Just three races to go, including next week's Annapolis Ten miler.

The Maryland RRCA Grand Prix Series is in its eleventh year. The series this year consists of seven races chosen from different clubs in the region. It has had as many as eleven races, planning to have a home team race for each of the RRCA clubs in the area. For the last couple of years, the series has switched more to major races. Runners need only complete three races (previously it was five) to qualify for the cash awards or prizes.

The competition will be conducted for men and women in both open and age group categories. Five-year age groups will start at age 35 and will continue to 80 and over. Your age category and your team is determined by your age and club raced for on the date of the first event in the series. Points are awarded as a percentage of the finishing time, with the winner of each division getting 1000 points. Your best three races will count. Prizes go the top three overall and top three in each age group. No duplicate awards.

Team competition for both men and women will be conducted in Open, Masters, and Grandmasters with five members needed to qualify for a team (except for the women's Masters and Grand Masters which will require three finishers.) Multiple age scoring is permitted (a masters runner may score for both his/her open and masters teams).

So far we have held four of the seven races. It is too early to tell who will be on top at the end. A runner could come along and win the last three races and sweep away the early leaders. Below are the top ten in the Open division and the top three in the age groups.

Series Leaders after Four Races

Open Men
RANK NAME                   AG CLUB  TOTAL AGE T 
==== ====================== == ===== ===== ===== 
   1 Ted Poulos             43 HCS    2844  2969 
   2 Philip Lang            38 HCS    2808  2864 
   3 Charles Powell         39 FRRC   2771  2866 
   4 Jason Grimm            26 HCS    2721       
   5 Oscar Ramirez          47 MCRRC  2530  2750 
   6 Mick Slonaker          55 HCS    2466  2987 
   7 Michael Dusenberry     27 HCS    2430       
   8 John Way               39 MCRRC  2256  2316 
   9 Danny Talmage          39 MCRRC  2254  2331 
  10 Gary Berg-Cross        61 MCRRC  2167  2949 
Open Women
RANK NAME                   AG CLUB  TOTAL AGE T 
==== ====================== == ===== ===== ===== 
   1 Denise Knickman        37 FRRC   2973  3000 
   2 Robyn Humphrey         41 HCS    2780  2977 
   3 Laurie Fisher          54 PGRC   2033  2668 
   4 Jeanne Larrison        50 AS     1896  2555 
   5 Janet Newburgh         63 MCRRC  1828  3000 
   6 Julie Thienel          41 HCS    1806  1979 
   7 Christina Caravoulias  50 MCRRC  1738  2209 
   8 Vanessa Cox            43 HCS    1735  1901 
   9 Beverly Black          44 FSC    1733  1917 
  10 Margaret Starnes       50 RASAC  1719  2000 
MALE AGE GROUP: 35 - 39
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Charles Powell         39 FRRC   2866 
   2 Philip Lang            38 HCS    2864 
   3 Danny Talmage          39 MCRRC  2331 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 35 - 39
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Denise Knickman        37 FRRC   3000 
   2 Monika Bachmann        39 MCRRC  1775 
   3 Andrea Keane-Myers     36 MCRRC  1696 
MALE AGE GROUP: 40 - 44
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Ted Poulos             43 HCS    2969 
   2 Mark Hoon              40 MCRRC  1995 
   3 Dave Berardi           44 HCS    1955 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 40 - 44
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Robyn Humphrey         41 HCS    2977 
   2 Julie Thienel          41 HCS    1979 
   3 Beverly Black          44 FSC    1917 
MALE AGE GROUP: 45 - 49
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Oscar Ramirez          47 MCRRC  2750 
   2 Ray Lake               45 HCS    2284 
   3 Taras Vizzi            45 RASAC  1846 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 45 - 49
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Robin Goodwin          46 BRRC   1978 
   2 Dorothy Beckett        47 HCS    1000 
   3 Cathy Gormley          49 AS     1000 
MALE AGE GROUP: 50 - 54
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 James Moreland         52 FSC    2486 
   2 Timothy Morgan         54 MCRRC  1968 
   3 Ron Black              50 FSC    1949 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 50 - 54
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Laurie Fisher          54 PGRC   2668 
   2 Jeanne Larrison        50 AS     2555 
   3 Christina Caravoulias  50 MCRRC  2209 
MALE AGE GROUP: 55 - 59
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Mick Slonaker          55 HCS    2987 
   2 Jim Wright             56 MCRRC  1984 
   3 Ronnie Wong            58 HCS    1980 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 55 - 59
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Christy St Clair       56 BRRC   1934 
   2 Clare Imholtz          58 PGRC   1842 
   3 Rose Malloy            56 AS     1000 
MALE AGE GROUP: 60 - 64
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Gary Berg-Cross        61 MCRRC  2949 
   2 Lou Shapiro            63 MCRRC  1997 
   3 Walter Brown           61 MCRRC  1937 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 60 - 64
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Janet Newburgh         63 MCRRC  3000 
   2 Blair Jones            61 MCRRC  1738 
   3 Betty Smith            64 MCRRC   989 
MALE AGE GROUP: 65 - 69
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Tom Cowley             67 MCRRC  2000 
   2 Michael Sanders        66 MCRRC  1598 
   3 Roger Burkhart         67 MCRRC  1000 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 65 - 69
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Tami Graf              69 DCRRC  2000 
   2 Bertha Flens           67 RASAC  1000 
MALE AGE GROUP: 70 - 74
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Robert Smith           71 MCRRC  1957 
   2 Wayne Furness          73 RASAC  1000 
   3 Jim Keat               73 PGRC   1000 
MALE AGE GROUP: 75 - 79
==== ====================== == ===== ===== 
   1 Burton Squires         77 MCRRC  1000 

For full results visit the Maryland RRCA Web site.

Maryland State Representative Phil Lang

Scorekeeper James Moreland