The National Capital Hydrocephalus 5K Gets it Right on the First Try

By James Moreland
Washington, DC
November 20, 2011
For the Washington Running Report

Organized Chaos even changed the words of a popular Clapton tune to match the race.

This first year race planned for everything down to perfect racing conditions. Not only did they have a D.J. but they even boasted a live band, Organized Chaos, as well. They got the National Park Service to relent and allow parking along Ohio Drive to allow the nearly six hundred participants to have a shorter walk to the start just north of West Basin Drive. With spacious parking across from the Tidal Basin, less than ¾ of a mile along Independence Avenue past the brand-new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the race is likely to grow in size next year.

The Hydrocephalus Association’s mission is to eliminate the challenges of hydrocephalus by stimulating innovative research and providing support, education, and advocacy for individuals, families, and professionals dealing with hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is a buildup of fluid inside the skull, leading to brain swelling, sometimes called water on the brain. The disease causes many other health problems and at present the treatment is to drain the fluid, often with a shunt that diverts the fluid.

Many of the participants came as families who are there to support further treatment for their loved ones. One man who came to race told us that he had already had 33 surgeries. He was cheerful and boasted that he was happy to be able to come and race. Once the runners got underway, the larger portion of walkers followed behind them. The 5K race followed a straight out-and-back course along the Potomac River.

The first half mile leading to the Inlet River Bridge had many racers bolting along quickly. Young Colin Losey, 17 (left), bolted to the lead. On the way back runners were impressed how he seemed to get faster as the race wore on. At the finish one runner with more than fifty races under his belt this year said, “You should have seen how fast that lead runner was.” Losey won in 17:22. Few people had seen the runner-up and top master Ken Fandell (17:48), as he was from Chicago, IL. The third runner was a minute behind.

Dionis Gauvin, 37 (right), went out strong with the lead men and was anointed the champion long before the turnaround. She won easily in 19:39. Early on the second woman was Hilde Kahn, 48, of McLean, VA. Kahn (below on left) has been a regular runner at the Tidal Basin runs for years so she was really familiar with the early phase of this jaunt. Jaime Andrews, 31, was not far behind and by the mile had eased past Kahn. For the next half mile Andrews appeared to spending a lot of energy encouraging the lead runners coming back from the turnaround. Then as she circled the cones, she bolted away from the field to take the runner-up spot in 22:18. Kahn did not slow down, chasing after some familiar faces to the finish line which was about hundred meters further than the former finish of the Tidal Basin 3K to finish in 22:51.

On the way back runners saw nearly twice as many walkers as runners moving in bulk along the river side of the road. Three of the finishers are older than eighty. After passing the finish line runners were treated to a lot of great food and drink along with the cheerful live music. Fresh bagels and cream cheese were in abundance as well as picture perfect bananas. Many flavors of Honest tea and VitaCoco drinks vied with hot chocolate, coffee, and water to refresh the tired runners. Both City Sports and Road Runner Sports were on site, making the setup almost like a carnival.

The race collected from the race, sponsors, and donors more than $108,000 for the charity, an excellent start for this first time event. As the many random prizes were handed out, runners were encouraged to plan to come again the next year. By chance the young runner that sang the National Anthem, preceding the race, won the $100 Grand Prize.

FEMALE OVERALL
Place Num   Name                   Ag City               Gun T Net T Pace  
===== ===== ====================== == ================== ===== ===== ===== 
    1   634 Dionis Gauvin          37 Washington DC      19:39 19:39  6:20 
    2    16 Jaime Andrews          31 Washington DC      22:18 22:15  7:10 

MALE OVERALL
Place Num   Name                   Ag City               Gun T Net T Pace  
===== ===== ====================== == ================== ===== ===== ===== 
    1   471 Colin Losey            17 Chevy Chase MD     17:22 17:21  5:35 
    2   609 Ken Fandell            40 Chicago IL         17:48 17:47  5:44 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 1 - 19
    1   193 Dani Huber             13 Great Falls VA     25:48 24:28  7:53 
    2   545 Franzi Rattei          19 Alexandria VA      27:58 27:26  8:50 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 1 - 19
    1   460 Gabe Brown             17 Washington DC      18:53 18:51  6:04 
    2   544 Jose Perez             19 Beltsville MD      19:30 19:29  6:17 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 20 - 29
    1   419 Lauren Walter          25 Falls Church VA    23:16 23:04  7:26 
    2   145 Jessica Ford           25 Washington DC      23:45 23:30  7:34 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 20 - 29
    1   209 Ashton-Lee Johnson     24 Collegeville PA    18:58 18:58  6:07 
    2   356 James Sadighian        25 Alexandria VA      19:59 19:56  6:25 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 30 - 39
    1   568 Susan Greenspan        34 Washington DC      23:22 23:18  7:30 
    2   257 Sarah Manning          39 Alexandria VA      24:35 24:29  7:53 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 30 - 39
    1   397 Damon Taaffe           35 Arlington VA       18:45 18:44  6:02 
    2    73 Michael Cahill         32 Washington DC      19:04 18:56  6:06 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 40 - 49
    1   619 Hilde Kahn             48 McLean VA          22:51 22:49  7:21 
    2   326 Paula Rasco            40 Woonsocket RI      25:00 24:45  7:58 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 40 - 49
    1   274 Michael Mills          40 Washington DC      20:31 20:30  6:36 
    2   543 Greg Mastel            48 Washington DC      20:47 20:46  6:41 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 50 - 59
    1    85 Jan Churchill          55 Annapolis MD       27:38 27:32  8:52 
    2    17 Jennifer Andrews       56 Columbia MD        31:58 31:44 10:13 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 50 - 59
    1   391 Randall Stroup         52 Cumberland MD      20:58 20:57  6:45 
    2   477 Mark Nicholson         52 Ellicott City MD   22:12 22:07  7:07 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 60 - 69
    1    48 Eleanor Blanchard      69 Bethesda MD        32:53 32:44 10:33 
    2   589 Ann Rodriguez          60 Springfield VA     33:38 33:21 10:44 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 60 - 69
    1   615 Dan Eddy               60 Alexandria VA      21:36 21:33  6:57 
    2   172 Ronald Griffin         60 Silver Spring MD   25:49 24:31  7:54 

FEMALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 70 - 99
    1    94 Joan Cleary            75 Edgewater MD       63:48 62:31 20:08 
    2   304 Christine O'Connor     80 Pinehurst NC       65:22 63:57 20:35 

MALE AGE GROUP: NET TIME 70 - 99
    1   280 Alfred Moses           83 Washington DC      54:53 54:17 17:29 
    2   355 Frederick Sachs        87 Baltimore MD       55:16 55:12 17:46

 

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