"You might as well be walking on the sun," were the appropriate words uttered by the band, Night Music, as runners were relieved from the extreme heat while crossing the finish line at today's Harris Teeter Leesburg 10K and 20K races.

Perhaps the heat deterred some participants this year, but the field of approximately 1100 racers divided evenly amongst the 10K and 20K distances, with the 20K drawing more. Both 10K and 20K race participants were split into two waves that were organized based on racers' expected pace per mile. The first wave, consisting of many familiar local elite racers, was released at 8:15 and the second wave followed seconds later.

As a result of new restrictions placed upon the racecourse by VDOT, the course was altered this year to avoid running on the prohibited Dry Mill Road. The race, however, did maintain the same start and finish location at Market Station on Harrison Street. Despite the slight incline making racers truly appreciate the sight of the finish line, most runners concur that the race is comparatively flat compared to other local races of similar distances. Many racers appreciated the slight reprieve from the sun that was made available through the out and back portion down the historic W&OD Trail.

The almost unbearable heat made it difficult to contend with the 10K course records of 31:23 held by Peter Sherry for the men and 35:49 set by Kelly Cordell in 1998 for the women, neither of which was broken today. Most years, winners hover around a 33:00 finish. Despite the weather conditions, Mark Stickley (43, photo) managed an impressive 33:07 finish, setting an event record for men 40-44. Stickley was decidedly faster than the field today when finishing more than a minute faster than second place finisher Brian Tullock (23). "It was a tough race," said Tullock. "After about mile 3 the heat was unbearable." Rounding out the medal positions for third place overall is 40 year old Howard Nippert who ran a competitive 34:45. Peter Sherry (36) managed his familiar place near the top, finishing fourth overall in 34:57 which was also good enough for a 1st place finish in his age division. Last year's second place finisher, Christopher Bain (28), impressed the field again as he finished fifth overall in 34:59 which gave him a first place finish in his age group (20-34).

Race veteran Chuck Moeser boasts a 6th place finish although he confesses this was his worst finish in a 10K race. Perhaps Moeser is too hard on himself because his time of 35:42 at age 53 adds another age group victory to his collection.

With none of the top five female finishers from last year's race competing this year, it opened the door for new champions. Newcomer to the Leesburg 10K, Emily Richard (28, photo) of Washington, DC, easily won the race in a time of 36:37. Just under five minutes after Emily, second place overall female finisher Susan Park (36) of Arlington crossed the line. After second place, the field condenses as the third, fourth, and fifth finishers glided over the line within seconds of each other. Chelsea Henderson (21) of Ashburn in 42:07, Cecilia Lutz (45) of Reston in 42:20, and Cathy Friedel (41) of Solomons, MD in 42:51 rounded out the top five female finishers.

Local runner Henryk Bukowski of Falls Church, at 85, is the oldest 10K finisher and took first place in his age division.

For the 20K it was a day for breaking records. Aaron Church (30) exclaimed, "I am back" responding to impressed onlookers congratulating him on his victory. Church made a bold statement about his comeback to distance running by shattering the event record with a time of 1:06:21 previously set by Dustin Sweeney (photo), who ran a 1:09:26 in last year's inaugural 20K race. Michael Wardian (30), who also did not compete in last year's 20K race but is certainly no stranger to the lead pack, finished second overall in a time of 1:07:13. After a slight time gap of just over two minutes, Eric Lavigne (29) of Reston finished third overall. Other newcomers to the Leesburg 20K, Max Lockwood (35) and Michael Woodman (39), completed the top five results. Last year's winner, Dustin Sweeney (22), was slightly off of his record winning pace set last year and finished sixth overall.

Hope Hall's 20K course record of 1:23:06, set in 2004, was shattered by close to five minutes when race newcomer Samia Akbar from Herndon, who maintained a 6:15 pace, finished in 1:17:30. Like all of the overall winners for both the 10K and the men's 20K, Akbar's win was not contended. She broke away early in the race and was able to turn back on Harrison Street, making her way up the ominous last incline, completely alone. Second place overall female finisher Jill Krebs (24) would have set a new course record if it was not for Akbar. With a finishing time of 1:19:35, she beat last year's course record by more than three minutes. The third, fourth, and fifth finishers were actually a trio of teammates who recorded the exact same time of 1:23:39. Vanessa Hunter (30), Lindsay Goulet (27, #13 above), and Genevieve Kiley (31, #3 above) found each other just seconds before the finish line to cross in unison. Previous Leesburg 10K contender and regular top finisher Cathy Pugsley (36), who sat out last year's race, finished sixth in a time of 1:24:41.

A fun run for the kids took off as soon as the 10K and 20K runners cleared the start line, with about 50 kids collecting medals for their efforts.

Awards Listing for the 10K (No Duplicate Prizes)

MALE OVERALL
    1    14 Mark Stickley           43 Winchester VA        33:08
    2   723 Brian Tullock           23 Falls Church VA      34:09
    3   767 Howard Nippert          40 Fork Union VA        34:46


FEMALE OVERALL
    1  1178 Emily Richard           28 Washington DC        36:39
    2   733 Susan Park              36 Arlington VA         41:24
    3   957 Chelsea Henderson       21 Ashburn VA           42:13


MALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1  1123 Jonathan Laude          17 Lovettsville VA    38:39
    2   556 Corey Flores            18 Leesburg VA        41:18
    3   616 Andrew Lyford           17 Leesburg VA        41:27


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1   958 Casey Henderson         15 Ashburn VA         49:08
    2  1306 Ashleigh Ange           16 Ashburn VA         49:09
    3  1031 Clarice Ahn             18 Silver Spring MD   50:59


MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 34
    1    12 Christopher Bain        28 Rockville MD       34:59
    2   374 Mike Elabarger          32 Harrisburg PA      36:08
    3   587 Heath Packard           23 Arlington VA       36:43


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 34
    1  1383 Caitlin Lumia           23 Boulder CO         43:50
    2   787 Amanda Pagon            30 South Riding VA    44:05
    3    46 Elizabeth Jones         28 Fairfax VA         44:17


MALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39
    1    16 Peter Sherry            36 Great Falls VA     34:57
    2   748 Scott Baldwin           37 Herndon VA         39:56
    3  1372 Bill Blackstone         38 Winchester VA      40:34


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39
    1   164 Stephanie Hammond       37 Springfield VA     46:44 
    2   955 Taya Viragh             35 Mclean VA          50:26
    3   424 Connie Pullella         36 Leesburg VA        51:57 


MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
    1    98 Michael Marsh           40 Leesburg VA        41:13 
    2   937 Bob Tucker              40 Reston VA          42:38  
    3  1235 Robert Decker           42                    44:04  


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
    1   176 Cathy Friedel           41 Solomons MD        42:51 
    2   117 Sushila Nanda           44 Arlington VA       45:45 
    3   902 Anne-Marie Smith        42 Oak Hill VA        47:56 


MALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49
    1  1354 Richard Kuehl           45 Vienna VA          37:47
    2   441 Peter Hemphill          46 Centreville VA     41:38  
    3   857 Gustavo Olmedo          47 Mclean VA          42:08  


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49
    1   324 Cecilia Lutz            45 Reston VA          42:20  
    2   108 Beverly Black           45 Frederick MD       45:10 
    3   661 Donna Rostant           45 Oak Hill VA        49:52 


MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54
    1    20 Chuck Moeser            53 Sterling VA        35:42  
    2   766 Timothy Morgan          54 Damascus MD        39:11  
    3   598 Ken Dumm                54 Fairfax VA         42:20  


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54
    1   781 Peggy Davis             53 Vienna VA          48:38  
    2   109 Beth Duboff             54 Mclean VA          54:38  
    3   411 B J Freeman             52 Kensington MD      58:42  


MALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59
    1   157 Peter Comfort           55 Arlington VA       53:17  
    2   535 Vince Opperman          55 Germantown MD      53:50  
    3   681 David Hendershot        58 Leesburg VA        57:21  


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59
    1   127 Alice Franks            57 Rockville MD       47:11  
    2   802 Freyda Greenberg        56 Falls Church VA    48:54  
    3   472 Mary Proctor            56 Reston VA          64:19  


MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64
    1   114 Terry Derk              63 Dauphin PA         50:41 
    2   118 Joseph Hulings          64 Burke VA           53:02  
    3   848 Sam Serrill             60 Wichita KS         54:28  


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64
    1   161 Pat Welch               60 Vienna VA          55:45  
    2   943 Carol Zehnacker         60 Frederick MD       67:41  
    3   188 Blair Jones             61 Washington DC      79:18  


MALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69
    1  1309 Lloyd Blackwell         65 Warrenton VA       46:57 
    2   221 Stephen Forman          65 Mclean VA          47:25  
    3   764 Malcolm O'hagan         65 Chevy Chase MD     47:44  


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69
    1  1200 Tami Graf               69 Lusby MD           60:12 
    2   749 Betty Lou Wolfe         68 The Plains VA      83:04  


MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74
    1   213 Terence Mccarthy        70 Leesburg VA        54:53  
    2   133 Robert Smith            71 Comus MD           58:26  
    3   130 Robert Gurtler          70 The Plains VA      61:55  


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74
No Finishers


MALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 99
    1   663 Henryk Bukowski         85 Falls Church VA    74:10 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 99
No Finishers


MALE LEESBURG RESIDENT
    1    98 Michael Marsh           40 Leesburg VA        41:13 


FEMALE LEESBURG RESIDENT
    1   845 Jen Oblas               27 Leesburg VA        44:56 

Awards Listing for the 20K (No Duplicate Prizes)

MALE OVERALL
    1     6 Aaron Church            30 South Riding VA    1:06:21  
    2     4 Michael Wardian         30 Arlington VA       1:07:14  
    3     8 Eric Lavigne            29 Reston VA          1:09:16  


FEMALE OVERALL
    1  1327 Samia Akbar             23 Herndon VA         1:17:32 
    2   935 Jill Krebs              24 Richmond VA        1:19:37 
    3     5 Vanessa Hunter          30 Arlington VA       1:23:43  


MALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1   882 David Groff             19 Centreville VA     1:16:09 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1  1303 Amy Meyer               19 Washington DC      2:02:12  
    2  1138 Megan Mcmullen          18 Leesburg VA        2:06:14 


MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 34
    1     2 Dustin Sweeney          22 Berryville VA      1:15:04  
    2   493 Richard Pica            22 Ft Washington MD   1:15:55  
    3   568 Henry Grossmann         34 Annandale VA       1:16:32 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 34
    1    13 Lindsay Goulet          27 Arlington VA       1:23:39  
    2     3 Genevieve Kiley         31 Arlington VA       1:23:39  
    3   883 Diana Pool              24 Westminster MD     1:25:30 


MALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39
    1   969 Max Lockwood            35 Washington DC      1:12:21  
    2   513 Michael Woodman         39 Timonium MD        1:13:11 
    3   933 James Morse             37 Virginia Beach VA  1:25:51  


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39
    1    17 Cathy Pugsley           36 Sterling VA        1:24:41  
    2  1337 Heather Wallace         35 Reston VA          1:27:05  
    3  1374 Kristin Biris           35 Knoxville MD       1:33:32 


MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
    1   439 David Haaga             44 Rockville MD       1:16:28  
    2  1244 Tom Winkert             41 Potomac MD         1:23:48  
    3   491 Greg Tuck               42 Mechanicsville VA  1:24:54 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
    1   910 Patricia Zerfas         43 Kensington MD      1:26:51  
    2    31 Monica Grillo           41 Arlington VA       1:27:19  
    3   720 Ly N Pham               40 Alexandria VA      1:30:46 


MALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49
    1   507 Joseph Mcguire          45 Burke VA           1:21:28 
    2  1201 Bruce Halpin            49 Ashburn VA         1:24:28 
    3    71 Kevin Dix               46 Manassas VA        1:28:54  


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49
    1   695 Carole Roeder           48 Ashburn VA         1:42:48 
    2   987 Liza Recto              49 Lexington Park MD  1:49:11 
    3   622 Laurel Gillis           48 Arlington VA       1:49:31  


MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54
    1   704 Richard Morgan          53 Silver Spring MD   1:22:24 
    2   722 Paul Peterson           51 Bethesda MD        1:22:54  
    3   708 Gary Grimsley           51 Springfield VA     1:23:40 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54
    1  1093 Luisa Grant             53 Ashburn VA         2:08:04  
    2   877 Margaret O'brien        53 Fredericksburg VA  2:16:48 
    3  1338 Colleen Clancy          53 Middletown MD      2:21:12 


MALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59
    1    40 Jay Jacob Wind          55 Arlington VA       1:26:41 
    2   614 Michael Wesbecher       57 Oakton VA          1:30:33 
    3   518 Bill Koetter            56 Ashburn VA         1:46:13 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59
    1   564 Sandra Adams            55 Winchester VA      1:34:13 
    2   459 Peggy Richko            57 Hewitt NJ          1:52:02 
    3   611 Elizabeth Thomas        55 Leesburg VA        1:53:46 


MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64
    1    30 Patrick Griffith        60 Alexandria VA      1:23:27 
    2   242 John Churchman          62 Arlington VA       1:32:40 
    3  1390 Bill Joyce              61 Herndon VA         1:35:21


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64
No Finishers


MALE AGE GROUP:  65 & Up
    1  1202 Renito Vazquez          66 Laurel MD          2:02:51 
    2  1257 Rush Fritz              65 Washington DC      2:05:12 
    3   174 Geraldallan Schwinn     67 Washington DC      2:18:30 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  65 & Up
No Finishers


MALE LEESBURG RESIDENT
    1  1177 Michael Colucci         31 Leesburg VA        1:23:44 


FEMALE LEESBURG RESIDENT
    1  1115 Meg Lambke              41 Leesburg VA        1:33:15 

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

Photo Gallery 2005
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6