Photo: Winner Michael Wardian is one of Washington's best marathoners and will be running the Baltimore Marathon on October 16th. Keep it going strong!

Fast Running for the Health of It
Photo: Allison Bunner, age 9 of Bristow, VA was one of three pre- teens who won age group awards for the 5K. Bunner won the 19 & Under Female division with a terrific time of 23:50.

It's an incredible achievement to run long at an early age. Claire Trivisonno, age 9, and younger brother Mike, age 7, also accomplished fast finishes with 5K times of 25:44 and 23:51. They play basketball and swim--active children keep adults humble and happy.
There were 161 finishers this year at the Navy Federal Credit Union 5K in Vienna, VA. Early morning rain and an overcast sky kept the weather outcome uncertain, but the superb landscaping of the NFCU campus offered a great site to hold an autumn event near the W & OD Trail. Northern Virginia offers splendid parks for recreational use, where one can shift gears from the daily stress of work and family duties. The 5K run was cheerfully staffed by the NFCU health club and participants were treated to a neighborhood course that turned gently, offering a change of scenery and small hills. Z 104.1 radio station had a marketing person on site and there were three staff from the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department patiently standing by.

Like a Good Samaritan, Event Supports Work of CHO
Photo: Fairfax residents Barry Bryant, 44, and Will Hymes, 14 wrap up their quick morning dash in 20:41. Hymes won the Male 19 & Under divison by two and a half minutes.

The Navy FCU 5K run was low key, but the performances by veteran age group runner were quite remarkable. The first three women offered excitement as they ran sub-19:30 and the tightly contested winner's title went to Lou Hohnka-Oswald, 27 of Herndon, VA; Hohnka-Oswald's competitive instinct kept her barely ahead of Barb Fallon- Wallace, 30 of Alexandria VA--both were timed in 18:46. The 27- year-old ran the 5K as a speed workout in preparation for the SunTrust Richmond Marathon on November 13. Hohnka-Oswald broke her foot in June, 2003, which cut short her plans of qualifying for the Women's Olympic Trials Marathon in April, 2004. She has been patiently rebuilding her mileage since last year's bad break.
Photo below: Lou Hohnka-Oswald (left) and Barb Fallon- Wallace reached the finish line together.

30-year-old Barbara Fallon-Wallace is in her second year of service as President of the well-established Washington Running Club, which offers weekend training runs out of Georgetown. The Navy Federal 5K is one of her first races after a string of stress fracture injuries over a four year period in her hip, back and pelvis. Her first injury, the hip stress fracture, took a long time to diagnose because it is uncommon to have a stress fracture of a large bone. The succession of stress fractures alerted Fallon-Wallace to the importance of patient, slow rebuilding of strength and mileage. She works as a physical therapist at Capital Rehabilitation in Arlington, in joint practice with a chiropractor; they treat many runners and her background as a physical therapist kept her pursuing an answer for treatment of the painful injuries--one must be proactive when seeking a solution to an uncommon problem.

Fallon-Wallace received a Bachelor in Business Administration from William & Mary College in 1995, moved to Washington in 1997, and met her husband Dan Wallace while running. Dan will be running the Marine Corps Marathon this Halloween.

NFCU Offers Benefit with a Smile
Photo: The great advantage of running is that it keeps one looking youthful, even at age 40 and beyond. An ebullient Diane Foley jogged the course in 30:22.

Brendan Vasher, 44, and Betty Blank, 51, were the oldest runners to finish in the top five. Brendan assists Capital Running Company at weekend runs and works for the U.S. Army--he has the discipline to take orders and smile, similar to another U.S. Army employee and CRC crew member, Sharon Weinhold, who has not yet been convinced to run with us. "It was fun, there was not too much heat this morning," smiled Vasher after finishing third in 17:53.

Betty Blank expressed disappointment in having run "only" 21:18, after three weeks coping with a bad case of flu. The Falls Church resident is a familar sight at local events due to her amazing ability to claim age group honors; her super-fit physique and tenacity have led to a consistency hard to match.

There were families and friends, members of a local boy's soccer team in their burgundy uniforms, and age group aces like Sandy Adams of Winchester, John Elliott of Columbia, Jamie Wollard of Bethesda, Larry Dickerson of Burke, and Sushila Nanda of Arlington. Running offers the opportunity to meet new people in the local community who share an appreciation for the beauty of a physically challenging exercise in the great outdoors, a quick escape just outside the house--no long drive or expensive equipment needed.

This event was organized by the NFCU health club, who provided smiling faces and an appreciation to the participants for their effort to continue running, a heathly dedication outside work hours. L & T Health and Fitness, a women-owned small business in Falls Church, VA, provides personnel for the health club and provided several staff members in support of the Navy Federal 5K, which benefits a local community based charity, CHO, Committee for Helping Others.

Navy Federal 5K Results for Top Finishers

Top Overall Males
Place Num   Name                Age City               Time    
===== ===== =================== === ================== ======= 
    1     1 Michael Wardian      30 Arlington VA         16:03 
    2   179 Craig Hymes          42 Fairfax VA           17:25 
    3   153 Brendan Vasher       44 Richmond Hill GA     17:53 
    4   128 Mark Ellis           27 Boston MA            18:10 
    5    23 Wilco Lagendyk       38 Vienna VA            18:49 


Top Overall Females
Place Num   Name                Age City               Time    
===== ===== =================== === ================== ======= 
    1   177 Lou Hohnka-Oswald    27 Herndon VA           18:46 
    2   170 Barb Fallon-Wallace  30 Alexandria VA        18:46 
    3   144 Mary Davison         31 Chesapeake VA        19:13 
    4   141 Molly Imming         23 Falls Church VA      20:04 
    5    11 Betty Blank          51 Falls Church VA      21:18 


Male Age Group Awards
MALE AGE GROUP:  19 & Under
    1   178 Will Hymes          14 Fairfax VA           20:40 
    2   112 Jonathan Crespo     17 Springfield VA       23:16 
    3   138 Mike Trivisonno     07 Vienna VA            23:51 


MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29
    1    28 James Banks         27 Stafford VA          20:24 
    2   185 Brett Stelle        29 Alexandria VA        21:14 
    3    64 Jeff Plant          29 Arlington VA         22:29 


MALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39
    1   196 Mark Hand           37 Arlington VA         18:55 
    2   202 Steven Ablondi      34 Mclean VA            20:08 
    3   148 Jean Mbisa          36 Frederick MD         21:05 


MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 49
    1    83 John Brooks         41 Vienna VA            20:13 
    2   151 Barry Bryant        44 Fairfax VA           20:37 
    3   223 Steve Robinson      49 Herndon VA           20:42 


MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 59
    1    32 Ken White           51 Warrenton VA         21:11 
    2   176 Carl Knoettner      59 Falls Church VA      22:43 
    3   195 Donald Hensel       59 Gaithersburg MD      22:46 


MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 69
    1   103 John Elliott        66 Columbia MD          20:29 
    2   163 Ken Quincy          67 Vienna VA            23:16 
    3   174 Bill Joyce          60 Herndon VA           23:18 


MALE AGE GROUP:  70 & Over
    1    84 Larry Dickerson     73 Burke VA             25:08 
    2   216 Tony Neasham        70 Chevy Chase MD       25:52 
    3   166 Jim Hufford         70 Reston VA            26:38 


Female Age Group Awards
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  19 & Under
    1   143 Allison Bunner      09 Bristow VA           23:50 
    2   137 Claire Trivisonno   09 Vienna VA            25:44 
    3   139 Becca Stefantz      18 Herndon VA           29:24 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29
    1   190 Jennifer Demske     26 Mclean VA            23:56 
    2   113 Cynthia Mathis      28 Mclean VA            24:11 
    3    66 Molly Mccormack     27 Alexandria VA        28:21 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39
    1   161 Sandra Erbaugh      35 Sterling VA          22:21 
    2   203 Jacque Lynne Galant 32 Dulles VA            24:44 
    3   200 Beth Ridings        31 Centreville VA       25:13 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 49
    1    34 Sushila Nanda       43 Arlington VA         21:35 
    2    31 Janet Townshend     40 Vienna VA            24:15 
    3   213 Carla Unterkorler   42 Chantilly VA         30:03 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 59
    1   182 Sandra Adams        54 Winchester VA        21:49 
    2   173 Jenny Rexrode       50 Fredericksburg VA    21:54 
    3   117 Mary Ann Mongillo   55 Vienna VA            27:25 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 69
    1    25 Jamie Wollard       66 Bethesda MD          32:18 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 & Over
    No Finishers

Chasing a Good Time
Find your result by going to the Results Web page and type "Navy" in the "Race Name" window.

Richard Williams, 68, of Alexandria, VA finished in 24:10 and offered this tip on how to run faster: Join a lunch time group at work with faster runners. This provides a regularly scheduled workout and an incentive to run ones best effort. After his first year of retirement, Williams still seeks a new way to develop a training plan. He found the Navy Federal 5K course to be a pleasant tour through Vienna, VA.

Photo: Oh my gosh, it's tough to keep up with a male friend sometimes, especially when he spots the finish line. Chris, age 34, tries to sneak across the line first while Beth Ridings, 31 of Centreville,VA makes an effort to avoid getting left behind. They started and finished together, completing their fun workout in 25:20. Beth Ridings won an age group award!