From the start of the marathon just outside Oriole Park at Camden Yards, a tight pack of eight men took the lead. The pack included Wilson Komen of Kenya (and Washington, DC, #6), Peter Ayiemi of Kenya (#2), Mykola Antonenko of Ukraine (#1), Ronald Mogaka (#17, DNF), Joseph Mutinda of Kenya (#19), and Mikhail Khobotov of Russia (#18). The men worked together until miles 16 through 18, when Antonenko, feeling strong, pulled ahead in the hilly part of the course.

Khobotov and two others tried to stay with him, but fell off the pace. Antonenko crossed the finish line of the Under Armour Baltimore Marathon alone at 2:15:40. Khobotov, not worried about the other two men running with him, pulled away at mile 20 and took over second place, finishing in 2:17:00. Mindaugas Pukstas (27) of Lithuania (2:18:25) and Joseph Mutinda (31, 2:19:34) followed. Wilson Komen, who races frequently in Washington, DC, winning several races this summer, including the Lawyers Have Heart 10K, rounded out the top five with his 2:20:28.

Through his interpreter, Antonenko (33) later said he surged in an effort to break the pack, not wanting to go to the 20-mile point still in a pack. Despite struggling with an 8-hour time difference from his home in Donyetsk, Ukraine, and wanting to go to sleep, he reported feeling strong. At the 10K point, he realized the pace was too slow, and, at 16 miles, feeling too comfortable, decided to push the pace.

The women also ran in a tight pack in the early stages of the race. Marina Bychkova of Russia (#34), Elvira Kolpakova of Russia (#33), Claudia Camargo (#28, DNF), Ramilia Burangulova of Romania (#27), and Ilona Barvanova of Ukraine (#26) were bunched tightly together at the 10K point, hoping to avoid the windy conditions in Baltimore that morning. Standing tall in the back of the pack was Lee DiPietro (47) of Baltimore. Feng Sun (36, #2717) of Columbia hung with the pack through 10K, and trailed close behind the leaders through the half, eventually finishing in 39th place.

Burangulova (44), who won the 2004 Baltimore Marathon in 2:40:21, also reported feeling strong despite the pain in her heels from an old injury that required surgery in 1996, and pulled away from the pack before the half-way point (but still dogged by Bychkova), maintaining her lead through the finish (2:42:00). She was followed by Barvanova 2 minutes 44 seconds later.

When the pack broke up, Barvanova found herself in 4th place, but, staying with her pre-race plan and steady pace, took over 3rd place at mile 21 and 2nd place at mile 23. Bychkova took 3rd with her 2:46:07, Kolpakova was 4th in 2:50:15, and Kathleen Jobes (35) of Bethlehem, PA, was the first US finisher with her 5th place finish in 2:50:56.

With a $100,000 prize purse, there was plenty of cash to spread around. The overall winners of the marathon took home $15,000 each, with $5,000 to second place, down to $200 for tenth. The categories for first Maryland resident, first Baltimore resident, first in the masters division, first military, first Terp runner, and first-time marathoner all had prizes of $1,000- $750-$500.

John Spider Sillery (33, photo) and Denise Knickman (37) took the first Baltimore resident honors in 2:38:34 and 2:57:09, respectively. Lee DiPietro (47) was the first female masters division finisher (3:01:26) and John Piggot (40) of Williamsburg, 9th overall, was the first male in the masters division and also first in the armed forces division.

In the Care First BlueCross BlueShield Half-Marathon, Abderrahim Haji (27) of Morocco narrowly edged out Samuel Ndereba (28) of Kenya at the finish line, 1:06:10 to 1:06:11. The women's race was also close, but not as close as the men: Natalya Berkut (30) of Ukraine finishing in 1:15:12 and Aster Demissie (21) of Ethiopia finishing in 1:15:41. Dave Berardi (45) of Baltimore, 7th overall, took masters division honors with his 1:15:35, and Robyn Humphry (41) of Ellicott City won the women's division in 1:30:00, good for 8th overall.

In the United Way 5K, Joseph Koskei (24) of Kenya ran a fast 14:15 for first, with George Kirwa (20), also of Kenya, close behind in 14:22. Rod Koborsi (22) of Washington, DC was 3rd in 14:28. Elena Orlova (35) of Russia was first in the women's division in 17:04, and Vicki Cauller (33) of York, PA, was 2nd in 17:45. Erin Swain (23) of Clifton, VA took 3rd in 18:02.

Despite a record 11,200 registrants, with the four events, none is very large. The half-marathon had the largest number of participants, with women finishers outnumbering the men 1897 to 1365. Two thousand three hundred ninety participated in the marathon (1505 men; 885 women), and 1223 in the 5K, with women again outnumbering the men 671 to 552.

The rest of the field participated in the Legg Mason Funds Team Relay, with multiple categories of relay teams. The Blue Badgers (Katie Garrett, Mark Breitenbach, Jason Hein, Ryan Smith) placed first in the mixed category (225 teams participating); Falls Road Running Store took first in the male division (Mark Gilmore, Joe Smith, Brian Godesky, Eric Estrada, 75 teams total); Badd Company Vixen (Michelle Barbieri, Bridget Willot, Christy Hoppe, Mary Beth Cochrane) placed first in the female division (75 teams participating); and Falls Road Running Store also took the corporate category (72 teams participating). Additional team categories included running clubs and armed forces.

Photo above: Runners just past the half-way point, (l-r) Andrew Eschelbacher, Providence, RI; Rob Bailey, Alexandria, VA; George Olean, Ellicott City, MD (1st 45-49); Tom Banchy, Catonsville, MD (34th overall) and Tesfaye Amenu (DNF).

See complete results of the Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival.

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