Don’t try to cash this check

Riley’s Rumble 8k winner Andrea Merber shows off her novelty oversized check. Photo: Dan Greb

Riley’s Rumble’s reputation is forged on its heat, hills and humidity. The annual half marathon in Germantown and Boyds, Md. markets itself as a masochists’ dream, with a roughly 170 foot climb in mile 12 to extinguish many runners’ hopes of a fast time. And, as part of the Montgomery County Road Runners’ Club’s series of low-key races, it is both budget-friendly and bereft of awards, Until now. This year, Race Director Ida-Lina Diak toyed with awarding giant novelty oversized checks to the winners of the half and 8k, only to have them made out for $0. In the end, she and assistant race director Melanie Mollica settled on the amount of 1 million Strava kudos, which, unfortunately, have a cash value of 1/1,000,000th of a cent.

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West Springfield senior Sam Pritchard. Photo: Ed Lull

Like many trios, each member brings something special to the group. Among West Springfield’s Three Terrors, now seniors, Sean Stuck won the state outdoor 3200 meter championship in 6A and Chris Weeks was second in the 1600 meters. But on the cross country course, Sam Pritchard leads the Spartans. He finished third in the Virginia 6A meet last fall, and is the top returning runner this season.

“Sam is the most natural cross country runner (among the three seniors), but he’s the least flashy,” said coach Chris Pellegrini. “He shows the most natural instincts and that’s shown in his races. He has the best mid-race understanding of where he has to put himself to do what he wants to do.”

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Dead Man’s Run is a 5k race held at Historic Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Now in its ninth year, this evening race kicks off the Halloween season at the cemetery. The 2019 race is being held on Saturday, October 5 with a 6 p.m. start.

Participants are invited to run, walk, or stroll the course which begins in the cemetery and heads out on the Anacostia Trail for an out and back race. All runners (21+) are rewarded with a free craft beer at the post-race party.

Costumes are highly encouraged, but not required, and the finish line party includes awards for the most creative individual and team costumes.

The Dead Man’s Run course is fast, flat and USATF certified for those who want to race against their own PRs. However, we welcome all runners and walkers, regardless of pace. Strollers and dogs on non-retractable leashes are also allowed on the course.

The event also includes a kids run that begins five minutes after the 5k race starts, at around 6:05 p.m. Their race is about a quarter mile to the Chapel and back, and registration is $10.

Dead Man’s Run registration is $40, and all proceeds from Congressional Cemetery events, including Dead Man’s Run, help support our 501(c)(3) organization and fund the preservation of this National Historic Landmark.

Want more info? Check out https://hccemetery.wixsite.com/deadmansrun.

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Alex Morris awards medals to a 2017 Clarendon Day 5k/10k double finisher. Photo: Charlie Ban

Bling on the Brain

A race medal is a symbol of achievement; a shiny token signifying a goal achieved. While these medals seem like a small part of an event, race teams put a lot of thought into them — everything from shape, design and ribbon color — to drive home the theme of the race and its significance in runners’ lives.

The Parks Half Marathon uses its medal as a marketing and branding opportunity, said Race Director Don Shulman. The Montgomery County race is often the first half marathon for a lot of its participants, so Shulman said the medal is vital because of the pride finishers have for it.

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Name: Ricardo J. Salvador

Self-described age group: 60 – 65

Residence: Cloverly, Md.

Occupation: Director and Senior Scientist, Food & Environment, Union of Concerned Scientists

Why you run: The usual! Fitness, mental sanity, longevity. This is thoroughly for lifestyle reasons, as I dont have a single competitive bone in my body, and rarely run in organized events (and then overwhelmingly marathons, for the course support.) Id rather run alone with my thoughtsfor a long time!

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Danielle Siebert waits for Maryland runners to pass her on a cross country course. Photo: courtesy of Danielle Siebert

Danielle Siebert goes to races all the time. But she’s normally not the one racing.

On Oct. 27, the University of Maryland cross country and track coach plans to toe the starting line in Arlington with thousands of other runners at the Marine Corps Marathon.

“It’s not that easy to race when you’re a coach, because most weekends you’re away ’cause your athletes are racing,” said Siebert, 35, who lives in Rockville.

When she decided on the Marine Corps Marathon for her second marathon, she said she needed to choose a race that wasn’t on a weekend of a competition for her team or a weekend recruits were visiting. The Marine Corps Marathon is the weekend before the Big Ten Championships, she said, which would work with her schedule.  

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Piper Dean. Photo: Ed Lull

Ignorance was bliss for Piper Dean in her first cross country race.

She took the line at the DCXC Invitational wearing trainers. On an extremely muddy course, that played a part in helping her finish second in the sophomore race, when other competitors’ spikes were working too well to dig into the much.

“I didn’t even know people wore spikes,” she said.

She figured that out over the course of a season that culminated with a fourth place finish in the Virginia 6A state meet, in what she called a bad race. Sure enough, it was the only time in five tries she didn’t finish in top two.

She was new to the Yorktown cross country team, moonlighting in the sport after years playing soccer. She still considers herself a soccer player, spending four days at week practicing for the Yorktown and Braddock Road teams, plus playing both Saturdays and Sundays. She made it to about one cross country practice per week.

“I’ll give her soccer coaches a lot of credit, she came to us in great shape,” said Tom Brumlik. “She surprised us in every meet.”

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