The racing season officially opens in Washington, DC on Saturday, March 15, 2003, at 9:30 a.m., with the 15th Annual St. Patrick's day 10K. There will be a 1K noncompetitive Leprechaun's Leap fun run for the wee people. This race attracts the area's best runners and has something for the entire family; it's an event not to be missed. Last year there were 4,175 finishers (2,133 males, 2,042 females).

It all started on March 13, 1988 and the theme was "Help Shake Off Old Man Winter." The only shaking was the competition at the first annual St. Patrick's Day 10K. There were 983 finishers (709 males, 274 females). The inaugural winners were Scott Celley of Washington (32:19) and Andrea Volpe of Springfield, Va., (36:32). The masters division winners were Paul Zink of Reston, Va., (35:20) and Chris Stockdale of Alexandria, Va., (44:12).

This year's race will start and finish at 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, near Freedom Plaza. The course (USATF Certified DC02044RT) will be slightly modified from last year but will be flat and fast.

In 1999, Philippe Rolly of Team Pacers of Old Town Alexandria snapped the three year winning streak of the Irishman, Edmund Burke, now of the Georgetown Running Company, and set the event record in 30:27. Burke had times of 30:52 (1996), 31:06 (1997), and 30:50 (1998). Rolly returned in 2001 for another win (30:51), and Burke has yet to reclaim the title. In the history of the race there have been seven times under 31 minutes. Will someone go under 30 minutes this year?

The women's record was set in 1989 by Susanna Augustauskas at 35:42. Last year, Casey Smith of Arlington, Va., came within striking distance of the record with 35:57. There have been two multiple-year winners, Jennifer Stearns of Team Pacers (1997-36:17, 1998-36:49), and Naoko Ishibe of Silver Spring, Md., (1999-36:05, 2000-36:44).

Jim Hage of Kensington, Md., is the only masters division runner who has won in both divisions. He was the open winner in 1994 (31:17) and is a two-time masters winner and record holder (2001- 32:19). Hage won the division last year in 32:48.

Patti Shull of Ashburn, Va., set the masters division record for women in 1999 (37:12) and was the division winner (and second overall) in 2000 (37:49). Linda Wack of Germantown, Md., is the other two-time multiple-year winner (1997-39:06, 1998-38:36).

The 2002 champions are Chris Banks (30:55) now of Albuquerque, N.M., and Casey Smith (35:57) of Washington. The masters, Jim Hage (32:48) and Win Persina (39:52) of Washington.

"I learned that I could compete with the Irish on an Irish holiday. I didn't know it was Edmund until mile 2. I was pleased with the effort today. The wind and cold weren't uncomfortable coming back. Most of the runners were cheering for Edmund," stated Chris Banks last year.

"At about the fourth mile I realized there was a whole pack that was coming back to me and that's when I thought I would try to keep pushing and maybe I could catch up. It never really crossed my mind that I could win until the fifth mile. Even after I took the lead and up until the finish line, I was still thinking I could, and probably would get out-kicked at the very end," Casey Smith commented after last year's race. (Photo left: Casey Smith finished just two seconds ahead of Kristen Pierce Barry.)

"My PR is 37:53 but that was back in the UK, pre-kids in the 80s! I haven't run a 10K in almost two years. In this race I ran my fastest time since coming to the US, beating my previous best by 1 minute 7 seconds. As you can imagine I am very pleased with that, although, I am hoping that one day I will go under 40 minutes again," said Julie Hayden of Ashburn, Va., after taking third in the masters division last year (40:13).

An exhibition of Irish dancing will be performed by the O'Neill-James School of Irish Dancing immediately after the race at Freedom Plaza. There will be refreshments and lots of random prizes during the award ceremony. Awards will be presented to the top 10 finishers overall (male and female). Age group prizes will be awarded in categories from 19 & under and in five year age groups thereafter up to 80 and over.

Registration is available online at www.runwashington.com. Take advantage of the $20 entry fee until February 17, 2003.

For complete race details and race history, see the race Web site on the Featured Races page of the Washington Running Report Web site, or contact Capital Running Company's Race Hotline at (301) 871-0400.

See a report of the 2002 race with photos and a list of award winners.