17th Annual Pike’s Peek 10K Has Fast Times Running through Rockville

By Steve Nearman
Rockville, MD
April 29, 2012
For the Washington Running Report

The Kenyans came from Chapel Hill, NC and from Royersford, PA. The Ethiopians came from the Bronx and Washington, DC. They all came in pursuit of a $1,000 first prize, not bad for running a 10-kilometer race not far from their home bases.

Credit the Kenyans from Ben Kurgat’s Chapel Hill camp with sweeping the overall win, but the Ethiopians sure showed depth at the 17th Kaiser Permanente Pike’s Peek 10K today in Rockville.

But the biggest winner of the morning goes to the weather. Some 1,307 men and 1,445 women who finished the downhill trek from the Shady Grove Metro to White Flint Mall down the usually car-congested Rockville Pike were treated with perfect weather – bright sun, 50s warming into the 60s, and a slight tailwind.

“It was nice weather, not as hot as last year,” said Kristin Rapp, who enjoyed a personal best 53:39 after running here in 2009 and 2011.

The elites made the best of the weather as well. Although the tailwind was not quite as strong as it was last year – producing seven of the nine fastest men’s times and six of the nine fastest women’s time in race history – the elite man still rewrote a bit of the record books today.

Julius Kogo successfully defended his 2011 title, falling just six seconds short of last year’s time in 28:12. His 28:06 is the event record, so now he owns the No. 1 and 2 fastest times. But he might have broken his record today had there not been slick pavement from overnight rain. Finishing shortly after Kogo was training mate Hellen Jemutai, who moved up from sixth last year to capture the victory in 32:54, the exact same time as last year and etching her name twice in the top 10 times ever.

Both earned $1,000 and a plaque for winning the Road Runners Club of America Eastern Regional 10K Championships.

The manner in which Kogo and Jemutai achieved their victories could not have been more different.

After the start was delayed about 10 minutes due to a fender-bender on Rockville Pike, Kogo, bearing bib #1, vaulted from the start with fellow Kenyans and the Ethiopians in pursuit.  In fact, 12 East Africans were in the lead pack by one mile, swiftly passed in 4:35.

The pack, with its frequent lead exchanges, began to disintegrate to six members as they tackled a short uphill approaching the third mile marker and just four as they crossed the halfway point in 14:10. By the end of the fourth mile, Kogo and Ethiopians Abiyot Endale and Zenbaba Yigeze finally dropped another Ethiopian Fikadu Lemma, who would eventually finish sixth.

Then Kogo began to execute his plan.

“I felt good and I just started picking it up from four miles,” said Kogo, 26, who also was runner-up in 2010. “Then just approaching six miles, I picked it up again.”

Kogo gapped Endale and Yigeze by 10 meters through five miles and slowly was pulling away until Endale made a last-ditch effort to catch Kogo before the last steep downhill to the finish. Kogo was too fast.

“I know Kogo,” said Endale, who was training at altitude in Ethiopia for three months until arriving back in the Bronx last week. “He’s a very good runner. I’ve never been this close to him before. Around 4 ½ miles, I was pushing the pace. I made a mistake by pushing too early.”

Endale bettered his third-place finish last year but one spot in 28:16 for $750 and training mate Yigeze was third in 28:20 for $650. Endale’s time was the fourth-fastest ever here and Yigeze earned the #6 clocking all time.

Jemutai (in photo) left no doubt very early whose name was going in the $1,000 check. She bolted from the started and took a large lead by the end of first mile, hitting 5K in 16:16 and winning by 56 seconds. With no women to push her, she was ably paced by training mate Nicholas Kurgat, who was second last year but coming back from an Achilles injury.

Third-placer Tezeta Dengersa, a Washington-based Ethiopian, said it best about Jemutai’s fast start. “She said ‘OK, goodbye, thank you’!” mused Dengersa, a 31-year-old Turkish citizen born in Ethiopia.

Jemutai enjoyed the win but fell short of her goal. “I wanted to run 32 minutes today,” said the 30 year old from Kapsabet, Kenya. “I realized at mile four that I was starting to slow down. I felt like I needed more water.”

Yihunish Delelecha, a 30-year-old Washington-based Ethiopian, was second in 33:50 and Dengersa was eight ticks behind her. Elena Orlova, a 42-year-old Russian training in nearby Gaithersburg, was top master and sixth overall in an impressive 34:26.

Top male master was 41-year-old Chris Juarez of Alexandria, the 2002 Marine Corps Marathon champ, 14th overall in 30:46. Jack McMahon of Silver Spring was the second oldest finisher, at 81, running 56:58 and beating 422 younger men to the finish.

After the race in the White Flint Mall parking lot, runners did their share of sun-bathing, chatting with friends and family, and eating healthy foods such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Chinese fried rice, pizza, and Popeyes fried chicken.

Sean Dixon, 45, from Waldorf, MD, took some time to relax after the race.

“I’m glad I’m here,” said Dixon, newly retired from the Marines and Coast Guard but now working in Human Resources at the Office of Homeland Security while going to the University of Maryland Baltimore County for his degree in information systems management.

No wonder he does not have the time to train as he used to.

“This was my third Pike’s Peek 10K, but I’m nowhere near race shape,” said Dixon, whose wife Kristy stayed home with their three children Israel (15), Simone (13), and Ashley (12) so he could enjoy the morning. “I ran a pretty even race (51:26) but I’ve run faster here, 44 minutes in 2007, 46 minutes in 2010. My allergies, the pollen, have made me fatigued, under the weather. Threw my training out the window.” He said he does hope to participate in a sprint or Olympic triathlon this year.

Mark Malander also said he was not near race shape. He ran a stellar 33:05 here six years ago but has been hampered for the past year by an Achilles injury. However, the fiercely competitive Malander was happy to be able to run.

“Last year, I was injured and I was the driver for the elite athletes,” said the 54-year-old Malander of Herndon, a geologist for 30 years for Exxon Mobil. “This is the slowest I’ve run on this course (36:24). It’s frustrating to get clobbered by all those 50-year-old guys.” He said his training now turns to the New York City Marathon this fall.

Kristin Rapp, on the other hand, said she was in better shape than last year. Training for the Boston Marathon two weeks ago certainly helped, she said. And Pike’s Peek was the longest run she has had since the rather-toasty Patriots’ Day marathon in Beantown.

“I wasn’t trying to run a fast time,” said the 34-year Rapp, who lives in nearby Kensington and works close to the finish as an accountant at CAS. “I just wanted to get back out there after Boston.”

 

Open & Masters By Gun Time, Age Groups By Net Time 
                            No Duplicate Prizes

     MALE OPEN Gun Time
         1     1 Julius Kogo           26 Chapel Hill NC       28:12# 1000 
         2     3 Abiyot Endale         25 Bronx NY             28:16#  750 
         3    76 Zenbaba Yigeze        29 Bronx NY             28:20#  650 
         4    25 Tariku Bokan          30 Herndon VA           28:48#  600 
         5     7 Kitema Nigusse        31 Bronx NY             28:49#  550 
         6    12 Fikadu Lemma          28 Bronx NY             28:54#  500 
         7    24 Birhanu Alemu Feyissa 30 Silver Spring MD     28:55#  450 
         8     4 Deresse Deniboba      29 Bronx NY             28:56#  400 
         9    15 John Itati            38 Royersford PA        29:00#  350 
        10    14 Kennedy Kemei         33 Chapel Hill NC       29:21#  300 
     # Under USATF OPEN guideline    

     FEMALE OPEN Gun Time
         1    18 Hellen Jemutai        30 Chapel Hill NC       32:54# 1000 
         2  3216 Yihunish Deleiecha    30 Washington DC        33:50   750 
         3    19 Tezeta Dengersa       31 Washington DC        33:58   650 
         4    20 Tiringo Shiferaw      27 Washington DC        34:18   600 
         5    16 Gladys Asiba          34 Royersford PA        34:26   550 
         6    40 Elena Orlova          42 Gaithersburg MD      34:26*  500 
         7    22 Christine Ramsey      29 Baltimore MD         34:53   450 
         8    72 Lisa Thomas           36 Alexandria VA        35:48*  400 
         9    46 Laura O'Hara          32 Alexandria VA        35:54   350 
        10    37 Lindsay Donaldson     26 Washington DC        35:57   300 
     # Under USATF OPEN guideline    
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     MALE MASTERS Gun Time
         1  1005 Chris Juarez          41 Alexandria VA        30:46*  250 
         2  2778 Douglas Woods         43 Gaithersburg MD      34:19   200 
         3    68 John Piggott          46 Williamsburg VA      34:40*  150 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     FEMALE MASTERS Gun Time
         1    45 Alisa Harvey          45 Manassas VA          37:35*  250 
         2    43 Denise Knickman       43 Baltimore MD         39:30   200 
         3  2863 Darcy Strouse         48 Frederick MD         39:34   150 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     MALE GRANDMASTER Gun Time
         1    50 Mark Neff             50 Derwood MD           35:00*      
         2    51 Greg Cauller          52 York PA              35:07*      
         3    65 Stephen Chantry       57 Williamsburg VA      35:26*      
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     FEMALE GRANDMASTER Gun Time
         1    71 Cindy Conant          51 Kensington MD        39:47*      
         2   932 Win Persina           52 Washington DC        41:34       
         3    53 Alison Suckling       56 Arnold MD            41:39*      
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     MALE SR-GRANDMASTER Gun Time
         1    60 Roland Rust           60 Bethesda MD          38:07*      
         2    66 Rick Platt            61 Williamsburg VA      39:02*      
         3  1083 Timothy Morgan        61 Damascus MD          39:36*      
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     FEMALE SR-GRANDMASTER Gun Time
         1   301 Alice Franks          63 Rockville MD         46:39*      
         2  1472 Ann Rosenthal         62 Bethesda MD          50:32       
         3  2520 Joann Szczepkowski    66 Rehoboth Beach DE    51:41       
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     MALE AGE GROUP:  15 - 19 Net Time
         1  3041 Stephen Alexander     15 Gaithersburg MD    36:05    75 
         2   715 Andrew Lu             18 Rockville MD       41:08    50 
         3  3291 Nicholas Miller       16 Arnold MD          43:16    25 

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  15 - 19 Net Time
         1   291 Abby Peterson         15 Rockville MD       46:08    75 
         2   683 Mary Marg Sheridan    18 Chevy Chase MD     46:18    50 
         3   649 Nina Geleta           16 Manassas VA        46:18    25 

     MALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 24 Net Time
         1  2898 Gregory Decker        23 Rockville MD       35:04    75 
         2  2982 Kyle Grimm            24 Frederick MD       36:49    50 
         3  2550 Kevin Hom             24 Arlington VA       41:02    25 

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  20 - 24 Net Time
         1    57 Kelsey Budd           22 Oakton VA          37:17    75 
         2  2675 Elizabeth Laseter     23 Washington DC      37:44    50 
         3    44 Jillian Pollack       23 Arlington VA       37:59    25 

     MALE AGE GROUP:  25 - 29 Net Time
         1    74 Eric Chirchir         28 Jackson Heights NY 29:38#   75 
         2     6 Worku Beyi            25 Bronx NY           29:41#   50 
         3    26 Karl Dusen            29 Rockville MD       30:05    25 
     # Under USATF OPEN guideline    

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  25 - 29 Net Time
         1    36 Susan Hendrick        26 Washington DC      36:23    75 
         2    35 Lauren Woodall        26 Washington DC      37:28    50 
         3  3052 Lindsay Larose        29 Arlington VA       39:39    25 

     MALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 34 Net Time
         1    77 Seife Geletu          30 Washington DC      31:22    75 
         2    30 Jake Klim             31 North Bethesda MD  31:32    50 
         3    64 Dickson Mercer        30 Washington DC      32:31    25 

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  30 - 34 Net Time
         1    39 Elizabeth Young       32 Washington DC      36:11    75 
         2   249 Robin Wrightson       32 Washington DC      38:07    50 
         3   101 Kristin Andrews       30 Chevy Chase MD     38:21    25 

     MALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39 Net Time
         1    33 David Wertz           36 Arlington VA       31:58*   75 
         2   347 Philippe Rolly        39 McLean VA          32:19*   50 
         3  1072 Edi Turco             39 Arlington VA       33:14    25 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  35 - 39 Net Time
         1  1615 Mary Davison          39 Bristow VA         38:41    75 
         2  1014 Cristina Burbach      37 Washington DC      39:16    50 
         3  1708 Lisa Reichmann        38 Gaithersburg MD    39:33    25 

     MALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44 Net Time
         1  2545 Joerg Schroeder       44 Rockville MD       36:10    75 
         2   559 Kris Simms            40 Baltimore MD       36:14    50 
         3  3002 Scott Koonce          40 Gaithersburg MD    36:20    25 

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  40 - 44 Net Time
         1   876 Amanda Turner         40 Gettysburg PA      40:47    75 
         2   991 Sarah Johnson         41 Bethesda MD        42:10    50 
         3  1024 Janice Lunenfeld      42 Rockville MD       42:25    25 

     MALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49 Net Time
         1  2891 Frank Perna           49 Bethesda MD        35:01*   75 
         2   556 Jim Nielsen           46 Broadlands VA      35:35    50 
         3    67 Greg Dawson           46 Williamsburg VA    35:48    25 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  45 - 49 Net Time
         1   624 Sandra Griffin        45 Upper Marlboro MD  44:53    75 
         2  3078 Laura Gurney          47 Bethesda MD        45:02    50 
         3  2848 Janet Braunstein      45 Washington DC      45:54    25 

     MALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54 Net Time
         1    50 Mark Neff             50 Derwood MD         34:59*   75 
         2    51 Greg Cauller          52 York PA            35:06*   50 
         3  1009 Jean-Chri Arcaz       51 Rockville MD       35:46*   25 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  50 - 54 Net Time
         1    71 Cindy Conant          51 Kensington MD      39:44*   75 
         2   932 Win Persina           52 Washington DC      41:31    50 
         3  1553 Janeth Scott          50 Columbia MD        41:55    25 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     MALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59 Net Time
         1    65 Stephen Chantry       57 Williamsburg VA    35:25*   75 
         2  2714 James Cooper          56 Potomac MD         35:50*   50 
         3    56 Dan Lawson            56 Gaithersburg MD    36:32*   25 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  55 - 59 Net Time
         1    53 Alison Suckling       56 Arnold MD          41:36*   75 
         2  3072 Debbie Flynn          55 Cross Hill SC      42:37*   50 
         3  2452 Betty Blank           59 Falls Church VA    44:49    25 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     MALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64 Net Time
         1    60 Roland Rust           60 Bethesda MD        38:04*   75 
         2    66 Rick Platt            61 Williamsburg VA    39:00*   50 
         3  1083 Timothy Morgan        61 Damascus MD        39:33*   25 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  60 - 64 Net Time
         1   301 Alice Franks          63 Rockville MD       46:33*   75 
         2  1472 Ann Rosenthal         62 Bethesda MD        49:24    50 
         3   414 Nancy Avitabile       64 Bethesda MD        49:43    25 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     MALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69 Net Time
         1  1316 Donald Hensel         67 Gaithersburg MD    45:54    75 
         2  2191 William Rowell        68 Olney MD           46:06    50 
         3  1259 Walter Brown          68 Montgomery Vill MD 47:13    25 

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  65 - 69 Net Time
         1  1042 Chris Craun           66 Bethesda MD        50:26*   75 
         2  2520 Joann Szczepkowski    66 Rehoboth Beach DE  50:36*   50 
         3  2957 Gretchen Bolton       66 Bethesda MD        55:50    25 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     MALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74 Net Time
         1  3150 Gerry Ives            72 Washington DC      47:21    75 
         2   745 Jack Mangold          70 Chevy Chase MD     55:48    50 
         3  2860 Nils Borj Tallroth    70 Bethesda MD        59:50    25 

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  70 - 74 Net Time
         1   578 Linda Carter          70 Potomac MD         66:15    75 
         2  2432 Betty Smith           71 Rockville MD       68:03    50 
         3  1443 Jamie Wollard         73 N.Bethesda MD      84:29    25 

     MALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 79 Net Time
         1  2958 Skip Grant            76 Chevy Chase MD     48:43*   75 
         2  2521 Alan Rider            76 Reston VA          54:28*   50 
         3  1327 Bob Archibald         79 Fayetteville PA    58:08    25 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  75 - 79 Net Time
         1   138 Pat Cuff              75 Montgomery Vill MD 66:42*   75 
         2   180 Marianne Parakkal     76 Gaithersburg MD    68:55    50 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     MALE AGE GROUP:  80 - 99 Net Time
         1   441 Jack McMahon          81 Silver Spring MD   56:58*   75 
     * Under USATF Age-Group guideline

     FEMALE AGE GROUP:  80 - 99 Net Time

 

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