On a cold and blustery late winter morning, in a race that started at the Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue and ran around the Capitol building, long-time area racing stalwarts Darrell General and Naoko Ishibe won their respective divisions of the 12th St. Patrick's Day 10K. Just another race in the nation's capital? Well, yes and no.

The date and venue may have been familiar to the record 4,265 entrants. But because of friction between the racing community and Downtown Cluster of Congregations, which represents area churches, the 2000 St. Patrick's Day 10K could well be the last.

"The police have already said we can't have the race on Sunday next year [due to complaints from the churches]," said Capital Running Company spokeswoman Kathy Freedman. "They're trying to force the issue. I don't know what's going to happen."

That unhappy issue temporarily aside, and far from the minds of most participants in what is now the most popular 10K in the metropolitan area, the race was a huge success. Clouds threatened to break, winds gusted, and a spritz of rain fell at the start. And while few runners notched personal bests under the less-than-ideal conditions, the mid-March weather was, for the most part, reasonable.

Darrell General, prepping for his fourth Olympic Trials marathon on May 7, broke quickly from the pack at the start. Only Andrew Carnahan (28) and Jeff Leuenberger (27) stayed very long with the Bowie, MD veteran. "I've been training a lot [in preparation for the Olympic trials]," General said. "It was a struggle the whole way--I never really felt that good."

Nonetheless, General managed to surge just beyond the four-mile mark, and pull away from Carnahan, by that point his only remaining competition. General won in 31 minutes 48 seconds.

"That was a good move," Carnahan conceded. "I felt nice and relaxed until he picked it up. I just couldn't hang on." Carnahan finished second in 32:04, and Leuenberger ended up third in 32:12.

Carnahan's performance may portend well for him and his Ki-Sky Racing & Men's Club, a group of University of Virginia alumni who now live and train in Northern Virginia. Carnahan moved to Arlington from Boulder, CO, where he had been training at altitude, just four days before the race. He graduated from U-VA in 1996, and is currently taking a year off from graduate school to train in an effort to qualify for the Olympic trials at 10,000 meters.

"We've got a pretty competitive group," said Ki-Sky member John Carson, who finished sixth in 32:53 and helped the Men's Club secure the team title. "Some of the guys, myself included, are training for Boston. But Andrew [Carnahan] is a track guy."

Naoko Ishibe (31) a research scientist at the National Institutes of Health, won the women's race for the second consecutive year. And although she led the entire way and won going away in 36:44, the race wasn't easy.

"That's the slowest I've run in a while," Ishibe said. "I really think I'm in 34:30 shape." She ran 36:05 last year.

Like General and Carnahan, Ishibe has her sights set on an even grander agenda: she is hoping to qualify for the Olympic Trials at 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

Desiree Ficker (23) from Potomac, ran in second place for a while, but eventually succumbed to the experience of savvy masters runner Patti Shull, who came from far back to finish second in 37:49. Ficker ended up third in 37:58, and 1999 Marine Corps Marathon winner Donna Moore (39) was fourth in 38:12.

Among the male masters, Brian Daugherty from Annapolis won his first race as a 40-year-old, in 33:48, beating Chuck Moeser (47) from Herndon. But Daugherty wasn't happy with his performance: "I felt like an old man out there today," he said. "I hope it gets better than this."

Moeser, however, was impressed with Daugherty's debut: "From what I could see, he looked pretty good. As for my time, I stopped my watch at 33:00." The ChampionChip, however, kept on ticking, and caught Moeser at the finish in 33:53.

Of course, with more than 4,000 registrants, somebody has to hold the bags. So it was for Staci Gatica (26) from Alexandria, who was burdened like a pack mule while nine of her friends made the downtown rounds. "I dropped them off and parked the car, which worked out well for them," Gatica said. "But that's okay for today. I'm saving my feet for the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile run."

As for the dilemma regarding a date, time and place for any 13th running of the green on St. Patrick's Day weekend 2001, race directors Rick and Kathy Freedman urge concerned runners to make their voices heard. "Runners aren't asking for much," Kathy Freedman said. "Just a chance to run on the streets of one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Send a note to D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams at mayor@dcgov.org. Make your voice heard."