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17th Rockville Rotary Twilight Runfest
By James Moreland July 21, 2002 Rockville, MD For the Washington Running Report
There are hundreds of races to be run in the DC metro area, but
like the Cherry Blossom in the spring and the Marine Corps
Marathon in the fall, the Twilighter is the crowning jewel of
the summer. Running clubs from all around send their best
warriors to do battle in the streets of Rockville. The home team
Montgomery County Road Runners, even with more than three
thousand members, never has an easy time. This year there was a
plethora of fast teams, including the Tidewater Striders from
Virginia Beach and the Baltimore Running Coalition, a breakaway
powerhouse from the always-strong Baltimore Road Runners.Race director Denny Steinauer, in the guise of the third
Saturday in July, usually picks the hottest day of the year for
the rare evening race. Tonight the temperature was milder though
the humidity was signature Washington area summer. The hint of
rain was nixed at the start but runners were treated to sprays
of water from many of the good neighbor spectators in the
friendly streets of Rockville. Nearly three thousand runners signed up for the race that was
made so smooth by the nearly four hundred volunteers. Water
stops were everywhere and the volunteers let everyone know that,
if they missed the first handoff, another person would be ready
with a cup of water just a few yards ahead. These volunteers
really cared about making racing easier for the runners. After
the race, the finish line crew was thoughtful, dishing out water
and helping untie ChampionChips from tired shoes. The fire
department uncorked a fireplug and sent showers thirty feet into
the air, bringing blessed relief for sweaty finishers. While lots of top regulars stayed away, I saw Darrell General
stretching at the start. He was the only returning runner from
the top sixteen of last year's race. Edmund Burke was seen
striding up and down the road. Usually barefoot Eron Ferreira
was seen in running shoes lining up. Many other top runners vied
for position in front of the ChampionChip mats as former MCRRC
president Kari Keaton signaled the 8:45 PM start of the race.
Immediately a flood of chirping chips sounded loud into the
night as the athletes raced up North Washington Street toward
the first turn at the Post Office about a half-mile away. The men's race was mostly a four-man event. Ben Cooke (25) of
Silver Spring, MD won by about forty meters in 24:28. General
(36) nipped Kyle Smits (23) of Washington, DC by a second in
24:37. Burke (33) trailed about twenty meters back in 24:42.
Already an established star at twenty-five, John Suspic of
Baltimore, MD rounded out the open money with 25:11. The women always make a strong showing at this race, even with
only four of the top sixteen returning from last year. There is
usually a ringer too. This year's winner was 19-year-old
Atalelech Kitema of Washington, DC. She showed no mercy, only
her heels, as she cruised to victory with an impressive 27:24.
Naoko Ishibe (33) of Silver Spring, MD was runner-up again this
year in 28:08, slowing slightly from last year's 27:46. Cathy
Pugsley (33) of Annandale, VA, back another sixty meters,
finished third in 28:31. Russian born Irina Suvorova (31) of
Rockville, MD edged out Arlington, VA's Casey Smith (23) 29:01
to 29:04 for fourth place money. Many runners mentioned slower times from last year's race, which
had nearly five hundred more finishers. Still, age may play a
bigger part for most of us. Not so for young fifty-year-old
Chuck Moeser of Sterling, VA. He was the second masters runner
overall in 27:10, placing 30th in 27:11. So how was your race
Chuck? "Well, it was my slowest ever, but I had a lot of fun!"
The top masters runner was Dai Roberts (41) of Virginia Beach,
VA in 26:26. This year's top fifty included a lot of teenagers
and early twenties finishers. Ted Poulos (40) of McLean, VA
worked his way past many of them to earn the third masters award
in 27:36. This race follows the plan that ages 20-34 will get their due in
the open category.
Marcus Hershberger of (19) of Montgomery Village, MD led the
teens with an age group win in 25:37. That was just out of the
money in sixth overall. Greg Whitely (35) of Washington, DC won
his division in 25:55. Frank Kurtz (41) of Thurmont, MD made a
rare journey south to scarf up a win in 28:09. Peter Kirk (45)
of Rockville, MD was fourth master winning his division in
27:54. Richard Morgan (50) of Silver Spring, MD hung on to gold
with 30:55. Rarely beaten Patrick Griffith (57) of Alexandria,
VA finished second in the division to newcomer Dan Murray (57)
of Keswick, VA 30:15 in 29:49. Having moved from Springfield to
Keswick, VA, Cal Folwer (63) boosted a win in 33:13. Dale Dug
(67) of Ridgefield, CA spoiled Arlington's Chan Robbins's (65)
debut into the division with a spectacular 33:25. Larry
Dickerson (70) of Burke, VA muscled his way to an easy division
win in 38:22. Hometown favorite Nianxiang Xie (75) again won his
division, albeit a new one this year, in 42:57. For the master's women, last year's champion, Gretchen Triantos
(45) of Rockville, MD, started strong but could not match last
year's 30:21. She settled for second in 31:01. This year's
champion, nearly a foot taller at 6'1", is national class
triathlete and Olympic marathon qualifier Lee DiPietro (44) of
Ruxton, MD. She was 12th overall in 30:38. Laura Freix (42) of
Centreville, VA was third in 32:15. For the youngsters, the Buzzell family of Middletown, MD came a-
calling. Emily (16) squeezed in front of sister Randy (19) 32:02
to 32:06. Patty Fulton (36) of Silver Spring, MD slowed thirty
seconds from last year but easily won the division in 29:31. A
new face emerged in the 40-44 division with a win by Potomac,
MD's Sue Whicker (42) in 36:42. Betty Blank (49) of Falls
Church, VCA took a last shot at Linda Wack (46) of Germantown,
MD before moving to the next division. She came up just short in
33:38 to Wack's 33:11. Karen Erb (51) of Alexandria, VA took on
the challengers, winning in 37:33. Another regular, Maryellen
Gonyea (55) of Alexandria, VA tops her division in 39:40. Sharon
Dolan (60) of Gaithersburg, MD again shows her national class
stuff, winning her division by more than thirteen minutes. Her
time of 35:51 would have won every masters division except 45-
49. She was the sixth master overall. Ling Cheung (68) of
Gaithersburg, MD and Kay Morrison (76) of Potomac, MD won their
divisions unopposed.
Top Finishers
FEMALES (OVERALL):
1 Atalelech Kitema 19 Washington DC 27:24# 350
2 Naoko Ishibe 33 Silver Spring MD 28:08 250
3 Cathy Pugsley 33 Annandale VA 28:31 200
4 Irina Suvorova 31 Rockville MD 29:01 175
5 Casey Smith 23 Arlington VA 29:04 150
6 Patty Fulton 36 Silver Spring MD 29:31*
7 Sascha Scott 26 Washington DC 29:56
8 Marjan Huizing 34 Montgomery Vill MD 29:57
9 Hilary Cairns 31 Washington DC 30:03
10 Margie Shapiro 25 Annandale VA 30:05
11 Megan Mclaughlin 23 Vienna VA 30:25
12 Lee Dipietro 44 Towson MD 30:38*
13 Denise Knickman 34 Baltimore MD 30:48
14 Maria Kozloski 37 Washington DC 30:59
15 Gretchen Triantos 45 Rockville MD 31:01*
# Under USATF OPEN guideline * Under USATF Age-Group guideline
MALES (OVERALL):
1 Ben Cooke 25 Silver Spring MD 24:28 350
2 Darrell General 36 Mitchellville MD 24:36* 250
3 Kyle Smits 23 Washington DC 24:37 200
4 Edmund Burke 33 Burtonsville MD 24:42 175
5 John Supsic 23 Baltimore MD 25:11 150
6 Marcus Hershberger 19 Montgomery Vill MD 25:37*
7 Jeffrey Olenick 23 Newport News VA 25:39
8 Greg Whiteley 35 Washington DC 25:55
9 Michael Wardian 28 Arlington VA 25:58
10 Benjamin Koch 22 Germantown MD 26:00
11 Ray Pugsley 33 Annandale VA 26:13
12 Ryan Gorman 21 San Marcos TX 26:19
13 Tommy Holland 29 Virginia Beach VA 26:21
14 Dai Roberts 41 Va Beach VA 26:26
15 Craig Morrill 30 Baltimore MD 26:29
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
FEMALES (AGES 1 - 19):
1 Atalelech Kitema 19 Washington DC 27:24#
2 Emily Buzzell 16 Middletown MD 32:02*
3 Randy Buzzell 19 Middletown MD 32:06
4 Kristin Milot 15 Haymarket VA 34:31
5 Raquel Morgan 17 Middletown MD 34:33
# Under USATF OPEN guideline * Under USATF Age-Group guideline
MALES (AGES 1 - 19):
1 Marcus Hershberger 19 Montgomery Vill MD 25:37*
2 Matt Sanders 17 Ellicott City MD 26:42*
3 Keith Bechtol 17 Alexandria VA 26:57*
4 Christo Landry 16 Falls Church VA 26:57*
5 Awit Yohannes 17 Rockville MD 27:06*
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
FEMALES (AGES 35 - 39):
1 Patty Fulton 36 Silver Spring MD 29:31*
2 Maria Kozloski 37 Washington DC 30:59
3 Alisa Harvey 36 Manassas VA 31:13
4 Helen Beven 36 Kensington MD 33:49
5 Jane Wikman 39 Germantown MD 34:49
6 Taneen Carvell 36 Washington DC 35:40
7 Paula Pels 35 Bethesda MD 36:18
8 Patty Guay-Berry 38 Garret Park MD 36:34
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
MALES (AGES 35 - 39):
1 Darrell General 36 Mitchellville MD 24:36*
2 Greg Whiteley 35 Washington DC 25:55
3 Geoff Hopkins 36 Alexandria VA 26:29
4 Michael Wilson 37 Ashburn VA 28:19
5 Malcolm Lester 35 Washington DC 28:43
6 Stephen Dillard 38 Baltimore MD 28:44
7 Ian Clements 38 Arlington VA 29:01
8 Phil Lang 35 Columbia MD 29:23
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
FEMALES (AGES 40 - 44):
1 Lee Dipietro 44 Towson MD 30:38*
2 Laura Freix 41 Centerville VA 32:15
3 Sue Whicker 42 Potomac MD 36:42
4 Bernadett Flynn 44 Fairfax VA 37:55
5 Linda Kennedy 41 Fairfax VA 38:20
6 Maureen Lopina 42 Herndon VA 38:25
7 Vicki Marino 43 Gaithersburg MD 38:44
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
MALES (AGES 40 - 44):
1 Dai Roberts 41 Va Beach VA 26:26
2 Ted Poulos 40 Mclean VA 27:36
3 Frank Kurtz 41 Thurmont MD 28:09
4 Bill Bustin 44 Yorktown VA 28:23
5 Ronald Hess 41 Takoma Park MD 29:14
6 Dmara 44 Vienna VA 29:31
7 Mark Casteel 42 York PA 29:36
FEMALES (AGES 45 - 49):
1 Gretchen Triantos 45 Rockville MD 31:01*
2 Linda Wack 46 Germantown MD 33:11*
3 Betty Blank 49 Falls Church VA 33:38*
4 Maryrita Dunlavey 45 Rockville MD 37:11
5 Ellie Bustin 45 Yorktown VA 38:15
6 Cynthia Braak 47 Bethesda MD 38:30
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
MALES (AGES 45 - 49):
1 Peter Kirk 45 Rockville MD 27:54
2 George Buckheit 45 Reston VA 28:37
3 Paul Peterson 48 Bethesda MD 29:18
4 David Webster 45 Stevensville MD 29:47
5 Mitch Batt 46 Rockville MD 30:10
6 Denis Mcdonald 47 Woodbine MD 30:22
FEMALES (AGES 50 - 54):
1 Karen Erb 51 Alexandria VA 37:33
2 Peggy Davis 50 Falls Church VA 38:49
3 Alice Franks 54 Rockville MD 39:39
4 Lynn Salvo 52 Mclean VA 41:44
5 Corie Tofilon 50 Rockville MD 42:48
MALES (AGES 50 - 54):
1 Chuck Moeser 50 Sterling VA 27:10*
2 Richard Morgan 50 Silver Spring MD 30:55
3 Jay Wind 51 Arlington VA 31:10
4 Shah Mehrabi 50 Fredericksburg VA 31:19
5 Richard Adams Jr 51 Herndon VA 31:48
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
FEMALES (AGES 55 - 59):
1 Maryellen Gonyea 55 Alexandria VA 39:40*
2 Susan Walsh 55 Eugene OR 41:09
3 Chris Craun 56 Bethesda MD 41:40
4 Mary Kuta 55 Rockville MD 41:44
5 Catherine Van Brock 55 Gaithersburg MD 41:49
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
MALES (AGES 55 - 59):
1 Dan Murray 57 Keswick VA 29:49*
2 Patrick Griffith 57 Alexandria VA 30:15*
3 Ronnie Wong 55 Catonsville MD 32:14
4 Bob Chase 57 Falls Church VA 33:50
5 Jim Noone 58 Herndon VA 34:29
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
FEMALES (AGES 60 - 64):
1 Sharon Dolan 60 Gaithersburg MD 35:51*
2 Janet Newburgh 60 Rockville MD 48:53
3 Brenda Murray 62 Chevy Chase MD 49:31
4 Linda Carter 60 Potomac MD 52:02
5 Jacquelin Bardol 61 Alexandria VA 66:21
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
MALES (AGES 60 - 64):
1 Cal Fowler 63 Keswick VA 33:13
2 Matthew Huntmaker 60 Gaithersburg MD 35:37
3 Mike Baziz 61 Baltimore MD 37:56
4 Roland Hill 63 Washington DC 38:55
FEMALES (AGES 65 - 69):
1 Ling Cheung 68 Gaithersburg MD 73:09
MALES (AGES 65 - 69):
1 Dale Dug 67 Ridgefield CA 33:25*
2 Chan Robbins 65 Arlington VA 35:52*
3 Richard Williams 66 Alexandria VA 39:24
4 Fedor Mesinger 69 Fort Washington MD 41:18
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
FEMALES (AGES 70 - 74):
MALES (AGES 70 - 74):
1 Larry Dickerson 70 Burke VA 38:22*
2 Jack Mcmahon 71 Rockville MD 40:29
3 Keith Olson 70 Silver Spring MD 43:55
4 George Waxter 71 Frederick MD 45:43
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
FEMALES (AGES 75 - 99):
1 Kay Morrison 76 Potomac MD 55:51*
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
MALES (AGES 75 - 99):
1 Nianxiang Xie 75 Rockville MD 42:57*
2 Cuncheng Xu 79 Rockville MD 45:27*
3 Bill Morrison 75 Potomac MD 51:14
4 John Hickey 75 Gaithersburg MD 64:09
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
Total Number of Finishers = 2338
For complete results, see the Washington Running Report
Results page. For more photos of the race, see the
Photo Gallery.
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