Even though the Bright Beginnings 5K is a smaller local race--with around 200 participants--it has become a spring tradition for many, including this writer, who has run it three years in a row. Most participants are from DC, Maryland, and Virginia, though runners from California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Texas came out. The race has become one of Bright Beginning's largest fundraisers. Bright Beginnings is a local center that offers full-day childcare and literacy programs for children and families in transitional housing. Bright Beginnings has been serving the DC community for over 10 years, while the race is seven years old.

Part of the charm of this race is the variable, but generally mild, spring weather from year to year. The temperature has ranged from 40 degrees, as it was this particular morning, to over 75 degrees. This morning it was cold and breezy before the start of the race. Some runners were self-motivated and took it upon themselves to do a warm-up jog; some even went down and back up the dreaded, quarter-mile Morrow Drive hill that is also part of the race course. Encouraging more warmth, the Sergeant's Program led a warm-up 15 minutes before the start of the race (photo above). Most of the waiting runners participated in the energetic warm-up. It was the best way to keep comfortable and ready to run. The rain of the past few days had stopped, though it was still overcast, as the runners took off at 8 a.m. As the runners approached the downhill of Morrow Drive, their feet tapped the asphalt--every last runner seemed quiet and light on their respective feet. It was a very peaceful beginning. Once 22 minutes had passed on the clock, however, and no lead runner had appeared, it was clear that something had gone awry. It turns out that the course was quite a bit longer than 5K.

The order of the top runners did not change much from start to finish. The first woman, Atalelech Ketema (20, photo left), ran with the two lead men, Joel Frushone (36) and Jason Weber (26), for at least the first mile. She finished in third place overall. Her time of 24:44 made the long course evident; her usual 5K time is in the 16-minute range. Katie Dickerson (23), the second woman, was not sure how she would feel because this race was her first of the spring season. Instead of setting up pre-race expectations, she told herself, "We'll see how you feel." She was not intimidated by the hilly course because she makes a point of training on such courses in Bethesda.

Jeff Regelman (41), the third man, taking fourth place overall, also used the race to open his spring running season. He said he was "getting back into it." Though he felt good for much of the race, he was not sure how to measure his performance since the course was so much longer than expected. Both Dickerson and Regelman took the extra distance in stride and even in good cheer. The top finishers were spread out; there were no neck-and-neck finishes. The top three male runners were about a minute apart, and just under six minutes passed between the first and third woman. Ketema was well ahead, with almost four minutes on Dickerson. Christine Brown (16) started out in third place among women and held it to the end, repeating her performance of last year. Brown said, "I didn't really have any expectations coming in today." Her track coach, Jim Gross (39) of Holton Arms, did have expectations and came out to run the race as well; he encouraged Brown to warm up before the race and maintain her pace during the race. She finished a good 20 seconds ahead of him. After they finished, Gross insisted, "That was more like an 8K race." He was right.

The course of the Bright Beginnings 5K is, in theory, a USATF certified course and a traditional one for a bunch of local races held in Rock Creek Park near Colorado Avenue and 16th Street, including Rachael's Women's Center Valentine 5K in February. The course is out and back, entering the park along Morrow Drive and turning left on Beach Drive to a turnaround point. Both last year and this year, it was the turnaround point that was either unmarked or mismarked. In 2002, the race was 3.8. This year, it was about 4.2 miles.

This writer is a huge fan of this spring race, despite the course marking issues. Regelman agrees, describing the course as "a pretty one; let's put it that way." The course is not easy; it starts downhill and returns up the same challenging hill. But it is surrounded and shaded by trees and follows the path of Rock Creek for at least a mile. The trees were just becoming green this year, following the harsh winter and lingering cold temperatures. No matter what, it definitely felt like spring.

E*Trade Bank & Bright Beginnings 5K Results

Top 10 Overall Female



Place   Bib#	Name               Age	Hometown	Time
=====	==== 	=============================================	
1 	291	Atalelech Ketema    20	WASHINGTON DC	24:44
2	294	Katie Dickerson	    23	BETHESDA MD	28:16
3	161	Christine Brown	    16	POTOMAC MD	30:20
4	287	Janelle Billingslea 23	WASHINGTON DC	30:55
5	274	Christine Mahar	    34	ARLINGTON VA	31:36
6	308	Kathryn Schirmer    20	CORNING NY	32:42
7	179	Pamela Clark	    34	OLNEY MD	34:24
8	305	Liz Eckstein	    32	WASHINGTON DC	34:32
9	286	Jessica Quinn	    22	WASHINGTON DC	34:59
10	312	Sue Sharkey	    52	WAUKESHA WI	35:00



Top 10 Overall Male



Place   Bib#	Name               Age	Hometown	Time
=====	==== 	=============================================
1	216	Joel Frushone       36	WASHINGTON DC	23:19
2	297	Jason Weber	    26	RESTON VA	24:06
3	285	Jeff Regelman	    41	RESTON VA	25:21
4       321	Mark Hathaway		IPSWICH MA	27:21
5	111	Benjamin Hedman	    26	JAMESTOWN NY	27:33
6	306	Jon Weiss	    28	POTOMAC MD	27:41
7	251	Spider Rossiter	    51	WASHINGTON DC	27:52
8	302	Dave Miller	    40	STERLING VA	28:13
9	203	James Fenzel	    28	WASHINGTON DC	28:38
10	192	John Marquiss	    23	WASHINGTON DC	29:02

For complete results, please take a look at our Results Page.

Please check back soon for our photo gallery.