In the photo below, 10K runners race to the finish as a gust of wind catches the banner.

"If you run in the winter, sometimes it is going to drop on you," said masters runner Alice Franks with a laugh after she finished the 10K race. Today, more than 1,400 runners braved the weather--30 degrees, freezing snow, abundant slush--for the twentieth anniversary of the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis 10K and 5K races. Most of the time, many runners were actually smiling, maybe because of the sound of jingle bells tied to many running shoes, the costumes of fellow runners, the encouraging music blasting from at least two separate police cars along the course, or just because they were having a good time. But every time the course turned to face a certain direction, runners gave forth a chorus of ouches, groans, and sometimes even shrieks in response to the bite of wind and continuing snow blowing from that painful direction.

As in past years, runners for both the 5K and 10K races started together. They separated just before the two-mile mark and the 5K runners returned to the combined start/finish line. The 5K turnaround sorely tempted runner Nathan Nudelman (28), who has run the 10K four years in a row, but he resisted the pull and kept going on the 10K course. He finished fourteenth overall and third in the 20-29 age group with a time of 39:29.

The 5K yielded close competition for both the men and the women. The top three men finished within eleven seconds of each other. Pascal Brazey (35) took first place by only two seconds with a time of 17:21, holding off Eric Egenolf (25), who took second in 17:23. Close behind them was Jean-Christophe Arcaz (42), who finished in 17:32. The top three women finished within ten seconds of each other. Teha Kennard (25, photo left) claimed first, as Brazey did, by only two seconds with a time of 20:55, while Jeanette Perez Ecamill (23) finished second in 20:57. Melanie Gedrich claimed a close third in 21:04.

The 10K spread the top runners out more than the 5K did. In the men's competition, Joe Racine (25) finished first in 34:59, Thomas Nelson (24) took second in 35:21, and Dan Lawson (48) was third in 35:25. Racine had the clear lead heading up Pennsylvania Avenue. While the distance between Nelson and Lawson was much less, they too seemed to be set in their places well before the finish. The top three in the women's competition were even more spread out. Victoria McParland (27) finished first in 40:07, Jenny Mlinarcik (24) was second in 40:45, and Jen Maranzano (32) took third in 42:34.

The top times for both races were slower than usual. But that is to be expected under such wintry conditions. Even elite runners had to take it a little easier. As runners from the front, middle, and back of the pack said after the race, "Everyone covered the same course." The ice along L'Enfant Plaza and the slush along much of the course elicited only easy-going shrugs of acceptance. Why worry?

In honor of the cause, the largest team--which, by virtue of its size, raised the largest collective sum of money to help find a cure for arthritis--earned an award. In honor of the festive theme, the best costume also earned an award. Of course, runners also received the expected overall and age group awards. The top three men and women in both the 5K and 10K received a certificate from Clarks for a pair of shoes, a three-month membership to Sport and Health Clubs, and the appropriate gold, silver, or bronze medal. The top three in each age group received a medal. To reward and include those of us that did not place so high, race organizers drew random prizes--gift certificates from movie theaters, restaurants, and other venues--by bib number. As a result of this bounty, a large crowd relaxed and watched the awards ceremony inside of the Old Post Office Pavilion. The warmth of the inside made a welcome recovery space for runners who had braved the harsh weather.

10K Award Winners

MALE OVERALL
    1  2152 Joe Racine              25 Arlington VA         34:59 X 
    2  2580 Thomas Nelson           24 Adelphi MD           35:21 X 
    3     2 Dan Lawson              48 Gaithersburg MD      35:25 X 


FEMALE OVERALL
    1  1081 Victoria Mcparland      27 Washington DC        40:07 X 
    2  1696 Jenny Mlinarcik         24 Alexandria VA        40:45 X 
    3  1851 Jen Maranzano           32 Washington DC        42:34 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1  3859 Patrick Reaves          19 8atlanta GA          38:50 X 
    2  3850 Justin Ahn              18 Silver Spring MD     39:44 X 
    3   990 William Santos          16 Falls Church VA      40:38 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1  3845 Palo Dutko              19 College Park MD      45:30 X 
    2  2266 Angela Costales         18 Washington DC        56:03 X 
    3  1491 Courtney Fawcett        19 Hingham MA           57:35 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29
    1  2085 Michael Fox-Boyd        24 Arlington VA         36:33 X 
    2  3598 Tim King                22 Bethesda MD          38:05 X 
    3   560 David Loos              26 Rockville MD         39:28 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29
    1  1120 Kate Hudson             25 Arlington VA         42:10 X 
    2  1831 Katie Goodwin           24 Arlington VA         42:29 X 
    3   893 Michelle Gueydan        26 Alexandria VA        42:39 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39
    1  3780 Max Lockwood            33 Washington DC        35:47 X 
    2  2581 Kevin Grasmick          32 Alexandria VA        36:47 X 
    3  2880 Rob Wolfe               31 Washington DC        37:13 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39
    1  2587 Marie Sandrock          31 Alexandria VA        42:50 X 
    2  3868 Caroline Merena         38 Arlington VA         44:33 X 
    3  3472 Marta Miranda           34 Alexandria VA        44:36 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
    1  1661 Greg Tuck               41 Mechanicsville VA    41:10 X 
    2  3827 Amir Alibabaie          42 Alexandria VA        42:09 X 
    3  2245 William Clem            44 Silver Spring MD     42:22 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
    1  1152 Barb Kamm               43 Alexandria VA        47:50 V 
    2  3470 Melissa Edeburn         43 Washington DC        49:27 V 
    3  3423 Pam Thomas              43 Bethesda MD          49:46 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49
    1  2814 Sean Reilly             48 Vienna VA            34:58 V 
    2   505 Robert Sindermann       49 Arlington VA         42:28 X 
    3   977 Jose Santos             48 Falls Church VA      42:48 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49
    1  2348 Shelley Ralston         47                      44:47 X 
    2  1221 Mary Mohr               48 Adelphi MD           48:12 X 
    3  3499 Bernadette Flynn        47 Springfield VA       49:01 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54
    1  2889 Chris Arey              53 Stafford VA          41:03 X 
    2  1731 Paul Bousel             50 Burke VA             42:24 X 
    3  2502 Ryan Crocker            54 Alexandria VA        46:42 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54
    1   124 Suanne Shocket          50 Manassas VA          50:57 X 
    2  1453 Sharon Adams            53 Arlington VA         52:53 V 
    3   114 Gretchen Schlag         52 Fredericksburg VA    53:24 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59
    1   140 James Mort              57 Burke VA             49:38 X 
    2   125 Noah Nason              55 Manassas VA          49:56 X 
    3  1051 Craig Vogt              56 Woodbridge VA        52:21 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59
    1   156 Alice Franks            55 Rockville MD         46:54 X 
    2   512 Janice Jacobs           57 Arlington VA         54:45 X 
    3   107 Sandra May              57 Alexandria VA        55:54 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64
    1  4001 Lou Shapiro             62 Silver Spring MD     45:31 X 
    2  1939 William Steel           61 Washington DC        52:15 X 
    3  3789 Jim Verdler             61 Alexandria VA        54:02 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64
    1  1756 Barbara Moore           60 Washington DC      1:02:53 V 
    2   948 Maryjane Steele         64 Fairfax VA         1:15:32 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69
    1   113 Richard Williams        68 Alexandria VA        50:22 X 
    2  2445 Philip Hager            66 Falls Church VA      50:33 X 
    3    66 Patrick Coady           65 Washington DC        56:09 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69
    1  3398 Margareta Toews         67 Washington DC      1:29:01 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74
    1  1437 Thomas Jones            71 Bowie MD             59:03 X 
    2   138 Robert Blinn            70 Washington DC      1:05:43 V 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74


MALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 99


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 99

5K Award Winners

MALE OVERALL
    1  2635 Pascal Brazey           35 Washington DC        17:21 V 
    2  3594 Eric Egenolf            25 Arlington VA         17:23 V 
    3  1792 Jean-Christophe Arcaz   42 North Bethesda MD    17:32 V 


FEMALE OVERALL
    1  1642 Teha Kennard            25 Washington DC        20:55 V 
    2  1700 Jeanette Perez Escamill 23 MExico MX            20:57 V 
    3     9 Melanie Gedrich         21 Annandale VA         21:04 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1  3855 Daniel Abed             18 College Park MD    17:54 V 
    2  3862 Samy Muaddi             19 Maple Shade NJ     18:27 V 
    3  2632 Michael Ross            16 Dumfries VA        18:40 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1  3752 Elise Lang              19 Chevy Chase MD     24:00 V 
    2  2691 Shay Smith              14 Kensington MD      24:35 V 
    3  3864 Brenda Baclanski        18 Ijamsville MD      24:52 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29
    1  1044 Michael Toner           28 Alexandria VA      18:29 V 
    2  3414 Neil Dewar              25 Scotland UK        18:36 V 
    3  3856 Michael D'Andrea        21 Olney MD           19:34 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29
    1  2657 Mindy Reese             28 Richmond VA        21:43 V 
    2   303 Elizabeth Jones         26 Arlington VA       22:43 V 
    3  2313 Jessica Quinn           23 Washington DC      23:37 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39
    1  3761 Nate Reilly             32 Washington DC      18:59 V 
    2  3774 Paul Cachion            36 Arlington VA       20:08 V 
    3  3411 Ian Soper               32 Arlington VA       20:17 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39
    1  2972 Amy Seldin              37 Arlington VA       21:57 V 
    2  2373 Wendy Bailey            34 Bethesda MD        23:27 V 
    3  2659 Marybeth Wicker         33 Richmond VA        24:42 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
    1  3444 Alan Thatcher           40 Manassas VA        18:19 V 
    2  1810 Eric Schvimmer          40 Washington DC      24:32 V 
    3  1822 Steve McCollum          41 Washington DC      26:11 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44
    1  3779 Verna Van Wert          41 Gaithersburg MD    23:17 X 
    2  2064 Susan Kappel            42 Arlington VA       28:46 V 
    3  3096 Patricia Reid           40 Washington DC      29:14 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49
    1   663 Peter Hemphill          45 Centreville VA     19:46 V 
    2   410 David Dickson           49 Olney MD           21:30 V 
    3   195 Peter Blank             49 Annandale VA       23:47 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49
    1  2517 Joan Nugent             45 Silver Spring MD   24:38 V 
    2  1773 Mari Ann Buckwalter     45 Alexandria VA      33:24 V 
    3   596 Dorothy Scheffel        46 Alexandria VA      33:36 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54
    1  2703 Pat Garvey              52 Bethesda MD        20:14 V 
    2  3468 David Gayer             52 Mclean VA          21:45 V 
    3  3763 Jon Palks               54 Bowie MD           22:10 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54
    1   175 Elizabeth Sadoff        54 Washington DC      26:56 V 
    2  3435 Mary Cheh               53 Washington DC      28:52 V 
    3  1455 Rosario Lozano Basta    50 Potomac MD         29:45 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59
    1  1099 David Parina            57 Chevy Chase MD     31:40 X 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59
    1   927 Lucia Davidson          58 Arlington VA       25:53 V 
    2  2098 Susan Gilmore           55 Alexandria VA      34:55 V 
    3  3500 Susan Sanchez           58 Annandale VA       45:16 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64
    1  3773 Roger Kilgore           60 Great Mills MD     21:27 V 
    2     8 Fred Gedrich            61 Annandale VA       23:14 V 
    3   128 Bill Sollers            64 Silver Spring MD   25:52 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64
    1  3771 Dee Nelson              60 Gaithersburg MD    24:29 V 
    2  1245 Sharon Wright           60 Washington DC      33:27 X 
    3   126 Susan McGregor          62 Washington DC      36:09 X 


MALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69
    1  3536 Tony Measham            69 Chevy Chase MD     27:49 V 
    2  2701 William Creighton       67 Vienna VA          43:36 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69


MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74
    1  2795 Allan Weingold          73 Washington DC      63:58 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74
    1  1583 Jacqueline O'neil       72 Washington DC      36:59 V 


MALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 99
    1  2331 Johannes Stiller        76 Dumfries VA        23:06 V 
    2  1599 Philip Zenchoff         76 Silver Spring MD   41:35 V 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 99
    1   191 Sister Maria            79 Washington DC      57:26 V 

See complete results of the 10K and 5K races.

Check back for the Photo Gallery.

For more information about the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis, visit the race Web site.