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|  24 Years and Still Running Strong Along the Parkway 24th George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Miler and 10th 5K By George Banker February 22, 2008 Alexandria, VA For the Washington Running Report
The race will benefit the Olympic Chapter (Alexandria) Boys and
Girls Club. The supporting sponsors included Pacers Running
Stores, and New Balance and others. The early registration is $40.00 for the 10 miler ($30 for
active duty military) and $25.00 for the 5K. In person
registration, Pacers at 1301 King Street, Alexandria, Va.,
703-836-1463. Full race details and on-line registration at web
site. All registered runners will receive a New Balance
technical t-shirt. To volunteer at the start line or finish line on race day
contact George Banker at monkbank@runpacers.com or monkbank@comcast.net.
Awards in the 10 miler and 5K will be $4,050.
Open (M/F Master (M/F) Wheelchair (M/F) 1. $500 1. $200 1. $75 2. $300 2. $150 3. $200 3. $100
BAE Systems sponsors the General Douglas MacArthur Cup (10-mile
only). Team scores are based on times of the top five active
duty runners (minimum one female to score) of the Air Force,
Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. The winning service
will receive a $1,000 donation to that service's relief
organization. In 1886, a group of Alexandrians formed the Mount Vernon Avenue
Association which lobbied for a highway between Mount Vernon
and Washington, DC. Congress passed the 1928 Capper-Crampton
Act which approved the concept and on May 29, 1930 Congress
approved the construction. Racing along the Parkway dates back to it is opening on January
16, 1932. The first was the Evening Star Marathon sponsored by
The Washington Star and WMAL. The Grand Marshal was General
Douglas MacArthur. The race went on to determine the U.S.
national distance championship, the National AAU Marathon. In
1935, it was won by Pat Dennis of Detroit, MI. Two and half miles into the race the entrance is passed to Fort
Hunt Park which served as a Civilian Conservation Corps camp
where it became an interrogation site for German prisoners
during World War II. It was known as Post Office Box 1142 to
those who worked there.
Event Records
10 Miler Open 2007 Demessa Tefera 24 47:30 Ethiopia 2007 Tatiana Chulakh 24 55:39 Russia Master 2006 Albert Okemwa 40 50:39 Kenya 2005 Martha Merz 42 1:01:29 Annandale, VA
The George Washington Parkway Classic was a 15K (1985 until
2001). There was only one three-time winner, Joseph Kipsang of
Kenya (Takoma Park, MD) '86-44:56, '87-46:44, and '88-45:46).
The local female standout was Martha Orem (now Merz) who won
the first year with 57:41 and returned to win again in 1998
with 56:26. The standouts in the 5K are Jacqueline Concaugh-Gruendel who is
the only four-time consecutive year winner ('03-17:53, '04-
17:27, '05-17:31, and '06-18:03). The master standout is Maria
Spinnler, record holder '02-18:19, '03-18:32, '05-18:56,
and '06-19:08. "I didn't have any expectations going into the race, and I knew
that Mark Stickley was going to be tough. I figured Greg
Cauller was more my speed, and even chatted with him up in the
first half-mile to see what time he thought he would run. He
said his training had been limited, but he thought 55:00 was
where he was. Immediately after our talk, he pulled into a pack
with Stickley, so I followed, and ran with Stickley until the 8-
mile point. Those first three miles I questioned whether I was
running a little over my abilities; at four miles I told myself
to stick with Mark until five; at six miles I knew by then that
I could run with Stickley and began to gather a plan for taking
off, which I decided would be at the eight-mile point. At eight
miles, I went ahead of him and ran as hard as I could, which
nearly killed me in the final mile, but I pushed hard to the
finish." stated Doug Mock of Columbia, MD, first master in 2007
with 53:39. "Once I heard Doug Mock was running I knew I'd have my hands
full, figuring he wouldn't be racing if he wasn't ready. I had
beaten all the other competitors not long before and felt
pretty confident, more or less. Doug stayed on my tail through
mile eight then pulled away with another runner (Kenyan?). I
was spent and couldn't go with them. I really felt drained
coming into the race. I'm not sure why but, and I hate to use
this as an excuse, I stayed up late a lot that week following
the VA Tech tragedy. I just didn't feel rested. It showed I
think considering my 10 mile split at Shamrock was almost as
fast. I was hoping to run in the mid 53's. It just wasn't
there," stated Mark Stickley of Winchester, VA, second master
in 2007 with 54:16. "I challenged Leslie Minnix-Wolfe shortly after the eight mile
mark, but she surged ahead. I had been working pretty hard
since the fifth mile and decided to wait a little longer. At
mile nine, I made my move just before a big hill on Franklin
Street, and she didn't come with me. My last mile was brutal
because I really ran hard thinking that at least one of them
(Leslie or Maria Spinnler) would challenge me (and I don't have
a kick) but it was not to be. I was definitely a happy camper...
especially because I haven't felt particularly strong mentally
at my last several races. This was a huge one for me! It was
truly a masters' women race , we went 3rd, 4th and 5th overall
which made it exciting", stated Laura Freix of Team Pacers
Brooks placing first master in 2004 with the then new record of
1:04:25. This was her third consecutive master's win.
On-line registration and full race details are available at www.gwparkwayclassic.com.
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