Photo above: At the one mile mark, Victoria Lynch (in dark top, age 31 of Washington, DC) lead Mary Kate Bailey (in red top, age 30 of Arlington, VA) and 2003 winner Alisa Harvey (in orange, age 39 of Manassas, VA). Lynch placed first among women in 17:44; Bailey ran 18:02 for second; and Harvey finished in 18:33 for third place.

Philippe Rolly Has Returned to Local Racing Scene as an American
Philippe Rolly (photo above wearing sunglasses), age 32 of Fairfax, VA, won this year's Cure Autism Now 5K in 15:27. Christopher Raabe, age 25 of Washington, DC, moved up from third place at the 1 mile mark photo to finish a few yards behind Rolly in 15:28. 20- year-old Quenton Cassidy (red, white and blue shorts) of Potomac, MD, finished with a fast 15:42 performance to place third.

Philippe Rolly has returned to the Washington racing scene after living three years near New York City with his American wife. Rolly grinned as he told of his newly acquired American citizenship on July 14, 2004; and he will train and hopes to qualify for the 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Marathon Trials. Rolly is a welcome addition to a talented group of local men competing at the marathon distance.

Rolly expressed happiness with a return to Fairfax, VA; he says it is easy to meet people in the Washington area. Road races in New York City are held in Central Park, whereas Washington offers a variety of course venues. "New York was a great job opportunity, but three years is enough."

Rolly said he currently works at Georgetown University Hospital as a physical therapist; he met his American wife, now a lawyer, during a round-the-world backpack trip nine years ago in Thailand. They have a 2-year-old boy and a 3-month-old daughter.

A Weekend Together, A Run Together for the Wallaces
Barbara Fallon-Wallace (photo above, in light blue), age 31 of Alexandria, VA, and her husband Dan Wallace spent a weekend together. He has been training at Camp Atterbury (U.S. Army) in Edinburgh, Indiana, where he is one of the fastest soldiers. Army training is done with packs, explained the 39-year-old, whose unit is preparing for mobilization to Iraq. Barbara Fallon-Wallace finished fourth among women in 18:36--she says training has gone well and racing will catch up, it's just a matter of increased confidence. Dan Wallace finished 30th overall in 19:35. They were happy to spend some time together!

Richard Adams Jr, age 53 of Herndon, VA, and his daughter Emily, age 19 and a William & Mary student, were another fast family pair. Richard Adams won the men's 50-59 age group in 17:43 (faster than his 2004 18:45 and 2003 18:22), while Emily placed third among teenage females with her 22:33. Richard Adams didn't remember the killer hill from mile 2 to 3, which challenged runners after an easy downhill coast for the first two miles.

Adams is a consistent, top age group runner who stays injury free (no muscles, ha, ha) by running steady mileage and by not overtraining. He played baseball and football in high school--he quipped that he has always been fast and able to run away from people." There are a lot of good runners in my age group." And yes, he confirmed, Chuck Moeser is still coaching some runners while he avoids the racing scene.

George Buckheit Caught Jim Hage
In the photo above at mile one, Jim Hage (right) of Kensington, MD, had a significant gap ahead of fellow 47-year-older George Buckheit (far left) of Reston, VA. But Buckheit raced ahead of Hage this year to place fourth in 16:31 to Hage's 16:39. Both have finished 4 out of 5 Cure Autism Now 5K races, but Buckheit's previous best on the hilly course was 17:01 in 2004. Hage had a big smile for Buckheit in the finish area while Buckheit slowly regained his breath from a hard effort.

Two women won their age group this year and completed their fourth Cure Autism Now 5K: Alice Franks, age 56 of Rockville, MD, finished in 22:45; Yolanda Perez, age 63 of Takoma Park, MD, crossed the finish line in 27:37.

Twin Cities Marathon Training
The fifth female finisher with a time of 19:13 (photo above in orange shorts), 27-year-old Linsay Goulet of Arlington, VA, trains with a group of women who are preparing for the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis this autumn: Maria Kozloski (8th, 20:32), Mary Kate Bailey (2nd, 18:02), Sharon Donovan, Genevieve Kiley and Vanessa Hunter.

Philippe Rolly said he, Chris Banks, Erik Kean and Aaron Church will also race the Twin Cities Marathon. There should be a large contingent of top area runners in Minnesota on October 2nd.

Chris Bain and Pascal Brazey Clustered Near George Buckheit
Christopher Bain (gray shorts in photo above), age 27 of Bethesda, and Pascal Brazey (orange shorts), age 36 of Washington, knew that hanging on to George Buckheit's pace would bring them to the finish line with a good time. Brazey said he ran with Buckheit for the first mile until the tall 47- year-old burst ahead for an impressive fourth place finish. Bain (16:53) and Brazey (17:02) were the fastest men in the 20- 29 and 30-39 age groups.

13-Year-Old Scott Oberst Ran Tough, Placed Second in Age Group
Many young people finished the 5K distance, including Scott Oberst of Rockville, MD (right in above photo), who placed second (13 & Under Boys) with a time of 20:36. There was also a shorter walk for those not ready for a tough uphill climb. 709 participants completed the 5K course.

Fortunately, the cloudy morning sky and relatively low humidity level provided pleasant weather for a summer run. Runners noticed the difference from previous sweltering July 4th races in Potomac, MD.

See Complete Results
See the Cure Autism Now Web site.

Embrace Engage Enable Expand Express

Results courtesy of Montgomery County Road Runners Club
Top Ten Men
Place Div/Tot  Bib#   Name               M/F Age Hometown          Time   Pace  
===== ======== ===== ===================== = == ================== =====  ===== 
    1   1/25      13 Philippe Rolly        M 32 Fairfax VA         15:27   4:59 
    2   1/16      10 Christopher Raabe     M 26 Washington DC      15:28   4:59 
    3   1/15     642 Quenton Cassidy       M 20 Potomac MD         15:42   5:03 
    4   1/54      79 George Buckheit       M 47 Reston VA          16:31*  5:19 
    5   2/54      11 James Hage            M 47 Kensington MD      16:39*  5:22 
    6   2/16      45 Christopher Bain      M 27 North Bethesda MD  16:53   5:26 
    7   1/49      66 Pascal Brazey         M 36 Washington DC      17:02   5:29 
    8   1/23     568 Mark Handelman        M 18 Bethesda MD        17:15   5:33 
    9   1/68     712 Alan Thatcher         M 42 Manassas VA        17:35   5:40 
   10   2/25     662 Kevin Grasmick        M 34 Washington DC      17:42   5:42 



Top Ten Women
   12   1/27    3501 Victoria Lynch        F 31 Washington DC      17:44   5:43 
   16   2/27      16 Mary Kate Bailey      F 30 Arlington VA       18:02   5:49 
   19   1/49     684 Alisa Harvey          F 39 Manassas VA        18:33   5:58 
   20   3/27     638 Barb Fallon Wallace   F 31 Alexandria VA      18:36   6:00 
   26   1/23      18 Linsay Goulet         F 27 Arlington VA       19:13   6:11 
   38   1/28     358 Anya Oleynik          F 16 Gaithersburg MD    19:56   6:25 
   46   2/23     700 Denise Cardamone      F 26 Washington DC      20:06   6:28 
   54   1/58      12 Maria Kozloski        F 40 Washington DC      20:32   6:37 
   59   1/26     494 Emily Turner          F 23 Washington DC      20:45   6:41 
   62   2/49     678 Christy Underdonk     F 36 Rockville MD       20:49   6:42 

Zachary Pereles (wearing dark shorts in photo above), age 8, completed the 5K with his mother Susan Pereles of Waynesboro, VA, in 32:49. There was pizza, bananas, apples, water, and other treats after the race. It was a festive and healthy start on Independence Day.