The ninth annual Knights of Columbus 10K starts on the grounds of the Shrine of St. Anthony close to a half mile from a public road. The nearly 250 racers bolted down the opening hill of the figure eight estate. One runner noted that he was already thinking of the final quarter mile which returns up that same hill. The course record was listed as 31:05 and when former top ranked runner Gurmessa Megressa showed up, he was immediately the best bet to win and probably set the record.

The always smiling Megressa had already won seven races during the summer including two 10Ks in the low 31s. He introduced is friend Teresa Bayisa (left) as the favorite. New to the country Bayisa had only run one race so far. It was a doozy, winning the Leesburg 20K handily in 1:05:04 just two weeks ago. The two friends immediately gapped the field but neither would come near the course record on the somewhat mild but definitely humid day. Megressa got little resistance as he returned on the grounds and glided up the final hill to win in 32:50.

Third place was also a ringer from out of town just like last year’s winner. Fourth place Karsten Brown who usually rules Howard County was already in fourth to stay by the 5K point though he finished a minute faster than last year’s third place finish in 36:47. Italian Edi Turco has gone back home but last he was bested Karsten for top submaster.

The race is the eight race of the racePacket Grand Prix Series and that drew runners from outside the county to earn points in the series Turco would win the Grand Prix in 2011 ahead of 2010 winner Ted Poulos. Poulos (left), while nearing 150 races already run this year, was easily the top grandmaster in 40:13.

Women’s winner Megan Digregorio was returning from a four minutes victory in 40:25. She made it look easy again winning this time in 40:38 a few strides behind Poulos. The second runner Amanda An (right) prefers the longer distances and has already run a 100 mile race this year. Indeed she is coming off a Parker's Marathon win just last week in 3:31:58. She strolled through a 54:06 10K in Columbia on Wednesday before taking the runner-up spot in a very solid 44:47. Third place was not far behind as Jaime Fine just missed dipping under 45 minutes. The fourth runner, Tammy Liu was the top master in 46:17.

After the race there was a huge tent with chairs and tables and a whole bunch a food. There were lots of fresh fruit and plenty of doughnuts to nosh on as the runners waited for the awards. There were also lots of great random prizes. Though it hinted at rain, it seems bringing the tent helped to hold off the rain.

Male Overall                                                                                               
    Place    Name                 City               Age   Overall   Time        Pace  
       1    Gurmessa Megressa     Washington  DC       32        1  32:49.1      5:18/M
       2    Teresa Bayisa         Washington  DC       24        2  33:01.8      5:20/M
       3    Craig Schmidt         Denver  CO           29        3  34:12.9      5:31/M
Male 1 to 15
       1    Connor Bivens         Ellicott City  MD    15       38  47:46.0      7:42/M
       2    Ethan Budsock         Ellicott City  MD    15       46  49:32.6      7:59/M
       3    Brandon Marquart      Ellicott City  MD    14       71  54:05.2      8:43/M
Male 16 to 19
       1    Ryan Hermstein        Ellicott City  MD    17       21  42:58.6      6:56/M
       2    Matthan Martir        Severn  MD           17       59  51:51.3      8:22/M
       3    Erik Dekelbaum        Silver Spring  MD    17       69  53:23.7      8:37/M
Male 20 to 29
       1    James Blackwood       Ellicott City  MD    28       10  39:07.7      6:19/M
       2    Jose Alfredo Perez    Ellicott City  MD    20       23  44:11.2      7:08/M
       3    Greg Paulin           Ellicott City  MD    22       58  51:39.3      8:20/M
Male 30 to 39
       1    Karsten Brown         Front Royal  VA      38        4  35:27.0      5:43/M
       2    Steve Prinzivalli     Catonsville  MD      36        5  35:34.2      5:44/M
       3    Jeremy Rea            Savage  MD           30        7  36:01.9      5:49/M
Male 40 to 49
       1    Matthew Glynn         Buffalo  NY          41        6  35:42.6      5:45/M
       2    Stephen Bohse         Columbia  MD         45       17  41:26.0      6:41/M
       3    Dave Moorehouse       ellicott city  MD    45       18  41:43.6      6:44/M
Male 50 to 59
       1    Ted Poulos            McLean  VA           50       13  40:12.7      6:29/M
       2    John Chall            Crownsville  MD      55       16  41:19.9      6:40/M
       3    Mike Keeports         Newark  DE           53       19  41:44.9      6:44/M
Male 60 and older
       1    Ronnie Wong           Baltimore  MD        65       33  47:02.6      7:35/M
       2    James Carbary         Columbia  MD         61       39  47:53.3      7:43/M
       3    Mike Bradford         Indianapolis  IN     60       64  52:17.0      8:26/M
10K Female
Female Overall 
                                                                     Total  
    Place    Name                  City               Age   Overall   Time        Pace  
       1    Megan DiGregorio      White Marsh  MD      24        1  40:38.0      6:33/M
       2    Amanda An             Ellicott City  MD    25        2  44:46.5      7:13/M
       3    Jaime Fine            Woodstock  MD        31        3  45:03.7      7:16/M
Female 1 to 15
       1    Brenda Rosas          Ellicott City  MD    13        5  46:43.2      7:32/M
       2    Adriana Rosas         Ellicott City  MD    12        6  49:11.0      7:56/M
Female 20 to 29
       1    Beth Gilbert          Arlington  VA        29       12  50:37.7      8:10/M
       2    Rachael Morrison      Chesapeake Beach  MD 27       15  51:02.0      8:14/M
       3    Stephanie Cogar       Bowie  MD            29       20  54:14.7      8:45/M
Female 30 to 39
       1    Emily Bonham          Columbia  MD         33        7  49:16.2      7:57/M
       2    Sharon Edelson-Manmel Ellicott City  MD    39        8  49:39.3      8:00/M
       3    Allison Hamilton      Columbia  MD         34       10  49:59.0      8:04/M
Female 40 to 49
       1    Tammy Liu             Ellicott City  MD    45        4  46:16.3      7:28/M
       2    Marsha Demaree        Marriottsville  MD   47        9  49:47.4      8:02/M
       3    Carolyn Holland       Olney  MD            45       13  50:40.8      8:10/M
Female 50 to 59
       1    Terry Storms          Columbia  MD         50       31  58:12.8      9:23/M
       2    Myra Washington       Montgomery Village   55       34  58:33.1      9:27/M
       3    Maureen Kogut         Glen Burnie  MD      50       36  59:22.2      9:35/M
Female 60 and older
       1    Patricia Brooks       Ellicott City  MD    62       38 :00:08.0      9:42/M
       2    Frances Daum          Elkridge  MD         64       81 :16:25.3     12:20/M