It was another hectic morning in the Seidman household; Josh, the dad, and Jocelyn, the mom, worked to get Ben and Leo, their five-year-old twins fed, dressed and ready. Ryan, three, offered his usual level of cooperation.

But this was not just any morning. Sure, the family regularly joins Josh on weekends when he indulges his racing habit. On this day, however, the twins were excited to be making their racing debut at the 20th Somerset Back-to-School Classic Kids run; Ryan seemed less enthusiastic about his race and would be a game-time decision.

(Josh can be seen in the start photo above; white singlet with red stripe.)

The first event on the family racing card was Dad's 8K and the old man (38) acquitted himself nicely, finishing eighth overall in 31 minutes 49 seconds. Ahead of him, Chad Young (26) from Bethesda had grabbed an early lead. Young, a graduate of American University, where he ran for guru Matt Centrowitz, now teaches math at nearby Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, where he coaches cross country and track.

Young (in photo) pulled away from the field at two miles and went on to win in 26:56. He finished third in 2005 and second in 2003. He did not run last year because, according to him, "I got up and it was 32 degrees, so I went back to bed."

But this year Young rallied and perfect fall racing conditions made his decision easier. "I love this race," Young said. "It's hilly and challenging and I live nearby. I've been keying on it, and a few other fall races, and my training has been going well."

Elizabeth Feldman, (on right in photo) who turned 40 in July, won the women's race in 32:01, nearly a minute faster than she ran at Somerset last year, when she finished fourth. Patti Garbecht (45) from Bethesda (left) was the runner-up in 32:16. Paula Pels (40), yet another masters runner, was third again this year in 33:20.

"I've been training for the Marine Corps Marathon [on Oct. 28], so I've been working pretty hard," said Feldman, who trained through Somerset with a hard 12-mile run the day before.

Feldman's eight-year-old son Wesley ran the 2K, which with 413 runners, outpaced the 8K and its 282 starters.

But for many families, including the Seidman's, the Kids Runs were not the undercard but the main event. Ryan's race was first, but at the last moment he opted out intimidated by the bigger (and perhaps faster?) four-year-olds. Shortly afterward, the twins toed the starting line, and after a quick loop around the elementary school field, crossed the finish line with big smiles

Happily clutching his finishers ribbon afterward, little Ben claimed, "I've done this before." His dad shook his head no, explaining that Ben apparently confused running with watching.

No matter. This community event is hardly about competition. Rather, Somerset, where the kids seem to outnumber the adults, is about participation, families, and fun.

Photo below by Drew: Somerset Elementary School pupils smiled as they chased an adult around orange cones in the schoolyard. The fun runs match children by age.

Awards

OVERALL MALE  (CLOCK TIME)
Place Num   Name                Age City                  Time    
===== ===== =================== === ===================== ======= 
    1   367 Chad Young           26 Bethesda MD             26:56 
    2     4 Jim Hage             49 Kensington MD           28:23 
    3     3 Max Lockwood         37 Washington DC           28:33 


OVERALL FEMALE  (CLOCK TIME)
Place Num   Name                Age City                  Time    
===== ===== =================== === ===================== ======= 
    1   332 Elizabeth Feldman    40 Chevy Chase MD          32:01 
    2   366 Patti Garbecht       45 Bethesda MD             32:16 
    3   389 Paula Pels           40 Bethesda MD             33:20 


MALE AGE GROUP:  1 - 11   (NET TIME)
    1   354 Richie Bartozzi     11 Chevy Chase MD          40:46 
    2   237 Sam Lipscomb        11 Chevy Chase MD          41:14 
    3   387 Luke Trinity        11 Washington DC           41:20 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  1 - 11   (NET TIME)
    1   355 Katriona McNeill    10 Chevy Chase MD          43:30 
    2   124 Taylor Knibb         9 Washington DC           48:09 


MALE AGE GROUP:  12 - 15   (NET TIME)
    1   271 James Reingruber    15 Chevy Chase MD          33:38 
    2   209 Elie Goldman        13 Chevy Chase MD          34:46 
    3   304 Steven Goldberg     12 Bethesda MD             37:06 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  12 - 15   (NET TIME)
    1   219 Paige Donnelly      15 Chevy Chase MD          36:07 
    2   233 Carravita Pape-Cala 13 Chevy Chase MD          38:18 
    3   274 Grace Reingruber    13 Chevy Chase MD          39:24 


MALE AGE GROUP:  16 - 19   (NET TIME)
    1   207 Thomas Belikove     16 Chevy Chase MD          31:04 
    2   261 Nikolas Theiss      16 Chevy Chase MD          32:00 
    3   361 Gautier Mathieu De  17 Chevy Chase MD          35:45 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  16 - 19   (NET TIME)
    1   245 Erica Cafritz       17 Chevy Chase MD          38:43 
    2   244 Anastasia Theoharis 16 Chevy Chase MD          38:43 


MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 34   (NET TIME)
    1   381 Nicholas Seneca     34 Chevy Chase MD          34:14 
    2   276 Chris Lyons         26 Washington DC           35:09 
    3   243 Aaron Ahlburn       32 Chevy Chase MD          36:57 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 34   (NET TIME)
    1   378 Amanda Parrish      25 Washington DC           33:34 
    2   252 Lauren Finn         32 Washington DC           34:36 
    3   238 Sage Lintner        26 Washington DC           35:09 


MALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39   (NET TIME)
    1   277 Michael Sheehy      35 Washington DC           28:47 
    2   125 Dale Learn          37 Washington DC           31:29 
    3   138 Joshua Seidman      38 Bethesda MD             31:48 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39   (NET TIME)
    1   169 Ann Adkinson        38 Washington DC           36:10 
    2   308 Carole Kammel       38 Rockville MD            37:15 
    3   396 Wendy Bailey        38 Bethesda MD             37:49 


MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44   (NET TIME)
    1   372 Dan Kuehn           44 Bethesda MD             32:09 
    2   391 Seth Goldman        42 Bethesda MD             34:00 
    3   348 Scott Wallace       40 Washington DC           34:51 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44   (NET TIME)
    1   174 Julie Donavan       43 Bethesda MD             37:45 
    2   313 Liz Guida           41 Chevy Chase MD          38:36 
    3   394 Amy Wood            43 Chevy Chase MD          39:05 


MALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49   (NET TIME)
    1   344 Antonio Claro       45 Rockville MD            30:58 
    2   218 John Donnelly       47 Chevy Chase MD          34:38 
    3   203 Josh Rozen          46 Chevy Chase MD          35:15 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49   (NET TIME)
    1   400 Moana Haddad        45 Chevy Chase MD          35:18 
    2   363 Wendy Ponver        45 Bethesda MD             37:45 
    3   190 Anne Carey          48 Washington DC           37:57 


MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54   (NET TIME)
    1   275 Paul White          52 Chevy Chase MD          36:11 
    2   191 Matthew Jaffe       51 Chevy Chase MD          39:04 
    3   146 Robert Hecht        53 Chevy Chase MD          40:55 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54   (NET TIME)
    1   335 Julia Clark         51 Bethesda MD             40:43 
    2   105 Debra Stencel       51 Washington DC           42:30 
    3   258 Behnaz Fardshisheh  54 Potomac MD              42:36 


MALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59   (NET TIME)
    1   197 David Donahue       55 Conneaut Lake PA        34:32 
    2   173 Joseph Gilday       55 Silver Spring MD        37:55 
    3    24 Ira Leibowitz       56 Bethesda MD             39:01 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59   (NET TIME)
    1   292 Eunice Reddick      56 Washington DC           58:29 
    2   312 Laurie Gross        57 Chevy Chase MD        1:15:52 


MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64   (NET TIME)
    1   300 Mike Golash         64 Washington DC           36:16 
    2   359 Norm Coleman        62 Chevy Chase MD          36:32 
    3   334 Willem Bier         63 Chevy Chase MD          42:28 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64   (NET TIME)
    1   154 Karolynn Coleman    63 Chevy Chase MD          44:38 
    2   204 Annerose Longanecke 62 College Park MD         50:56 
    3   180 Jeanette Kreiser    64 Chevy Chase MD        1:03:18 


MALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69   (NET TIME)
    1   388 Malcolm O'Hagan     67 Chevy Chase MD          35:46 
    2   185 Craig Morgan        67 Chevy Chase MD          39:14 
    3   240 Earle Fingerhut     65 Potomac MD              42:35 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69   (NET TIME)
    1   305 Lucky Marmon        69 Chevy Chase MD        1:28:12 


MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 99   (NET TIME)
    1   368 Skip Grant          72 Silver Spring MD        38:16 
    2    32 Robert Smith        73 Comus MD                46:08 
    3   183 Dan Morgan          70 Chevy Chase MD          48:33 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 99   (NET TIME)
    1   201 Jacqueline O'Neil   76 Washington DC         1:00:21 
    2   329 Anne Heilman        70 Chevy Chase MD        1:20:50 

Photo below: James Reingruber (15) of Chevy Chase, MD was 11th overall, winning his division in 33:40.

Full Race Day Results
Race Day Report for 2007
Photo Gallery 2007
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