By Jim Hage
Rockville, MD
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Kenyans Julius Kogo and Risper Gesabwa took advantage of a prevailing tailwind to set men’s and women’s course records of 28 minutes 6 seconds and 32:07 at the 16th Kaiser Permanente Pike’s Peek 10K in Rockville.
And while the point-to-point course notably features a net loss in elevation, give the winners, four new age-group record holders, the many who lowered their PRs, and all of the 2,558 finishers their due: Rockville Pike rolls down and up and the early-morning wind was gusty and changeable. The day the wind blows steadily from the north, even these formidable records will fall.
But for now, Kogo, 25, and Gesabwa, 22, are at the top of their games; gone are the old marks of 28:30 by Tesfaye Bekele (2009) and 32:45 by Jen Rhines (1998). Last year at Pike’s Peak, Kogo was the runner-up – by one second–to Ethiopian Bado Worku, who won in 28:43.
Photo left: The men’s lead pack about 3.5 miles into the race. “I didn’t want to be second again,” Kogo (Bib #2) conceded, and with a quick third mile he winnowed a pack of 15 to just three. Only Nicholas Kurgat (#21), who trains with Kogo in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Abiyot Endale (#10), the affable Ethiopian from the Bronx, stayed close. Kurgat finished second in 28:14 and Endale took third in 28:19, a 55-second personal best established at last year’s race when he finished ninth.
“My dream was to break 29 minutes,” Endale said, “so I am very happy. I am recovered from a knee injury [chondromalacia] and am training good again.” Endale, 24, ran 29:18 and finished third at the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K in Richmond on April 4.
Another surprised but happy runner was Jeffrey Eggleston, 26, seventh and the first American in 28:34, a personal best by a whopping 83 seconds. “My PR was kind of soft, but I’m really excited,” said Eggleston, primarily a marathoner who is training for the World Championships in South Korea this summer.
“My plan today was to hang as long as I could. And we needed someone to represent the U.S.!” Eggleston added. “It was a great field but I wasn’t afraid. I beat Girma Tola [eighth in 28:45] who ran 10K at the Sydney Olympics. So that’s cool.”
Former Georgetown University track standout and now medical student Maggie Infeld, 25, was the top American woman, 10th in 34:07.
Gesabwa’s one-second win over Ethiopian Alemtseha Misganaw was another in a series of close races between not-quite-friendly rivals. Gesabwa complained afterward that Misganaw ran too close, clipping her heels repeatedly.
“She was right here!” Gesabwa said, slapping her hip. Gesabwa nearly won this year’s Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile, where Misganaw took fourth. Gesabwa also bested Misganaw by two seconds at the Azalea Trail 10K Run (Mobile, Ala.) in March.
Denise Knickman (photo left), 42, ran 37:02 to win the women’s masters race and Joseph Ekuom, 41, took the men’s masters title in 31:39.
Some 15 members of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase rescue squad–emergency medical technicians, firefighters, and paramedics–completed the race. Two more members rode bikes along the course to provide first aid support.
The rescue squad’s Craig Pernick, 50, from Chevy Chase, ran his first 10K, competing admirably if not quite finishing alongside team members such as Oliver Vickery, 18. “It was good to finish,” Pernick said. “I’ll do it again as long as my knees hold out.”
Award Winners
Open & Masters By Gun Time, Age Groups By Net Time No Duplicate Prizes MALE OPEN Gun Time $$$ 1 2 Julius Kogo 25 Chapel Hill NC 28:06# 1000 2 21 Nicholas Kurgat 31 Chapel Hill NC 28:14# 750 3 10 Abiyot Endale 24 Bronx NY 28:19# 650 4 7 Kumsa Adugna 24 Bronx NY 28:23# 600 5 4 Deresse Deniboba 28 Bronx NY 28:28# 550 6 13 Reuben Mwei 26 Marietta GA 28:32# 500 7 5 Jeffrey Eggleston 26 Flagstaff AZ 28:34# 450 8 6 Girma Tola 35 New York NY 28:45# 400 9 22 Kipyegon Kirui 30 Chapel Hill NC 28:47# 350 10 3 Tesfaye Assefa 27 Bronx NY 28:57# 300 # Under USATF OPEN guideline FEMALE OPEN Gun Time 1 16 Risper Gesabwa 22 Marietta GA 32:07# 1000 2 17 Alemtseha Misganaw 30 New York NY 32:08# 750 3 32 Aziza Aliyu 25 New York NY 32:22# 650 4 18 Malika Mejdoub 28 Jackson Heights NY 32:42# 600 5 20 Hirut Mandefro 25 Flagstaff AZ 32:48# 550 6 24 Hellen Jemutai 29 Chapel Hill NC 32:54# 500 7 35 Yihunlish Bekele 29 Washington DC 33:20# 450 8 23 Divina Jepkogei 25 Chapel Hill NC 33:22# 400 9 34 Tezeta Dengersa 30 Burtonsville MD 33:39# 350 10 1465 Maggie Infeld 25 Washington DC 34:07 300 # Under USATF OPEN guideline MALE MASTERS Gun Time 1 41 Joseph Ekuom 41 High Falls NY 31:39* 250 2 28 Elarbi Khattabi 43 Westchester PA 31:58* 200 3 43 Curtis Cox 43 Trinidad WI 32:02* 150 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline FEMALE MASTERS Gun Time 1 42 Denise Knickman 42 Baltimore MD 37:02* 250 2 45 Alisa Harvey 45 Manassas VA 37:45* 200 3 25 Elena Orlova 41 Gaithersburg MD 38:12 150 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline MALE AGE GROUP: 15 - 19 Net Time 1 2593 Dagmawi Abebe 17 Gaithersburg MD 34:10 75 2 2507 Patrick Ochoa 17 Derwood MD 40:14 50 FEMALE AGE GROUP: 15 - 19 Net Time 1 1760 Allison Marella 15 Damascus MD 42:22 75 2 2485 Alex Starnes 15 Manassas VA 46:01 50 MALE AGE GROUP: 20 - 24 Net Time 1 56 Andy Sovonick 24 Gaithersburg MD 32:16 75 2 2738 Benjamin Bartlett 23 Columbia MD 34:03 50 3 234 Alex Booth 23 Bethesda MD 34:29 25 FEMALE AGE GROUP: 20 - 24 Net Time 1 1923 Rebecca Parks 22 Reisterstown MD 39:14 75 2 3029 Alison Case 23 Rockville MD 41:15 50 3 607 Amy Greenberg 23 Potomac MD 46:41 25 MALE AGE GROUP: 25 - 29 Net Time 1 36 David Berdan 29 Owings Mills MD 29:30# 75 2 75 Birhanu Feysa 28 Silver Spring MD 29:34# 50 3 71 Tarikii Bokan 29 Herndon VA 29:34# 25 # Under USATF OPEN guideline FEMALE AGE GROUP: 25 - 29 Net Time 1 31 Dirbe Hunde 27 New York NY 34:09 75 2 69 Keneni Chala 29 Washington DC 34:36 50 3 33 Muliye Gurmu 27 Bronx NY 35:33 25 MALE AGE GROUP: 30 - 34 Net Time 1 8 Kitema Nigusse 30 Bronx NY 29:24# 75 2 38 Mark Stallings 30 Atglen PA 30:06 50 3 15 Wilson Komen 33 Washington DC 30:18 25 # Under USATF OPEN guideline FEMALE AGE GROUP: 30 - 34 Net Time 1 30 Michelle Miller 30 Damascus MD 35:36 75 2 603 Elizabeth Young 31 Washington DC 37:30 50 3 60 Lynn Knothe 33 Wilmington DE 39:03 25 MALE AGE GROUP: 35 - 39 Net Time 1 14 Michael Wardian 37 Arlington VA 30:21* 75 2 40 Troy Harrison 35 Waterfall PA 31:38* 50 3 1804 David Wertz 35 Arlington VA 32:03* 25 4 1295 Kris Simms 39 Baltimore MD 35:08 25 5 1113 Keith Freeburn 37 Centreville VA 35:49 25 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline FEMALE AGE GROUP: 35 - 39 Net Time 1 2680 Brenda Schrank 39 Winchester 36:56 75 2 1256 Sandra Bonilla 35 Kensington MD 42:03 50 3 2657 Christie Yang 39 Falls Church VA 42:57 25 4 274 Kaari Lii Linask 37 Rockville MD 43:29 25 5 1651 Kimberly Price 38 Gaithersburg MD 44:26 25 MALE AGE GROUP: 40 - 44 Net Time 1 2767 Mike Colaiacovo 41 Ellicott City MD 33:30* 75 2 44 Jordan Snyder 44 Rockville MD 33:52* 50 3 3008 Brian Davis 40 Rockville MD 36:39 25 4 1913 Joerg Schroeder 43 Rockville MD 37:04 25 5 2101 Eric Lawrence 43 Potomac MD 38:02 25 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline FEMALE AGE GROUP: 40 - 44 Net Time 1 47 Paula Pels 43 Bethesda MD 40:34 75 2 2159 Cheryl Young 41 Reston VA 42:14 50 3 1639 Janice Lunenfeld 41 Rockville MD 42:52 25 4 2612 Theresa White 41 Annandale VA 43:36 25 5 2807 Alida Anderson 41 Potomac MD 44:18 25 MALE AGE GROUP: 45 - 49 Net Time 1 382 Mark Neff 49 Derwood MD 34:41* 75 2 48 Jhonny Camacho 48 Torrington CT 36:55 50 3 2797 Howard Frost 45 Falls Church VA 37:40 25 4 1033 George Lane 45 Ashburn VA 37:43 25 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline FEMALE AGE GROUP: 45 - 49 Net Time 1 49 Linda Foley 49 Oak Hill VA 39:08 75 2 3254 Leslie Anchor 48 Rockville MD 44:12 50 3 633 Lynn Zipf 46 Silver Spring MD 45:29 25 4 3018 Kris Barner 45 Rockville MD 46:06 25 MALE AGE GROUP: 50 - 54 Net Time 1 1699 Henry Wigglesworth 53 Washington DC 34:20* 75 2 65 Dave Berardi 50 Baltimore MD 34:43* 50 3 51 Greg Cauller 51 York PA 34:44* 25 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline FEMALE AGE GROUP: 50 - 54 Net Time 1 1359 Deedee Loughran 52 Oak Hill VA 40:01* 75 2 2420 Win Persina 51 Washington DC 42:09 50 3 1460 Paula Galliani 51 Gaithersburg MD 45:59 25 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline MALE AGE GROUP: 55 - 59 Net Time 1 59 Chuck Moeser 59 Sterling VA 35:55* 75 2 1285 Roland Rust 58 Bethesda MD 37:36* 50 3 55 Peter Darmody 55 Gaithersburg MD 37:48* 25 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline FEMALE AGE GROUP: 55 - 59 Net Time 1 2672 Betty Blank 58 Falls Church VA 44:11* 75 2 2571 Heather Sanders 55 McLean VA 45:14 50 3 324 Linda Mattingly 56 Hyattsville MD 48:17 25 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline MALE AGE GROUP: 60 - 64 Net Time 1 2117 Timothy Morgan 60 Damascus MD 39:17* 75 2 1751 Richard Adams, Jr. 60 Herndon VA 40:06 50 3 2676 Jim Wright 61 Gaithersburg MD 40:42 25 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline FEMALE AGE GROUP: 60 - 64 Net Time 1 2176 Nancy Avitabile 63 Bethesda MD 48:28 75 2 2458 Alice Franks 62 Rockville MD 48:28 50 3 2276 Anne Forsha 60 Derwood MD 50:53 25 MALE AGE GROUP: 65 - 69 Net Time 1 2095 Donald Hensel 66 Gaithersburg MD 44:35 75 2 684 Michael Golash 67 Washington CA 45:19 50 3 1345 Gregory Chaconas 65 Washington DC 46:38 25 FEMALE AGE GROUP: 65 - 69 Net Time 1 2517 Dee Nelson 67 Gaithersburg MD 49:37* 75 2 914 Joann Szczepkowski 65 Rehoboth Beach DE 49:44* 50 3 2143 Chris Craun 65 Bethesda MD 49:45* 25 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline MALE AGE GROUP: 70 - 74 Net Time 1 2624 Gerald Ives 71 Washington DC 44:26* 75 2 61 John Elliott 72 Columbia MD 46:18* 50 3 2675 Chan Robbins 73 Arlington VA 51:39 25 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline FEMALE AGE GROUP: 70 - 74 Net Time 1 2473 Betty Smith 70 Rockville MD 70:03 75 2 2189 Jamie Wollard 72 N.Bethesda MD 76:17 50 MALE AGE GROUP: 75 - 79 Net Time 1 2515 Skip Grant 75 Chevy Chase MD 48:07* 75 2 1717 George Yannakakis 79 Sparksglencoe MD 51:31* 50 3 2725 Henry Guyot 76 Washington DC 54:03* 25 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline FEMALE AGE GROUP: 75 - 79 Net Time 1 3016 Jacquelin O'Neil 79 Washington DC 77:37 75 MALE AGE GROUP: 80 - 99 Net Time 1 1419 Jack McMahon 80 Silver Spring MD 54:39* 75 * Under USATF Age-Group guideline FEMALE AGE GROUP: 80 - 99 Net Time
By Jim Carbary
Last year Dave Berdan won the Annual 10 Mile Challenge in an amazingly fast time of 51:43. At this year’s race, Ryan McGrath, captain of the Falls Road Running team offered a bonus of $100 to his teammate Alexander Battaglino if he could better that time. Having every intention of collecting, Battaglino bolted from the start and immediately assumed a commanding lead.
“He went out so fast that we thought he’d fade and we’d reel him in,” said Carlos Renjifo, captain of the Howard County Strider/Feet First racing team.
Battaglino (left in photo by Doug Hawkland) kept a relentless pace, however, and slowed down only slightly in the hilly section of the course around six miles. “I never looked back,” he said, “so I really didn’t know how far ahead I was.” He finished nearly two minutes ahead of Matt Barresi in second place. Battaglino clocked 51:34 – nine seconds ahead of Berdan’s time— so he earned his bonus.
Falls Road may have claimed the top finisher, but they placed only six in the top 20 finishers, while the home team from Howard County placed seven in the top 20. This was enough for the locals to win the men’s team trophy. The top 12 men scored, with the next 80 serving as “displacers.”
Howard County’s Kara Waters (below in photo by Jim Carbary) won the woman’s race in 1:01:55 by a margin similar to that of Battaglino. She ran the race as an independent last year, but signed on with the Striders this year and ran several minutes faster, mostly competing against the men. “There were some good hills,” Kara said about the course. Her time and margin of victory were all the more amazing since she had just finished the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon (Arizona) a month ago in 2:52:31. She plans to improve her time by doing some speed work in the near future.
Kara’s valiant effort was not enough for the Strider women to beat back the women’s team from Falls Road. Led by Denise Knickman, the Falls Road women collected the next five places behind Waters and swept to a resounding victory in the women’s team challenge. “It was the best race I’ve had in a while,” Knickman said. The top six women on a team scored.
The mixed or coed team victory was decided by a scoring system as complicated as the NFL’s tie-breaker rules. Fortunately, the scoring was handled by a computer, which eventually determined that the men and women of Falls Road had also won the mixed team championship. By dint of its two team victories, Falls Road also took the overall championship. They retained the ancient trophy, which dates to 1980. Battaglino and Waters also took home trophies for their individual victories. The men, women’s, and mixed teams received trophies. But there were no more awards, since this was purely a team challenge race. All finishers did receive the trademark painter’s gloves.
The race was directed by Richard Bernstein, who received support from dozens of Howard County Strider volunteers and the Boy Scouts. The Howard County police not only provided traffic control, they also gave Battaglino a motorcycle escort all through his 10-mile jaunt. The Striders also wish to thank Steve Musselman and the Howard Community college, which served as the venue for the race and allowed use of its gymnasium for post-race ceremonies.
Ten complete teams from all over central Maryland and the District of Columbia competed in the 10 Mile Challenge, which is an official RRCA Championship race. The Challenge race also represents the first race in the Maryland RRCA Grand Prix Championship series. Although 800 signed up for the race, only 564 finished. The registration of the 800 individuals marked the largest field ever for the 10 Mile Challenge and the first time the event ever closed out.
Top Men
| 1. | Alexander | Battaglino | Falls Road | 51:34 |
| 2. | Matthew | Barresi | Howard | 53:21 |
| 3. | Carlos | Renjifo | Howard | 53:27 |
| 4. | Tristam | Thomas | Falls Road | 53:51 |
| 5. | Ed | Aramayo | Falls Road | 53:57 |
| 6. | Dustin | Meeker | Falls Road | 54:02 |
| 7. | Dave | Miller | Unattached | 54:30 |
| 8. | Andrew | Madison | Howard County | 54:37 |
| 9. | James | Henry | Montgomery County | 55:03 |
| 10. | Mark | Buschman | Howard | 55:39 |
| 11. | Garrett | Ash | Falls Road | 56:00 |
| 12. | Kyle | Stanton | Howard County | 56:14 |
| 13. | Luke | Bedford | RASAC | 56:22 |
| 14. | Daniel | Miranda | Baltimore | 56:54 |
| 15. | Karsten | Brown | Annapolis | 57:01 |
| 16. | Alex | Loper | RASAC | 57:09 |
| 17. | Randall | McDermott | Howard County | 57:25 |
| 18. | Seth | Tibbitts | Falls Road | 57:29 |
| 19. | Philip | Diven | Howard County | 57:34 |
| 20. | Matthew | Klaschus | RASAC | 57:53 |
Top Women
| 1. | Kara | Waters | Howard County | 1:01:55 |
| 2. | Denise | Knickman | Falls Road | 1:03:49 |
| 3. | Diane | Heiser | Falls Road | 1:04:17 |
| 4. | Melissa | Majundar | Falls Road | 1:04:57 |
| 5. | Suzanne | Hurst | Falls Road | 1:06:47 |
| 6. | Jaclyn | Truncellito | Falls Road | 1:07:04 |
| 7. | Stefanie | Commins | Howard County | 1:07:16 |
| 8. | Megan | DiGregorio | Falls Road | 1:08:09 |
| 9. | Megan | McNew | Falls Road | 1:08:18 |
| 10. | Robyn | Humphrey | Howard County | 1:08:25 |
| 11. | Donna | Wecker | Howard County | 1:08:28 |
| 12. | Patricia | Soumoff | Montgomery County | 1:08:38 |
| 13. | Caroline | Bauer | Howard County | 1:08:43 |
| 14. | Kristin | Van Eron | Baltimore | 1:08:49 |
| 15. | Nicole | Deziel | Montgomery County | 1:11:00 |
| 16. | Ulrike | Robinson | Montgomery County | 1:11:34 |
| 17. | Utonna | Sherrod | Annapolis | 1:11:57 |
| 18. | Sarah | Lebro | Howard County | 1:12:01 |
| 19. | Alyssa | Godesky | Falls Road | 1:12:19 |
| 20. | Audrey | Perlow | DCRRC | 1:12:20 |
Men’s Teams (low score wins)
| 1. | HCS | 198 |
| 2. | FRR | 222 |
| 3. | RASAC | 522 |
| 4. | MCRRC | 814 |
| 5. | BRRC | 834 |
| 6. | DCRRC | 1199 |
| 7. | FSC | 1433 |
| 8. | AS | 1455 |
| 9. | WRRC | 1885 |
| 10. | PGRC | 2703 |
Women’s Teams
| 1. | FRR | 28 |
| 2. | HCS | 60 |
| 3. | MRRC | 121 |
| 4. | BRRC | 178 |
| 5. | RASAC | 320 |
| 6. | FSC | 333 |
| 7. | AS | 389 |
| 8. | DCRRC | 456 |
| 9. | WRR | 598 |
| 10. | PGRC | 678 |
Mixed Teams
| 1. | FRR | 497 |
| 2. | HCS | 532 |
| 3. | MRRC | 1286 |
| 4. | RASAC | 1350 |
| 5. | BRRC | 1408 |
| 6. | DCRRC | 2056 |
| 7. | FSC | 2322 |
| 8. | AS | 2502 |
| 9. | WRR | 3198 |
| 10. | PGRC | 4490 |
This event was the first race of the 2011 Maryland Grand Prix Championship Series
Below is this year’s schedule.
Maryland State RRCA Championship Series Schedule
1. MD RRCA Challenge (the 1st race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) was run Sunday 2/27/11- 8:00 a.m.
2. Springburst 8K (2nd race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Saturday 4/9/11 – 9:00 a.m.
3. Bel Air Town Run 5K (3th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Sunday 6/05/11 – 8:00 a.m.
4. Fatburger 5 Miler (4th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Sunday 6/19/11 – 8:00 a.m.
5. Dog Day’s 8K (5th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Sunday 8/7/11 – 8:00 a.m.
6. Frederick Mile (6th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Saturday 9/10/11 – 8:00 a.m.
7. Dave Herlocker Memorial Bachmann Valley Half Marathon (7th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Sunday 9/25/11 – 8:00 a.m.
8. Falls Road 15K (8th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Sunday 10/02/12 – 8:30 a.m.
9. Rockville 10K (9th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Sunday 11/06/11 – 8:30 a.m.
10. Northern Central Trail Marathon (10th race of the Maryland RRCA State Championship Series) will be run Saturday 11/26/16 – 9:30 a.m.
