2012 Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K
Start of 2012 race
Rockville, MD
July 21, 2012
It was quite a turnaround as the awful heat of early July was washed away by a day long soaking. It left the evening's mid-summer classic with one of the coolest nights. The course always draws top talent from around the region but the many turns and challenging hills prevent super fast times. The wheelchair entrant David Swope blasted through the first miles so fast it was clear that the runners would have no chance to catch him. He finished in 21:22, having started two minutes ahead of the full field.
Mile two of the race is about fifty meters from the start/finish of the race but runners make a more than 90 degree turn down a side street a scant few meters from North Washington Street. There were three cars and a few bicycles leading the runners up to that spot. The pack of nearly a dozen swarmed past two miles in 9:50. Elite runner coordinator Jim Whitnah noted, "It look like a tactical race."
The first quarter of the race is nearly all downhill and the way the runners blasted out from the start it did seem likely that the times would be slower than usual. The third mile has a short, stubby hill just when runners are starting to run short of adrenaline and then the fourth mile climbs from the lowest spot (the duck pond at the college) to the highest spot (by the track) in the spirit testing fourth mile. Included in the middle is a loop de lou quarter mile sending runners back down and up again in the north parking lot. The final mile is shorter than the others in an 8K and Christopher Mills, 22, of Falls Church seemed to be running wide, almost to the gutter of the street as he opened it up for the final sixty meters. Racing down the center, Eyob Alemu looked as if he might just catch him, For some reason, the event held the race banner up about five meters past the scoring mats. Both runners swerved inward towards the center of the banner and the winner hit the mats first. They both hit the tape in a near collision in an identical 24:14. In the results Alemu nipped Mills by net time but for the overall the winner is decided by gun time and Mills got there a millisecond sooner.
The rest of the pack had long since broken up and filter in. Year after year the fiftieth best time has rested around 27:50, often without a female finisher. This year 50th place was 27:28 with two women gracing the top fifty. The top four women were strung out about 10 meters apart at two miles. By the end Aziza Aliyu won in the second fastest event time with 26:54. The record was set by Rosalind Taylor in 1992 with 26:42. The fifth finisher was Eleva Orlova, 42, (left)looking svelte as she dominated the masters division besting former Runner Rankings champion Peggy Yetman by about a minute in 28:09. Three of the top four women came down from New York. Third place went to top ranked Tezata Dengarsa with 27:39.
No one broke 24:00 minutes this year as two time defending champion Abiyot Endale did not return. Just four runners broke the magic 5:00 per mile pace with third place Tariku Bokan out kicking last year's runner-up Demesse Tefera by a second in 24:22. There was the usual cash for the top five overall and for the top three masters. After Yetman, 51-year-old Cindy Conant stepped up for second in the masters cash, followed by Vicki Lang of Columbia. For the men all three that finished in the top fifty were in the 45-49 age group. Vladimir Tontchinski, 45, of Eugene torched the field with an excellent 25:44 for 14th overall. Derik Thomas, 46 of Alexandria bested another out of towner, Kevin Sullivan, 48, of Valhalla, NY by a second in 27:16.
Maybe the rain and the threat of rain quashed the idea of the band that usually played. The rain was light and it stopped completely before the race was over. There were a lot more booths set up and a whole row of new cars to peruse.
For the older racers, Mark Neff, 50 knew he could not slow down taking the grandmaster title in 28:41 with David Haaga not far behind in 28:51. Carole Jones, 55, routed her division in 35:17 as the top grandmaster. She was folloed by the 50-54 division winner Janeth Scott in 36:01.
Before the race Jim Wright lamented that he was not as fast as he used to be, but still finished not far off the heels of top ranked Roland Rust 31:40 to 32:01. Tim Morgan knew he was going to have a long night trying to catch either of these two but he did hold off his younger brother Richard for third, 33:18 to 33:46. For the women, the magnificent Alice Franks, 64, made it look easy in 39:26, winning by more than a mile.
In the even older, Lou Shapiro, 70, is well on his way back to the top of the heap with a sterling 44:06. Linda Carter of Potomac joined the division with a solid win in 54:13. Chan Robbins, 75, age up to win the new division in 43:01. He was ahead of Robert Gurtler, 77, who ran a 5K in the morning, his 40th of the year. Jack McMahon, 81, is a regular winning in 47:58.
Wheelchair Results
Place Num Name S Ag Hometown Net Tim
===== ===== ===================== = == ================ =======
1 1924 David Swope M 45 New Windsor MD 23:45
Awards Listing
Open & Masters By Gun Time, Age Groups By Net Time
No Duplicate Prizes
$$$
MALE OPEN Gun Time
1 33 Christopher Mills 22 Falls Church VA 24:12 350
2 15 Eyob Alemu 30 Washington DC 24:12 250
3 3 Tariku Bokan 28 Herndon VA 24:21 200
4 2 Demesse Tefera 30 Washington DC 24:22 175
5 14 Temesgen Ilanso 28 Washington DC 24:52 150
FEMALE OPEN Gun Time
1 68 Aziza Aliyu 26 New York NY 26:54 350
2 11 Hirut Beyene 20 Jackson Heights NY 27:10 250
3 9 Tezeta Dengersa 31 Washington DC 27:39 200
4 13 Tinbit Weldegebrael 22 Jackson Heights NY 28:01 175
5 42 Elena Orlova 42 Gaithersburg VA 28:09* 150
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
MALE MASTERS Gun Time
1 59 Vladimir Tontchinski 45 Eugene OR 25:44* 150
2 46 Derik Thomas 46 Alexandria VA 27:16* 75
3 1911 Kevin Sullivan 47 Valhalla NY 27:17* 50
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
FEMALE MASTERS Gun Time
1 39 Peggy Yetman 44 Leesburg VA 29:05* 150
2 51 Cindy Conant 51 Kensington MD 32:23* 75
3 43 Vicki Lang 43 Columbia MD 34:37 50
* Under USATF Age-Group guideline
MALE WHEELCHAIR
1 1924 David Swope 45 New Windsor MD 23:45
FEMALE WHEELCHAIR
MALE AGE GROUP: 1 - 19 Net Time
1 192 Eric Schuler 19 Laurel MD 27:02
2 131 Logan Jones 17 Frederick MD 28:06
3 200 Kyle Tockman 18 Olney MD 28:14
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 1 - 19 Net Time
1 66 Shetaye Bekele 19 Washington DC 29:51
2 117 Abbey Daley 17 Clarksburg MD 32:37
3 239 Lucy Srour 15 Potomac MD 35:34
MALE AGE GROUP: 20 - 24 Net Time
1 67 Chalie Bitew 24 Washington DC 25:17
2 21 Kyle Stanton 21 Columbia MD 25:33
3 1620 Graham Peck 23 Lutherville MD 25:38
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 20 - 24 Net Time
1 12 Anna Holt-Gosselin 24 Vienna VA 28:36
2 27 Susanna Sullivan 22 Falls Church VA 28:58
3 2490 Carla Gott 22 Bowie MD 29:10
MALE AGE GROUP: 25 - 29 Net Time
1 8 Christopher Sloane 29 Rockville MD 25:08
2 422 Chas Ballew 27 Washington DC 25:44
3 17 Alex Battaglino 26 Baltimore MD 25:48
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 25 - 29 Net Time
1 58 Michaela Courtney 28 Arlington VA 28:47
2 10 Christine Ramsey 29 Baltimore MD 29:20
3 1872 Megan Sowa 28 Washington DC 31:37
MALE AGE GROUP: 30 - 34 Net Time
1 16 Seife Gelatu 30 Washington DC 25:15
2 6 Wilson Komen 34 Washington DC 25:27
3 23 Dustin Meeker 31 Baltimore MD 26:19
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 30 - 34 Net Time
1 1426 Jessica McGuire 31 Arlington VA 31:52
2 30 Amy Horst 32 Baltimore MD 31:53
3 31 Melissa Tanner 31 Baltimore MD 32:07
MALE AGE GROUP: 35 - 39 Net Time
1 7 Michael Wardian 38 Arlington VA 25:55
2 28 Colin Fishwick 35 Washington DC 26:12
3 310 Philippz Rolly 39 McLean VA 26:17
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 35 - 39 Net Time
1 1821 Tatiana Sheptock 36 South Riding VA 31:38
2 1701 Lisa Reichmann 38 Gaithersburg MD 32:56
3 906 Alison Gittelman 39 South Riding VA 35:14
MALE AGE GROUP: 40 - 44 Net Time
1 1976 Jason Tripp 40 Ellicott City MD 28:20
2 350 Douglas Woods 43 Gaithersburg MD 28:34
3 693 Stephen Crago 44 Vienna VA 29:28
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 40 - 44 Net Time
1 850 Lisa Fox 41 Bethesda MD 36:23
2 1468 Miriam Mintzer 44 Silver Spring MD 36:37
3 1375 Lisa Manning 40 Silver Spring MD 36:47
MALE AGE GROUP: 45 - 49 Net Time
1 47 John Piggott 47 Williamsburg VA 27:59
2 2134 Ken Zimmerman 45 Stevensville MD 28:44
3 2489 Bill McClellan 49 Herndon VA 29:11
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 45 - 49 Net Time
1 1900 Tonya Stotler 45 Leesburg VA 35:39
2 1332 Tammy Liu 45 Ellicott City MD 36:58
3 1347 Amanda Loudiin 46 21042 MD 37:14
MALE AGE GROUP: 50 - 54 Net Time
1 20 Mark Neff 50 Derwood MD 28:40
2 50 David Haaga 50 Rockville MD 28:50
3 53 Dave Berardi 51 Baltimore MD 29:13
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 50 - 54 Net Time
1 1797 Janeth Scott 50 Columbia MD 35:55
2 1604 Minpyo Park 51 Fairfax VA 38:13
3 481 Beverly Black 52 Boonsboro MD 38:28
MALE AGE GROUP: 55 - 59 Net Time
1 55 Maurice Pointer 55 Baltimore MD 29:47
2 604 John Chall 55 Crownsville MD 31:56
3 564 Bob Burns 59 Columbia MD 33:33
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 55 - 59 Net Time
1 1131 Carole Jones 55 Ashburn VA 35:06
2 1000 Karen Harvey 55 Ellicott City MD 41:08
3 2402 Susie Loutoo 59 N Potomac MD 41:13
MALE AGE GROUP: 60 - 64 Net Time
1 60 Roland Rust 60 Bethesda MD 31:37
2 2323 Jim Wright 63 Gaithersburg MD 31:54
3 1489 Timothy Morgan 61 Damascus MD 33:15
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 60 - 64 Net Time
1 853 Alice Franks 64 Rockville MD 39:17
2 650 Carol Coffin 62 Severna Park MD 49:30
3 649 Vallerie Codrington 61 Lanham MD 50:03
MALE AGE GROUP: 65 - 69 Net Time
1 1555 Jim Noone 68 Fairfax VA 34:35
2 1024 Donald Hensel 67 Gaithersburg MD 38:00
3 603 Gregory Chaconas 66 Washington DC 38:36
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 65 - 69 Net Time
1 1159 Linda Kearney 65 Oak Hill VA 41:40
MALE AGE GROUP: 70 - 74 Net Time
1 1813 Lou Shapiro 70 Silver Spring MD 41:38
2 1308 Donald Leichtweis 74 Vienna VA 48:57
3 1068 Gregg Houghton 72 Bethesda MD 58:37
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 70 - 74 Net Time
1 592 Linda Carter 70 Potomac MD 54:01
2 1513 Brenda Murray 72 Chevy Chase MD 58:35
3 746 Lois Dicker 72 Silver Spring MD 1:05:41
MALE AGE GROUP: 75 - 79 Net Time
1 1728 Chan Robbins 75 Arlington VA 42:52
2 962 Robert Gurtler 77 The Plains VA 54:08
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 75 - 79 Net Time
MALE AGE GROUP: 80 - 99 Net Time
1 1434 Jack McMahon 81 Silver Spring MD 47:39
Robin Goodwin has a nice race for fifth in her division.
Open Teams (Score Top 5 By Net Time)
(three men + two women -or- two men + three women)
1. CAPITAL AREA RUNNERS
24:12 26:18 26:21 28:58 32:07 = 2:17:56
Christopher Mills M 22, Bennett Stackhouse M 28, Rich Saunders M 24,
Susanna Sullivan F 22, Jillian Pollack F 23
2. POTOMAC RIVER RUNNING
25:08 26:49 28:24 28:36 29:04 = 2:18:01
Christopher Sloane M 29, Matthew Linman M 29, Jonathan Weiss M 24,
Anna Holt-Gosselin F 24, Peggy Yetman F 44
3. FALLS ROAD
25:48 26:19 26:54 29:20 30:23 = 2:18:44
Alex Battaglino M 26, Dustin Meeker M 31, Ed Aramayo M 25, Christine
Ramsey F 29, Megan Digregorio F 24
4. MCRRC THUNDER
26:44 27:31 32:08 32:56 35:51 = 2:35:10
Neal Darmody M 22, Patrick Murphy M 28, Austin Budlong M 32, Lisa
Reichmann F 38, Jennifer Kouznetsova F 31
5. MCRRC BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
32:01 32:01 36:16 38:33 39:20 = 2:58:11
Felix Wang M 36, John Kerwin M 29, Josh Jacobs M 42, Emily Armstrong F
43, Carol Hoffman F 43
6. SLOW AND STEADY
39:37 39:40 40:23 46:05 49:35 = 3:35:20
Keith Westgate M 29, Phillip Abenes M 37, Christian Abenes M 15,
Jacqueline Heller F 28, Samantha Abenes F 35
Masters Teams (Score Top 5 By Net Time)
(three men + two women -or- two men + three women)
1. MCRRC LIGHTNING
28:40 28:50 31:46 32:20 39:17 = 2:40:53
Mark Neff M 50, David Haaga M 50, Eric Lawrence M 44, Ken Earley M 45,
Alice Franks F 64