a land developer, had been instrumental in creating the man made peninsula so named Hains Point.
Runners curled over the adjoining bridge a half mile into the race. Already the lead pack of five was starting to break up. A mile and one-half down to where the Awakening used to be is a long straightaway. (If you want to see that cross the Wilson Bridge into Maryland at the National Harbor but if you try to do it this Sunday you will be joined by some 4,000 racers in the inaugural Wilson Bridge Half Marathon.) As the runners circled the point, three runners led the way nearly side by side, three young men from the three jurisdictions. Evan Jurkovich, 24, from Washington, DC was the first to drop off. Steve Mance, 26, of Alexandra, VA surged just past mile three but he could tell that he was not losing Ed Aramayo, 24, of Baltimore, MD. Mance, a frequent racer in the area, had been taking some time off in the last year. This race was a great opportunity to get back into prime shape. He noted that the weather always seemed to be great for fast times in the park.
In the final kick for home Aramayo (in photo) burst out to finish in a swift 25:50. Mance was runner-up in 26:03 with Jurkovich finishing third in a very solid 26:16. Jurkovich tied the former event record, while Aramayo is the new top dog. The top master was Seth Kalish, 43, of Washington, DC but not by very much. His 31:09 was only one place ahead of top grandmaster Richard Adams, Jr., 59, of Herndon, VA. Adams ran a sizzling 31:29 as he mounts a charge for a top spot in the Washington Running Report Runner Rankings.
Jon Palks knows all about the 5-mile race. Today was his 35th, small potatoes from the 67 such races he ran in 2008. He has more than 270 in the last ten years in his 1350 races run. He looked over the field and immediately noted newly-minted Ken Fox, 60, of Columbia, MD was in the field. His plea to disallow Fox fell on deaf ears. Fox easily won in a young man's time of 35:29. Palks happily took second.
When the race started, Cristina Burbach, 36, of Washington, DC had already conceded the top submaster spot to Mary Davison. After all, Davison, 37, of Bristow, VA had won it all in 2009 with the third fastest event time of 31:06. Burbach had a very nice race in 32:46, just missing the open qualifying time for the rankings. Davison was only a tad slower than last year in 31:28 and settled for fifth overall. Top master Samantha Cole, 41, of Arlington, VA was fourth overall in 31:14. Only Julia Smith from 2008 in 30:38 has had a faster time.
The top three places came from a group of fast Washington, DC racers. All three were favorites to break Laurel Jefferson's event record of 29:43 from 2007. The odds-on favorite to break the tape was Maggie Infeld. She took off early with the lead pack of men and it was just a matter of by how much she would win. Gretchen Chick, 29, and Susan Hendrick, 25, (in photo) battled to the very end with Chick prevailing 29:25 to 29:33. Infeld was already back in the paddock with a nifty 28:32.
After the race there was plenty of racer's fare, fresh bagels, giant boxes of cookies, quality bananas, and lots of bottled water. Age group winners, three deep in five year age groups, got a nice medallion that noted the age and place.
While it would have been great to linger in the park, by 9:30 AM Ohio Drive was reopened to the public. They rushed in like a raging river and quickly scarfed up all the parking spaces. Runners had parked on the outskirts of the parks, which works fine to get a prerace workout.
If you like running in West Potomac Park, there are many great races to run the rest of the year, most notably: 10-10-10 BOO! Run for Life 10K Run & 2 Mile Walk , 11-14-10 Capital Running Company Veterans Day 10K, 12-12-10 Jingle All the Way 10K.
For all the top races in the region, check our Featured Races page, as well as the most extensive race calendar in the region.
Awards Listing
FEMALE Open
1 4 Maggie Infeld 24 Washington DC 00:28:32
2 418 Gretchen Chick 29 Washington DC 00:29:25
3 303 Susan Hendrick 25 Washington DC 00:29:33
MALE Open
1 354 Ed Aramayo 24 Baltimore MD 00:25:50
2 415 Steve Mance 26 Alexandria VA 00:26:03
3 433 Evan Jurkovich 24 Washington DC 00:26:16
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 01 - 19
1 Cristina Zottola 19 F Washington DC 38:11 37:54 7:38
2 Brenda Rosas 11 F Silver Spring MD 45:29 45:28 9:09
3 Gillian Costa 19 F Washington DC 46:04 45:57 9:15
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 19
1 Sian Putipong 11 M VIENNA VA 59:45 59:30 11:59
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 20 - 24
1 Elke Horn 24 F Fairfax VA 34:47 34:38 6:58
2 Iwona Stepniak 22 F Arlington VA 36:27 36:22 7:19
3 Danielle Potts 23 F Washington DC 38:56 38:49 7:49
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 20 - 24
1 Andrew Loignon 24 M Washington DC 32:21 32:12 6:29
2 Geller Bedoya 24 M Arlington VA 35:46 35:38 7:10
3 Jason Gillis 24 M BALTIMORE MD 37:47 37:24 7:32
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 25 - 29
1 Heather Lindenman 28 F Washington DC 31:41 31:40 6:23
2 Erica Marrari 28 F University Park MD 33:15 33:14 6:42
3 Marley Rave 28 F Washington DC 35:33 35:31 7:09
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 25 - 29
1 Jason Fitzgerald 26 M Silver Spring MD 26:34 26:34 5:21
2 Alex Caudana 25 M Arlington VA 27:41 27:41 5:34
3 Peter Hamlington 29 M Alexandria VA 28:45 28:45 5:47
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 30 - 34
1 Sara Handel 32 F Arlington VA 39:18 39:13 7:54
2 Jessalyn Dingwell 33 F Washington DC 39:27 39:19 7:55
3 Caroline Wizeman 33 F Potomac Falls VA 39:43 39:37 7:59
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 30 - 34
1 David Wertz 34 M Arlington VA 26:40 26:40 5:22
2 Paul Durkes 34 M Washington DC 28:03 28:01 5:39
3 Samuel Gale 32 M Ashburn VA 28:43 28:43 5:47
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 35 - 39
1 Mary Davison 37 F Bristow VA 31:28 31:28 6:20
2 Cristina Burbach 36 F Washington DC 32:46 32:45 6:36
3 Heather Copeland 37 F Springfield VA 38:10 37:49 7:37
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 35 - 39
1 Marco Antonio Rosas 35 M Silver Spring MD 29:41 29:40 5:58
2 Evan Weisel 39 M Alexandria VA 30:51 30:50 6:13
3 Rick Kennedy 39 M Washington DC 31:59 31:56 6:26
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 40 - 44
1 Samantha Cole 41 F Arlington VA 31:14 31:13 6:17
2 Jennifer Hickey 40 F Washington DC 37:54 37:40 7:35
3 Nancy Bond 42 F Leesburg VA 44:29 44:11 8:54
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 40 - 44
1 Seth Kalish 43 M Washington DC 31:09 31:06 6:16
2 Guido Deitrich 44 M Bethesda MD 34:51 34:39 6:59
3 Chris D'Agostino 41 M Leesburg VA 36:46 36:41 7:23
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 45 - 49
1 Ruth Olson 47 F Fredericksburg VA 33:21 33:19 6:42
2 Carol Krill 46 F Stafford VA 34:58 34:56 7:02
3 Hilde Kahn 46 F Mclean VA 37:55 37:54 7:38
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 45 - 49
1 Jack Tade 45 M Falls Church VA 33:05 33:03 6:39
2 Andrew Morgan 47 M Bellefonte PA 39:06 38:56 7:50
3 David Sample 45 M 39:31 39:23 7:56
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 50 - 54
1 Kerry Ohara 50 F Sacramento CA 52:06 51:36 10:23
2 Marissa Rivero 51 F Silver Spring MD 53:52 53:21 10:44
3 Pamela Smith 51 F Greenbelt MD 66:13 66:01 13:17
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 50 - 54
1 Michael Nelson 51 M Arlington VA 37:27 37:26 7:32
2 Roger Allison 52 M Washington DC 38:13 38:05 7:40
3 Tom Lentz 51 M Ellicott City MD 38:30 38:22 7:43
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 55 - 59
1 Ginny Hughes 59 F Warrenton VA 39:00 38:56 7:50
2 Jane Halpern 55 F Washington DC 52:43 52:29 10:34
3 Cathy Woodward 57 F Springfield VA 66:28 66:00 13:17
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 55 - 59
1 Richard Adams Jr 59 M Herndon VA 31:29 31:29 6:20
2 James Moreland 58 M Gaithersburg MD 34:46 34:46 7:00
3 Charlie Dietz 57 M Mclean VA 52:23 51:50 10:26
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 60 - 64
1 Ken Fox 60 M Columbia MD 35:39 35:37 7:10
2 Jon Palks 61 M Bowie MD 40:54 40:48 8:13
3 Edwin Patout 62 M Washington DC 41:24 40:56 8:14
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 65 - 69
1 Lucinda Ray 66 F Petaluma CA 53:25 52:56 10:39
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 65 - 69
1 John Churchman 67 M Arlington VA 38:22 38:19 7:43
2 Jim Verdier 68 M Alexandria VA 47:46 47:44 9:37
3 Thomas Fox 69 M Mclean VA 50:00 49:39 10:00
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 70 - 74
1 Dinorah Kranker 72 F Hendersonville NC 72:49 72:18 14:33
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 70 - 74
1 Ralph Bayrer 71 M Washington DC 47:17 46:48 9:25
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME - NET PACE 75 - 79
1 Robert Gurtler 75 M The Plains VA 50:54 50:46 10:13
2 Richard Kranker 79 M Hendersonville NC 72:40 72:09 14:31
FEMALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 99
1 151 Kristy Kayton 24 F Baltimore MD 42:30 42:06 8:28
MALE FIRST TIME RACER: NET TIME - NET PACE 1 - 99
1 333 Joshua Folk 29 M Silver Spring MD 36:47 36:30 7:21
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