The Hogettes helped out in the fun run. They also noted that a race about hope would fit in nicely with the Washington Redskins.
This the third iteration of the Ringing in Hope races that began last New Year’s Eve. It was followed by an early summer rendition started just down the road. After having a 3K to accompany the main event 10K last year, the races moved to a more logical 5K-10K format.
It only took the Jingle All the Way 10K six years to outgrow its out-and-back course in Washington, DC’s West Potomac Park. This year, with more than 6,000 registered runners, Capital Running Company moved the race downtown to the same venue that hosts its annual St. Patrick’s Day 8K. The new 8K, which starts on Pennsylvania Avenue and, as with Occupy DC, is staged at Freedom Plaza, was held in cold, yet calm conditions that probably seemed perfect to those who braved last year’s cold drizzle.
If you are wondering how a road race typically held on a frigid day has become such a popular race, look no further than the costumes. At the Jingle All the Way 8K, Santa got the top-seeded number and knee-high candy cane socks paired with elf caps were the opposite of an exception. Today’s oddballs were ever-serious front-runners wearing their usual racing kits.
This event certainly had some problems. WRR plans to follow up on these in our upcoming Jan/Feb issue.
More than 15,000 runners competed in the Inaugural Hot Chocolate 15K and 5K at National Harbor just across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge from Washington, DC on Saturday, December 3. The Hot Chocolate race series, tagged as “America’s sweetest race” already exists in five major U.S. cities and made a chocolate splash at its 2011 DC debut. Runners’ packets include racing jackets. The post-race party promised Ghirardelli hot chocolate and a chocolate fondue fountain for all competitors in both the 15K and 5K races.
No times for brakes as the race starts at the top of the hill.
The glorious weather continues to reign (not rain) throughout the busiest weekend of the year. Many runners took a break from the busiest racing day of the year to eat dinner and go out shopping. Friday seemed like Sunday. Then Saturday was almost perfect. Locals even thought it was almost too warm, while a few slender Caribbean transplants announced that anything colder than 70 degrees was too cold.
Race winner Rick Scholfield crosses the finish line 3.56 too late to be perfect in photo courtesy of Chris Farmer
The registration for the Howard County Striders Turkey Trot 10k started promptly at 9:00 am on Thanksgiving Day. Without the benefit of any timing devices, the competitors attempted to run the appointed 10K course through the Jeffers Hill and Long Reach communities so as to finish at exactly 11:00 a.m. the winner being the runner who finished closest to the hour. Even if you did not win you still received a Dunkin Donut with cider or orange juice. The problem was that there were 216 donuts (18 dozen) and 349 finishers.
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 Norfolk city banner flags were flapping with a breeze coming out of the southwest as 1,202 runners took off for the inaugural Freedom Half Marathon in ideal conditions on Sunday. Navy Lt. j.g. Erik Bates, 25, from Virginia Beach, VA won in 1:21:05 and Jennifer Quarles, 39, from Merrimac, VA was the first woman in 1:29:00.
It took less than a mile for Bates and Frank Sprtel, 39, from Silver Spring MD to separate from the field. Bates made a decisive move at mile 6 when Sprtel grabbed a drink from the aid station. That is when he threw in a surge and the race was in his command as he pulled away for the win.
Frank Devar and Serena Burla each won $500 for winning today’s Veterans Day 10K on a cool, blustery morning in Washington, D.C.’s West Potomac Park. Early on, though, the men’s winner was a tad confused.
“Where are the Ethiopians?” Pacers Racing Team member Bert Rodriguez said to his teammate, Devar, on the starting line of this always competitive race. The question set Devar to wondering: Was the 12th annual Veterans Day 10K – contested on an out-and-back, flat-and-fast course starting on Ohio Drive – not offering its generous 10-deep prize purse?
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.