More than five hundred runners finished the 5th annual Rotary Resolution 10K in bucolic Leesburg, VA. The accompanying 4K race brought the total registration in this growing race to more than seven hundred. The race has generally drawn locals from Loudoun County with a strong contingency crossing the Potomac from Frederick County. This year runners came from all across Virginia and Maryland as well as from seven other states. The race offered an option to just enter the race or to purchase a handsome sweatshirt for only $12 more. All finishers received a classy medallion.

The course has a reputation for being challenging for everyone whether they reveled too much the night before or not. This year some fast times put away a number of age group records. George Probst of Blacksburg, VA became a three-time winner with a swift 33:25. He holds the current record of 32:55 with his victory in 1999. He won in 34:41 last year. Susannah Kvasnicka of Reston, VA was the only woman under forty minutes, racing 39:42. The course record was set in 2000 by Sharon Servidio in 38:35; Kvasnicka did, however, cremate the 20-29 record by more than eight minutes.

Runner-up Dustin Sweeney (left) of nearby Berryville, VA continues to strengthen his running resume. At eighteen, he ran 34:29 to reset the 19 and under record of 35:41 set by David Clay in 1999. Patsy Long of Sterling, VA was the women's runner-up in a fast time of 40:18. Tim Silva of Washington, DC at 39 broke the 30-39 record for his last time. In 2001, he improved his 35:33 of 2000 to 35:01. This year, he cracked the thirty-five minute barrier with a sharp 34:48. Third place Emily Chisholm of Ashburn, VA knocked off nearly four minutes in the nineteen and under division with her 42:20 finish. She was much faster than her third place finish the year before in 46:20. Aurora Scott held the former record in 46:00. This talented runner from southern Virginia was nine at the time.

Fourth place Ryan Donahue of Centreville, VA raced home with a fine 35:21. Chuck Moeser of Herndon, VA is the record holder in 40-49 division. This year he knew he had no chance to break his record. He had become fifty. Instead, he hosed away the mark set by a very talented Steve Ruckert who ran 36:46 in 2000. Moeser ran 35:21. Linda Boring of Frederick, MD dropped off a smart five minutes from last year to move into fourth place overall, racing 42:59. Hometown athlete Martha Cammack was fifth in 43:51.

In the sixties, E.C Williams of Herndon, VA had the record in 2000 of 58:08 and broke it last year with 57:11. This year, instead of getting older she got faster again, with a time of 56:52. For the men, Stephen Forman of McLean, VA defied age, knocking more than four minutes off the record of 49:06 set by William Hoss, Jr. in 1999. Forman was in the top ten percent overall with a superb 44:40. Frederick's George Waxter made it look easy rearranging the 70 and over record with a nifty 55:21. Ken Whitney had the former record of 56:54 in 2001. He had taken the record from prolific racer Ray Blue, now 78. Today, Blue was one of the many volunteers that made this race such a success.

My first resolution for the palidromic year of 2002 was get to races earlier. We were all generously warned to arrive an hour early. They did promise to start promptly too. After having raced 122 times in 2001, I should know that it takes time to park your car, pick up your race number, your ChampionChip, and your sweatshirt. I spent some time looking over the sweatshirt because this race always has a good one. This year was a tasteful American Flag with red and blue lettering on a traditional gray proclaiming it the first race of 2002.

The temperature was near twenty degrees so I jogged back to my car to throw off my warm-ups and tie my ChampionChip securely to my shoes. I sure am glad I had the chip because by the time I jogged back past registration to the starting line everyone had left. With the cold and a moderate wind, they had responded more to the starter's horn than my frantic bleating of "Wait up!"

No matter; my first racing adventure of the New Year was underway. As I raced down the first cross country hill chasing after a long line of colored tights and racing parkas, I tried to remember the course description. I had run another great race in town, the Leesburg 10K in August. I remembered that it started downhill and then turned rolling before ending downhill. So, I did not want to start too fast. However, as I was four minutes behind, I raced off heartily in search of company. Within minutes, I was greeted by returning runners from the 4K that had started twenty minutes before the main event. Everyone was in good cheer. As promised, the course was twenty percent grass and eighty percent paved and gravel roads. I had remembered the portions as the opposite. That was fortunate because the major part of the roads were gravel. This made the footing interesting to say the least.

As I passed runners, I noticed that I was the only one wearing shorts and a T-shirt. One runner exclaimed to another as I ran by, "He is running faster because he is cold and wants to finish quickly." It really was not that cold while running. I felt thankful that I was not one of the many volunteers standing out there and directing us along the course. The course was well marked. Even though it snaked up and down around the park like a roller coaster, there was only one path to follow and it would have been difficult to get lost.

I was breathing hard as I surged past many of the hundreds of runners but this course is worth watching. It was almost like a theme park, racing between a stable and through the woods. At one point, the path narrows between two houses as you curl up a sharp curving hill. It felt a little like a small English town. No cars, no traffic at all except runners. There was some evidence that horses may have been there at some point. With every uphill, I knew that there must be a downhill. Fortunately, the last mile is mostly down. The finish is a slight uphill but everyone has juice to get to a finish banner once it comes into sight. No one was screaming my name but I still had to hurry because the crowd was screaming someone else's and I did not want to get beaten at the wire.

When the heavy breathing was done, it was time to head back to the barn. Actually, it was a gymnasium where there was plenty of good food and hot, I repeat hot, drinks. There was a DJ playing music. Thanks to the ChampionChip, the awards came out quickly and smoothly.

Complete results of the 10K adventure run.