Photos by Drew Woodrich

A suspicious package under the 14th Street Bridge spotted by the Metropolitan District Police minutes after some 17,000 runners took off from the Pentagon in the 21st Army Ten-Miler forced a mid-course rerouting and unofficial status upon the nation's largest ten-mile race.

The package, which turned out to be construction debris, was not "cleared" by police until 8:55, too late to salvage what became an ad hoc 11-plus mile course. Rather than returning from the Mall to the Pentagon via the 14th Street Bridge as planned, police and race organizers closed the bridge and rerouted runners across the Potomac River via Memorial Bridge.

Although an impromptu finish line was quickly established on the west side of the Pentagon, times and places were deemed unofficial and the event was declared a "fun run." With no winners to present, the awards ceremony was canceled.

The blow is the latest in a series of mishaps to what is the Army's biggest running event. Four years ago, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the race was canceled just days before its scheduled 17th running. In 2002, the event took place under the cloud of the area's sniper attack; military sharpshooters stationed on the roof of the Pentagon did little to assuage anxiety.

Most runners this year didn't realize they were being rerouted and suffered through the extra distance bereft of mile markers and water stations. Others knew something was up.

"It was more like a 20K," said two-time race winner Darrell General (39), from Hyattsville (wearing yellow singlet, in photo above). "I knew the course didn't go there, it didn't feel right. I got a little concerned."

Men's favorite Chris Graff (29, bib 48, photo left), from Rosslyn, surged through the halfway mark at 4:50 per mile pace with a healthy lead. But two miles later, his race turned into a run for survival.

"I knew we weren't going the right way when I was headed straight into thousands of people," Graff said of his encounter with runners still in the early stages of their race. He jumped curbs and onto grass in an effort to get back to Memorial Bridge. "It was a free-for-all. But I knew I just needed to get back to the Pentagon. I live here, so I had an advantage: I knew the way home better than the guys behind me."

Graff, who won the race in 1999, has been training up to 140 miles per week for the New York City Marathon on November 6, when he hopes to run 2:10.

But the day was less about racing and fast times than disappointment and security concerns.

Army Col. Joe Torres, race director Jim Vandak, and others, including Arlington and Pentagon police representatives, made the decision to reroute based upon information provided by District Police at 8:37 am, 35 minutes after the initial notification of the suspicious package and just minutes before the lead runners would have moved onto the bridge. "After inspection, it was determined that the package posed no danger," Torres said.

Marine Corps Marathon director Rick Nealis was among the race participants. "At seven miles, I said, 'Hey, where are we going?'" Nealis recounted. While sympathetic with the Army's dilemma, Nealis expressed concern about the decision to reroute. "I hope it was more than a suspicious package," he said. "I would have thought it was something more like a truck bomb or something."

The Marine Corps Marathon, which also traverses the Mall and the 14th Street Bridge, is full with 30,000 registered runners, and set for October 30. "I've got a lot of work to do on Monday," Nealis said.

For the official explanation of the changes in the course, see the notice posted on the Army Ten-Miler Web site.

See a Photo Gallery.