It is not always the case, but sometimes everything just comes together perfectly on race day. Like ideal weather in the 40s on a historic course along lush fall scenery with a competitive field that pushes you to your best. That was the case for the many runners at this year’s SunTrust Richmond Marathon, McDonald’s Half Marathon and HCA Virginia 8K that set a record with 17,073 runners.
SunTrust Richmond Marathon
For 17 years, the Run Through the Grapevine 8K course at Linganore Winery was actually a little short, so this year an extra hill was added around another grapevine to satisfy a more exact measurement. The unofficial story for the route change, though, was that Mark Buschman vowed to beat the best time of Pekka Stenholm, a former racing team member who had moved back to his native Finland. Buschman and Stenholm had met at the Berlin Marathon earlier in the year and must have had a discussion about the Grapevine. Race director Jason Tripp decided the course should be as accurate as possible, so a course extension occurred, and Buschman failed by 20 seconds to beat the time (about 30:30). Everyone else reported slower times at the Grapevine 8K this year, too.
Race winner Carlos Renjifo far in front of the field.
More than 2,200 people from 34 states plus the District of Columbia gathered to show support, raise money, and compete in the National Race to End Women’s Cancer 8K and 1 Mile Walk in Washington, DC on Sunday, November 6, 2011. The event, in its second year, marks the 20th anniversary of the Foundation for Women’s Cancer and raised funding to prevent, detect, treat, and defeat cancers unique to women.
Chris Juarez, 41, of Alexandria, VA, dominated the race, leading the field by more than a half-mile, winning in 26:13.
The Rockville 10K big claim to fame is that it is the longest running event in Montgomery County. As noted by Maryland State Senator Jennie Forehand, the event started as a ten mile race. For many years the race was run from Montgomery College as only a 10K. After racing in the local neighborhoods until 1991, the race raced south on the Pike to the Rockville Town Center, which was still in an earlier iteration. In 1995, the race added a 5K that circled the campus, while the 10K stayed on a similar path, though there were minor variations. That year the random prize was a week vacation and it was hoped that would bring the numbers up. The race had usually stayed around 500 finishers in good weather or bad.
By the late 90s the race moved to Piccard Drive near today’s 2 mile mark in the 10K. King Farm was still really just a farm. The course meandered back and forth between Gude Drive and Gaither Road. Then King Farm was completed and the event raced back and forth through the new community. The course has changed a number of times for both the 5K and the 10K. Mercifully, the 5K starts after the 10K now and takes a different route so there is no longer as much confusion as runners get to the finish line.
Right at sunrise on Saturday with temperature in the 40s, 224 participants finished the 2ndannual Undy 5000 in Washington, DC. The 5K event is part of a 13-city series that encourages participants to run in their underwear to draw attention to their bottoms – and colon cancer.
In keeping with the theme of the race to raise awareness, the Colon Cancer Alliance (race organizers) gave participants pairs of shorts to don instead of the traditional race t-shirt. Many did not put the blue race shorts over their spandex, though, because they already wore their own underwear on top of their running tights. It was a colorful sight with styles ranging from tropical print boxers to neon pink thongs.
Racers charge the final steps of the course on the grass.
The new race begins as a way to announce to the world that there is much more room for women in the political arena. The race director gave us a rundown of the percentage of women in many of the state and national public offices. As with racing these days there are a greater number of women than men and the thinking is that more of them should be in key decision making positions.
Charles Ware wins it all in a near Olympic-class 2:19:16.
What a weekend with so many elements of drama. A rare fall storm hit the mid-Atlantic on Saturday bringing not only rain, but hail, sleet, slush, and snow. On Sunday, however, the skies cleared in time for the 36th Marine Corps Marathon where Army 1st Lt. Charles “Chad” Ware from Wheeling, IL won in an impressive 2:19:16 and Tezata Dengera, from Ellicott City, MD by way of Turkey, claimed the women’s title in 2:45:28.
After all these years could this perennial race be doomed to success? Competing against the massive Marine Corps Marathon with its little sister race 10K with nearly seven thousand finishers, the ‘gallop’ keeps roaring along, for equestrians note that of the four gears-–walk, trot, canter, and gallop–gallop is the fastest. With nearly five hundred races in the region between Labor Day and Veterans Day, the Goblin Gallop expanded again to nearly 20% more finishers than last year. Maybe it is because discerning runners and walkers alike see that the race has what it takes.
Tons of free parking close by is a wish come true. As soon as you get out of your car you already hear the Spark Plugscranking out tunes. While the songs are mostly from my generation, they are so lively that people could easily forget the first white Halloween. Naturally, the media made it seem scarier than the scores of hundreds of costumes worn by the participants. Everybody from Fairfax east ducked the near freezing soaking that cut many of Saturday events’ participation in half. Nine inches in western Maryland barely ranked a notice. The question was how are the corners of Fairfax Corner? How are the slopes of Random Hills?
The plan was for close to ten thousand walkers and runners to descend on Freedom Plaza for the 25th year of the Aids Walk 5K Washington. Many wondered how it would work out with the Occupy folks already there protesting. People wanted to know if the Freedom Plaza would have a clear space for them. There were even some jokes about how often the “occupiers” had a chance to bathe. Still, neither of these groups had any animosity and they made a plan to share with the Occupy Washington people taking the east side closest to the White House.
Then we got the news that maybe all of the house in the region would be white as well when panicked news media started a stampede to the grocery stores with word of a possible foot of snow. Regulars in town know there is always enough rhetoric to keep the temperature high enough to prevent snow. Besides, regular runners always prefer snow to rain. Rain soaks and snow blows off. Just before race time, the skies were still dark with clouds and the rain was coming down pretty good leaving puddles all up and the route but it was nothing that would stop experienced runners.
The police cadets had a large squad fast pacing the course.
Last year the first section of the new Inter County Connector (MD200) opened on the west end in Rockville. More than 500 hundred runners took the opportunity for a toll free jaunt. This year no one was going for a PR because last year’s course is now open for business. This year’s course was the course moved east to Silver Spring. Participants entered onto the nearly finished section at New Hampshire and drove halfway along towards the next exit at Route 29. Next year look for the race in a new spot for section three.