Sometimes, small can be beautiful--as at the 11th Outback Steakhouse 8K in Hyattsville, where a deep and talented but relatively cozy field of not quite 500 finishers waged a spirited race for a prize purse of $7,500.

Joseph Mwaai, 20 (photo above, by Alan Penberg), from West Chester, PA, via Kenya, emerged through the thick morning mist at Prince George's Plaza to break the tape first in 23 minutes 56 seconds, two seconds ahead of Ben Cooke, 26, from Silver Spring. Kenyans David Kipncetech, Sammy Ngeno, and Julius Gwako took third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Mwaai professed a winner's confidence despite the close finish. "I knew the other guys and they have not yet beaten me," he said.

For his part, Cooke rallied from far back at halfway--and from a disappointing finish at Outback in 2002. "Last year I took the lead early and faded," he said. "I vowed to do better this time. Maybe I was too conservative, letting [Mwaai] get away, but it was still a good race for me."

Russian roommates Olga Romanova, 23 (photo left, #37), and Tatyana Chulakh, 21 (#43; photo by Alan Penberg), ran side-by-side through the early miles, then moved together to drop Romanian Denisa Costescu, 27, in the final mile. Romanova won in 26:52, Chulakh was second in 26:54 and Costescu third in 27:09; all three women bettered Naoko Ishibe's 1999 course record of 27:20.

"For Olga, it was just a training run," explained Konstantin Selinevich, who represents the two Russian women. "They ran together until the end, but then it turns into a competition. Tatyana made the first move, and Olga said she probably tried to take over too soon."

Christina Wells, 28, who recently moved to Woodbridge from Kentucky, finished fourth in 27:22. Wells ran 2:40:22 at the 2002 Chicago Marathon is preparing for the Olympic Trials in St. Louis next April.

"I knew it was a good field," Wells said. "I tried to hang in the pack until four miles, and that's when the Russian girls shot off."

The winners received $600; second place was worth $450. Tim Schuler, 40, from Chambersburg, PA earned $400 for winning the masters race in 26:16. Joe Abernethy, 44, was second in 26:38.

Donna Moore, 43, took the women's masters division in 30:37, outkicking Laura Freix, 42, in the homestretch. "I was behind her the whole way," Moore said. "I felt kind of bad passing her at the end."

Darrell General, 37, recovering from sore knees and running with dual Cho-pats, finished 28th in 27:36. General will run his fifth Olympic Trials marathon in February. "I'm just glad to be out here again," General said.

Which was the prevalent feeling among the hundreds of runners who enjoyed top-flight competition, excellent weather and one of the best post-race brunches in what is surely the best kept secret on the Washington area running circuit.

The Outback Steakhouse 8K is conducted by the City of Hyattsville Department of Parks and Recreation, and benefits the Special Olympics Prince George's County. The race raised in excess of $22,500 for the Special Olympics.

See complete results of the men's and women's races.

Check back for our Photo Gallery.