Photo above: Monika Bracken, 39 of Castleton, VA and Kevin Engle, 37 of Sterling, VA begin the 20K. Bracken finished in 1:33:17 and Engle clocked in at 1:24:32.

With the coolest weather ever, the summertime's favorite 10K in the area blossoms spring-like. After fifteen years, this well-packaged medium size race that started along that path towards the longer races of fall exploded into a major event with more than 1300 runners. A classic distance, 20K has long been missing from the metro running scene. Leesburg picked a gorgeous, perfect weekend to change that, most definitely for the good.

Planners for the race have been long saying this town could handle a big race. With a cross-country New Year's race on the other side of the town to wake up the year, today's expanded event is putting Leesburg even more solidly on the road-racing map. Many times multiple races start at different times or worse, do a boring multiple circuit to add the distance. This encourages runners who are getting tired to drop to the shorter event. At Leesburg, runners from both races started promptly at 8:15, darting away down the hill to the deceptively rolling hills of miles two through four. After cresting the ladder-like hill to the W& OD Trail, the 10Kers hustled down the final two miles back into town. Boldly going where no man has run before, the 20K entrants marched out the other way. Go west, young men. After turning around, they would be treated to an even longer return to glory. More than four miles of gradual downhill would produce many negative splits for the runners.

Well shut me up. After telling everyone last year that this race is always hot and humid, this year it was neither. Please thank me for the weather that always seems to occur when I am injured reserve. While I could not run, I had to come see the one constant of the race, Chuck Moeser. Every year the crown prince has something different up his sleeve. In the early years of the race, he won outright. Then he just plain dominated his division. Always a threat to win, I asked him for a race pick before the event in 1998. He told me, "Hey, I'm the fastest runner here. So I am going to win." At 46, he almost pulled it off, finishing second in 33:04. Actually, Moeser told me afterwards that he was a little nervous about a certain 21-year-old Lemma Bonssa. Bonssa notched a 32:28 victory and later that year ran a sub 25:00 8K. Now at 52, Moeser is a tease for age group wannabes. One year he paced a family member after dropping at the halfway point. He knew he was not planning to finish. The next year he raced out to a fifth place finish. This year the only thing on the minds of a talented crop of 50 plus runners was, "Did Chuck crack the top three?" They were too far behind him to see his bid fall short on the last hill. Eighteen-year-old James Printz of Cross Junction, VA (photo above, with Moeser in the background) did what countless runners throughout the area could not do when he held off Moeser's late charge 34:20 to 34:22.

Even on the hottest days the winning time is usually a very fast sub-33:00. This perhaps and Olympic qualifier Peter Sherry's 31:28 in 2002 spoiled us somewhat. Last year three runners pushed out a sub-33:00, led by Glenn Mays in 32:02. Sherry set the course record of 31:23 in 2000. This year's winner, David Silver of Vienna, VA made it look easy, loping in at 33:34, just ahead of a relative unknown, Christopher Bain of Bethesda, MD, in 33:52. Silver ran a swifter 32:28 last year on a much hotter day, so go figure.

Don't let the name fool you. "Overton Hill" in fifth place was a regular top finisher at Leesburg. He is Dr. Ron Kulik of Herndon, VA. Still plenty young at forty-one, he spent the following minutes after his finish shouting out encouragement and instructions to many runners. Kulik, a chiropractor, is proud to share his running expertise as well. One of his charges, Susannah Kvasnicka of Great Falls, VA, dominated last year's Annapolis 10 Miler and is this year's Leesburg champion. She tells me that she plans to try to win Annapolis again this year.

The last three years have been a turnaround. In 2002 Cathy Pugsley set the pace, winning in 36:17 with second place Kvasnicka (37:52) the only one within four minutes. Last year Alisa Harvey edged out Pugsley 36:42 to 36:52, with Kvasnicka third in 37:43. This year Pusgley is with child and sitting out the race. I spoke with 38-year-old Harvey of Manassas, VA, (photo left) before the race. Was she going back to the good old days and going to have a 35:00 race? Unlike the men, women runners do not often sandbag their predictions. She told me she felt good but her training was not what she wanted it to be. Not surprisingly, she faded a little this year, settling for an uncharacteristic fourth in 37:23, outside the overall winner's awards. Meghan McLaughlin of Vienna, VA and Lisa Thomas of Alexandria, two twenty-somethings, dueled for second in a time that might have won last year. McLaughlin won by a few meters, 36:42 to 36:55. This year Kvasnicka was not to be denied. Looking sleek and powerful she put the race out of reach with a time of 36:03. The fastest time in recent years is 35:49 by Kelly Cordell ('98).

After a big three-minute victory, last year's masters champion, Leslie Minnix-Wolfe of Herndon, VA (photo left), could leave nothing to chance this year. Top guns Patricia Keating of Dayton, MD and Robyn Humphrey of Ellicott City, MD were easily capable of running last year's time of 40:50. They crossed the Potomac with victory plans in mind. Keating must have arrived late. She ran a fine 41:46 while starting thirteen seconds late. Humphrey dogged Minnix-Wolfe the whole race, coming up just short 39:42 to 39:49. Somewhere Fiona Branton breathed a sigh of relief, her 1999 best of 39:33 stands.

Racing is one sport where you just cannot wait to get older. Richard Adams (53) of Herndon, VA settled for second in the division behind Moeser with a fine 37:27. Norton Compton (49) of Fairfax, VA won his division delighted that Paul Okerberg was trying out the 20K. Compton's 36:57 will cause some concern for next year. Third in his division, Tim Doescher (54) of Herndon, VA in 37:43, will be gunning for his new division. Tim Morgan (53) of Damascus, MD passed by Mick Slonaker (54, photo left) of Columbia, MD for the last time 37:59 to 38:19, only to be Moesered out of the awards. This will be the last time for a couple of years for Morgan to trump Sloanker. Slonaker turns fifty-five in time for the Annapolis 10 Miler later this month.

Lou Shapiro had a standout time winning the 60-64 division in 42:43. Ken Quincy won the 65-69 division in 46:58. Larry Dickerson shrugged off a tough 53:34 win from last year and mastered a deep field of 70-year-olds in 51:35. Henryk Bukowski of Falls Church made an 84-year-old finish.

For the women, Carole Roeder of Ashburn met the challenge, winning the 45-49 division in 45:17. Peggy Davis of Falls Church, VA succeeded against a deep 50-54 field in 47:19. Alice Franks (56) momentarily free of Sandra Adams of Winchester, VA, cruised to a swift 45:26. She knew she dodged a bullet with five-year age groups. The speedy Adams opted for the 20K but look out, Alice, she will be testing the speed limit when she turns fifty-five in October. Mary Ann O'Connor of Reston, VA wins the 60-64 division in 56:28 and our oldest division champion is no surprise. Sixty-eight year old Tami Graf of Lusby, MD wins in 58:02.

The 20K

Dustin Sweeney of Berryville, VA is a constant at Leesburg. At twenty-one, he is a six-year veteran at the race. He hopped onto the 20K bandwagon. Coming through the 10K halfway split in 35:30, he would have been a threat to win the 10K. After all he had run second overall, 34:14, in 2001. He told me after the 10Kers broke away he was in a small pack of four, biding his time. Leading the pack going into the turnaround was Williamsburg, VA's John Piggott. Leesburg is a short hop over the Potomac for many Frederick runners. In June, Piggott had visited the Frederick Memorial Hospital 5 Miler, starching their top runners. They must have felt snakebite when he showed up in Leesburg. At the turnaround Piggott was so focused he kept going for another twenty meters. Sweeney helped out by calling him back, but that was all he would do.

Sweeney moved ahead to win comfortably in 1:09:26. Piggott, disappointed by the loss, was nearly run down by third place Brian Schmidt of Leesburg, VA in 1:10:01. Piggott ran 1:09:51. Eight runners busted the 6:00 pace for the race. Standout hometown runner Paul Okerberg was one of them, running 1:12:59. Now forty-five, he finished comfortably ahead of Mark Malander of Oak Hill, VA. Malander, after dethroning Jim Hage in the runner rankings with a 33:39 at Pike's Peek this spring, ran 1:15:31. Jean-Christopher Arcaz of Rockville, MD split between the two of them to win the 40-44 division in 1:14:56. The Morgan boys split races, with Tim in the 10K. Rick (52) of Silver Spring, MD prefers the longer distance. His race was competitive all the way as he held off new grandmaster Gary Grimsley of Springfield, VA, one second per mile, 1:24:34 to 1:24:51. The grimace on his face was not the final hill but knowing that another newbee, Kenyon Erickson (50) of Vienna, VA (photo), was that figure directly in front of him, crossing the line in 1:24:27.

Patrick Griffith was too far ahead to worry about that. Griffith, of Alexandria, VA (59, photo left) was on a mission. He turns sixty in November and he wants the world to know he is the best. He earned an honorable mention for Runner's World back in 2001. His sights are set on a sub 3:00:00 Disney Marathon in January. Today his goal was under 1:20:00, maybe 1:18:00. He split the difference with a 1:19:12 to smash the division, setting a first-year record that will be tough to beat.

Gregory Smith of Vienna, VA beat his 60-64 competition in 1:33:17. Douglas Morris of Delaplane, VA topped the 65-69 division in 1:37:58. Being a first year event, management decided on a top age group of 70 & over for the 20K. Milton Taylor (71) of Odenton, MD (2:01:51) nearly always wins his division so it was little surprise that he won over George Waxter's impressive second place 2:04:19. Just behind Waxter, still light on his feet, eighty-one year-old Walt Washburn of Vienna, VA danced home in 2:04:29. Washburn tells me he always weighed 125 pounds but now is 130. I should be so lucky! The incomparable Ed Benham owns the single age record in, sit down before you read this, 1:33:56. Benham stopped running after that. Next year, at eighty-two, Washburn will need 2:05:36 to steal Al Gordon's American record for the 20K.

Hope Hall of Ashburn, VA was the second youngest of the top seven at thirty-seven. She appears to have had no trouble winning in 1:23:06. The next three is a little different story. All three are masters division runners. They always have desire. Two are sisters. They always have a rivalry. The younger sister prevailed. Monica Grillo of Arlington, VA was the runner-up in 1:24:46. Multi record holder for the Howard County Striders, standout Julie Thienel of Columbia, MD (40, photo) cashed in her chips in 1:25:04. Jeanne Grillo of Potomac, MD was next in 1:26:14.

Liza Recto of Lexington Park, MD is a racing junkie found at races nearly every weekend. Maybe she enjoys it so much because so often she is winning. Today's 1:38:27 was a very comfortable margin of victory in the 45-49 division. Two of the top dogs in the grandmasters were on stage. Betty Blank of Falls Church, VA is nearly the Moeser of the women's division. Blank is often a threat to win overall. In a DCRRC age graded 4 miler this year, she was top finisher overall, including all the men. Still, Winchester's Sandie Adams makes her work hard to earn her cash. Blank finished in 1:29:26, seventh female. Adams was a few places back in 1:31:25. Judy Gilbert of Pikesville, MD was the lone woman over fifty-four to finish the event. Her fine 1:42:42 would most likely have won no matter how many other women were attending.

This year age group winners earn $40 in cold cash. Division runners-up earn $20. All three age groupers get the traditional Leesburg 10K/20K cowbell. The food spread was a runner's dream, with all manner of reloading materials. Forget those crazy anti-carbohydrate sales pitches and dig in. Every runner, including the very last 20K finisher, was treated to lots of food and ice cold drinks (soda, juice, and bottled water). There were huge oversized muffins (cinnamon, banana nut, and chocolate chip). There were crackers, cookies, apples, and granola bars. Turkey Hill was there with ice cream galore.

After the 10K and 20K runners left the starting line, kids of all sizes lined up for their quarter-mile dash out and back, finishing under the banner just like Mommy and Daddy, earning medals for their efforts.

10K Award Winners (updated 8/13/4)

MALE OVERALL
    1  1119 David Silver            22 Vienna VA            33:37 V 
    2   589 Christopher Bain        27 Bethesda MD          33:54 V 
    3  1210 James Printz            18 Cross Junction VA    34:20 V 


FEMALE OVERALL
    1     6 Susannah Kvasnicka      32 Great Falls VA       36:03 V 
    2     2 Meghan McLaughlin       25 Vienna VA            36:42 V 
    3   842 Lisa Thomas             28 Alexandria VA        36:55 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1   513 Justin Kirk             18 Middleburg VA      34:58 V 
    2   793 Justin Ahn              19 Silver Spring MD   35:47 V 
    3   566 Sean Bernett            17 Leesburg VA        36:35 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1   803 Beth Links              17 Baltimore MD       41:33 V 
    2  1163 Natasha Young           19 Germantown MD      42:52 V 
    3  1364 Carissa Edens           16 Sterling VA        43:40 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 34
    1  1134 Welch Suggs             31 Washington DC      35:07 V 
    2  1019 Ryan Donahue            25 Centreville VA     35:09 V 
    3   792 Philip Baetcke          33 Falls Church VA    37:53 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 34
    1  1505 Molly Weber             30 Falls Church VA    44:19 V 
    2   178 Rose Moeser             22 Sterling VA        44:38 V 
    3  1074 Alicia White            31 Springfield VA     45:59 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39
    1  1302 Jeff Fritz              36 Reston VA          36:16 V 
    2    97 Wilco Lagendyk          38 Vienna VA          38:32 V 
    3   813 Mark Hand               37 Arlington VA       38:59 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39
    1  1132 Alisa Harvey            38 Manassas VA        37:20 V 
    2   838 Susan Volpe             35 Herndon VA         40:27 V 
    3   102 Janet Choi              35 Oakton VA          45:02 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
    1  1294 Ron Kulik               41 Herndon VA         34:52 V 
    2  1001 Gary Grilliot           40 Reston VA          35:17 V 
    3   699 Frank Kurtz             43 Thurmont MD        36:28 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
    1    18 Leslie Minnix-Wolfe     43 Herndon VA         39:39 V 
    2   767 Robyn Humphrey          40 Ellicott City MD   39:45 V 
    3   715 Patricia Keating        42 Dayton MD          41:28 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49
    1   348 Norton Compton          49 Fairfax VA         36:55 V 
    2   121 Larry Goldfarb          45 Great Falls VA     37:48 V 
    3  1330 Michael Fulman          47 Vancouver BC       42:01 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49
    1   273 Carole Roeder           47 Ashburn VA         45:17 V 
    2   935 Elizabeth Snyderwine    46 Potomac MD         46:01 V 
    3   596 Wendy Everett           47 Sterling VA        48:57 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54
    1   179 Chuck Moeser            52 Sterling VA        34:21 V 
    2     7 Richard Adams Jr        53 Herndon VA         37:26 V 
    3   594 Tim Doescher            54 Herndon VA         37:39 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54
    1  1214 Patricia Donohue        50 Alexandria VA      45:29 V 
    2    14 Peggy Davis             52 Falls Church VA    47:19 V 
    3   517 Cindy Clark             51 Germantown MD      48:50 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59
    1  1051 Bill Vislay             58 Herndon VA         42:44 V 
    2   818 John Weldin             55 Reston VA          43:40 V 
    3   497 Enos Campbell           56 Culpeper VA        44:57 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59
    1    20 Alice Franks            56 Rockville MD       45:26 V 
    2   670 Freyda Greenberg        55 Falls Church VA    48:27 V 
    3   151 Pat Welch               59 Vienna VA          54:07 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64
    1  1365 Lou Shapiro             62 Silver Spring MD   42:43 V 
    2   885 James Daley             60 Alexandria VA      44:10 V 
    3  1402 David Roland            60 Reston VA          46:20 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64
    1  1105 Mary Ann O'Connor       63 Reston VA          56:28 V 
    2   597 Odiorne Beebe           61 Great Falls VA     57:38 V 
    3   127 Blair Jones             60 Washington DC      64:15 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69
    1   640 Ken Quincy              67 Vienna VA          46:58 V 
    2  1106 Philip Hager            67 Falls Church VA    48:23 V 
    3   520 Walter Rockey           65 Jefferson MD       48:52 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69
    1   979 Tami Graf               68 Lusby MD           58:02 V 
    2   851 Betty Lou Wolfe         67 The Plains VA      82:42 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74
    1    15 Larry Dickerson         73 Burke VA           51:35 V 
    2  1102 Jim Hufford             70 Reston V           56:48 V 
    3   559 Dick Coogan             72 Mclean VA          62:11 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74
No Finishers


MALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 99
    1   719 Henry Bukowski          84 Falls Church VA    65:08 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 99
No Finishers


MALE LEESBURG RESIDENT
    1   566 Sean Bernett            17 Leesburg VA        36:35 


FEMALE LEESBURG RESIDENT
    1  1231 Christine Taylor        34 Leesburg VA        46:22 

Photo above: Jay Lochhead (left), 40 of Middletown, MD and Richard Buhrman, 55, finished the Leesburg 20K in 1:31:08.

20K Award Winners (updated 8/13/04)

MALE OVERALL
    1  1189 Dustin Sweeney          21 Berryville VA      1:09:25 X 
    2  1277 John Piggott            39 Williamsburg VA    1:09:49 X 
    3   113 Brian Schmidt           36 Leesburg VA        1:10:00 X 


FEMALE OVERALL
    1  1009 Hope Hall               37 Ashburn VA         1:23:05 X 
    2  1322 Monica Grillo           40 Arlington VA       1:24:45 X 
    3   795 Julie Thienel           40 Columbia MD        1:25:03 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1  1178 David Groff             18 Centreville VA     1:11:36 X 
    2  1180 Jonathan Buckland       16 Centreville VA     1:12:39 X 
    3  1179 Action Jackson          17 Centreville VA     1:17:54 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1   636 Christyn Dannenberg     19 Potomac Falls VA   1:29:20 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 34
    1   839 Adam Littke             30 Jersey City NJ     1:10:30 X 
    2   969 Sam McFerran            28 Washington DC      1:14:24 X 
    3  1507 Charles Bowles          22 Boyce VA           1:17:18 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 34
    1     4 Liz Scanlon             33 Woodbridge VA      1:27:03 X 
    2   742 Heather Trainum         33 Centreville VA     1:30:13 X 
    3  1380 Tiffany Herner          24 Columbia MD        1:31:33 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39
    1  1147 Brian Falk              38 Carlisle PA        1:12:41 X 
    2    46 Christopher Sabatini    39 Washington DC      1:18:50 X 
    3  1036 Vincent Chiaramonte     39 Chicago IL         1:21:22 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39
    1   626 Heidi Johnson           38 Keswick VA         1:29:04 X 
    2   720 Ly Pham                 39 Alexandria VA      1:29:49 X 
    3   420 Julie Callens           37 South Riding VA    1:30:53 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
    1    19 Jean-Christophe Arcaz   43 Rockville MD       1:14:53 X 
    2   413 Martin Calhoun          42 Herndon VA         1:17:17 X 
    3  1276 Jeff Symmes             43 Centreville VA     1:21:24 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
    1  1323 Jeanne Grillo           43 Potomac MD         1:26:09 X 
    2  1358 Vicki Hurt              40 Kingstowne VA      1:30:33 X 
    3   173 Sushila Nanda           43 Arlington VA       1:31:20 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49
    1  1335 Paul Okerberg           45 Leesburg VA        1:12:56 X 
    2  1164 Mark Malander           46 Oak Hill VA        1:15:30 X 
    3   587 Bruce Halpin            48 Ashburn VA         1:20:19 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49
    1   856 Liza Recto              48 Lexington Park MD  1:38:27 X 
    2   901 Darlene Gauthier        46 Fairfax Station VA 1:43:29 X 
    3   691 Deborah Margraff        46 Reston VA          1:45:19 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54
    1   158 Kenyon Erickson         50 Vienna VA          1:24:22 X 
    2   909 Richard Morgan          52 Silver Spring MD   1:24:34 X 
    3   651 Gary Grimsley           50 Springfield VA     1:24:51 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54
    1    12 Betty Blank             51 Falls Church VA    1:29:22 X 
    2     8 Sandra Adams            54 Winchester VA      1:31:20 X 
    3  1097 Diana Joaquin           51 Arlington VA       1:38:04 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59
    1     9 Patrick Griffith        59 Alexandria VA      1:19:10 X 
    2   306 Michael Wesbecher       56 Oakton VA          1:28:25 X 
    3   657 Richard Buhrman         55 Middletown MD      1:31:07 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59
    1   266 Kathy Collins           55 Silver Spring MD   2:27:54 X 
    2   470 Marilyn Meddles         57 Purcellville VA    2:49:17 X 
    3   915 Josefina Smith          57 Centreville VA     2:49:45 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64
    1  1300 Gregory Smith           60 Vienna VA          1:33:17 X 
    2   516 Jack Clark              61 Germantown MD      1:36:23 X 
    3   152 Krupakar Revanna        61 Falls Church VA    1:36:37 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64
    1  1337 Judy Gilbert            60 Pikesville MD      1:42:42 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69
    1   593 Douglas Morris          66 Delaplane VA       1:37:58 X 
    2  1101 Benito Vazquez          65 Laurel MD          1:38:52 X 
    3   275 Hank Hatch              68 Oakton VA          1:46:33 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69
No Finishers


MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 99
    1   182 Milton Taylor           71 Odenton MD         2:01:51 X 
    2    17 George Waxter           73 Frederick MD       2:04:19 X 
    3    23 Walt Washburn           81 Vienna VA          2:04:29 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 99
No Finishers


MALE LEESBURG RESIDENT
1   113 Brian Schmidt               36 Leesburg VA        1:10:00 


FEMALE LEESBURG RESIDENT
    1   983 Kim Chenen                 Leesburg VA        1:31:58 

See complete results of the 10K and 20K races.

For more information about the Leesburg 10K & 20K, visit the race Web site.

Check back for our Photo Gallery!