Club News, March 26, 2000

Club News

Martin, Ryan, Neimeyer run well at Reston; Fulton, Oswald top five at Bethesda Chase 10K; Becky Orfinger Joins Club; Happy Nuptials for Kim Markland; A Day in the Life of Paul


“That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet”

Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2

And by any other name, cherry blossoms would be as likely to attract sightseers.

Yep, that season is upon us once again. We realize this ’cause there are hundreds of buses circling Hains Point, spewing diesel funes. This has prompted some grousing among club members. While sympathetic to complaints, we must point out that there is a small price to pay for enjoying the East Potomac Park year round. So we all must just endure the fumes, until DC’s version of March Madness has ended.

This tourists appear quite excited to be among the cherry blossoms


New Members

Becky Orfinger, 22, of Arlington VA. A 1999 graduate of Cornell University, Becky is currently in training for the Pittsburgh Marathon in May. Becky is a serious runner, not having missed a day since August. We welcome her aboard.


Race Results

Reston Ten Miler, March 25

In a race won by Jeff Leuenberger, of Annapolis, three of our boys placed in the top twelve.

  • 5) Todd Martin 55:52
  • 10) Kevin Ryan 57:37
  • 12) Paul Neimeyer 57:40

This was especially impressive performance by Paul, as he was coming off a hundred mile week

Commented Kevin Ryan

I was really happy with my race: the hills (and Mr. Neimeyer) whipped me in the early going, but all those hill workouts and track workouts are paying off and I was able to bounce back and finish real hard.

Todd adds

“It was windy. However, the conditions were much better than last year. Question – where was Gary?”

In answer to your question Todd, our friend Gary O’Donnell went bike riding with Prez Steve Tappan (resident triathlete) on Saturday, and was in no condition to race Sunday. For the record, Mr. Tappan denies any wish to convert our runners to tri-dogs, or to rename us the Washington Running and Triathlon Club .

Bethesda Chase 10K, March 25

WRC runners Patty Fulton and Robin Oswald placed in the top five at the Bethesda Chase the same day. Wind contributed to slow times in Maryland as well.

  • 3) Patty Fulton 39:27
  • 5) Robin Oswald 40:31

Comments Patty apropos her performance

“It was very windy. I think we had a head wind the entire race. This was my first race since my foot surgery so hopefully I removed some of the rust and will be more prepared for the next one.”

Adds Robin

“Ick, I didn’t do so well. Wind probably contributed, although it was also a fairly hilly course. The post-race food was great though.”


News of the Club

We are happy to announce that our friend Kim Markland married Neil Robinson two weeks after running the Olympic trials in South Carolina. Like Kim, Neil is also a Major in the United States Air Force. We congratulate the happy couple, and wish them many happy returns. We understand that they will be in the DC area for at least another three years, which is very good news.


We were happy to see our friends John Rusinko and Elizabeth Ottaway at the club happy hour on Friday. Word coming back from independent sources is that Elizabeth is doing a terrific job as president of the Runhers, a Virginia club for women runners. Kudos to Elizabeth.


Our friend Jack Pozo-Olano reminds us that Gold’s Gym is again sponsoring the 6th Annual Gold’s Gym Clarendon Road Race 5K, on Saturday, April 22nd. We had a nice turnout of club members last year, and it would be excellent for us to again appear in droves. For those of you who are competitive sorts, we remind you this is a Gold Cup Series event.


WRC men have entered a master’s team for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. The team consists of the following members:

  • Roberto Rodriquez
  • Bob Trost
  • David Keating (Captain)
  • James Scarborough

Paul Neimeyer – the Sorrow and the Pity

Paul Neimeyer update. We learned that our good friend Paul ran 106 miles last week in preparation for the Boston Marathon on April 19th. Naturally, this begs the question – how does he find the time to do this, work as a full-time lawyer, and maintain his santity? Well, ClubNews did a bit of investigation, and this is what we found

A Day in the Life of Paul

  • 4:30 Alarm bell goes off
  • 4:35 Paul lifts weights
  • 5:00 Paul goes for a run
  • 5:45 Paul gets back from run
  • 6:00 Paul vacuums/scrubs apartment, including walls and ceiling.
  • 6:20 Paul vacuums/scrubs 3100 block of N St. also.
  • 7:00 Paul arrives at work
  • 7:01-6:00 – works as lawyer at GWU
  • 8:30 Paul gets home
  • 7:00 Paul runs again
  • 8:30 Paul returns from run
  • 9:00 Paul has dinner of powerbars, lettuce, cucumbers & milk
  • 9:30 Paul irons his pajamas and bedsheets.
  • 10:00 Paul collapses in a state of advanced physical exhaustion

Compared to Neimeyer, the average Chinese political dissident enjoys an idyllic existence.

This fellow used to look like Schwarzenegger before he started training with Paul