Photo: Washingtonian Anthony Belber, coach of girls' and boys' cross country at Georgetown Day School, has a long record of top three finishes in this event.

Autumn Color
Road racers are welcome to join local elementary school students and families for a run along wooded, residential streets. The 17th Annual Somerset Back-to-School Classic 8K follows a neighborhood course with some rolling hills in beautiful Chevy Chase, MD on Sunday, October 10, 2004; the 8K race starts at 8:00 a.m., followed shortly thereafter by a non-competitive 2K and children's fun runs in the school yard. The event offers an USATF-certified 8K course, with mile splits and two staffed water stations.

Entry fee: $20 for adults through October 1st, $25 after October 1st. Kids 18 and under are $15.

To register and for more information, see the event Web site

Packet pick-up and late registration will be available at Somerset Town Hall on Saturday, October 9th, 10am - 4pm and on race day from 6:30am - 7:50am.

All entrants receive a Back-to-School Classic T-shirt and brunch. Brunch, kids' runs, and awards ceremony follow the completion of the 8K and 2K; there will also be random prize drawings.

Proceeds support Somerset Elementary School. Sponsors include Evers & Company Real Estate, Inc., Breads Unlimited, Steve Schwat - Mac Mannes, Inc, Washington Home Mortgage, Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, Belikove & Graves - Insurance & Financial Services, Cafe Deluxe, Criswell Automotive, Dream Home Remodeling, Esprit Rainbow Travel, Martens Cars of Washington, Stefanelli Brothers - River Road Auto Service, Saks Fifth Avenue, and many other local businesses and families.

2003 Overall Results for the 8K

Overall Men
Pl  Name               Age	Hometown      Chip  Clock Time
 1  Matt Cooke  	24    Washington, DC	26:23	26:23
 2  Chad Young  	22    Bethesda, MD	27:34	27:34
 3  Anthony Belber	30    Washington, DC	27:38	27:39
 4  Mike Sheehy 	31    Chevy Chase, MD	28:35	28:36
 5  Ted Poulos  	41    McLean, VA	29:19	29:19
 6  David Andrews	47    Bethesda, MD	29:29	29:29
 7  Sean Aronson	24    Washington, DC	29:33	29:33
 8  Chuck Graf  	37    Chevy Chase, MD	29:59	30:00
 9  Jim Hage        	45    Kensington, MD	30:31	30:32
10  David Wild  	48    Washington, DC	30:34	30:41




Overall Women
 1  Janet Urbanski	33    Frederick, MD	31:28	31:31
 2  Elizabeth Feldman   36    Chevy Chase, MD	31:49	31:50
 3  Ann Reed    	29    Columbia, MD	32:08	32:12
 4  Jennifer Frink	33    Washington, DC	33:28	33:32
 5  Jennifer Newman	35    Silver Spring, MD	34:46	34:50
 6  Anna Gunn   	40    Chevy Chase, MD	35:58	36:00
 7  Alice Franks	55    Rockville, MD	36:38	36:43
 8  Wendy Ponvert	41    Bethesda, MD	37:02	37:06
 9  Ann Gorman  	34    Washington, DC	37:14	37:14
10  Kathryn O'Brien	40    Washington, DC	37:39	37:45

Read Jim Hage's story, "Pleasant Valley Sunday," on the 2003 race.

Photo above: Elizabeth Feldman finished second among women in the 2003 Somerset Back to School Classic 8K.