Summer was clinging on for dear life as I parked my car in front of the impressive Byrd Stadium on the campus of the University of Maryland. This would be the third year for an event to honor the memory of Zachary Hebda, a fun-loving boy who lost his battle with leukemia at the age of five. Zack's family and friends planned this race to make people more aware of this disease. They are hoping that others will help their determined fight against childhood cancer.

The parking lot led us to the festive starting line bright with balloons and surrounded by many volunteers buzzing around in orange T-shirts. BIG 100 radio had a truck parked right smack dab in front, filling the air, without being obtrusive, with their wonderful oldies. Good music gets the running juices flowing. The race is a ChampionChip race and as I was lacing the chip into my shoes, I commented that even with a later 9:00 am start the overcast skies and cool breeze seemed to make for a cooler day.

The first year the race was held, western Maryland racing ace Aaron Price won in 15:48. For the women, Frederick County champion Bec Wassner, who now lives in New York, set the standard in 17:47. With nearly four hundred runners in the 5K and three hundred in the fun run, Zack's was off to an impressive start. Last year the race was held on the 22nd, just eleven days after the shameful attacks of September 11. Still, there were more than three hundred and fifty finishers in the 5K and hundreds of fun runners. Two Russians from the Rockville, MD squad demolished the already fast records. Elena Paramonova ran 16:54 and Segei Fedotov ran 14:52.

After I warmed up, I looked over the sign-up list. Tapping my feet to sound of BIG 100 Oldies, I did not see any "older" superstars. Among the youngsters, only Nick Scerbo, who finished third in 2001 and Lauren Pizzi, who finished ninth, were back from either top ten. Most of the faces were young and from the College Park and Annapolis area. The race could be full of surprises. So now, we are standing beside the stadium ready to charge around the curving first hill when we hear the muffled start from the radio announcer behind the runners. As soon as the race started, the clouds opened up like a stadium roof and then someone pulled the plug on the "fans," stopping the breeze and leaving us with sun and humidity.

Immediately, young'uns spurted out to the lead, effortlessly floating up the hill through the parking lot. Ben Koch (22) of Germantown, MD glanced back briefly, looking a little surprised that no one was with him. He shrugged his shoulders and sprinted off to an easy victory in 16:05. Of the next fifteen runners, only two were of legal age, masters winner Jeff Regelman in 18:00 and 30-39 winner Mark Clatterbuck of Washington, DC in 18:33.

After mile two, things were looking up. That was because we were running uphill for the last mile. Still, the runners in front of me were not pulling away even though I was chugging to a near halt, vainly scouring the course for oxygen. Then the stadium came in sight, giving false hope that we were nearly done. I was toast, knowing we had to circle the stadium and politely waved the charging finishers past me. The last tenth was a slight downhill in full view of the finish but I was already past reviving. I stumbled across the finish line bringing back thirty- year-old memories. This time, the dizziness and lightheaded was induced from roaming the hills of College Park. Why does somebody always ask me if I am all right after I finish?

I dunked my chip into the collection basket and headed for the table with the Domino's pizza with a severe case of the munchies. There was lots of food for everybody and the results were produced quickly with random awards liberally interspersed. This year there was a smaller crowd with only 254 5K finishers and just over one hundred fun runners. The racecourse is not flat but it is interesting and well manned. Parking and facilities are abundant. There was lots of food and drink and the prizes were very good. This race has the potential for thousands of finishers.

Nick Scerbo (20) of Annapolis, MD (photo left) moved up to runner-up in 16:47, which made him the 20-29 winner. Winner Ben Koch won airline tickets. Third place Lewis Emery (19) of Westbrook, ME led the teenagers with 17:48. Ten-year-old Nathan Kessler of Middleton, MD won the sub-teens category in an impressive 19:42. New to the age group, James Moreland (50) of Gaithersburg, MD used the extra years to beat third grandmaster Chuck Raper, Jr. (59) and second grandmaster William Scott (55). Louis Shapiro of Silver Spring, MD won a close battle for the 60s. The 70 and over crowd was nowhere to be found in either sex. Most of the age group winners won dinner at Chili's.

Germantown, MD led the way for the women as Beth Muehl (29) edged past early leader Tacy Feliciano (34) of Columbia, MD 20:11 to 20:45to garner the airline tickets. Third place Leah Blind (28) of Reisterstown, MD (see Photo Gallery) won the 20-29 division. As with the men, masters runners were not to be found among the leaders. Only two other runners in the top fifteen were over twenty-four and they were not masters. Twelve-year-old Lindsey Kessler of Middletown, MD matched brother Nathan, winning the division in 22:52, a mile ahead of second place. Sixth place Sara Nadal (17) of Annapolis, MD was the teen champ in 22:20. So, who wanted the masters crown? It was sixty-year-old Yolanda Perez of Silver Spring, MD in a ranked time of 26:14. Nancy Stephenson (46) and Elizabeth Sadoff (53) both of Washington, DC, won their respective divisions.

Award Winners

FEMALE OVERALL
Place Num   Name                   Ag City                      Time  
===== ===== ====================== == ========================= ===== 
    1   331 Beth Muehl             29 Germantown MD             20:11 


MALE OVERALL
Place Num   Name                   Ag City                      Time  
===== ===== ====================== == ========================= ===== 
    1   332 Benjamin Koch          22 Germantown MD             16:05 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  1 - 12
    1   351 Lindsey Kessler        12 Middletown MD             22:52 
    2   345 Ratie Pasco            12 Crofton MD                33:49 
    3   427 Elena Diberardinis      9 Annapolis MD              37:37 


MALE AGE GROUP:  1 - 12
    1   350 Nathan Kessler         10 Middletown MD             19:42 
    2   385 Matthew Hein           12 Severna Park MD           29:29 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  13 - 19
    1   266 Sara Nadal             17 Annapolis MD              22:20 
    2   400 Ashlyn Sinclair        13 Silver Spring MD          23:24 
    3   296 Jayni Shah             19 Baltimore MD              23:52 


MALE AGE GROUP:  13 - 19
    1   364 Lewis Emery            19 Westbrook ME              17:46 
    2   413 Raymond Fan            19 College Park MD           18:53 
    3   402 Danny Smokla           17 Berwyn MD                 19:14 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29
    1   153 Leah Blind             28 Reisterstown MD           21:04 
    2   213 Lauren Pizzi           21 Annapolis MD              21:59 
    3   242 Melissa Ehret          21 Annapolis MD              21:59 


MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 29
    1   333 Nick Scerbo            20 Annapolis MD              16:41 
    2   389  Drullard              20 Annapolis MD              18:22 
    3   256 Frank Verducci         21 Annapolis MD              19:04 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39
    1   170 Tacy Feliciano         34 Columbia MD               20:36 
    2   241 Cindy Lechman          37 Silver Spring MD          23:28 
    3   277 Charmaine Davis        39 Silver Spring MD          23:53 


MALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 39
    1   165 Mark Clatterbuck       31 Washington DC             18:31 
    2    23 Brian Grimm            36 Ft Meade MD               19:57 
    3   191 Anthony Ireland        33 Washington DC             20:13 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 49
    1   343 Nancy Stephenson       46 Washington DC             26:42 
    2    25 Cindy Farkus           44 Severn MD                 27:38 
    3   169 Margaret Mcdowell      49 Silver Spring MD          30:00 


MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 49
    1   375 Jeff Regelman          40 Reston VA                 17:58 
    2   187 Vincent Mcdonald       43 Arlington VA              20:04 
    3   398 Jeff Mang              45 Avondale MD               20:34 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 59
    1    31 Elizabeth Sadoff       53 Washington DC             27:03 
    2    36 Merredith Perkins      50 Glenarden MD              32:05 
    3   104 Leslie Keiser          52 Beltsville MD             38:42 


MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 59
    1   273 James Moreland         50 Gaithersburg MD           20:21 
    2   303 William Scott          55 Glenarden MD              20:39 
    3    35 Charles Raper          59 Rockville MD              22:38 


FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 99
    1   125 Yolanda Perez          60 Silver Spring MD          26:09 


MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 99
    1   416 Louis Shapiro          60 Silver Spring MD          22:07 
    2    28 Terry Derk             61 Dauphin PA                22:30 
    3   198 Jim Lowrie             62 Fairfield PA              23:33 

See full results of the race.

See additional photos in the Photo Gallery.