Nearly 7,000 runners left Freedom Plaza to head down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Washington, DC opened its arms wide to start May with a glorious spring day, accompanied by bright sunshine, a clear blue sky, and a wondrous breeze to cool the runners. The day was all about color. The race T-shirts were a clean white spelling out the message that this was a Race For Hope. The scores of race volunteers wore green shirts and happy smiles to deal with the nearly 7,000 participants. Volunteers commented on how joyful the crowd was for this event.

Survivors wore yellow shirts like the sun returning the warmth they received from their loved ones as they battled back against tough odds. Many carried yellow balloons. Many were accompanied by an entourage of happy friends and family who know they are blessed by their survival. Hundreds more proudly came out to run or walk the event as a memorial to loved ones who had succumbed and to add testimonial that we can move forward to find a cure this disease.

To be sure, this event was not strictly a sporting event. Thousands of runners lined Pennsylvania Avenue to love and support their survivors, to honor their loved ones, and to announce to the world that a cure must be found. Only about a fourth of the participants (1563) chose to have their 5K timed with the ChampionChip. The rest made their presence felt knowing as we all do that we do not know how much time we will have to finish.

There were nearly 300 teams with more the 50 of them having 30 or more members. These teams went out and with the help of many sponsors helped the race raise nearly two million dollars to benefit the Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure. This year nearly 300 survivors participated in the event.

Photo left, Dionis Gauvin (33) of Alexandria, VA is the third woman in 19:50.
The procession started out from beneath a colorful balloon arch at 9:00 am. Positively gleeful runners allowed the solid tailwind to jet them down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol. It was soon apparent that only maybe the first hundred runners were racing. The rest of the field was a convoy of support. The last finishers returned past the old Post Office Pavilion to Freedom Plaza 90 minutes later. Though sobered by memories and thoughts of concern for their loved ones gone and those still fighting on, the crowd was very upbeat. Elite masters runner Jim Whitnah was proud to come run alongside his friend and survivor Tom Powers. Tom was proud of his time, a swift 22:05. He was delighted to be here.

There were vast quantities of food: bananas, bagels, granola bars, cookies, snack bars, pretzels, rock solid ice-cold fruit bars, and all kinds of chips. Add bottled water and the after race was like a picnic in this town square. There were no special awards for age groups, yet the crowd had barely thinned out even an hour after the last runner had finished. Thousands of hopeful people were enjoying a beautiful day to make a difference in the Race for Hope.

Aaron Totten-Lancaster of Alexandria, VA (in photo left) won comfortably in 16:45 as did Wendy Mathews of Arlington, VA in 19:17. Second place was more contested. Top masters division runner Joerg Schrieder of Rockville, MD could not quite catch Yuri Horwitz, who won a close one 17:11 to 17:20. The women were even closer with runner-up Dionis Gauvin of Alexandria, VA finishing ahead of Melissa Wisner of Washington, DC 19:50 to 19:55.

The fourth man, awards only went to the top three, was a masters division runner, Esteben Fraga-Rosenfel of Arlington, VA in 17:55. For the women, it was a former runner-up who ran 18:31 in 2006. Jacqueline Gruendel of Burke, VA finished in 20:12. She noted before the start that she was going to relax, take it out in 6:30 and have fun. She actually scurried through the first mile in 6:11. Gruendel also had a small weight handicap, being six and a half months pregnant. Naturally, she was disappointed that she was not faster. "I thought I was going to break 20:00, especially after the first mile."

In photo below, Jackie Gruendel (4th woman overall) hurries after Will Rayell (29) of Chevy Chase, MD.

Age Group Winners

FEMALE OVERALL
Place Num   Name                   Ag City                  Time  
===== ===== ====================== == ===================== ===== 
    1  7605 Wendy Matthews         31 Arlington VA          19:17 
    2  7730 Dionis Gauvin          33 Alexandria VA         19:50 
    3  7519 Melissa Wisner         25 Washington DC         19:55 
MALE OVERALL
Place Num   Name                   Ag City                  Time  
===== ===== ====================== == ===================== ===== 
    1  7501 Aaron Totten-Lancaster 33 Alexandria VA         16:45 
    2  7942 Yuri Horwitz           29                       17:11 
    3  6672 Joerg Schroeder        40 Rockville MD          17:20 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 1 - 19
    1  7238 Jennifer Spencer       16 Rockville MD          21:22 21:19  6:52 
    2  7974 Kathryn Meehan         18 Washington DC         23:21 23:09  7:28 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 1 - 19
    1  7237 Daniel Spencer         14 Rockville MD          18:24 18:22  5:55 
    2  6120 William Groves         19 West Point NY         18:26 18:24  5:56 
female AGE GROUP: NET TIME 20 - 24
    1  7024 Kathleen Morison       20 Frederick MD          24:42 21:30  6:55 
    2  6076 Rachel Wise            22 North Wales PA        21:36 21:33  6:56 
male AGE GROUP: NET TIME 20 - 24
    1  6109 John Bassette          21 West Point NY         18:22 18:20  5:54 
    2  6121 Chris Jacobsen         21 West Point NY         18:27 18:24  5:56 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 25 - 29
    1  6145 Karina Lubell          27 Washington DC         21:24 21:20  6:52 
    2  6270 Carissa Stepien        27 Chevy Chase MD        21:28 21:21  6:53 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 25 - 29
    1  7626 Dwayne Rax             26                       18:05 17:57  5:47 
    2  6146 Romain Mareuil         26 Washington DC         18:37 18:36  6:00 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 30 - 34
    1  7752 Jacqueline Gruendel    33 Burke VA              20:12 20:11  6:30 
    2  8025 Rachel McCarthy        32 Falls Church VA       20:56 20:54  6:44 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 30 - 34
    1   207 Adam Stolzberg         32 Arlington VA          18:24 18:21  5:55 
    2  5707 Jesse Rounds           30 Washington DC         18:51 18:45  6:02 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 35 - 39
    1  6185 Caroline Hilton        38 Fairfax VA            22:50 22:49  7:21 
    2  6866 Bethann Telford        38 Fairfax VA            23:51 23:37  7:36 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 35 - 39
    1  8677 Stephen Davies         39 Arlington VA          19:29 19:23  6:15 
    2  7775 Dennis Billings        39 Woodbridge VA         19:34 19:28  6:16 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 40 - 44
    1  8008 Lisa Oakkley           41 Washington DC         21:37 21:32  6:56 
    2  6178 Susan Hamrock          41 Fairfax VA            23:12 23:05  7:26 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 40 - 44
    1  7727 Esteban Fraga-Rosenfel 43 Arlington VA          17:55 17:54  5:46 
    2  7378 Paul Jacobson          44 Gaithersburg MD       18:19 18:19  5:54 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 45 - 49
    1  7661 Eleanor Kerr           48 University Park MD    20:42 20:41  6:40 
    2  6031 Cori Asaka             46 Alexandria VA         28:45 23:13  7:29 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 45 - 49
    1  7663 Antonio Claro          46 Rockville MD          18:49 18:47  6:03 
    2  8638 Thomas Kastner         48 West Point NY         19:17 19:13  6:11 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 50 - 54
    1  6798 Janis Maloney          50 Silver Spring MD      23:54 23:41  7:38 
    2  5779 Virginia Indingaro     50 Arlington VA          29:55 25:01  8:04 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 50 - 54
    1  6380 John Sinnen            52 Waterford VA          20:59 18:37  6:00 
    2  6341 Joe Bolster            54 New York NY           21:09 21:08  6:49 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 55 - 59
    1  6084 Patti Garayta          56 Kensington MD         23:56 23:13  7:29 
    2  7174 Sharon Conway          59 Washington DC         28:07 27:52  8:58 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 55 - 59
    1  7863 James Moreland         55 Gaithersburg MD       20:35 20:35  6:38 
    2  5902 Robert Pinkard         56 Washington DC         24:15 23:18  7:30 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 60 - 64
    1  6725 Sandy May              62 Alexandria VA         26:45 26:36  8:34 
    2  6913 Janet Marano           60 Reston VA             28:54 28:47  9:16 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 60 - 64
    1  6324 Michael Richardson     60 Hanover MD            23:36 23:32  7:35 
    2  6526 Rob Greenlee           61 Washington DC         24:44 24:24  7:52 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 65 - 69
    1  7488 Sara Stewart           65 Washington DC         39:38 38:27 12:23 
    2  6660 Helene Granof          68 Bethesda MD           62:54 60:06 19:21 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 65 - 69
    1  7885 Harold Rosen           65                       26:15 26:11  8:26 
    2  6219 Louis Rosen            65 Bethesda MD           29:47 29:15  9:25 
FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 70 - 99
    1  8664 Mary Kay Davies        77 Irvington             39:09 36:22 11:43 
    2  5929 Sabine Snavely         72 Arlington VA          43:45 42:15 13:36 
MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 70 - 99
    1  7249 Donald Kohler          71 New Market MD         27:27 27:20  8:48 
    2  6860 Albert Van Ocker       70 Waldorf MD            33:30 29:20  9:27 

The Race for Hope DC is open to all participants who seek a 5K challenge, a runner-friendly course down Pennsylvania Avenue in the nation's capital, or just a fun way to support the brain tumor community. The Race for Hope DC funds research and support services for those affected. This year, proceeds from this 5K Run/Walk will benefit two organizations: Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure.

The Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers Race for Hope to benefit Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure looks forward to runners making this an annual tradition of inspiration.

Full Race Day Results