In the photo below, Pat Morrow, 38, of Falls Church, approaches the finish.

With a tenacity and determination enough to make any marathoner proud, area runners, businesses, and volunteers coalesced to make the Washington DC Marathon a reality, albeit an unofficial one, despite an 11th-hour cancellation by race organizers.

For once, the nearly 600 marathoners had the easy part--26.2 miles through city streets on a gorgeous spring morning. Not that it was all bouquets and Gatorade: many of the intersections were unmanned and vehicular traffic repeatedly forced runners off the road and onto sidewalks, grass, and up and down curbs.

But that the race came off at all was nothing short of a logistical tour de force after H2O Entertainment unexpectedly canceled the race, citing security and safety concerns, less than four days before the start.

Area runners were not pleased.

"They took the money and ran," said Shawn Paxton from Springfield, running on Sunday with a "Training for the D.C. Marathon" T-shirt that was pointedly amended to "Jersey."

"Everybody's angry," he said of his Burke Lake training group, members of which paid $150 plus entry fees to the race sponsors.

But while disappointment marked an undercurrent to yesterday's unofficial event, cooperation and volunteerism ruled the day.

And of course, racing. Paul Rades, 30, from Silver Spring, and Kevin Kozlowski, 26, also from Silver Spring, tied for first in 2 hours 55 minutes 50 seconds. The tie and modest times were reflective of the low-key nature of the event.

Renee Butler, 42, from Glen Echo (and sponsor Fleet Feet Adams Morgan), took the women's title in 3:38. "There was no stress and I'm glad we were able to run."

Faith Korbel, 24, from Washington, was second in 3:44.

Korbel, running her first marathon, was ecstatic to have had the opportunity to run. "I was absolutely disappointed when they canceled," she said. "But when I heard they were doing this [unofficial marathon], I was too excited not to run."

After the race, H2O Entertainment stood by its decision to cancel. "This has not been a good day for us," said spokesperson Angela Casey. "But we were concerned with the safety and security of the runners. We're glad no one was hurt."

Several local entrepreneurs provided the impetus for a short- notice alternative race, and at the risk of leaving out some, they are worth noting:

Ryan Ozimek, co-founder of PICnet, set up a Web site on Thursday. "By Friday, we were Marathon Central," he said. Through the site, Ozimek helped put volunteers in touch with coordinators, headed by Kim Hedge, at Phil Fenty's Fleet Feet store in Adams Morgan.

Bob Schneider, 26, from College Park, also started early rounding up volunteers, who marked the course, directed traffic and distributed water. "We had 200 e-mails from volunteers, hundreds of phone calls, all in the last 72 hours," said Schneider, who ran in the lead pack for 24 miles and finished fifth. "Support has been incredible. All we were trying to do was turn something negative into something positive."

Top Finishers

Men
1.   Paul Rades             39 Silver Spring MD            02:55:50 
1.   Kevin Kozowski         26 Silver Spring MD            02:55:50 
3.   Bob Schneider          26 College Park MD             02:56:34 
4.   Jason Grimm            24 Laurel MD                   03:01:10 
5.   Stephen Bourgeois      39 Columbia MD                 03:02:10 
6.   Eric Olsen             36 Washington DC               03:09:31 
7.   Dennis Sutch           39 Falls Church VA             03:11:20 
8.   Pat Morrow             38 Falls Church VA             03:19:47 
9.   Benjamin Gutman        27 Washington DC               03:19:56 
10.  Jay Wind               53 Arlington VA                03:22:18 




Women
1.   Renee Butler           42 Bethesda MD                 03:38:46 
2.   Faith Korbel           24 Washington DC               03:45:04 
3.   Sue Richardson         29 Bloomington MN              03:45:21 
4.   Jennifer Kim           21 Washington DC               03:46:45 
5.   Emily Sturm            22 Arlington VA                03:49:15 
6.   Rachelle Kroll         21 Sioux Center IA             03:49:28 
7.   Erin Morrissey         22 Washington DC               03:50:16 
8.   Meredith Martin        23 Washington DC               03:50:16 
9.   Jennifer Dakin         23 Rockville MD                03:51:16 
10.  Ida Sawyer             19 Washington DC               03:52:08 


Results courtesy of racePacket.

Runners cross 12th Street on their way to the finish aided by members of the DC Emergency Management Agency.

Now Available! The Unofficial Washington DC Marathon Photo Gallery