In the photo below, the balloon arch fell from the weight of the rain water.

The consistently rainy May continued with variable showers on race morning. During the post-race celebration and awards ceremony, the sky lightened and the rain almost stopped, but no sun peeked through. This persistent rain prompts the question, will we ever see the sun again in Washington, DC? The temperature was close to ideal, a comfortable fifty degrees, for this longer-distance run. Plus, at the start area, the music coming from Stanton Park was cheerful, and the BubbleMaster machine on the steps of the Peabody school blew profuse bubbles into the air. The festive accouterments continued throughout the race, welcoming runners back after a climb up Capitol Hill.

Despite its name, the race course is wonderfully flat and covers some attractive, tree-shaded streets throughout the Capitol Hill neighborhood. But, following the fifth mile marker, the 10K earns its name when it goes down and back up Capitol Hill itself. This hill comes very close to the end. The challenge is to avoid running too fast downhill and pooping out on the almost immediate uphill. Patience and a steady pace are rewarded. Following the hill, runners welcome the five-or-so flat blocks to go all-out to the finish.

The twenty-fourth running of the Capitol Hill Classic 10K brought three fresh circumstances or outcomes. First, the classic T-shirt was transformed. In past years, the design has incorporated the logo--a stylized Capitol Building dome--of the Capitol Hill Cluster School, the beneficiary of the race. This year, the T-shirt sports a blue rectangle and includes a different, loosely sketched image of the same dome. Second, a co-ed team competition was ushered in after years of absence. At least twenty teams participated. The two largest teams, FBI and CHDS, each included sixteen runners. To determine placements, the top three runners, including at least one woman, scored for their respective teams. The Washington Running Club team took first place with a combined time of 1:54:42, MCRRC was second with 2:07:21, and Team SAS was a close third with 2:07:45.

Third, and perhaps most spectacularly, the course record of 30:45, held by running luminary Jim Hage since 1990, was broken by Erik Kean (25), who finished first in 30:41. Hage (45) was on the race committee, present, and running; he placed fifth overall and surpassed his time from last year's race, 33:39, in 33:31. The second and third place men, Chris Banks (25) and Glen Mays (32) (photo left), finished within a second of each other, in 31:35 and 31:36 respectively. Banks and Mays ran the first two miles with Kean, but Kean pulled ahead after the three circled RFK Stadium. Kean, running his first Capitol Hill Classic, said that breaking the course record was "a little bit of a surprise. I didn't plan to break the record. I just felt really great." Banks said he knew that the course record was in reach for Kean. Kean and Banks have known each other and run together for years; they both attended Princeton and were teammates on the university's cross country and track and field teams. Now they work together at the Georgetown Running Company.

Of the top men and women, three had run and placed in the inaugural Germantown 5 Miler just yesterday. In fact, they finished in the exact same places in both races. Kean and Banks finished first and second in the men's competition, and Atalelech Ketema (20) finished first in the women's competition.

In today's race, Ketema finished almost a minute and a half ahead of her closest competition. And, as has become her style in local races, she also finished high in the overall standings, claiming thirteenth place. Lynn Knothe (26) took second place in 37:54. Victoria McFarland (26)--who moved from England to Washington, DC just six months ago--was third in 38:42 (photo left by Alan Penberg). While, she explained, "I always feel competitive," she "never expected to come in third." This is the second area race in which she has competed. She ran Pike's Peek on April 27, finishing eighteenth in the women's competition. Washington, DC's Kerry Rodgers (34) took fifth in the women's competition with a time of 40:31.

Rain and records aside, the post-race festivities were held in Stanton Park, which was filled with runners and spectators. At the finish, once runners found their way to the refreshment area, not only did race volunteers offer the race staples--bananas, bagels, and water--but they also handed out Ben and Jerry's ice cream cookie sandwiches. Runners eyed the sandwiches in the hands of those who had finished ahead of them and quickly made their way to the coolers containing the earned treat.

Following the 10K, the 3K runners took off from the same starting line and ran an abbreviated course. Ted Poulos finished first, and Bernie Flynn took the women's race. And the runs still weren't over! After the 3K was finished, the younger kids did a turn around Stanton Park in several heats.

Award Winners

     Awards Listing - Age Group Awards by Net Time
MALE 
Place Name                    Ag City               Time    
===== ======================= == ================== ======= 
    1 Erik Kean               25 Washington DC        30:41 
    2 Chris Banks             25 Alexandria VA        31:35 
    3 Glen Mays               32 Washington DC        31:36 


FEMALE 
Place Name                    Ag City               Time    
===== ======================= == ================== ======= 
    1 Atalelech Ketema        20 Washington DC        36:26 
    2 Lynn Knothe             26 Wilmington DE        37:54 
    3 Victoria Mcfarland      26 Washington DC        38:42 


MALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1 Christopher Hoffman     15 Harrisonburg VA      45:07 
    2 Casey Mlyniec           12 Washington DC        50:38 
    3 Jeff Pearson            15 Ft Belvoir VA        53:11 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1 Megan Crawford          19 Columbia MD          53:26 
    2 Samantha Schatz         17 Washington DC        56:13 
    3 Hallie Shilo            19 Washington DC        59:14 


MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29
    1 Patrick Dudley          24 Washington DC        34:12 
    2 Chris Bingham           20 Cranford NJ          34:50 
    3 David Young             27 Washington DC        35:29 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29
    1 Shannon Banks           21 Springfield VA       39:44 
    2 Allison Henisey         23 Washington DC        41:38 
    3 Deborah Vinton          23 Washington DC        41:51 


MALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39
    1 Frank Sprtel            30 Silver Spring MD     32:50 
    2 Max Lockwood            33 Washington DC        35:55 
    3 Malcolm Lester          35 Washington DC        36:26 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39
    1 Kerry Rodgers           34 Washington DC        40:28 
    2 Claire White            33 Washington DC        44:19 
    3 Adina Wadsworth         35 Washington DC        45:01 


MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 49
    1 Jim Hage                45 Kensington MD        33:30 
    2 Doug Kuderna            42 Odenton MD           34:29 
    3 Richard Mendez          41 Austin TX            35:01 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 49
    1 Pat Keating             41 Dayton MD            40:41 
    2 Blake Rushin            41 Arlington VA         45:48 
    3 Nancy Sturm             40 Washington DC        45:52 


MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 59
    1 Richard Morgan          51 Silver Spring MD     38:01 
    2 Ron Greene              52 Fairfax VA           40:19 
    3 David Macleod           50 Silver Spring MD     41:39 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 59
    1 Catherine Van Brocklin  56 Gaithersburg MD      50:01 
    2 Leslie Stanfield        53 Reston VA            50:13 
    3 Jane Poole              55 Falls Church VA      53:58 


MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 69
    1 Duane Baltz             64 Reston VA            49:15 
    2 Lee Nesbit              60 Arlington VA         50:28 
    3 Charles Duvall          65 Baltimore MD         53:14 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 69
    1 Jane Metzler            61 Falls Church VA      51:58 


MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 99
    1 Henry Metzger           71 Chevy Chase MD       54:45 
    2 Donald Butler           73 Baltimore MD       1:03:42 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 99
No finishers

See complete results of the Capitol Hill Classic 10K (including teams) and 3K.

Take a look at the race Photo Gallery!