Above, runners burst out of the shade to begin their journey.

Do not bother to trot out your lawyer's jokes today because more than a thousand litigators came out today to make this seventeenth year the largest race ever. Nearly five thousand runners signed up for the 10K run and the memorial fun walk. Almost three thousand 10K racers (2,830) endured a typical hot and humid June morning in the nation's capital. Every seventh runner was racing their first race with more than four hundred first time runners.

Back in 1991, when the idea started, the race was set for May 19 and it was run in West Potomac Park. They organizers ambitiously prepared for 1,500 runners, which in those days was an awesome number for a first time event. That morning was cool. A couple of years later the course moved to the Washington Harbour and top ranked Jim Hage (a lawyer) started his yearly top finish binge. He was second at least three times as well as winning when it counted most. In 1996, the race also included a 5K (and did so until 2002). Hage won the 10K that year, earning round trip tickets to Europe.

Always on the scene of any major race in the area, the godfather of running, racing historian George Banker usually chronicled the race. By the turn of the century, Hage was content to be the masters champion and do the story telling for the race. About that time, the course settled back from its rather hilly Georgetown 10K-like course to the current course.

Starting under the Whitehurst Freeway in the shade, runners did not at first appreciate how hot the day was. Naturally, yesterday's storm with massive lightning and a blast of rain helped cool the scorching, record-setting heat of Friday but it was still hot. The massive line of runners scurried down Canal Road seeking coolness and shade along the river. Except for the first quarter and of course the last quarter in the out and back course, the race is virtually flat. Tell that to runners turning back onto the Freeway with waves of heat coming off the concrete just past mile five.

Last year, favored Wilson Komen never fully recovered as Gurmesa Kumsa leapt out to a fifty-meter lead before the runners even got onto the Freeway (1/4 mile). Kumsa set the course record in 29:51. This year the runners had a healthy respect for the city's warmth. Birhanu Wukaw (25) of Washington, DC won virtually unchallenged in 31:19. He had a surprised expression on his face as he headed back from the turnaround, noting that no one was even close. Mega racer Michael Wardian of Arlington, VA (in photo) is always near the front, though it is usually the marathon where he breaks the tape. Today, running 32:29, he battled successfully with Zereu Kelele (32:42) and Brian Baillie (32:45) for the runner-up spot, which was not decided until late in the race.

Greg Cauller (47) of York, PA (in photo) travels south for two hours on many occasions to race here. He had bested Hage at Pike's Peek 33:22 to 33:40 earlier in the cooler spring. Hage had set the masters record here in 32:56 back in 2002, finishing seventh overall. Early on, Cauller claimed that maybe there was a chance. By the 5K, he knew the hunt was over. He also could tell with a glance that his pace taking him home in 34:44 for tenth place overall was going to easily win the masters division. The next master, Doug Bloor, all the way from Charlottesville, VA, was 29th in 37:39.

After that, it was Peter Darmody (51) taking the 46th spot in 39:06. Everyone kept saying it was hot! The Darmody clan included his son Neal who was second teen in 35:58. Damody had set a PR at Pike's Peek in 32:22. When asked how his father/son team would do against the Centrowitz team, (young Matt Centrowitz just ran a PR 4:03.4 in New York, closing on his dad's PR of 4:02.7 set in 1973), proud poppa winced and said, "I don't know" and quickly added, "but I could probably beat Matt (the elder) today."

The elder, a former American record holder in the 5K, is now a coach. One of his new charges is former top ranked runner Susannah Kvasnicka (35) of Great Falls, VA (in photo). She has been on injured reserve lately and now as she returns was looking for a spark to help her back to the top. Today was the first test. Naturally, she was hopeful and wanted to know who was who among the top runners. Last year's winner, Alisa Harvey (36:50), now forty-one, set the masters record. Just before the gun sounded, Harvey nervously laughed off any attempt at a new masters record, "In this heat?"

Then there was Laura Turner (26) of Washington, DC. She does not race much but her 1:17:17 Shamrock Half Marathon this spring made her one of the favorites. Vanessa Hunter (31) of Arlington, VA had not raced this year either. Last year she ran third overall at St. Patrick's Day 8K in 27:56 but 28:50 at the Patriot Cup 8K. Kvasnicka had run 28:28 at the Shamrock 8K.

From the start, both women looked strong. Max Lockwood is in his growing and learning phase of running so he tagged along to see which woman would win. Early on he danced ahead, hoping one of them would go with him. Hunter was more determined today and, bearing down in the second half, she started to ease away. Kvasnicka was not yet ready to stay with her and when Lockwood hung back to urge her forward, Hunter (in photo) pulled farther away from them both to win in 36:06. Still, Kvasnicka was as happy as a competitive champion can be without actually breaking the tape. Odds are real good she will be breaking the tape in her next race. Harvey, an American record holder at the middle distance, hung on to finish third in 37:23 ahead of Turner's 37:41.

The grandmaster division for the women is getting contentious. Spring Rankings Champion and favorite Alison Suckling lost to Gretchen Triantos at Pike's Peek. Betty Blank of Falls Church, VA had held the crown many times but she went down to Triantos last week in Bethesda and earlier in the spring Ofelia Perotti aged up and beat her in the 5K. Both of these ladies were all smiles before the race. Last year Blank missed winning for the first time by a mere second. This year she started out strong and by the 3-mile mark she held a forty-meter lead. On the return trip, Suckling made a few surges but it was clear the heat was having too much effect on her trip. Blank pulled away to win in 43:17; Suckling settled for second in 43:45.

Nobody runs better when the heat and humidity are high. Many runners had a tough trip today. Some runners just seem to not be affected as much.

Among the many other notable battles, Bill Joyce (63) of Herndon, VA ran down Jim Noone (63) of Fairfax, VA 42:33 to 42:47. Tom Ray (74) of Kitty Hawk, NC (48:20) came north for a return match with Richard Williams of Alexandria, VA making him work hard for his 48:07 win.

The prizes went six deep in the overall and five deep in the masters. This gave Deborah Flynn (51) of Gaithersburg, MD the age group win in 44:09. Alice Franks (59), Tami Graf (70) in photo, and Jacqueline O'Neil (75) made their customary trip to the winner's circle. A couple of places out of the masters awards, Richard Adams (56) of Herndon, VA is back from his bout with bronchitis, winning his age group in 39:56 for the second fastest grandmaster time of the day.

After the race was over, there were lots of cooling refreshments with a special emphasis on the snow cones. The setting down by the river was gorgeous for the awards. There were laminated certificates and mugs for the age groups. Everyone got a finishers medallion at the end of their trip. This is particularly nice for the many first time racers, most of whom will most likely be coming back next year.

You can never say too much about cheerful and helpful volunteers. The hard working American Heart Association crew, led by Kelly and Christine, worked hard for many hours at the packet pickups for days before the race. They prepared bundles for scores of huge law firm teams. Their hard work complemented the usual fine work of Capital Running Company of seeing that the runners come first, all the while collecting millions of dollars for the American Heart Association.

"During the last decade, Lawyers Have Heart has raised more than $3.7 million to benefit the American Heart Association, whose mission is to reduce disability and death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke."

Men's Awards
Overalls by Clock Time, Age Groups by Net Time

MALE OVERALL  
Place Num   Name                    Ag City               Time  
===== ===== ======================= == ================== ===== 
    1  4923 Birhanu Wukaw           25 Washington DC      31:19 
    2    24 Michael Wardian         33 Arlington VA       32:29 
    3  4924 Zereu Kelele            26 Washington DC      32:42 
    4    25 Brian Baillie           24 Washington DC      32:45 
    5  3737 Jared Lowry             24 Arlington VA       33:45 
    6  3721 Lewis Martin            22 Charlottesville VA 33:57 
MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 99 MASTERS
    1    11 Greg Cauller            47 York PA              34:43 
    2  3734 Doug Bloor              40 Charlottesville VA   37:31 
    3  1970 Peter Darmody           51 Gaithersburg MD      39:03 
    4   165 Ronnie Harris           42 Arnold MD            39:11 
    5  4972 Eugene Holmes           42 Arlington VA         39:42 
MALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19 updated 10/25/7
    1  2030 James Boyer             19 Mechanicsburg PA     35:39 
    2  1971 Neal Darmody            17 Gaithersburg MD      35:56 
    3  3741 Kyle Stanton            16 Columbia MD          38:46
MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29 
    1  3465 Joe Lamonte             26 Washington DC        34:25 
    2  1728 Alex Hallett            28 Arlington VA         34:29 
    3    19 Scott Munro             25 Arlington VA         34:57 
MALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39 
    1  4840 Yangley Hall            38 Alexandria VA        34:39 
    2  3624 Robert Schneider        30 Washington DC        35:35 
    3    18 Max Lockwood            37 Washington DC        36:22 
MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44 
    1  4933 Mark Hand               40 Arlington VA         39:47 
    2  4852 Alan Thatcher           43 Manassas VA          39:57 
    3   901 Robert Denmark          41 Arlington VA         39:57 
MALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49 
    1  3781 Lon Krall               45 Springfield VA       39:43 
    2   252 Paul Brough             48                      40:04 
    3   199 Matthew Ernst           46 Washington DC        40:23 
MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54 
    1  3887 Miles Harter            51 Washington DC        41:03 
    2  2773 Alan Pemberton          54 Silver Spring MD     42:31 
    3    28 James Moreland          54 Gaithersburg MD      42:42 
MALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59 
    1  1476 Richard Adams Jr        56 Herndon VA           39:54 
    2  4964 John McMackin           55 Chevy Chase MD       41:03 
    3  2109 Ian Lienert             56 Washington DC        41:26 
MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64 
    1   221 Bill Joyce              63 Herndon VA           42:33 
    2  2731 Jim Noone               63 Fairfax VA           42:47 
    3  4856 Bob Chase               61 Falls Church VA      43:58 
MALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69 
    1   153 Stephen Forman          67 McLean VA            46:44 
    2  3156 Sonny Barber            66 Falls Church VA      48:01 
    3  3018 Bozia Hall Jr           69 Ft Washington MD     55:52 
MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74 
    1   146 Richard Williams        71 Alexandria VA        48:07 
    2  1755 Tom Ray                 74 Kitty Hawk NC        48:20 
    3  1649 Philip Hager            70 Falls Church VA      50:55 
MALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 79 
    1  2503 Dick Coogan             75 McLean VA          1:08:55 
    2  4824 Charles Day             76 Sterling VA        1:16:40 

Photo below: Martha Merz (44) of Annandale, VA races home in fifth place overall. Her 38:52 would often be fast enough for an overall win. Today she was the second finisher in the women's masters division.

Women's Awards
Overalls by Clock Time, Age Groups by Net Time

FEMALE OVERALL  
Place Num   Name                    Ag City               Time  
===== ===== ======================= == ================== ===== 
    1    16 Vanessa Hunter          31 Arlington VA       36:06 
    2    12 Susannah Kvasnicka      35 Great Falls VA     36:32 
    3     2 Alisa Harvey            41 Manassas VA        37:23 
    4    22 Laura Turner            27 Washington DC      37:41 
    5    17 Martha Merz             44 Annandale VA       38:52 
    6  2212 May Kasahara            34 Washington DC      39:04 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 99 MASTERS
    1    14 Sheryl Kline            44 Arnold MD            41:32 
    2  1142 Nicola Elliott          41 Vienna VA            42:58 
    3    15 Betty Blank             54 Falls Church VA      43:16 
    4     8 Alison Suckling         51 Arnold MD            43:41 
    5    10 Jill Hargis             46 Annapolis MD         44:08 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19 
    1  4820 Masna Berge             18 Potomac MD           44:02 
    2  2669 Marisa Repka            14 Bethesda MD          46:02 
    3  4969 Shannon Disbrow         16 Potomac MD           47:00 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29 
    1  3954 Emily Korot             25 Brooklyn NY          39:45 
    2  4882 Sarah Spalding          26 Washington DC        39:52 
    3  3665 Kaitlin Sheedy          24 Arlington VA         40:37 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39 
    1  2929 Mrs Kramer              32 Washington DC        40:11 
    2  4771 Kelly Jaske             30 Rapidan VA           40:17 
    3  3262 Jeanette Dumbrell       38 Falls Church VA      41:02 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44 
    1  2273 Janet Braunstein        41 Washington DC        46:05 
    2     4 Lyly N Pham             42 Alexandria VA        46:10 
    3  3579 Katherine Feehan        41 Washington DC        46:38 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49 
    1  3695 Blake Rushin            45 Vienna VA            47:20 
    2  1564 Cindy Hagan             47 Washington DC        49:06 
    3  2658 Lisa Wood               48 Washington DC        50:36 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54 
    1  3857 Deborah Flynn           51 Gaithersburg MD      44:09 
    2  3242 Manuela Carvalho        52 Washington DC        50:46 
    3   334 Aileen Moffatt          50 Washington DC        51:11 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59 
    1   179 Alice Franks            59 Rockville MD         47:40 
    2   145 Jane Poole              59 Washington DC        49:46 
    3  2408 Jeanine Matte           58 Washington DC        52:44 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64 
    1  2127 Marsha Masone           60 Clifton VA           56:13 
    2  1769 Barbara Brown           60 Washington DC      1:02:17 
    3  2306 Laurel Anchors          60 N Potomac MD       1:06:51 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69 
    1  1314 Nancy Linck             65 Alexandria VA        56:48 
    2    86 Rosemary Schwartzbard   65 Arlington VA         58:34 
    3  1171 Lois Dicker             68 Silver Spring MD   1:12:46 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74 
    1     5 Tami Graf               70 Lusby MD             59:55 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 79 
    1  2513 Jacqueline O'Neil       75 Washington DC      1:13:54 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  80 - 99 

Full Race Day Results
Race Report
Photo Gallery 2007
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