Patrick Reaves (23) of College Park, MD (in photo) enjoyed his win last year in 56:47 that he decided to do an encore. It was clear early that he would need a faster time, which he was delighted to supply, winning by a half minute ahead of Matt Fortin (24) of Annapolis, MD in 55:29. Third place Justin Fritzius (24) of Purcellville, VA finished third in 56:27. Though the race announced that the weather would by more accommodating this year, the early morning humidity helped to steam cook the runners who dared to challenges the hills.

The Men's Olympic Marathon was run in a tepid eighty degrees. Here runners faced a much warmer greeting. After crossing the mile long bridge runners were told the hills were over. Those little risers in the sun soaked final mile were hardly worth mentioning. In past years the race ended at the bottom of the hill by Gate 5. So many runners complained that he was a hardship to walk up the hill to the stadium after the race. With a twisted grin, the race decided make the race end by running the final hundred meters UP that hill.

Last year Sheryl Kline (45) of Arnold, MD boldly snatched the masters crown in a fourth overall 1:08:40. With the gun she confidently raced down the drive to Taylor Avenue hoping to improve on her time. This course makes you pay for a fast start. With the first 5K nearly all down hill or flat, runners lose sight of idea that the humidity will humble and the hills will humiliate in the second half. She finished in a solid but disappointing 1:10:24 for second in her division. Cindy Conant (47) of Kensington, MD is a hard worker on the race course. She does not look around. She grinds out the miles in a relentless battle, which she won in 1:08:55.

Meanwhile, local runner Christina Morganti (43) of Severna Park, MD (in photo) knows this course well and earned the masters title in a swift 1:05:42. This was a predictable outcome given her overall win at the ZOOMA 10K in June with 40:18. The big surprise came from the north; Doreen McCoubrie (46) of Malvern, PA came close to the masters record winning it all in 1:02:43. She dominated a younger field, which included fourth runners less than sixty-five minutes. Christine Ramsey (25) of Baltimore, MD was runner-up in 1:03:09 and the only women close enough to see McCoubrie finish. Pamela Maldeis (26) of Towson, MD was third in 1:04:24.

For the men's masters title, Maurice Pointer of Baltimore, MD is getting used to calling that spot his own. Though he slowed slightly from last year's 59:32, his 60:19 was nearly a minute ahead of Jerry Henderson (42) of Bel Air, MD who was next and won his division. Pointer was 21st overall as eighteen runners bested an hour for the race.

To be young again; all the male age group winners teen through thirty-four finished below the elite-line sixty minutes. Fellow racers from nearby Pasadena, MD had a spirited duel with Zach Sullivan (17) out touching the wall in 58:45 ahead of Ryan Topita. Kyle Schmid (23) of Annapolis, MD matched last's year winning time of 56:47 to take his division and earn fifth place overall. Matt Klaschus (21) of Street, MD was runner-up a top ten 57:54. Last year's runner-up Kent Werner (29) of Columbia, MD Craig Schmidt (25) of Annapolis, MD started thirteen seconds late and spent the entire race hurrying to gun down Carlos Renjito (25) of Columbia, MD. He never got within fifty meters but took the runner-up spot with a pesky one second chip time victory.

Christopher Bain (31) of North Bethesda, MD easily took his spot of gold in 56:58, sixth overall. John Digiovanni (32) of Arlington, VA was the oldest Open runner and did battle early with top sub master Pekka Stenholm (35) of Columbia, MD (in photo). Stenholm (#5476) won this year in 58:34 with Digiovanni a few back in 58:47. Stenholm had a six minute cushion over his age division rivals.

For the young women, Brittney Rooks (14) of Baltimore, MD went out conservatively. In the spring of 2007, she had run a 1:06:40 Cherry Pit 10M. Still, the heat of last year's Annapolis race left her in 1:11:19, albeit the division winner. Her coach/dad Remus Medley made sure she stayed within herself as she is destined for big things. She finished in a respectable 1:13:07. Meanwhile Brianna Feerst, also 14, of Brick, NJ took off early and won convincingly in 1:10:11. Jean Dietz (23) of Springfield, VA left no doubt, torching her division by a half mile to win in 1:11:01. In the 25-29 division, it was a split second at the tape by seven seconds by chip as Kate Sheedy (25) Arlington, VA and Michelle, Harburg (26) of Washington, DC crossed in an identical 1:05:00. With a quarter mile to go Harburg hustles up to the final hill.

Sharon Donovan (33) of Washington, DC easily reached first in 1:06:25. Sari Stenholm (30) of Columbia, MD was the next competitor to finish in 1:09:03 but she earned the "bronze" sailboat trophy as Kristin Blanck (31) of Annapolis, MD started more than two minutes later, chipping away to silver. Francesca Dominici (38) of Baltimore, MD secured the top spot with an excellent 1:10:46.

Masters
Brian Daugherty (48) of Edgewater, MD seems ageless as he was the third fastest master, winning his division in 1:01:39. Charles Powell (42) of Joppa, MD had a tough race after winning the masters in 2006. His 1:03:09 is more than a half mile behind last year's effort. Weems McFadden (51) of Columbia, MD took off early and repeated as the grandmaster winner. The field of 50 plus was deep again this year. Usually the older runners get hit hardest by the heat. This year it was their blazing speed that caused all the heat. Joe Hanle (51) of Columbia, MD was next in 1:05:51 as he watched Wilhelm (Andy) Anderson (52) of Annapolis, MD cross ahead of him by thirty meters. His chip time was four seconds faster.

Malcolm Senior (57) of New Market, MD nonchalantly cruised to an easy win in 1:07:53, nearly as fast as his 1:06:45 at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile in the spring. Ronnie Wong (61) of Catonsville, MD (in photo) spritely danced out early and had another solid race in 1:09:48. Last year Bill Joyce (64) of Herndon, VA was a distant third more than a half mile behind Wong in 1:11:57. This year as Joyce finishes his 60-64 victory march, he has moved to the top of the heap with a sparkling 1:06:41. Charles Shue (65) of Annapolis, MD came out of nowhere to hoist a victory flag, winning his division by nearly a mile. Even starting three minutes late did not hurt his chances a bit. His chip time of 1:08:53 easily takes down the 1:09:24 set by the reigning division leader for 2008, Lou Shapiro at Cherry Blossom. That flatter cooler course is much easier to race. Ask runner-up George Yannakakis (76) of Sparks, MD. He ran the spring classic in 1:25:11 and settled for 1:34:10 here in late August.

Kline did hold off Monica Grillo (44) of Arlington, VA again this year though both were minutes slower than last year when Kline won the masters and Grillo won her division. Grillo triumphed in her division again this year in 1:11:06. Kline earned the second spot in her division with 1:10:24. Next year they will both be in the same division. Slender Robin Goodwin (50) of Timonium, MD debuted in the grandmaster field and won in 1:15:21. Mary Cupo (52) of Baltimore, MD was not far behind in 1:16:20. Karen Erb mastered her division with a top flight 1:17:25.

For the last couple of years Chris Craun of Bethesda, MD has had her way with the senior circuit. Lanky Rose Malloy (60) of Annapolis, MD quietly stepped up to the plate. You never hear her brag but she is a multiple overall winner of the race with the top masters time. She ran 60:36 in 1991 at age 43. Still, Craun was with her the whole way. Malloy sealed the deal with a 1:20:59 with Craun in 1:21:30. Heide Moebius (69) of Lancaster, PA ventures south to keep the division humble. She won at Cherry Blossom with 1:25:54. Here she hosed the field with 1:30:31. Felicity Hawes (65) of Gaithersburg, MD is a veteran of the 50 mile racing. Though she has not raced as much in some years, she finished runner-up with a very credible 1:40:21.

Preparation for this size of a race is always daunting. The field is closed at 5,500. Even with 33 years of experience it takes hundreds of hardworking volunteers to make this race such a continued success. One water stop volunteer noted with pride just how many runners graciously thanked them for their help. Try to run this race without well-manned water/gatorade stops all along the course. The volunteers such as Steve Solbeck pictured here with Lainey Bernstein take pride in making the race memorable. Solbeck a former elite masters runner earned the coveted volunteer award from Montgomery County. Now after many years racing Annapolis he has spent the past few years helping to hydrate the runners here in Annapolis. Bernstein is in her fifth year at "battle station one," the first water stop on the course. Solbeck noted, "You don't have time to even look up" as they pour through the first station, "but I love it."

After the race, runners are herded past the chip collection gate with cool, wet Annapolis souvenir wash clothes and lots of cooling fluids, towards the premium redemption center. Turn in a chip and you get a long sleeved microfiber running jacket that is convertible to a vest. Still, further past the large runner's expo is the cherished food and drink area. This year there were again the preciously cold and sweet smoothies. The beer truck was on hand with Michelob and O'Doul's for older runners. There were lots of bananas, chocolate chip cookies, bagels, watermelon, and power bars. Ice would have been nice but at least the area behind the stadium was mostly shaded. Soon after runners finished results were posted and the awards got under way around 10:30. The awards are the traditional glass sailboats in three sizes for the age group winners.

The race continues its traditional success as runners already prepare to pen in next year's date.

Awards

             CLASS                                              CHIP       FINAL
  ID#  PLACE PLACE            FINISHER                          TIME        TIME      PACE
Open Men
    3     1    1  Patrick Reaves, 23, Silver Spring, MD           55:28    55:29      5:33  
 1561     2    2  Matt Fortin, 24, Annapolis, MD                  55:59    55:59      5:36  
 1620     3    3  Justin Fritzius, 24, Purcellville, VA           56:27    56:27      5:39  
Open Women
 3266    33    1  Doreen McCoubrie, 46, Malvern, PA             1:02:40    1:02:43    6:16  
 4056    37    2  Christine Ramsey, 25, Baltimore, MD           1:03:07    1:03:09    6:19  
 3095    49    3  Pamela Maldeis, 26, Towson, MD                1:04:24    1:04:24    6:26  
Masters Men
    6    21    1  Maurice Pointer, 52, Baltimore, MD            1:00:19    1:00:19    6:02 
Masters Women
 3518    66    1  Christina Morganti, 43, Severna Park, MD      1:05:39    1:05:42    6:34  
Men
Men 19 & Under
 4817    12    1  Zach Sullivan, 17, Pasadena, MD                 58:43    58:45      5:52  
 4951    13    2  Ryan Topita, 17, Pasadena, MD                   58:45    58:48      5:53  
 2522    17    3  Trevor Keen, 18, Crownsville, MD                59:23    59:24      5:56  
Men 20 - 24
 4364     5    1  Kyle Schmid, 23, Annapolis, MD                  56:47    56:47      5:41  
 2652     9    2  Matthew Klaschus, 21, Street, MD                57:53    57:54      5:47  
 1097    16    3  Seth Deaton, 22, Annapolis, MD                  59:19    59:23      5:56  
Men 25 - 29
   10     4    1  Kent Werner, 29, Columbia, MD                   56:31    56:32      5:39  
 4367     7    2  Craig Schmidt, 25, Annapolis, MD                57:25    57:38      5:46  
 5477     8    3  Carlos Renjito, 25, Columbia, MD                57:26    57:27      5:45  
Men 30 - 34
  159     6    1  Christopher Bain, 31, North Bethesda, MD        56:57    56:58      5:42  
 1165    14    2  John Digiovanni, 32, Arlington, VA              58:46    58:47      5:53  
 2825    18    3  Ryan Larson, 30, Naperville, IL                 59:57    59:59      6:00  
Men 35 - 39
 5476    11    1  Pekka Stenholm, 35, Columbia, MD                58:32    58:34      5:51  
  898    52    2  Alan Cook, 37, Annapolis, MD                  1:04:39    1:04:50    6:29  
 4405    80    3  Alan Schwartz, 36, Washington, DC             1:06:23    1:06:32    6:39  
Men 40 - 44
 2097    25    1  Jerry Henderson, 42, Bel Air, MD              1:01:07    1:01:07    6:07  
 4966    36    2  Robert Tregoning, 42, Silver Spring, MD       1:02:55    1:03:02    6:18  
    9    38    3  Charles Powell  II, 42, Joppa, MD             1:03:07    1:03:09    6:19  
Men 45 - 49
 1052    28    1  Brian Daugherty, 48, Edgewater, MD            1:01:39    1:01:39    6:10  
 1804    43    2  Carl Goldschmidt, 46, Doylestown, PA          1:03:43    1:03:44    6:22  
    4    47    3  Matthew Mace, 48, Arnold, MD                  1:04:21    1:04:23    6:26 
Men 50 - 54
 3284    55    1  Weems McFadden, 51, Columbia, MD              1:04:49    1:04:51    6:29 
 1986    65    2  Joe Hanle, 51, Columbia, MD                   1:05:38    1:05:51    6:35 
   96    68    3  Wilhelm Anderson, 52, Annapolis, MD           1:05:42    1:05:44    6:34  
Men 55 - 59
 4444   102    1  Malcolm Senior, 57, New Market, MD            1:07:44    1:07:53    6:47  
 1116   140    2  Thomas Dekornfeld, 55, Annapolis, MD          1:09:23    1:09:48    6:59  
 2293   173    3  Jim Hunter, 57, Fort Collins, CO              1:10:40    1:12:58    7:18  
Men 60 - 64
 2446    87    1  William Joyce, 64, Herndon, VA                1:06:38    1:06:41    6:40  
 5349   133    2  Ronnie Wong, 61, Catonsville, MD              1:09:08    1:09:15    6:55  
 1335   292    3  Dwight Edris, 62, Leesport, PA                1:13:58    1:13:59    7:24  
Men 65 - 69
 4518   124    1  Charles Shue, 65, Annapolis, MD               1:08:53    1:11:45    7:10  
  183   317    2  Sonny Barber, 67, Falls Church, VA            1:14:34    1:14:40    7:28  
  815   515    3  Joseph Clorety, 65, Crownsville, MD           1:17:53    1:18:02    7:48  
Men 70 & Up
 3111  1204    1  James Mandrin, 71, Annapolis, MD              1:25:55    1:26:59    8:42  
 5381  1906    2  George Yannakakis, 76, Sparks Glencoe, MD     1:31:47    1:34:10    9:25  
 4396  3356    3  John Schultz, 76, Wilmington, DE              1:44:48    1:45:45   10:34  
Women
Women 19 & Under
 1454   157    1  Brianna Feerst, 14, Brick, NJ                 1:10:01    1:10:11    7:01  
 4216   254    2  Brittney Rooks, 14, Baltimore, MD             1:13:07    1:13:08    7:19  
  345   299    3  Laura Blevins, 17, Pasadena, MD               1:14:07    1:16:25    7:38  
Women 20 - 24
    7   175    1  Jenn Dietz, 23, Springfield, VA               1:10:45    1:11:01    7:06  
 2679   287    2  Karen Kobus, 22, Silver Spring, MD            1:13:53    1:14:32    7:27  
 1104   311    3  Chelsea Decker, 21, Annapolis, MD             1:14:25    1:15:02    7:30  
Women 25 - 29
 4479    58    1  Kate Sheedy, 25, Arlington, VA                1:04:51    1:05:00    6:30  
 2004    59    2  Michelle Harburg, 26, Washington, DC          1:04:58    1:05:00    6:30
 4053   108    3  Laura Ramos, 29, North Bethesda, MD           1:08:10    1:08:12    6:49  
Women 30 - 34
 1216    79    1  Sharon Donovan, 33, Washington, DC            1:06:23    1:06:25    6:38  
  338   115    2  Kristin Blanck, 31, Annapolis, MD             1:08:24    1:10:42    7:04  
 5479   128    3  Sari Stenholm, 30, Columbia, MD               1:09:03    1:09:03    6:54  
Women 35 - 39
 1202   171    1  Francesca Dominici, 38, Baltimore, MD         1:10:36    1:10:46    7:05  
  678   236    2  Colleen Carroll, 35, Davidsonville, MD        1:12:37    1:13:01    7:18  
  950   241    3  Jessica Coyne, 36, Annapolis, MD              1:12:48    1:13:04    7:18  
Women 40 - 44
    8   180    1  Monica Grillo, 44, Arlington, VA              1:10:51    1:11:06    7:07  
 1763   286    2  Cheryl Gilman, 40, Annapolis, MD              1:13:50    1:14:04    7:24  
 1887   288    3  Sandra Griffin, 41, Upper Marlboro, MD        1:13:55    1:14:06    7:25  
Women 45 - 49
  869   122    1  Cindy Conant, 47, Kensington, MD              1:08:53    1:08:55    6:53  
    5   167    2  Sheryl Kline, 45, Arnold, MD                  1:10:23    1:10:24    7:02  
 3030   242    3  Jennifer Lundeen, 48, Port Republic, MD       1:12:50    1:13:29    7:21 
Women 50 - 54
 1825   347    1  Robin Goodwin, 50, Timonium, MD               1:15:03    1:15:21    7:32 
 1006   412    2  Mary Cupo, 52, Baltimore, MD                  1:16:12    1:16:20    7:38  
 5472   442    3  Dorothy Beckett, 50, Columbia, MD             1:16:47    1:16:54    7:41  
Women 55 - 59
 1400   484    1  Karen Erb, 57, Alexandria, VA                 1:17:25    1:17:33    7:45  
 3447   750    2  Linda Mills, 58, Salisbury, MD                1:21:09    1:21:28    8:09 
 1072   820    3  Peggy Davis, 56, Vienna, VA                   1:21:58    1:22:48    8:17  
Women 60 - 64
 3098   703    1  Rose Malloy, 60, Annapolis, MD                1:20:29    1:20:59    8:06 
  960   727    2  Chris Craun, 62, Bethesda, MD                 1:20:44    1:21:30    8:09  
 2509  1082    3  Linda Kearney, 62, Oak Hill, VA               1:24:45    1:25:25    8:32  
Women 65 - 69
 3474  1724    1  Heide Moebius, 69, Lancaster, PA              1:30:17    1:30:31    9:03  
 2055  2848    2  Felicity Hawes, 65, Gaithersburg, MD          1:39:35    1:40:21   10:02 
 4503  3165    3  Molly Sherwood, 66, Annapolis, MD             1:42:58    1:46:14   10:37 

Jeanne Larrison of Chesapeake Beach, MD waves as she approaches the end of the race. She started the whole shebang with her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

Full Race Day Results
Race Day Report for 2008
Photo Gallery 2008
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