Most would argue that running is an individual endeavor. But Gurmessa Kumsa insisted it was the strength of his teammates that helped him pull away from Wilson Komen in the last half mile of the 16th Lawyers Have Heart 10K in Georgetown and win in a course record 29 minutes 51 seconds. Komen finished second in 30:01, also bettering Jerry Lawson's mark of 30:18 set in 1994.

Alisa Harvey, one of the nation's top masters runners, took first for the women and set a masters record of 36:50.

The men's race marked the first meeting of the two immovable forces on the Washington running scene: Kumsa, who moved to Oxon Hill from Ethiopia in March and has won most of the numerous races he has entered, and Komen, from Kenya, who has dominated the area racing since he arrived almost three years ago.

While Kumsa set the early pace, Komen, the defending champion, was never far behind and caught up at halfway. With less than half a mile to go, Kumsa, the No. 1 runner in the latest Washington Running Report ranking, gradually pulled away.

All photos by Emmalee Raiford.

"I was never worried," Kumsa (photo left) said through an interpreter. "I was in the lead from start to finish. I didn't know [Komen], but he tried to talk to me. Sometimes he would zig-zag in front of me. I did not care. I knew I had my teammates."

Indeed, Kumsa's teammates--from Oromia, not Ethiopia, they insist-finished third (Urgessa Woyyesa), fifth (Haile Gelalcha), sixth (Biruk Regasa) and seventh Kumsa Wadajo--lent him moral support if not assistance with tactics and pacing.

Komen, coming off a win (his second straight) at the Green Bay Marathon on May 21, welcomed the new kids to the D.C. neighborhood.

"It's okay [not to win], that's what racing is all about," said Komen, who finished 14th at this year's Boston Marathon. "I'm still recovering, I'll be back. It's all right."

Harvey continued her remarkable renaissance since turning 40 in September. "I'm quite pleased with my race," said Harvey, who will try to set a national masters record on the track at 1,500 meters in August in Charlotte.

Cheryl Carr (23), from Arlington, was second in 39:24, and Amanda Walsh (22), from Washington, was third in 39:54.

Joseph Cresko (40), from Arlington, was 11th overall and the top masters runner in 33:45.

Sixteen-year-old Neal Darmody, a junior at Quince Orchard High in Gaithersburg, ran 34:26 and was 16th overall.

Photo below: Amanda Walsh (22) of Washington, DC was third place overall in 39:54.

Men's Awards

Awards Listing (Overalls by Clock Time, Age Groups by Net Time)
MALE OVERALL  
Place Num   Name                    Ag City               Time  
===== ===== ======================= == ================== ===== 
    1     2 Gurmessa Kumsa          27 Oxon Hill MD       29:51 
    2     1 Wilson Komen            28 Washington DC      30:01 
    3     5 Urgessa Woyyesa         23 Oxon Hill MD       30:29 
    4  2748 Chris Pruitt            24 Vienna VA          32:00 
    5     4 Haile Gelalcha          20 Oxon Hill MD       32:38 
    6     3 Biruk Regasa            22 Oxon Hill MD       33:19 
MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 99 MASTERS
    1  3315 Joseph Cresko           40 Arlington VA         33:44 
    2    64 Mark Malander           48 Oak Hill VA          33:55 
    3    42 Chris Chattin           42 Columbia MD          34:37 
    4   132 Steve Morrell           42 Arlington VA         37:18 
    5  3006 Peter Darmody           50 Gaithersburg MD      37:42 
MALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19 
    1  3007 Neal Darmody            16 Gaithersburg MD      34:24 
    2     6 Dema Woyessa            19 Oxon Hill MD         34:29 
    3   677 Kyle Stanton            15 Columbia MD          39:37 
MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29 
    1     7 Kumsa Wadajo            22 Oxon Hill MD         33:19 
    2  1785 Alex Hallett            27 Arlington VA         33:21 
    3    67 David Miller            22 Falls Church VA      33:37 
MALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39 
    1  2495 Tim Fahey               32 Alexandria VA        33:40 
    2    21 Max Lockwood            35 Washington DC        34:23 
    3   666 Sam McFerran            30 Washington DC        34:56 
MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44 
    1  1162 David McCormick         40 McLean VA            38:13 
    2  2963 Joseph Couch            42 Arlington VA         38:52 
    3  2506 Lon Krall               44 Springfield VA       39:50 
MALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49 
    1  1279 Rich Robinson           45 Chester MD           37:56 
    2  2704 Tom Wilcox              48 Alexandria VA        38:56 
    3  1399 Jacques Lecuyer         46 Washington DC        39:00 
MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54 
    1  3272 Bruce Delaplaine        51 Bethesda MD          39:22 
    2   786 Alan Pemberton          53 Silver Spring MD     39:30 
    3  2931 Wilhelm Anderson        50 Annapolis MD         39:35 
MALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59 
    1    70 Mick Slonaker           56 Columbia MD          38:30 
    2  2979 William Scott           58 Glenarden MD         41:51 
    3  2003 Mark Grummer            55 Washington DC        42:00 
MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64 
    1   174 Bill Joyce              62 Herndon VA           42:35 
    2   964 Robert Aby              61 Worthington MN       43:29 
    3   241 Lou Shapiro             64 Silver Spring MD     43:36 
MALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69 
    1    59 John Elliott            67 Columbia MD          42:18 
    2   201 Stephen Forman          66 McLean VA            45:25 
    3   764 Henry Hamburger         65 Bethesda MD          48:54 
MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74 
    1   114 Robert Gurtler          71 The Plains VA        56:04 
    2  2990 Gene Granof             70 Bethesda MD          57:46 
    3  3425 Harry Rosenberg         70 Bethesda MD          58:11 
MALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 79 
    1  3418 Charles Day             75 Sterling VA        1:01:58 
MALE AGE GROUP:  80 - 99 
    1  3318 Paul Lackey             81 Arlington VA       1:00:56 

Photo below: Alisa Harvey (40) continues to dominate, winning by nearly a half-mile.

Women's Awards

Awards Listing (Overalls by Clock Time, Age Groups by Net Time)
FEMALE OVERALL  
Place Num   Name                    Ag City               Time  
===== ===== ======================= == ================== ===== 
    1  3319 Alisa Harvey            40 Manassas VA        36:50 
    2  2275 Cheryl Carr             23 Arlington VA       39:24 
    3    69 Robin Humphrey          42 Ellicott City MD   39:44 
    4  2183 Amanda Walsh            22 Washington DC      39:54 
    5  2700 Shannon Nally           29 Arlington VA       39:59 
    6  2515 Jessica Erickson        20 Herndon VA         40:29 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 99 MASTERS
    1  2328 Sheryl Kline            43 Arnold MD            40:44 
    2   656 Nicola Elliott          40 Vienna VA            41:51 
    3  2664 Margarita Brose         44 Arlington VA         42:06 
    4  1104 Alison Suckling         50 Arnold MD            42:24 
    5    66 Betty Blank             53 Falls Church VA      42:25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19 
    1  3100 Caroline McLoughlin     12 Washington DC        44:54 
    2  2763 Victoria Cook           16 McLean VA            46:11 
    3  2675 Kasey Jamison           18 Arnold MD            47:10 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29 
    1  1393 Emily Turner            24 Washington DC        40:32 
    2  2486 Jackie Kosakowski       22 Williamsburg VA      40:32 
    3  1281 Emily Jadwin            23 Washington DC        40:44 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39 
    1  3428 Samantha Kirby          37 Arlington VA         41:16 
    2  1933 Emily Pierce            31 Washington DC        41:42 
    3  1233 Megan Troy              35 Washington DC        42:27 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44 
    1   654 Teresa Lent             44 Arlington VA         43:52 
    2  2536 Blake Rushin            44 Vienna VA            45:05 
    3   697 Janet Braunstein        40 Washington DC        45:07 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49 
    1  1632 Liliana Baron           47 Potomac MD           42:42 
    2  3096 Cynthia Westbrook       48 Washington DC        44:54 
    3   770 Ann Kurzweil            47 Great Falls VA       46:14 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54 
    1  2699 Manuela Carvalho        51 Washington DC        46:55 
    2   202 Suanne Shocket          52 Manassas VA          48:05 
    3   958 Nancy McDermott         52 Washington DC        49:44 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59 
    1   184 Alice Franks            58 Rockville MD         46:10 
    2  1852 Jeanine Matte           57 Washington DC        52:26 
    3  1709 Faith Ottenhoff         57 Washington DC        56:25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64 
    1    99 Roberta Stopler         60 Arlington VA       1:00:20 
    2    94 Rosemary Schwartzbard   64 Arlington VA       1:01:33 
    3   150 Blair Jones             62 Washington DC      1:07:57 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69 
    1   204 Jamie Wollard           68 N Bethesda MD      1:10:24 
    2   791 Lois Dicker             66 Silver Spring MD   1:11:33 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74 
    1  3135 Jacqueline O'Meil       74 Washington DC      1:10:10 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 79 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  80 - 99 

Photo below: Luke Lavin (16) of McLean, VA was the fourth teen to finish, one of the top 76 men finishing in 40:00 and faster.

Race Day Report for 2006
Full Race Day Results
Photo Gallery 2006
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