- Yorktown’s Anna Macon Corcoran, Herndon’s Gillian Bushee and McLean’s Thais Rolly all came away from the Virginia state meet’s 6A classification with titles in the 800 meters (2:14.22), 1600 meters (4:54.92) and 3200 meters (10:26.36) respectively. West Springfield completed the local distance sweep by winning the 4×800 relay in 9:16.16 with a team of Lexi Stein, Kenza Elakari, Chloe Miller and Aidan MacGrath.
- The Spartan boys matched the feat in their sixth straight title, fielding a team of Kyle LaJoye, Nasir Banks, Sean Cochran and John O’Donnell to run a meet record 7:44.42. O’Donnell won the open 800 in 1:52.14. McLean’s Xavier Jemison was second in the 1600 meters in 4:15.93 and Oakton’s Elham Huq was third in the 3200 meters in 9:20.03.
- In 5A, Stone Bridge had individual winners in the girls’ 800 meters, Lydia Wallis (2:15.04) and boys’ 1600 meters, Alexander Ryan (4:21.84). Ryan joined Connor McMichael, Mitchell Palmer and
Matthew Ryan to ruun 8:20.71 for eighth place in the 4×800. - Independence’s Nithin Rudraraju was 11th in the 800 meters in 2:00.91, while Woodgrove’s Layna Capritta was third in the 1600 meters in 5:11.3. In the 3200 meters, Riverside’s Sarah Floyd was sixth in 11:36.0 and Potomac Falls’ Hudson Barth was 11th in 9:56.16.
- Loudoun Valley’s Ava Gordon won the 4A 3200 meters in 10:17.46, third in the 1600 in 4:58.84 and ran a leg of the Vikings’ runner-up 4×800 with Eryn Lackey, Ella Peterson and Scarlet Fetterolf, hitting 9:35.39. The Viking boys were also second in the 4×800 in 7:53.98, fielding a team of Jake Rimmel, Aidan Soto, Luke Blair and Justin Park. Rimmel was fourth in the open 800 meters in 1:55.46. Loudoun County’s Ethan Stansbury was second in the 1600 meters in 4:18.39, Lightridge’s Sophie Gross was third in the 800 meters in 2:15.81, and Valley’s Ty Blair was eighth in the 3200 meters in 9:29.11.
- Merdian’s girls made an efficient trip to the 3A championships, with a runner-up finish in the 4×800 in 9:45.07. Grace Crum, Lauren Mellon, Molly Moore and Alexis Niemi ran on the team. In addition, Crum finished third in the open 800 meters in 2:20.00, Moore was seventh in the 3200 meters in 11:59.56 and Mellon was ninth in the 1600 in 5:26.77. Emil Morin as 18th in the boys’ 1600 in 4:53.93 and Eli Wildman was 20th in the 3200 in 10:46.85. Wildman joined Jackson Funk, Lucas Hollinger and Henry Hladky to run 8:57.92 for 15th in the 4×800.
- Oakton and American University alumna Keira D’Amato won the US 6k championships in Canton, Ohio.
- Chantilly alumnus Sean McGorty made the U.S. 10k team for the upcoming world championships, running 28:29.57 to finish third at the U.S. championships. St. Albans alumnus Tai Dinger was 16th in 28:51.52. Georgetown alumna Emily Infeld narrowly missed making the team, finishing fourth in 31:30.04. Heritage alumna Weini Kelati was fifth in 31:39.90 and Reston’s Susanna Sullivan was 17th in 32:12.77.
- D.C.’s Gina McNamara won the RRCA National One Mile title at the Loudoun Street Mile in Winchester, Va., running 4:31.7. She also won the Collegiate Running Association national title. Loudoun Valley coach Kevin Shirk won the masters division in 4:26.5, as did Aldie’s Adrienne Glasheen in 5:19.1. Reston’s Terri Rath won the grandmaster’s title in 6:09.3.
- Brentsville alumnus Sam Llaneza (Lynchburg) finished fifth in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Division III Championships, running 3:48.60. Oakton alumnus Tor Hotung-Davidsen (Lynchburg) finished sixth in the 800 meters in 1:50.86.
- The strongest local distance runner representation at the NCAA Championships will come in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, where Georgetown’s Parker Stokes, Tuscarora alumnus Ben Nibbelink (Virginia Tech) and Colgan alumnus Bryce Lentz (Air Force Academy) all moved on to the semi finals. Georgetown’s Maggie Donahue and Charlotte Dannatt advanced to the 10,000 meter finals and Patriot alumna Rachel McArthur, running for Colorado, advanced to the 1,500 meter semifinals. The next rounds will take place June 8-11 at the University of Oregon.
- Herndon alumna Hiruni Wijayaratne will appear on the Today Show Wednesday, June 1 with Al Roker, whom she coached for the Brooklyn Half Marathon. She’s scheduled to be on close to 9:30 a.m. Eastern.
Sebastian Grund had two surprises as he neared the Pittsburgh Marathon finish line. One was that he hadn’t hit “the wall” late in the race. The other was a sign.
“If you finish, I’ll marry you.”
To splash some cold water on any romantic tension, he and Katharina Bergant were already planning to get married, so it wasn’t a finish line proposal. Plus, after a half-hour deluge in the middle of the marathon, Grund had already felt plenty of cold water against his face.
But it was still a thrill for him to come down the last mile and see her.
“I expected the last three miles to be the hardest, but there were more and more spectators, and then I saw Katarina with that funny sign,” he said.
Meanwhile, as she waited for Grund, Bergant had to fend off some interest.
“Two ladies stopped me and asked if the sign was for anyone specific because they had sons who were running their first marathon and were about to finish,” she said.
While Grund had mused about wanting some motivation, Bergant’s inspiration struck the night before the race. She and the couples’ friends left him asleep in their hotel room and retreated to the roof with some supplies they bought.
She crafted her message in red and white, matching the couple’s native Austrian flag.
The next morning, while Grund worked his way through the rain and the puddles on his way to a 3:09:51 finish, Bergant and their friends lounged in the hotel before coming out to the finish.
“I sent him off in his beautiful trash bag poncho and I went back to sleep for two hours,” she said.
Though they weren’t able to get around the course to see Grund as much as they’d hoped, everyone came away with the results they wanted.
- Heritage alumna Weini Kelati ran a world championship standard in the 10,000 meters at Sound Running’s Track Meet in Orange County, Calif. last weekend. Her 31:11.11 met the 31:25.00 qualifying time.
- Local distance runners scored some wins at collegiate track champhionships (and one likely would have won, if not for her teammate):
Atlantic 10 (Division I)
1,500m
1. Ryan Fowkes George Washington 3:55.33
3k steeplechase
1. Logan Broedner George Washington 9:08.53
1.Kathryn Nohilly George Washington 10:33.01
2.Margaret Coogan George Washington 10:33.89
5,000m
1. Jack Ikenberry George Mason 14:08.79
Coast to Coast (Division III)
800m
1.Daniel Ferrante Christopher Newport (Fairfax Christian) 1:53.65
1.Heather Delaplaine Salisbury (Damascus) 2:19.86
1,500m
1.Daniel Ferrante Christopher Newport (Fairfax Christian) 3:52.47
1.Logan Funk Christopher Newport (Meridian/George Mason HS) 4:42.81
Centennial (Division III)
10k
1.Gavin McElhennon Johns Hopkins (Gonzaga) 30:28.89
1.Katie Hirsche Haverford (Burke) 37:45.01
University Athletic Association (Division III)
10k
1.Cullen Capuano Washington (Gonzaga) 32:10.66
- Beach Drive in D.C.’s Rock Creek Park will remained closed to through traffic until at least Labor Day, pending the results of an environmental impact study.
- The Arlington County Department of Environmental Services is soliciting feedback on the Army Navy Country Club Trail Connector over I-395 through May 22.
- DC’s Recreational Trails Advisory Committee is looking for representatives, particularly from wards 1, 5 and 6. Email Kevin O’Brien at WABA or Steph Piperno at DDOT if you’re interested.
Former Westfield runner and All-RunWashington honoree Johnny Pace produced a video for the Pacers Running film series on Joan and Drew Hunter.
Check it out, along with stories about Joan coaching Drew in high school, Loudoun Valley’s 2017 national title, the team’s 2018 title defense and Joan’s move to Colorado last year.
The National Park Service is proposing three alternatives for one of the two lanes wrapping around East Potomac Park, reserving one lane for cars and one split for pedestrians and cyclists. None of the alternatives offer protection beyond a two-or-three-foot buffer. NPS will accept written comments through 11:59 p.m. MT May 19 at this link.
Currently E. Ohio Drive wraps around East Potomac Park with two 10 foot lanes, with traffice designed to flow clockwise and cyclists generally riding clockwise, too, on the inside lane. Runners generally do what they will, but most tend to travel counterclockwise to face oncoming traffic. A public meeting from 5:00-6:30 p.m. April 19 will elaborate on the plan. Join here.
You can see detailed diagrams of the following alternatives here. All options would direct drivers and cyclists clockwise while allowing pedestrians to travel either way:
- One option reduces the car lane to 9 feet, creates a five-foot bike lane, with a two-foot buffer to a four-foot pedestrian lane.
- Another option places a three-foot buffer between the nine-foot car lane and a four-foot bike lane and a four-foot pedestrian lane.
- A third option puts a pedestrian lane on the outside, with a two-foot buffer from a nine-foot car lane, with a five-foot bike lane on the inside.
Washington, D.C.’s Maria Lanholz ran 2:43:25 at the Boston Marathon to place 39th and first among local women, while Silver Spring’s Jordan Tropf, who last year ran Boston as his third marathon in three days, benefited from the rest and ran 2:24:44 for 47th place, the top local man.
Pleasant weather was tempered by a consistent headwind, which, as you might expect, can have a deleterious effect on running performance, particularly on a point-to-point course.
The D.C. area saw 474 finishers, with 217 women and 257 men. With his 2:52:55, Cabin John’s Chris Bain most likely tied a record for consecutive sub-three-hour marathons at Boston – 24 – a record he likely shares with Bethesda’s Ben Beach, between 1972-1995. Beach, whose 54 consecutive Bostons set a record last fall, did not race after suffering injuries in a February bike crash. And a detail that may only interest me, Leesburg’s Ashley Harper, with her 3:33:35, was our closest runner to run straight twos, threes, fours or fives.
This list of finishers is contingent on the addresses runners supplied while registering.
The last time Ben Beach was around for a Boston Marathon broadcast, on the radio, Lyndon Johnson was president and Beach was a high school student. The next year he ran, and has kept that up for the last 54 years, setting the race’s record for consecutive finishes.
That’s where the record will end. This Monday, Beach, 72, will be watching, likely from home in Bethesda. After a late February bike crash left him with a broken neck, a five-week recovery period and seven weeks to go until race day, he decided last week that a two-week buildup was not going to set him up for success.
“I just thought this is a fool’s errand, and as much as I care about that streak and how the race has been part of my existance since I was 18 years old, I just thought it was stupid and and unfair to my family,” he said. “My family has been very patient over the years. For the last 10 years, they’ve just sort of held their collective breath as I push it a little too far.”
Reston’s Susanna Sullivan has run the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile frequently enough to know the course extremely well, but she didn’t get the home field advantage she really wanted.
While leading the race in the second half, she had her eyes trained on the press truck ahead of her, watching her Capital Area Runners teammate Eva Greenberg, looking for some kind of feedback or indication of how strong her lead was. But Greenberg, working as a press assistant for the race, didn’t betray her professional responsibilities and gave Sullivan nothing back.
“It was very quiet on Hains Point, so it was hard to figure out what was happening around me,” she said. “Usually, you can gauge by how people are cheering, but there was none of that. There were a few people clapping here or there, but they never gave me any intel on what kind of lead I had.”
