"This is not my city today," said Wilson Komen, Washington's top road racer, after finishing fifth in the first Thomas Labrecque Classic 4 Mile Race in West Potomac Park. Komen, accustomed to finishing first in area events, meant that on this day the city belonged to the winners. But he may as well have been speaking for many of the more than 1,000 runners and walkers who registered for the run and accompanying two-mile walk, because the New York Road Runners brought their highly-polished show south to host the event and support lung cancer research.

The event had a definite Big Apple feel (and not in an obnoxious way): unusual bells and whistles at the staging area, including those giant, inflatable, wavy people, good prize money for the top three men and women, "technical" rather than cotton T-shirts, and plenty of New York club officials stalking about in matching hats and jackets dictating that everyone have a good time.

Isaac Arusel (photo left), like Komen, from Kenya, took a pack of five runners through a swift opening mile, but Arusel stretched out the field thereafter and won in 18 minutes 50 seconds.

"I was okay at the start, but it was very cold and my legs did not respond," Arusel said. "In the middle, I kept trying to pick up the pace, kept pushing, pushing, because I knew some of the others and I knew I would have to break away before the end or I would not win."

Sean O'Brien, one of those to whom Arusel should have been referring, is one of the top U.S. middle-distance runners (1,500 meters personal best of 3:38.46) and, after a year training with Nike Farm Team in California, is the assistant to head coach Matt Centrowitz at American University. O'Brien (25) stuck to Arusel longer than the rest of the talented group of leaders and finished second in 18:54. The AU graduate continues to train, race and pursue graduate studies at American.

Brian Godsey (24, photo left), from Baltimore, was third in 19:04, topping Oleksandr Kuzin, a 2:10:54 marathoner (Venice 2004) from Ukraine who is living and training with many other top foreign athletes, including Arusel, in West Chester, PA. So despite his excellent 19:09 effort (an average of 4:47 per mile), Kuzin won nothing but was relegated to interpreting for the women's winner, Tatiana Hladyr, a Ukrainian also living in West Chester. Hladyr out-distanced the women's field in 21:07, beating runner-up Samia Akbar by 34 seconds.

"The weather was good, the course was flat and very fast," said Hladyr (photo) through Kuzin. "The other girls didn't stay with me after one mile." Hladyr finished third last spring at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile and earlier in November placed 11th at the New York City Marathon in 2:29:34.

Akbar, another AU graduate who is rapidly laying claim as the area's top female roadracer--to say nothing of her national track and cross country credentials--ran a fine 21:41, outkicking Abebe Tola (28), from New York City by six seconds. Akbar (23) is coached by miler Alan Webb's coach, Scott Raczko, who, along with Akbar's mother, offered encouragement along the course. "It was good to be competitive today," said Akbar, who finished third in the USTAF Cross Country Nationals in Rochester, NY, just 24 hours earlier.

But the race was in a large way devoted to lung cancer awareness, and it was hard to miss the team of seven Georgetown University women wearing T-shirts in memory of O'Neal Turner, who died from the disease. His daughter, Ashley Turner (20), organized the group. "It's just our way of remembering my dad and honoring his memory," Turner said, while the GU students, from all across the country, nodded their assent.

Likewise, Thomas Labrecque Jr., a local runner himself, served as official starter in the race designed to remember his father, a non-smoker who died just eight months after being diagnosed with lung cancer. The Labrecque event in New York has already enjoyed three runnings, and the NYRR hopes to make it a series in at least two more cities. They seem well on their way.

Male Award Winners

MALE OPEN
    1    65 Isaac Arusel         29 West Chester PA      18:50 
    2   690 Sean O'Brien         25 Washington DC        18:54 
    3   216 Brian Godsey         24 Baltimore MD         19:04 


MALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1   759 David East           17 Woodbridge VA        24:17   24:19 
    2   794 Tucker Velez         16 Bristow VA           27:07   27:10 
    3   733 Conor Jennings       16 Clarksville MD       27:29   27:32 


MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29
    1   318 Wilson Komen         27 Washington DC        19:10   19:11 
    2   797 Matthew Lowe         25 Arlington VA         21:31   21:33 
    3   796 Peter Tollefson      24 Arlington VA         22:37   22:39 


MALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39
    1   330 Oleksandr Kuzin      31 West Chester PA      19:09   19:09 
    2   819 Philippe Rolly       33 Fairfax VA           20:40   20:41 
    3   245 Paul Hannsen         32 New York NY          21:05   21:06 


MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 49
    1   834 Jim Hage             47 Kensington MD        22:04   22:06 
    2   353 Paul B Legere        42 Washington DC        25:06   25:09 
    3   389 Vincent McDonald     46 Arlington VA         26:05   26:07 


MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 59
    1   658 Mike Hart            50 Washington DC        23:03   23:04 
    2   833 David Webster        52                      23:58   23:59 
    3  1714 Mick Slonaker        56 Columbia MD          24:41   24:43 


MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 69
    1   840 Jordan Jay           60 Albuquerque NM       29:41   29:51 
    2  2154 Bill Sollers         67 Silver Spring MD     30:32   30:38 
    3   821 Jim Verdier          63                      31:57   32:00 


MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 79
    1  1726 Michael Frankfurt    70 New York NY          36:17   36:20 
    2   613 Philip Zenchoff      78 Silver Spring MD     48:44   49:31 

Female Award Winners

FEMALE OPEN
    1   263 Tatiana Hladyr       30 West Chester PA      21:07 
    2   818 Samia Akbar          23 Herndon VA           21:41 
    3   707 Abebe Tola           28 New York NY          21:47 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  01 - 19
    1   395 Kerry McVay          15 New York NY          29:34   29:42 
    2   396 Leigh McVay          18 New York NY          35:56   36:11 
    3   246 Shayna Hardy         17 New York NY          35:54   36:11 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29
    1   698 Casey Smith          26 Arlington VA         23:02   23:03 
    2   820 Kelly Behan          23                      23:56   23:58 
    3   766 Claire Henderson     22 Arlington VA         27:23   27:37 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39
    1   587 Christina Wells      30 Woodbridge VA        22:30   22:32 
    2   817 Elena Orlova         35 Derwood MD           22:33   22:34 
    3   623 Mary Kate Bailey     31 Arlington VA         22:36   22:38 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 49
    1   252 Alisa Harvey         40 Manassas VA          22:45   22:47 
    2   416 Rebecca Nathan       40 New York NY          25:07   25:10 
    3   767 Patricia Cuff        41 Alexandria VA        28:11   28:14 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 59
    1   204 Alice K Franks       57 Rockville MD         28:52   28:58 
    2   619 Renee West           50 Bethesda MD          29:43   29:47 
    3  1742 Lynn Salvo           56 Mclean VA            31:55   32:02 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 69
    1   534 Barbara Stark        61 Suffolk VA           35:21   35:35 
    2   603 Jamie Wollard        67 Rockville MD         43:49   44:04 
    3   178 Angela Elkins        61 Washington DC        46:04   46:43 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 79
    1   434 Jacqueline O'Neil    74 Washington DC        45:34   46:18 
    2  1713 Lillian Wolf         72 Silver Spring MD   1:08:25 1:09:18 

The event included a 2-mile health walk around the Tidal Basin, with several hundred participants.

The New York Road Runners Web site has complete results.

Photo Gallery 2005
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