Photo above at the Kennedy Center: The race leaders, Ruben Garcia of Mexico and Carl Rundell (in yellow) of Birmingham, MI, dueled near mile 9. They shook off the rest of the men's field and fought for victory up the final hill to the Iwo Jima Memorial finish line.

Susannah Kvasnicka (photo left at mile 16, the Jefferson Memorial) of Great Falls, VA, won her first marathon with a time of 2:47:07. Kvasnicka established an early lead and did not falter. She had raced the Twin Cities Marathon four weeks earlier and had a bad experience with dehydration during the final six miles. Today's sunny skies and cool temperatures welcomed runners and spectators to a glorious day in Washington. Kvasnicka had little time to catch her breath after crossing the finish line; television cameras awaited and she calmly responded to questions. A few minutes later, with a smile now on her face, she credited great spectator support on the course. The Marine Corps Marathon started well for her and she ran with a few men during the first 22 miles. She admitted to fading slightly during the final two miles when her pace slowed to about 6:40/mile, but her performance was grand the whole way. "It felt great, in my hometown, with all my friends here," Kvasnicka happily remarked.

Carl Rundell of Birmingham, MI, returned to the scene of his 2004 disappointment when he boldly led the Marine Corps Marathon before slipping back to fifth place in 2:26:48. This year was different as Rundell raced faster and smarter to barely miss victory at the tape. Mexican Ruben Garcia (34) won the Marine Corps Marathon in 2:22:18 and Carl Rundell (37) finished second in 2:22:26. The two men truly raced the entire distance. "I'm getting closer [to winning], I can't complain," Rundell admitted after the race. This year, he explained, there was no suicidal attempt to run too fast with a fizzle later in the race. Rundell and Garcia squared off against each other with a few surging moves, but Garcia countered every move that Rundell made during all 26.2 miles. "I thought I could drop him. I threw in everything I had. But after mile 22, he opened a small gap on me," summarized Rundell on his tactics.

Liz Wilson of Eugene, OR, flew into town Friday night to visit her brother, who currently is being treated for a brain tumor. Wilson, who works for SportHill clothing, talked to race director Rick Nealis Saturday and convinced him to allow her to race. Her running credentials are impeccable, as demonstrated by her second place finish in 2:49:55. "My coach doesn't know about this yet. And I owe the race director some home baked cookies," she joked afterwards. Sometimes there is no better release of emotional energy than a good, long run.

Eric Post of Centreville, VA, finished third in the men's race with a personal best time of 2:23:51. Like Rundell, Post has raced the Marine Corps Marathon previously as a leader who faded before the finish tape. This year, Post too started with a conservative pace rather than risk an aggressive leading position. He raced strong and steady the entire distance. It was not a perfect race. He felt he could have been more aggressive, but he did not let up this time. A personal best shows that he has advanced as a marathoner.

The third place female (2:54:55), Emily Brozozowski of Savannah, GA, represented the U.S. Army and was the highest placing American military finisher in her first marathon. She smiled broadly, "Everyone tells horror stories about the marathon. I had a goal of 3:00 and started slowly, then picked up the pace. I ran with a nice guy from Ohio, I think his name is Jeff, from miles 8 through 20 and went from fourth to third near mile 25." She does most of her training solo and also swims a lot. Brozozowski ran the Army Ten Miler on October 2, when security concerns caused the race to become an unofficial event. She now has a third place credit to her name with her performance in the Marine Corps Marathon.

Top Five Overall

  NAME                   TIME
1 RUBEN GARCIA	         02:22:14
2 CARL RUNDELL	         02:22:23
3 ERIC POST	         02:23:51
4 JOHN MENTZER	         02:24:24
5 HIPOLITO SANDOVOL	 02:27:26

  NAME                   TIME
1 SUSANNAH KVASNICKA	 02:47:07
2 LIZ WILSON	         02:49:55
3 EMILY BROZOZOWSKI	 02:54:55
4 MARLENE FARRELL	 02:55:50
5 CATHY PUGSLEY	         02:58:45

See MCM Results.