Despite less than overwhelming participation from runners, and some pointed criticism from Washington Mayor Anthony Williams, the National Marathon made a successful debut on Saturday.

Michael Wardian (31), from Arlington, the area's most prolific elite runner and the pre-race favorite, added to his list of accomplishments with an uncontested win in 2 hours 30 minutes 55 seconds.

"This is a challenging course, a good course," Wardian said. "I'm really pleased to win the first race here because I think this is going to be great event."

Southeast Washington schoolteacher Mike Smith (25), a former track athlete at Georgetown, ran 2:34:31 to finish second in his marathon debut.

Susan Graham-Gray (37), from Greencastle, PA, broke the women's tape in 2:58:03; she was 16th overall.

"My expectations were high but the hills in the second half surprised me," Graham-Gray said, echoing the sentiments of many of the runners. "I didn't realize beforehand how challenging the course was. But I enjoyed it and I'm happy with the win."

As with Wardian, Graham-Gray won $1,000. Graham-Gray, a mother of three, is legally blind and was accompanied by a bicycle guide.

Beth Moras (47), from Ridgewood, NJ, was second in 3:09:53 and Capitol Hill resident Hilary Cairns (35) was third in 3:10:46.

Gurmessa Kumsa (27), coming off his impressive win at the St. Patrick's Day 8K on March 12, won the half marathon in 1:09:29. Kumsa, who arrived in Oxon Hill from Ethiopia one month ago, finished nearly four minutes ahead of runner-up Eric Lavigne (29), from Leesburg.

Milligan Grinstead (26), from Charlottesville, won the women's half marathon in 1:26:08. Tara Klick (24), from Lafayette Hill, PA, was second in 1:27:31.

Ray and Cathy Pugsley, owners of Potomac River Running, each finished third, in 1:14:53 and 1:28:12, respectively.

Many of the marathoners were put through their paces -- literally -- by pace groups from the U.S. Naval Academy. Coach Nathan Nudelman and Tim O'Connor from the academy's running club coordinated the efforts with precision and led 18 runners to their goal times of between 3:00 and 4:30.

Aside from the finishers and the times, the story of the day was the inaugural event itself. The scope of ambition was extensive when the race was announced last October, just after approval of the requisite city permits. Organizers proposed an inter- jurisdictional spring marathon to complement the unquestioned popularity of the Marine Corps Marathon, which regularly hosts 20,000 registrants every fall and fills to capacity within days.

With a relatively short gestation period, Bob Sweeney, president of the Greater Washington Sports Alliance, an affiliate of the Board of Trade, had little room for error. Sweeney said he and race director Keith Dowling "conducted a fire drill every day" just to get to the starting line.

With a few obvious shortcomings, notably the lack of a title sponsor, a provisional pre-race expo in the RFK Stadium parking lot and uninspired registration numbers, the event soldiered on. In the last week, WTOP reported that costs for street closings totaled more than $200,000 dollars, while the marathon was paying only $60,000 and the city paying for the rest. Mayor Williams was quoted in The Washington Post saying the event was "making me look like an idiot." But marathon officials persevered, the weather on race day was cool and clear; even Williams ultimately chose to participate as the official starter.

"We got the first one behind us," Sweeney said. "We'll just get better from here."

Notes: Of the 1,685 starters in the two events, 731 finished the marathon and 954 finished the half marathon.

The course started at RFK Stadium, ran through Capitol Hill, along the Mall and then past the waterfront and along M Street within a few blocks of the proposed Washington Nationals baseball stadium. Half marathoners headed back toward RFK while marathoners crossed the Anacostia River and made their way along a hilly route into Capitol Heights and District Heights in Maryland before returning to the stadium.

The race started at 6:58 a.m. to accommodate live local television coverage. Crowds along the course were sparse.

Dane Rauschenburg (29), from Arlington, finished 56th in 3:16:29, completing his 12th marathon in as many weeks. Rauschenberg plans to run 52 marathons in 52 weeks; he has run marathons so far in Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Virginia and Maryland.

"This course was the hardest yet," Rauschenberg said.

Frequent top area racer Max Lockwood (36), from Washington, finished fifth in 2:39:42, and declared himself pleased with his first marathon.

Race Results