Maynard Weyers

Below, runners charge the final meters to the finish line. Above, the finish arch awaits.

In its fourth year this little race is starting to gain momentum. The first two years the winners of the race barely broke 19:00 on a course that, while never flat, has no hills of consequence. In the second year, hometown legend Ted Poulos measured the field and ran just fast enough to win in 18:42. Take note that Sarah Spalding finished only one second later to keep things interesting. Then in 2010 some very fast runners entered the fray. Michaela Courtney easily set the women’s event record in a sparkling 17:22 that was sixth overall a stride behind Craig Clar. Poulos who has a PR of 15:48 settled for a division win in 18:32. Mark Drath lowered the bar beating runner-up Christopher Pruitt by a 100 meters in 15:44. Finishers nearly doubled to just short of 300 finishers.

With so many races competing for runners, it is hard to draw large crowds. The Wells Fargo Run for the Door 5K started off their first year with a lot of pluses. The race venue had huge parking loot with tons of room for this race to grow ten times as large. The course was coned off well so that even with its many turns, runners could easily stay on course. If you cannot have a fast course, make it real interesting.

Even before the runners lined up to get started, the air was thick with music from the booming music tent. There were fresh bagels and fruit for after the race and bless them, the bottled water was nestled in a bed of ice. After the past few days of chilling rain, runners might have forgotten how warm September really remains. Indeed, the race was a little nervous as the early morning skies contained some thunder and lightning. Fortunately that passed and runners were met with the lightest of drizzle, though the humidity made the air thick.

Maynard Weyers

McLean 5K Race Report

Wells Fargo Run For the Door 5K