Photo above: (l-r) Joseph Connelly, Ron Carden, Mary Caudle, Steve Pearson, Karsten Brown, Kyle Caudle, Paul Bundick, Warren Kohm

The 1st annual Great Falls Monster XC 8K was held this past Sunday. As is typical for a challenging cross-country event, there were plenty of mud, trails, rocks, trees, and obstacles to cross. All told there were six water crossings and 14 fallen trees to traverse. The course was run mainly in Great Falls Park with some of it being run on the Difficult Run Trail. Race temperature at the start of the race was 93 degrees at approximately 5:45 pm.

Going into the race, distance sensation Grant Connelly took the lead from the gun, going down the steep grass hill and past the set of lakes. Going over the first water crossing Warren Kohm took the lead by bounding the rock river bank and Connelly all in one jump. The lead was short lived as Connelly re-took the lead for good approaching the third water crossing at Georgetown Pike

At one mile it was Connelly, Kohm, and Kyle Caudle fairly close. Paul Bundick, Karsten Brown, and masters division runner Ron Carden soon followed, vying for 4th position. Commander Steve Pearson, having flown in from Italy less than 24 hours ealier, was in front of Lt. Commander Mary Caudle and Joseph Connelly.

At 3 miles, all runners had to traverse "Monster Hill," so called for its steepness and level of difficulty. By the time a runner reaches the top the quads are dead but then there is a nice downhill push and a series of refreshing water crossings to the finish. Right before the last water crossing both Paul Bundick (running in 4th) and Karsten Brown (running in 5th) took a wrong turn and ran long, opening up the opportunity for Carden and Pearson to take a higher finish.

Commented Paul Bundick on Monster Hill, "Man, that hill was tough, I had to walk over the last log 'cause my legs were dead at the top." Race winner and ranked area runner Grant Connelly commented, "far and away the toughest and best laid out course for cross country I have ever run - bar none!" Kyle Caudle (a 2:30 marathoner) commented, "that was awesome . . . just the way cross country should be." Ron Carden noted, "I really liked the butt-slide down the rock into the last water crossing."

Race Volunteers: Mark More, Becky Kohm, Judy Chelson, Betty Little, Lisa (Karsten's girlfriend), and Nicole Connelly.

Results

Place	Name			Age	Location		Time	Award


1	Grant Connelly	        26	Arlington, VA		27:38	1st Male Overall
2	Warren Kohm	        31	McLean, VA		28:39	2nd Overall
3	Kyle Caudle		37	Alexandria, VA	        31:26	Dirtiest Finisher
4	Steven Pearson    	35	Naples, Italy		36:05	Farthest Traveler
5	Ron Carden		40	Herndon, VA		37:02	1st Master
6	Paul Bundick		24	Fairfax, VA		43:30	1st Clydesdale
7	Karsten Brown    	28	Front Royal, VA	        48:08	Got Lost Award
8	Mary Caudle		30	Alexandria, VA	        51:14	1st Female Overall
9	Joseph Connelly	        62	East Setauket, NY	53:37	The "Last" Award