Jamie Corey

Potomac River Marathon pave the path to Boston and Personal Records

Published May 5, 2013 at 2:43PM | Updated August 10, 2015 at 12:32PM

Jason Fitzgerald of Silver Spring nears the halfway mark of the Potomac River Run Marathon Sunday. Photo: Cheryl Young

The factors that made Sunday’s race could have been the perfect weather, the flat course on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath, or months of hard work and training. Whatever the factors were, the 10th annual Potomac River Run Marathon seemed to have the perfect combination of elements that allowed many participants to qualify for the Boston Marathon and, for many, achieve a new personal record.

[button-red url=”http://youngrunner.smugmug.com/Race-Photo-Galleries/PRR-2013-Marathon-Half/i-vDjDfS6″ target=”_self” position=”left”]Photos[/button-red]Weeks before Strength Running Coach Jason Fitzgerald passed the leader at mile 24.5 at Sunday’s race, he was cheering on two of his athletes in the Boston Marathon at mile 25.5. Afterward, he went to a restaurant in Cambridge, where his phone started to ring. His family and friends had heard what had happened at the race.

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Heightened Security Measures Don’t Deter a Fast and Smooth Pike’s Peek 10k

By Jamie Corey

Published April 21, 2013 at 7:23PM | Updated June 25, 2015 at 5:24PM

The lead pack rockets down Rockville Pike during the Pike's Peek 10k. Photo: Cheryl Young

If tailwind and the downhill course weren’t enough to get people rolling at the Pike’s Peek 10k in Rockville, five days of pent-up tension led to a moment of silence on the starting line to honor the victims and their families affected by the Boston Marathon bombing.

[button-red url=”http://www.mcrrc.org/pikes-peek-10k-5″ target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red]Race director Jean Arthur said that Monday’s tragedy created anxiety for her with less than a week until the race.

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Piece of Cake 10k is not as easy as pie.

By Jamie Corey

Published March 24, 2013 at 8:39PM | Updated June 25, 2015 at 5:25PM

Doug Woods (229) scopes out his competition at the MCRRC Piece of Cake 10k. Woods went on to win. Photo: Conroy Zien

When runners registered for the most recent Montgomery Country Road Runners Club race, they were mistaken if they thought it would be a “piece of cake.” Little did they know that they would have to conquer tough-rolling hills through Seneca Creek State Park in order to cross the finish line.

“It’s a very challenging course,” said Carol English of Germantown, Md. “But it’s good. It builds character.”

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Inaugural Georgetown 10 Miler rewards those who signed up fast

By Jamie Corey

Published March 10, 2013 at 11:04PM | Updated June 25, 2015 at 5:25PM

Sue Tate, Jori Beck, Christa Elza and Kelly Bauer finish up the Georgetown 10 Miler on the C&O Canal Towpath March 9. Photo: Jamie Corey

As Kristin Mitcham’s feet hit the sandy Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath in Georgetown for 10 miles, Kristin’s brother’s feet were hitting a treadmill nearly 7,000 miles across the globe — in Afghanistan. Her brother, Sean, who has been stationed in Afghanistan for nearly five months in the Army, told Kristin that he would run 10 miles on a treadmill at the same time of her race.

[button-red url=”http://www.dcrunningclub.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/FINAL10MILERRESULTS_030913.67183300.pdf” target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red]“My brother bought me the registration,” Mitcham, 33 of Reston, Va. said. “He buys us all presents over the internet when he’s deployed around Christmastime and holidays.”

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Chilly weather doesn’t deter Reston 10 Miler runners

By Jamie Corey

Published March 3, 2013 at 11:52PM | Updated June 25, 2015 at 5:26PM

Jeff Martin, of Vienna, runs into an illuminating, but not warming, sun during the Reston 10 Miler. Photo by Cheryl Young

March definitely had “in like a lion” down pat.

One look at the sell-out crowd at the Reston 10 Miler demonstrated that. Among the 1,040 finishers, there was barely any exposed skin outside of a few nutcases, like PR Racing teammates Andrew Ciarfalia, Andrew Whitacre and Noah Zaring, who decided to [button-red url=”http://prracing.racebx.com/files/results/4d9205ce-7a0c-46c1-8929-4f56c0a86522/4f6b2f94-68cc-4f16-bc36-62fac0a86522/2013%20Reston%2010%20Mile%20Overall.htm” target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red]forgo long pants, and the former two long sleeves, on their way to top-five overall finishes.

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Bonus miles at the Seneca Creek Trail races

By Jamie Corey

Published March 3, 2013 at 11:30PM | Updated June 25, 2015 at 5:26PM

Scott Vinads of Philadelpha cruises through the Seneca Greenway Trail 50k. Photo by Ken Trombatore

Runners of all ages turned out for the Seneca Greenway Trail Race, which took runners through a rolling course consisting of a mostly smooth dirt path in the Damascus Regional Park. The two scenic courses turned out to be 29.71 miles for the “marathon” distance and 32.6 miles for the “50k” distance. With a cool temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit and snow flurries, competitors started out in the Lower Magruder Branch Side Trail out of Damascus. This connected them to the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail and followed the Potomac River at “Riley’s Lock.”

[button-red url=”http://results.active.com/events/seneca-greenway-trail-race/trail-marathon/expanded” target=”_self” position=”left”] Marathon Results [/button-red]“That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said Alex Roederer, 15 of Bethesda, Md., as he tried to refuel his body with fluids just moments after the race.

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Falls Road edges Howard County Striders at RRCA Club Challenge coed team race

By Jamie Corey

Published February 24, 2013 at 12:04AM | Updated June 25, 2015 at 5:26PM

Men representing a variety of teams lead the charge at the RRCA Club Challenge. Photo by Chris Farmer

In 1980, Dave Tripp, then Howard County Striders’ president, was out for a Sunday morning run near the Howard Community College when he spotted dozens of runners. Shocked to see a race he didn’t know about on Howard County Strider turf, Tripp went to investigate. It turned out that the Baltimore Road Runners Club and DC Road Runners Club were competing in a challenge race [button-red url=”http://www.striders.net/races/rrca/2013″ target=”_self” position=”left”] Results [/button-red]located halfway between Baltimore and Washington.

“I went up to the president and said, ‘look, if you’re going to come out here and run, you have to let us run,’” Tripp said.

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Preparing for the season ahead, runners conquer Greenbelt

By Jamie Corey

Published February 19, 2013 at 12:14AM | Updated August 10, 2015 at 12:33PM

Winds up to 30 miles per hour, snow flurries in 30 degrees, rolling hills and plenty of warm chili — it’s all in preparation for springtime races and a long-time tradition for the DC Road Runners Club. At the 52nd annual Washington’s Birthday Marathon and Relay, the club brought in more than 500 runners to race on some of Greenbelt’s most challenging roads in an effort to get the athletes primed for the season ahead.

“You don’t get the intensity if you train on your own that you do in a race,” said overall marathon winner Miles Aitken, 29, of Washington D.C.

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Far from West Virginia, MCRRC runners enjoy country roads

By Jamie Corey

Published February 10, 2013 at 12:22AM | Updated June 25, 2015 at 5:27PM

Carlton Conant of Kensington grins while climbing a hill during the Country Roads Run Five Mile. Photo by Ken Trombatore

Getting up on a chilly, Sunday morning in February is no challenge for Cindy Conant, 51 of Kensington.