Photos by Drew Woodrich; photo below is Alicia Pease, runner-up.

A lot has happened in the 18 years this tidy community just over the District line in Maryland has been hosting the Back-to- School Classic, an 8K race that benefits the local Somerset Elementary School.

Start with the school itself, which was razed in recent years and now stands newly rebuilt, a monument to the importance residents place on getting their kids started right. Property values have skyrocketed so that relatively modest homes in this most desirable of zip codes easily exceed $1 million. The race has grown too, and is now the prototypical family running event that includes a popular 2K, multiple kids runs, and snow cones for everybody willing to wait in line.

One thing that has not changed is the cheerful, even optimistic ambiance about the event. Smiling volunteers eagerly assist runners before and after the race; enthusiastic crowds line tree- lined streets; and local merchants contribute generously to the post-race snacks and awards ceremony, which is chock-full of random prizes.

If all this sounds a little too close to Wisteria Lane, rest assured, it is not. The centerpiece of the event is still running, racing, and fitness. Max Lockwood (35) and Beth Santilli (25) added their names to the long roster of proud winners at this event.

Lockwood, from Washington, DC (in red shorts), who has been steadily climbing area leader boards the past few years, capped a busy and successful weekend by holding off Jason Galus (25, #412), winning in 27 minutes 1 second. Lockwood, second in the Van Meter 5-Mile Run in Ashburn one day earlier, took the lead from Galus at a mile and a half.

"We had been working together," Lockwood said. "But I was feeling good and at that point I pushed it a bit. Yesterday, I got passed at four and a half miles and lost, so I didn't want that to happen again."

Gallus, originally from Ft. Collins, CO, was in the area on leave from his military post in Frankfurt, Germany. He traveled with 15 teammates 10 days earlier to compete in the Army Ten Miler on October 2, and was still smarting from the disappointment of that rerouted and unofficial event. "I'm just relieved to get a time and place today," he said. The Army race "is the focus of our year, a huge team competition, and we would have done well."

After a collecting his second-place award, a shower, and a few good-byes, Galus (#412 in photo above) flew back to Germany later in the afternoon.

Women's winner Santilli traveled not nearly as far--from Baltimore--but led from the start and finished in 30:35, ahead of runner-up Alicia Pease (22) by nearly two minutes. Santilli finished 21st in last year's Baltimore Marathon, running 3:18, and is planning on racing there again on October 15.

"I'm just getting back into racing," she said. "And today was great--it was such a beautiful day to run."

Erica Nemmers (33), from Vienna, VA was third in 32:40 and Helen Bevens (40), from Kensington, MD was the top masters runner in 32:58. Bevens (#410 in photo above) is still recovering from a heat-stroke incident at the Lawyers Have Heart 10K last June and has been racing more frequently in recent weeks. She has tentatively restarted a speed program and has increased her weekly mileage to between 30 and 40 miles.

Alice Franks (57) ran 37:25 and Priscila Prunella (61) finished in 41:45, 14th and 29th, respectively, for two of the more impressive age-group performances of the day. The indomitable Walt Washburn (82) ran 53:06.

In all, nearly 300 finished the 8K, with another 300 or so completing the 2K; registration numbers for each race were closer to 400.

Top Finishers in the Somerset Back-to-School 8K Classic

OVERALL MALE  (Clock TIME)
Place Num   Name                Age City                  Time    
===== ===== =================== === ===================== ======= 
    1   408 Max Lockwood         35 Washington DC           27:01 
    2   412 Jason Galus          25 Germany                 27:29 
    3   405 Chad Young           24 Bethesda MD             27:54 


OVERALL FEMALE  (Clock TIME)
Place Num   Name                Age City                  Time    
===== ===== =================== === ===================== ======= 
    1   463 Beth Santilli        25 Baltimore MD            30:35 
    2   424 Alicia Pease         22 Chevy Chase MD          32:29 
    3   391 Erica Nemmers        33 Vienna VA               32:40 


MALE AGE GROUP:  1 - 11   (NET TIME)
    1   310 Elie Goldman        11 Chevy Chase MD          36:22 
    2   238 Lucas Thompson      10 Chevy Chase MD          39:07 
    3   134 Jack Christman      10 Chevy Chase MD          43:43 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  1 - 11   (NET TIME)
    1   211 Carravita Pape-Cala 11 Chevy Chase MD          39:11 
    2   296 Ava Farrell         11 Chevy Chase MD          43:31 
    3   319 Grace Reingruber    11 Chevy Chase MD          46:24 


MALE AGE GROUP:  12 - 15   (NET TIME)
    1   458 David Sangill       15 Bethesda MD             35:54 
    2   437 Robbie Thomas       14 Chevy Chase MD          36:35 
    3   303 David London        15 Chevy Chase MD          37:26 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  12 - 15   (NET TIME)
    1   449 Marian Herbick      15 Chevy Chase MD          43:12 
    2   455 Ellie Dugan         15 Silver Spring MD        43:29 
    3   295 Lily Farrell        13 Chevy Chase MD          44:52 


MALE AGE GROUP:  16 - 19   (NET TIME)
    1   305 Scott London        17 Chevy Chase MD          35:13 
    2   467 Jacob Heller        17 Chevy Chase MD          36:07 
    3   356 John Sanders        17 Rockville MD            36:55 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  16 - 19   (NET TIME)
    1   232 Elise Lang          17 Chevy Chase MD          38:22 
    2   446 Rachel Fortier      16 Boyds MD                43:11 
    3   396 Adriana Gobbo       17 Chevy Chase MD          49:35 


MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 34   (NET TIME)
    1   441 Mark Torres         29 Washington DC           28:17 
    2   436 Alex Filides        30 Arlington VA            28:52 
    3   420 Ben Delia           22 Kensington MD           28:54 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 34   (NET TIME)
    1    40 Kristin Mcgough     23 Bethesda MD             35:29 
    2   404 Erin Silliman       23 Bethesda MD             35:43 
    3   451 Jen Norris          34 Arlington VA            39:00 


MALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39   (NET TIME)
    1   433 Tomas Stangeland    35 Bethesda MD             29:40 
    2   452 Mark Hand           38 Arlington VA            30:32 
    3   383 Anthony Kreindler   35 Bethesda MD             31:19 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39   (NET TIME)
    1   466 Karen Griffiths     37 Chicago IL              33:32 
    2   266 Ellen Grant         38 Chevy Chase MD          37:19 
    3   312 Antoinette Van Kirk 36 Chevy Chase MD          40:17 


MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44   (NET TIME)
    1   421 Paul Jacobson       42 Gaithersburg MD         29:44 
    2   337 Frank Trinity       42 Washington DC           29:51 
    3   214 Kevin Coleman       40 Arlington VA            31:35 
FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44   (NET TIME)
    1   410 Helen Beven         40 Kensington MD           32:56 
    2  1093 Sushila Nanda       44 Arlington VA            35:24 
    3   158 Moana Haddad        43 Chevy Chase MD          35:43 


MALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49   (NET TIME)
    1     7 Jim Hage            47 Kensington MD           28:26 
    2   363 David Andrews       49 Bethesda MD             30:23 
    3   414 Michael Mason       49 Spencerville MD         32:53 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49   (NET TIME)
    1   329 Debbie Flynn        49 Gaithersburg MD         33:01 
    2   403 Win Persina         45 Washington DC           34:45 
    3   195 Elizabeth Hurwit    45 Chevy Chase MD          37:45 


MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54   (NET TIME)
    1   341 Spider Rossiter     53 Washington DC           31:05 
    2    37 G Brian Carroll     50 Silver Spring MD        32:22 
    3   349 Ian Lienert         54 Washington DC           33:20 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54   (NET TIME)
    1   121 Patricia Reynolds   52 Silver Spring MD        42:15 
    2   188 Behnaz Fardshisheh  52 Potomac MD              42:36 
    3   190 Amy Ross            53 Chevy Chase MD          42:54 


MALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59   (NET TIME)
    1   316 Roger Mingo         57 Washington DC           33:00 
    2   472 Ben Beach           56 Bethesda MD             34:48 
    3  1097 William Scott       58 Glenarden MD            35:07 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59   (NET TIME)
    1    30 Alice Franks        57 Rockville MD            37:25 
    2   353 Shereen Remez       57 Bethesda MD           1:02:23 


MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64   (NET TIME)
    1   378 Norm Coleman        60 Chevy Chase MD          36:48 
    2  1099 Lou Shapiro         64 Silver Spring MD        37:33 
    3   413 Jim Verdier         63 Alexandria VA           41:25 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64   (NET TIME)
    1   248 Priscila Prunella   61 Rockville MD            41:45 
    2    44 Setsu Rosen         64 Washington DC           45:43 


MALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69   (NET TIME)
    1   198 Benito Vazquez      66 Laurel MD               39:13 
    2   375 Dan Morgan          68 Chevy Chase MD          50:29 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69   (NET TIME)
    1   157 Chrysoula Caris     65 Bethesda MD             50:06 


MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 99   (NET TIME)
    1    47 Robert Smith        71 Comus MD                43:26 
    2    49 Walt Washburn       82 Vienna VA               53:06 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 99   (NET TIME)
    1   132 Carol Montgomery    70 Philadelphia PA         52:07 

Full race results

Photo gallery