Charlie Ban - RunWashington

JFK 50 champ relishes time on land

Published November 25, 2013 at 9:46AM | Updated June 25, 2015 at 5:05PM

Fairfax resident William Kuper passes though mile 39 on his way to running 6:35:27 at the JFK 50 Mile. Photo: Charlie Ban

Even after 50 miles of running, Zach Miller was still happy to be out on the JFK 50 Mile course.

For a guy who spends five months at a time at sea, the latest champion of the east coast’s big fall ultramarathon doesn’t take any time on land for granted. Miller, not to be confused with 2003 runner up Zachariah Miller, is based in Columbia, Pa., but that’s just a place his junk mail shows up while he’s on the boat. Results

News

Molly Huddle sets 12k national record in winning .US National Road Racing Championships

By Charlie Ban

Published November 17, 2013 at 3:59PM | Updated June 25, 2015 at 5:05PM

Shalene Flanagan and Molly Huddle run side-by-side approaching six miles at the .US National Road Racing Championships in Alexandria. Photo: Cheryl Young

The size of the women’s elite field, impressive as it was, didn’t matter at the inaugural .US National Road Racing Championships. Within a half mile, it was down to two — Shalane Flanagan and Molly Huddle, dueling side-by-side over 12k of winding roads in Old Town Alexandria. Shortly after 10k, split in 31:38, Huddle got a few steps on Flanagan and widened her lead to eight seconds to win in 37:50 in an American record. Results

Though Huddle won the $20,000 prize for first place, both were well under Deena Kastor’s 38:24 American record for the infrequently-run distance, a record Kastor ran en route to the Berlin Half Marathon in 2006. Race announcers declared it a world record, though the International Association of Athletics Federations doesn’t certify 12k road records.

DCXC

Chantilly tops tight team race at state meet

By Charlie Ban

Published November 16, 2013 at 6:27PM | Updated April 11, 2018 at 3:49PM

Fairfax's Aaqib Syed races Adam Huff to the line at the Virginia 6A boys state championship. Photo: Ed Lull

In that first stretch of a cross country race, everything seems within control. Runners bide their time, some try to bank a few seconds, maybe break the field, or do something otherworldly. When all of those plans come together, it’s chaos. And out of chaos, at the Virginia High School League, four teams wound up at the top of the standings in the boys 6A race, separated by four points, with Chantilly on top. Oakton’s Jack Stoney won the individual title in 15:24, a personal record.

In the 5A race, Thomas Edison’s Louis Colson continued his dominant year, winning in 15:06. It’s the first year the state’s reclassification has split up schools into six races, versus the previous three. 6A results 5A results

DCXC

Alcorta, Oakton win first Va. XC titles, W-L finishes second in first-ever appearance

By Charlie Ban

Published November 15, 2013 at 9:27PM | Updated April 11, 2018 at 3:49PM

Hailey Dougherty (1070) and Allie Klimkiewicz (1073) led Oakton to its first girls state cross country title. Photo: Ed Lull

The girls 6A races at the Virginia High School League cross country championships were short on drama, but featured plenty of firsts for Northern Virginia programs.

West Springfield’s Caroline Alcorta pulled away from the pack within seconds of the start and bolted to a 29-second lead by the first mile on her way to a 39-second win over Lake Braddock’s Hannah Christen, setting a course record in 17:13 at the Great Meadows in Fauquier County. In winning the 6A title, the first state meet after redistricting ended the former three-classification system, she ran was 32 seconds faster than she ran for second place last year, and her first cross country state title.

News

GMU debuts in Atlantic 10 with women’s individual win, strong showing by men

By Charlie Ban

Published November 3, 2013 at 10:46PM | Updated April 11, 2018 at 3:50PM

George Mason's Bethany Sachtleben pulls away from Richmond's Jill Prentice on her way to winning the Atlantic 10 cross country individual title. Photo: Charlie Ban

The starting line was crowded when George Mason showed up for the cross country conference meet this fall, especially for the men.

Instead of facing off against four other teams, the scene at the last Colonial Athletic Association meet, the Patriots were one of 13 teams in the Atlantic 10. The women had previously competed in a pool of eight teams. In their first year in the A-10, the Mason men finished third and the women eighth, with Bethany Sachtleben winning the overall women’s title. Longtime conference member George Washington finished 11th in the men’s race and didn’t score in the women’s race after a runner dropped out with an injury.

News

Calway notches MCM title, Olympic Trials qualifier

By Charlie Ban

Published October 28, 2013 at 11:30AM | Updated August 10, 2015 at 12:28PM

Army Capt. Kelly Calway just after the 19 mile mark of the Marine Corps Marathon. Photo: Jimmy Daly

With a strong lead in the Marine Corps Marathon, Army Capt. Kelly Calway had her opportunity–run harder now or spend seven months regretting it. With an impending deployment to Kuwait waiting for her a week later, the cool day in Washington was her chance to take care of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials.

She was able to pull things together and close out the race with a 2:42:15, 45 seconds to spare and a 5:48 lead over Gina Slaby. She finished 25th in the 2012 Olympic Trials while running in the Army’s World Class Athlete Program.

News

Marine Corps midpackers find a lot to like

By Charlie Ban

Published October 28, 2013 at 9:23AM | Updated August 10, 2015 at 12:28PM

Marine Corps Marathon runners relax and convalesce after the race. Photo: Jimmy Daly

Much like Girma Bedada and Kelly Calway‘s efforts, Mike Kunzer‘s race at the Marine Corps Marathon was the culmination of years of preparation and training.

But Kunzer wasn’t focused on winning the race. He was thrilled to have finished, and it showed on his ebullient face.

News

Men’s MCM winner holds lead for more than 25 miles

By Charlie Ban

Published October 27, 2013 at 10:59PM | Updated August 10, 2015 at 12:29PM

Wire-to-wire.

It almost has no place in any talk about a marathon, maybe only in a tall tale. The race is too long, too grueling, too open to disruption.

News

Kerri Gallaher Finds Herself in a New Place, Mastering a Strange Race

By Charlie Ban

Published October 21, 2013 at 7:59AM | Updated October 24, 2013 at 12:47PM

Photo: Jimmy Daly

The road under her feet still felt odd to while she held a slim lead in the 2012 Army Ten Miler.

She wasn’t hugging the inside lane, her shoes were spikeless and there was no chance an official would restart the race if someone fell in the first stretch.

DCXC

B-CC teams win Montgomery County meet

By Charlie Ban

Published October 19, 2013 at 7:53PM | Updated April 11, 2018 at 3:47PM

Nora McUmber‘s dominant performance wasn’t the story Saturday at the Montgomery County Cross Country Championships. With a 46-second lead, an observer who didn’t come to expect that performance from the race’s defending champion might think she was lost, warming up, or trailing an earlier race that had long since finished. Though she contributed a single point to the team’s total with her victory, the clump of teammates a few places back put the Barons on top.

“She’s gaining a lot of confidence with these races,” said coach Chad Young. “She respects her competition and knows a lot of girls can be competitive with her in the right race, but she’s getting an idea what she can do.”