DCRRC Gar Williams 20K
Washington, DC
Saturday, March 20, 1999
Conducted by DC Road Runners Club

This year's Gar Williams 20K was run under near perfect weather conditions. With nary a cloud in the sky, a gentle breeze, and temperatures hovering around the fifty degree mark, there wasn't much more a runner could ask for. On the other hand, as a race director, I certainly could have asked for more runners to show up!

This being my directing debut, I wanted the event to go as smoothly as possible. For this reason, I took previous director James Scarborough's suggestion to go back to the original two loop course rather than staying with last year's four looper. I was also very glad when Gary Guenther, who designed the course, agreed to meet me at the Williamsburg middle school on Friday night to help me mark the turns and point out the tricky spots where course marshals might be needed. Much to my relief, his effort paid off, as none of the competitors missed any of the numerous turns along the way.

The race takes the runners up and down the hills of three different municipalities. Unfortunately, only sixteen runners showed up to take this very scenic tour of portions of Arlington, McLean, and Fairfax counties and of these, two elected to go around only once.

Robert Rodriguez won handily in 1:18:48. He ran the first couple of miles with Jay Wind alongside, then decided to pick up the pace and never saw Jay again. However, he stated that he could still hear him for several miles to come. Jay, on the other hand, ran in his trademark blue-green ski mask and reported that he was having a "really nice conversation with Robert for the first two miles." Jay was second with 1:25:50. Patrick Hinderdael and Hoa Generazio were in his wake.

Fiona Branton, who was using the race as a training run, was first female with 1:28:52, with Susan Luce several minutes behind (1:51:13).

All in all, I really believe this race deserved a better attendance. A small field of runners, however, has a big up side: the ratio of runners to volunteers was only two to one, so participants got almost individualized service. Besides which, Pat Finn brought enough awards that everyone brought something home for their effort.

Many thanks to my course marshals Jim Hall, John Churchman, Joe Rosen, and Mary Sattazahn. Julie Bowen did a great job at the registration table while Tammy Huck doubled as the chief timer and photographer. Tony and JoAnne Studer provided service with a smile at the main water stop. They also made a number of helpful suggestions, including the strawberry-banana smoothies that seemed to go over remarkably well as a post-race drink. I couldn't have asked for a more enthusiastic and helpful bunch.

The race is named in the honor of a past president of both DCRRC and the RRCA, who among other acheivements, founded the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.

Place Name Age                   Time      Hometown
  Male Finishers
  1. Robert Rodriguez, 43       1:18:48   Arlington, VA
  2. Jay Wind, 49               1:25:50   Arlington, VA
  3. Patrick Hinderdael, 40     1:26:05   McLean, VA
  4. Hoa Generazio, 44          1:26:16   Springfield, VA
  5. Linwood Frye, 36           1:36:26   Alexandria, VA
  6. Pat Finn, 46               1:38:12   Fairfax, VA
  7. Andy Buechele, 56          1:50:50   Washington, DC
  8. Rick Dean, 51              1:55:11   Arlington, VA
  9. Joe Broderick, 61          1:56:20   Greenbelt, MD
  10. David Press, 37           1:57:27   Burke, VA
  Female Finishers
  1. Fiona Branton, 40          1:28:52   Arlington, VA
  2. Susan Luce, 37             1:51:13   Washington, DC
  3. Anne Gwynn, 49             2:04:43   McLean, VA
  4. Terry Michel, 40           2:04:43   McLean, VA

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