April Club Meeting
The April WRC Meeting will be at Armand’s Pizzeria (Tenleytown) on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington, DC on April 27 at 7:30 p.m. located at 4231 Wisconsin Avenue (202-686-9450). The agenda will include topics ranging from recent races, web site traffic, upcoming team competitions, report from Penn Relays and uniforms.
Reminder Notice to All:
Gerry Ives has noted that many of you have mistakenly not sent in dues for the 1999 Year. If the label of your WRC News has a red start on it that means Ives has not received dues from you. Please remember to send him your dues so we can pay the bills.
Thanks!!
Musing from El Presidente,
Dave Keating
In the past two months, the WRC has grown in size and stature in the WDC running community. We have acquired over ten new members since January 1, 1999 and have been quoted repeated in some of the nation’s top daily newspaper. All in all, it has been a good Spring campaign.
Despite our efforts to get the Club name out among the locals, there has been some confusion lately about the distinction between WRC and DCRRC. The Washington Post misidentified me as a spokesman for the DCRRC. For the record, here are the three major distinctions between DCRRC and us.
- I am not married to Mrs. Paul Thompson.
- The WRC website is full of ridiculous quotes from Shakespeare. The DCRRC website full of sensible quotes from the RRCA safety bulletin (“don’t run thru dangerous parts of town at midnight”).
- WRC has historically been more oriented towards racing.
Now, let me expand a bit on distinction # 3. The WRC has a history of serious competitive nature. In the past few months, with the addition of some talented runners and the health of WRC veterns, we have returned to our racing roots in stunning fashion.
At the Nortel Cherry Blossom Ten Miler, as detailed
within this newsletter and the Website, WRC veterans Donna Moore, Patti
Fulton and Anita Freres ran with zest and heart to
capture 2nd place. We are grateful to have such talented
women and want to do whatever we can to keep them active in the club. Any
ideas from the women about how the club can work with them to make
their membership rewarding are welcome.
I realize some of the men were disappointed by not beating Montgomery
County Road Runners — you should not bet be. MCRRC is a great club, with
terrific runners. You all will have a chance to face them again at the
Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K this summer and the Army 10 miler in the fall. Between
MCRRC and Howard County, we are not lacking for worthy competitors.
You all are in the enviable position of being young, fast with good
teammates, great places to train and worthy competitors. Enjoy the
ride because when you get old, like me, it’s not as much fun (or as easy).
As for WRC masters – what can I say? Many (Trost, Rodqiquez, Ives) have
been with WRC for the majority of its existence. Not only do they
race well, but they also provide a historical memory of the club
dating back to the seventies. They are a terrific asset to all of us.
In the overall Cherry Blossom competition, Ethiopian Worku
Bikila took first in 46:59. Kenyans took the next 13 places. All Kenyans
competing in the race finished within three and a half minutes of each
other, in a fine example of pack running. Some Americans saw the pack
with despair as our fellow countrymen never competing as effectively. Such
defeatism is completely unwarranted
The second American, Howard County’s Mark Gilmore finished in
50:40, thirty seconds behind the last Kenyan runner. Gary O’Donnell a new
WRC member was within two minutes of the last Kenyan runner. We are not
running with the Kenyan pack – but we are nipping at their heels.
If the lead Americans ran the times that they did between
1976 and 1988 (i.e. times of between 46 and 48 minutes) they would be
tight within the lead pack. We should concede nothing to East Africans.
Perhaps we can not beat them all, but we should not let ourselves
be awed by their mystique either. When Americans train hard and
do our homework, we – meaning very good DC area and American
runners – can run stride for stride with the middle of the lead pack.
MARINE CORPS IMBROGLIO
Spencer Hsu
of The Washington Post recently
contact the club, requesting our views about charity marathoners
and the Marine Corps, of which controversy is brewing. In a nutshell, the
MCM closed early this year on March 1st, almost 8 months before the actual
running of the marathon. The Marines for a dozen charities reserved a quarter of entries (4000), that give the entry to runners that, in turn, agree to raise hundreds of dollars for the charity. These charities are still recruiting runners. Spencer Hsu of the Post told us that some runners believe this is akin to scalping. He wanted to know the club’s position.
El Prez contacted a few senior club members, and got
excellent responses from Jack Coffey, Jim Hage, Elizabeth
Hosford, Donna Moore, Paul Neimeyer, John O’Donnell,
and Steve Tappan. Thanks to all who took the time to respond to my email.
Generally, club members fall into two camps. The first is one of marathon
purism, with John O’Donnell as an articulate proponent. Roughly summarized,
the purists believe that marathons are competitive events run by
fit athletes. Any other use is a debasement of the event. The second camp is
one of moderation, which I fall into: marathons can serve any number of purposes.
Running a marathon for charity is admirable. An ethical issue would arise when
charities “sell” entries without providing a good faith training effort for
novice runners who expect it. Thus far, no one has proven this is happening.
Charity marathoning and competitive marathoning are not incompatible; however it
is alarming that MCM is losing its status as a competitive race. Last year only
110 out of 16,000 runners broke three hours. Indeed, much of the 1998 field was
woefully unprepared, with the latter stages of the race resembling Napoleon’s Grande
Armee in retreat from Moscow. As a solution, we suggest race organizers reserve 500 entries for sub 3:30 male marathoner and 500 entries sub 4:00 female marathoners. This would assure the marathon of a core of competitive long distance runners.
Race Results
Nortel Cherry Blossom Ten Miler,
April 11, 1999
By Dave Keating
For the record, WRC women are leaner and faster than most roses we
know including Rosie O’Donnell. At Cherry Blossom, WRC femmes behind
the front running of Donna Moore, Anita Freres and Patty Fulton took
second in the Women’s Open division. Moving Comfort, women’s
open winner had to jet in two of their runners from the West Coast to
defeat us. We can not remember WRC fielding a stronger women’s team
in the past ten years.
Women’s Open Team A (2nd Place)
- Donna Moore
(59:48)
- Anita Freres
(1:01:04),
- Patty Fulton
(1:02:16),
- Karen Oudekerk
(1:03:01)
- Janet Murray
(1:05:34)
Barb Fallon (1:13:26), Monica Venere (1:15:15) and Lani Cossette (1:20:32) anchored our women’s B team into a 10th place finish.
Men’s Open
grabbed 4th out of 16 teams, behind Howard County Striders, Montgomery County Road Running Club and Pacers. Our top four runners were within two minutes of each other. This is another strong performance by the men. Here are the times for the men
Men’s Open Team A (4th Place)
- Todd Martin
(54:55),
- Henry Grossman
(55:52)
- Kurt Kroemer
(56:40)
- Paul Neimeyer
(56:57)
- Jonathan Gardner
(1:02:36).
Martin did not run as well as he hoped, with a sore calf muscle slowing him. Grossman ran his best race of the spring. Kroemer ran great considering his recent injury, and a condensed five week training schedule. Paul set a PR, and Jon ran well, considering, as Jack Pozo-Olano comments “he has run five times in the last year”. Jon is a distance talent waiting to bloom.
Here are the results of the other clubs in the Men’s Open Division
- Howard Country Striders (2:35:29
- MCRCC Big Dogs(2:41:50)
- Pacers (2:46:40)
- WRC (2:47:27)
WRC Male Master grabbed 4th out of 12
Men’s Master’s Team (4th Place)
- Roberto Rodriquez
(1:01:18)
- John Dix
(1:03:21)
- Gerry Ives
(1:04:15)
- Robert Trost
(1:06:20)
- James Scarborough
(1:13:29)
Here are the men’s master’s results of the other clubs
- Master Blasters
(2:47:18)
- MCRRC Old Dogs
(2:50:41)
- MCRRC Master Dogs
( 3:04:33)
- WRC’S Vintage
(3:08:54)
Dix
grabbed 4th in 50-54. Ives was suffering the
effects of sore quads, was 2nd in 50-59 age category. Really, our masters
ran awfully well, considering three out of five are over 50 years of age.
Also running were Dan Wallace – who ran for NOVA — (31st in 54:16)
Anthony Belber (37th in 54:55), Thomas McCarthy (1:02:11),
David Keating (1:05:32) and Juan Pozo-Olano (1:22:36).
Gold’s Gym Run for the Kids 5K, April 3, 1999
Blessed with nearly perfect conditions, more than 700 runners turned out to run on
one of the toughest 5K course in the WDC region. With WRC’s Jack Pozo-Olano
directing the race, everything went as seamlessly as possible – from the pre-race
warm-up for those not-so-intense runners to the finish line.
Turning out to defend her title was New Balance’s Alisa Harvey who
trailed Naoka Ishebe for the first mile, but overtook Ishebe in
the second mile and continued on for the win in 17:27. Ishebe held on
for 2nd in 17:38. WRCers Karen Oudekerk captured
3rd in 18:08 followed by Monica Robbers for 4th in 18:45.
For the men, the competition was even steeper – especially among the
masters. Taking the win was Aaron McCommons, a sprite 23-year old from
Vienna, in 15:36 trailed closely by Brian Daugherty of Anapolis in
15:41. WRC’s Jim Hage demonstrated his kick by holding off Chuck
Moeser to win the Men’s Master’s race in 15:52 (5th overall).
Moeser, who crossed the line in 15:53, later commented that “he will get
Jim this year.” We’ll all watch and see, but the odds in Vegas still weigh in Hage’s favor (EDITOR’S NOTE: Don’t let us down Jim. Catherine’s college fund is banking on your success!!) WRCers Gary O’Donnell took 7th in 15:56 with Todd Martin close behind for 8th in 15:58. WRC’s Henry Grossman finished in 16:47 for 14th.
Shamrock Sportsfest 8K & Marathon
March 20, 1999,
Although he claims he is an “old man” WRC’s Jim Hage continues to run like a young chap. The Shamrock 8K, which has a separate 8K just for old guys like Hage, he ran 25:16 for third beating Jon Sinclair (25:55) – Jim’s nemesis from last year. Winning the Men’s Masters races was John Tuttle of Douglasville, GA, in a time of 23:24 with Anarey Kuznetsov (Gainsville, FL) taking 2nd in 23:28.
Also running in the Open 8K was Dan Wallace who achieved a PR of 25:43 to get third in the 30-34 age group. WRC’s Monica Robbers ran 29:55 in the 8K, placing first in the women’s 25-29 age group, followed by Barb Fallon, who got 2nd in that particular age group in a time of 30:46.
And, taking on the 26.2 course was WRC’s Steve Tappen who cruised to the finish in 2:44 (14th place) with windy conditions to post a PR by 20 minutes. Steve hit twenty miles at 2:03 and ran the last 10K in 41 minutes.
McCormick & Schmick’s St. Patrick’s Day 10K, March 14, 1999
by George Banker
It was “Burke’s Streak” which was broken at the 11th Annual McCormick & Schmick’s St. Patrick’s Day 10K. Since 1996, Edmund Burke ruled the roads with three consecutive wines (30:52; 31:06, and 30:50). The era was brought to an end but not without a fight. It took Philippe Rolly of Lyon, France four and one-half miles to over take Burke and then battle for the lead.
Going into the sixth mile, Rolly had 29:20 and a fifty-yard lead over Burke who clocked 29:28. Rolly focused on the finish and set a new event record with 30:27, breaking Burke’s record from 1998
There were more than 3,800 runners that challenged the odds for good weather. In 1993, the event was canceled because of a blizzard.
In the women’s race, Naoko Ishibe led from the start with WRC’s Donna Moore in close pursuit. Ishibe never lost control and went on to establish a new event record in 36:05. Moore held on to 2nd place in 37:02 followed closely by Patti Shull in 37:12, who also set a new women’s masters record.
Other WRC performances include: Monica Robbers (40:10), Janet Murray (40:56), Monica Vernere (49:48) Todd Martin (32:31), and Henry Grossmann (34:37).
Bethesda Chase 10K, March 7, 1999
Despite the wintry like conditions, more than 500 runners showed up to run. A small contingent of the WRC boycotted this race because of it’s downsizing from the 20K. Rumor has it that the course was so tough that the records for the masters were set in 1978 and never lowered. The WRC naysayers did not influence Paul Neimeyer who right around 5:40 minute/mile pace for 8th place (35:02) and Anthony Belber who trailed closely for 11th place (35:23).
For the women, it was WRC’s Anita Freres who took a shot at running down Bea-Marie Altieri (37:48), but settled for 2nd in 38:28.
Footsteps of Reston 10 Miler & 5K, March 7, 1999
Logging some miles in preparation for Cherry Blossom, WRC’s Gary O’Donnell (4th in 54:18) and Todd Martin (5th in 54:29), and James Scarborough (1:13:23)
38th Annual Washington’s Birthday Marathon, February 14, 1999
Plagued by injury and illness, the WRC men, both young and old, laced up their shoes to run amid the fields of Maryland. The WRC men’s Masters Team B (Rough Draft) of Bob Shapiro, Bob Trost and Robert Rodriquez captured first place in a time of 2:54:49. The abusive winds and daunting hills did not stay these runners from victory. WRC extends special congratulations to Mr. Shapiro, for running such a strong first leg. Trost and Rodriquez promise to repeat their stalwart performances at Cherry Blossom.
The WRC Men’s Open Team A (Drafted to Serve) of Henry Grossman and new member Paul Neimeyer captured fourth in the men’s open division in 2:39, despite the fact that Neimeyer run both the second and third legs of the race.
Cumberland Valley A.C.
won the Men’s Open competition with a time of 2:26:54. MCRRC and the Potomac Runners fielded the men’s open teams that defeated WRC.
A quick review of the record book reflects on days past. The WRC still holds the title in the Open Women’s competition set back in 1989 in a time of 2:48:38. We also hold the Coed title set back in 1991 in 2:36:04. Should we raise the challenge of breaking a record in 2000?
VALENTINE’S DAY 8K
February 14, 1999
We would like to report on the results of this race, but unless you were one of the top 10 finishers you’ll never know how you did in this race. From the homepage of the Capital Running Company we learned that “the full results for the Valentine’s Day 8K on February 14, 1999, in Washington, D.C., will not be available. New equipment for the Champion Chip race timing system failed on race day.” WRCer’s Todd Martin (2nd place in 26:09) and Dan Wallace (4th in 27:24) ran hard enough to be part of that lucky crew that the CRC found worthy of recording their times. What ever happened to the days of pulling tags off bib numbers? Sometimes, it’s good to have the back-up plan covered. Better luck next year.
TRAIL NEWS
Special thanks to all who helped at the St. Patrick’s Day 10K to raise $280 for the club. The money will be used to sponsor teams for Cherry Blossom and Sallie Mae, and to defray the costs of the WRC Website. The club much appreciates members working without compensation. It shows both great altruism and is a living example of how Marxist economies commonly operate.
The Club would like to thank the following members for doing a terrific job in hectic conditions.
- John Dix
- Ed Doheny
- Barb Fallon
- Jon Gardner
- Henry Grossman
- Elizabeth Hosford
- Gerry Ives
- David Keating
- Tris Kruger
- Janet Murray
- Paul Neimeyer
- John O’Donnell
- Steve Tappen
- Jon Thoren
- Dan Wallace
Thanks again, El Presidente, Dave
More thanks to everyone in the Club for their phone calls, e-mails, gifts and visits at the birth of our daughter, Catherine Pozo-Olano. She is growing fast and we suspect that she’ll be ready for those little running shoes sooner than we think. Thanks again for your generosity, Jack and Jodie Pozo-Olano.
Mike Regan reports from California that he has been pounding out the miles the last few weeks after a busy March of road racing. His past three races have included a 4 miler (for which he offered no time) an 8K (26:00) & a 12K (39:53). His job is keeping him busy as they finishes the expansion of the store. He is hoping to run the 5K that accompanies the Big Sur Marathon & the Bay to Breakers 12K in May.
El Presidente Keating has accepted a $100 challenge issued by John Geidl to actually run a marathon this year rather just continue to opine on them. We will all support his efforts and help him win the $100 bet. Keating will run the Philadelphia Marathon in November to fulfill this pledge. The money will be pledged to ALS research.
And speaking of marathons, good luck to both Paul Niemeyer and Anita Freres as they prepare to take on their spring marathons. It’s nice to see that at least a few members are still willing to go the distance not matter how challenging. We hope that this fall (or anywhere in the near future) we’ll see Dan achieve his dream of sub-2:35.
On the international front, we hear that our deeply missed pal, Teren Block will be back home for some time in June and July.
As WRC News follows the progress and efforts of Jim Hage, we’ve noticed that a Mr. Andrey Kuznetsov from Gainsville, FL, has often finished just out of his reach. We also noticed that he had a fine performance at Boston winning the Master’s race in 2:14:20.
WRC’s Patty Fulton clocked a 38:59 over a very hilly course to capture first in the MCRRC Piece of Cake 10K.
A workman like performance by Mark Thompson at Boston (2:58) begs the question, “where are your dues?”
And, speaking of dues, we welcome our newest members, including Gary & Darcey O’Donnel, Karen Oudekerk, Anthony Belber, and Margo Kelly. The growth rate of the Club has tripled in that past six months, so we would also like to extend a welcome if we unintentionally overlooked any new members.
UPCOMING RACES
The next races where we will be entering teams are:
- Pennsylvania Avenue Mile (were we are two-year defending champs);
- Lawyers Have Heart 10K;
- Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K;
- Army 10 Miler;
- Marine Corp Marathon.
If you plan to run any of these races, please contact Jodie and Jack Pozo-Olano at (703) 516-4517 or e-mail at jolano@universalservice.org. There may be other races, so stay in touch if you enjoy competing.
Letters to the Editor
Please feel free to submit any written materials for publication in the newsletter to: WRC Editor, 1423 North Nash St. #11, Arlington, VA 22209 or call the Editor at (703) 516-4517, or e-mail the editor at:
jolano@universalservice.org. Race results and comments for “Trail News” are also welcomed.
Washington Running Club
4616 Laverock Place, NW
Washington, DC 20007-2544
www.washrun.org
CLUB OFFICERS
President: Dave Keating
Secretary: John O’Donnell
Treasurer: James Scarborough
Newsletter Editor: Jodie Pozo-Olano
COMMITTEES
Legal: Chairs – Jim Hage, Jack Coffey
Membership: Gerry Ives
Teams: Jack & Jodie Pozo-Olano (703) 516-4517