Arlington Running Roundup

First among women in 53:31 was Elizabeth May, 29. "I thought another woman was ahead of me, so I kept pushing the pace," she said after race.

Edi Turco, 37, was close behind winner Gareth Peteis, 30, of Fairfax for seven miles, taking second in 43:45 to Pateis's 42:56. Olivier Leblond, 30, earned the bronze medal, third in 46:36.

James Engle, 49, finished 28th among men in 57:37, and Helen Krause, 28, held onto sixth among women in 1:01:11.

Among women, Christine Rehwald, 30, starred in fifth place in 31:05, pacing Rebecca Toler, 36, 20th in 35:39, and Jessica Case, 29, 21st in 36:15.

In the accompanying half marathon, Charles Williams, 27, ran 1:34:04 for 57th place, with Mickey Tveter, 30, 73rd in 1:37:16, and Noah Simon, 34, 77th in 1:37:45. Elizabeth Humphrey, 46, broke two hours in 1:58:54, 296th overall, followed by Rebecca McDevitt, 28, 415th in 2:09:52.

For an extra challenge, 134 runners ran 50 kilometers (31.1 miles). William Weidman, 26, finished 39th in 5:37:54, ahead of Greg Loomis, 35, 47th in 6:01:42.

Laura Clayton, 31, placed ninth among women in 1:58:29.

Wade prevailed at Love the Run You're With 5K in Pentagon City, winning in 15:23, with Crane second in 15:55. As the spring season approaches, expect more thrilling races between the two.

Taking third in 16:07 was Adam Condit, 26, of Ashburn. Italian Air Force major Edi Turco, 37, living in Arlington, flew ninth place in 17:10.

Katie Read, 24, added another jewel to her crown as one of Arlington's top female runners, winning in 17:32. Michaela Courtney, 25, followed close behind, second in 17:55, with Michelle Miller, 29, of Damascus, Md., third in 18:03. Rebecca Nathan, 44, took eighth place in 19:46, first among masters women.

More than 1,300 enjoyed the race, postponed from Valentine's Day because of snow-covered roads.

February 21, 2010

Also visiting the Sunshine State were David Mueller, 38, 643rd male in 4:35:30; Veronica Sudekum, 26, 682nd female in 4:42:56; and Willeah Cato, 31, 1038th female in 5:10:10.

In the accompanying half marathon, Brent Harris, 28, raised the flag 492nd in 2:03:10, with Gregg Adams, 65, 747th in 2:09:57 and fourth in his age group; Jenny Workman, 30, 899th in 2:16:54; Jon Sweet, 43, 1951st in 2:41:50; Kristen Sweet, 31, 2661st in 3:09:28; and Tanya Lewis, 25, 2735th in 3:17:03.

Matthew Simonson, 24, and Georgetown Day School coach Anthony Belber, 37, both of Washington DC, provided the heat in the open mile, taking first and second in 4:56.5 and 4:59.3. Behind them, JJ LaPointe, 15, was first from Arlington, 10th in 5:32.0; and Christopher Jaggett-Rowzee, 28, rode to 14th in 5:46.3.

In the women's mile, Arlington's Emily Blagg, 15, blazed to gold in the women's mile in 5:46.7, with Kristin Harman, 29, of Newport News, second in 6:00.5.

Tadd Morris, 42, came all the way from Camp Hill, Penn., to win the masters' mile in 5:16.1, a step ahead of Washington Cathedral School coach Malcolm Lester, 42, second in 5:17.8.

Kevin Wegner, 11, of Columbia, Md., kindled the children's mile, first in 5:54.2, with Malcolm's daughter Page Lester, 10, second in 6:03.7. Arlington's Alec Blagg, 9, ran his first meet ever, finishing 16th in 7:43.5.

Andrew Duncan, 42, of Washington sparkled in the 3000-meter in 9:20.1, more than a lap ahead of his closest competition, Wendall Brown Jr., 16, of District Heights, second in 10:28.6.

Hometown boy Andrew Towne, 28, of Arlington burned up the 5000-meter winning in 17:38.0, followed by All-American athlete Maurice Pointer, 54, of Baltimore, second in 17:42.7. Abdelillah Razah, 44, of Arlington took fourth in 20:22.2.

Cynthia Evans, 54, of Randallstown sped to first among women in 23:36.3. Arlington's Monica Anatalio, 29, qualified for National Half Marathon, finishing fifth in 30:32.2.

Luke Ryan, 32, led a half-dozen Arlington marathoners in 3:12:25, 114th among men, with Nick Geboy, 28, 151st in 3:24:25. Emily Smith, 30, placed 84th among women in 3:39:26, ahead of Ruth Stiver, 28, 96th in 3:42:06; Alexandra Gehring, 39, 485th in 4:24:15; and Andrea Guidry, 912th in 5:00:52.

Caroline Merena, 44, led Arlington's eight finishers in the accompanying half marathon, finishing 189th among women in 1:47:32. Nicole Debien, 23, was 1378th in 2:15:58. Finishing together in 2:19:59 were Melissa Green, 30, 1909th female, Mark Green, 29, 2050th male. Alice Till, 66, took sixth in her age group in 2:55:27, 3607th woman.

Jaymelina Esmele, 42, ran the accompanying half-marathon in 2:56:14, 1432nd among women.

"I ran with the half marathon leaders up to 13 miles, but then I was alone," said Wardian. "My uncle in Miami passed away in December 2008, so I ran the race dedicated to him. When I took the lead, I thought something would happen -- a pothole, an alligator, heat and humidity -- but everything went perfectly. "

Daniel Maass, 21, ran 3:29:36 for 172nd place among men, and Joanne Studer, 52, stomped 4:50:38 for 533rd among women.

Among 32 Arlington finishers in the accompanying Miami Half Marathon, Kelsea Natoli, 24, nabbed 208th among women in 1:48:54, and Jim Ricca, 48, polished off 927th among men in 1:53:49.

Their finish reprised their race at the club's Predictions and Resolutions 5K in Rosslyn on New Year's Day, where Schneider won in 17:13, followed by Turco in 18:00. Third place went to Christopher Zapple, 18, in 18:34.

Jessica Case, 28, won the women's race in 23:54, ahead of Ann Abbott, 31, second in 24:21, and Sarah Hunt, 30, third in 24:25.

First from Arlington was Samuel Kilmer, 8, 20th in 7:30.0.

Kristin Harman, 29, of Newport News won the women's mile in 6:05.3, but Arlington's Samantha Cole, 41, ran faster -- 5:54.3 -- in the masters' mile.

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson, 53, of Arlington recaptured the masters' mile in 5:17.0, defending his position at the last meet.

Luke Holman, 26, of McLean won the elite mile in 4:45.9, leading three lanky lads from Massaponax High in Fredericksburg.

Dustin Whitlow, 23, of Ashburn, dusted the field in the 3000 meter in 9:10. Maurice Pointer, 54, of Baltimore won the 5000 meter in 18:01, ahead of Arlington's Abdelillah Razah, 44, third in 20:15.

The clubs host One more all-comers meet on Sunday, January 31. See www.pvtc.org or call 703-927-4833.

Andrew Ciarfalia, 27, succeeded in the half marathon, 78th in 1:20:19. Caitlin Kinkead, 28, caught 128th place in 1:37:58. Six from Arlington finished in the marathon, and 29 in the half-marathon.

Wardian, 35, conquered the Magic Kingdom, taking finished fifth at Walt Disney Marathon in 2:27:19, to win the male 35-39 age group.

He paced 70 finishers from Arlington, including Jon Dalton, 45, 221st among men in 3:17:48; Michael Naff, 39, 460th in 3:29:02; Stephen Messinger, 48, 486th in 3:29:53; Daniel Aronowitz, 42, 808th in 3:41:15; and Nathaniel Doan, 32, 1,323rd in 3:54:54.

Among women, Erin Hoekstra, 28, finished 201st in 3:58:24; with Heather Stevens, 35, 459th in 3:57:51.

The day before the marathon, Disney World hosted a half marathon. At that race, Doan, 32, did 1:41:24, 407th among men, ahead of Dustin Schnell, 27, 565th in 1:45:30; and Naff, 858th in 1:49:37.

Among women, Stevens ran 1:53:50 for 353rd, with Sara Jones, 29, 396th in 1:55:05.

Anyone who ran both races earned a special "Goofy Challenge" medal. Naff's double earned him 241st place in a combined time of 5:18:39. Doan earned his medal for 543rd in 5:36:18; and Stevens won hers for 714th in 5:51:41. Of the 5,902 runners who ran both races, 31 hailed from Arlington.

Adam Alderton, 35, sparkled in the 60-meter dash, running 7.2 seconds. James Barr, 42, long-jumped 18'00" for seventh place in that event, with Korosh Yazdanpanah, 20, close behind, ninth in 17'11".

The indoor season continues with meets on Sunday mornings, January 17 and January 31, at Arlington's Thomas Jefferson Community Center, 3501 2nd Street South. See www.pvtc.org or call 703-927-4833.

Rebecca Nathan, 44, matched Wardian's place, fourth among women in 26:12, and Emily Ferguson, 33, took sixth in 27:24.

Cold rain and a wintry mix did not deter more than 1,000 from enjoying the race.

Andrew Duncan, 42, of Washington, ran the fastest mile of the day in 4:43. U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson, 53, of Arlington, captured the masters' mile in 5:19. Gloria Roberts, 17, of Upper Marlboro, won the women's mile in 5:24. Cody Wellons, 14, of Midlothian, Va., lapped all but two runners in the children's mile, winning in 5:21. Brianna Kinder, 13, of Greenbelt, led the girls in 6:01.

Ted Poulos, 48, of McLean, added another win to his lifetime list, taking the 3000 meter in 10:41. Elizabeth Webb, 23, of Middleburg, won the women's 3K in 11:18. Vance Berry, 23, also of Middleburg, picked the 5000 meter in 16:24, with Brittney Rooks, 15, of Baltimore, first among women in 20:16.

Anant Raut, 34, covered the course in 3:37:23, 220th overall.

Tara Swenson, 27, finished the accompanying half marathon in 1:50:42, 510th place.

Arlington women chimed in second and third. Katie Read, 23, continued her splendid autumn, second in 34:15, just one tick behind winner Maggie Infield. Veena Reddy, 31, took third in 37:06. Mary Beth Chosak, 31, took 10th in 39:08.

Among men, Thomas Rhodes, 26, ran 32:28 for fourth place, and David Burnham, 25, sizzled in 32:42, fifth place, with Matthew Cavanaugh, 30, seventh in 33:14.

Many runners wore holiday costumes, and most ran with bells on their shoes, courtesy of the race.

Arlington's JJ Wetzel, 24, led the race in 38:58, ahead of Michael Rooney, also 24, second in 39:32. Finishing fourth in 40:19 was Gregory Richards, 33. Among women, Elizabeth May, 29, splashed into second place in 46:45. Ayisha Swann, 19, reached to fourth place in 48:06.

Lauren Smith Janzen, 28, finished 65th in 29:47 in the accompanying Blue Gray 5K.

Wardian earned the award by placing third at this year's World Championship 50K in Gibraltar; second at the USA 50 Mile Trail Championships in Enumclaw, Wash.; sixth at the 100-kilometer World Championship in Torhout, Belgium; and at the top of many shorter races.

Marjorie Censer, 26, captured fourth place among women in 36:03, one place ahead of Sushila Nanda, 48, fifth in 36:54. Mary Klima, 33, claimed 11th in 40:32, with Simonetta Nussio, 35, 16th in 42:50.

Christopher Marker, 20, checked off fourth in 17:18; followed by Patrick Dannaher, 20, fifth in 17:20; Will's brother Tony Viviani, 25, seventh in 18:06; and David Phillips, 47, eighth overall and first masters male in 18:11.

Marny Homan, 29, of New York City ran 20:27 for the women's win, outkicking Arlington's Jamie Hagebaumer, 32, second in 20:31, and Kelsey Anne Coia, 16, third in 21:01. First masters female was Kitty Phillips, 44, in 21:45.

First among women and ninth overall in 28:04 was Katie Read, 23.

U.S. Senator Mark Warner finished the race in 48:26.

Dale Anderson and Ron Benedict, both 35, both ran 19:39 for 40th and 41st place among men.

Lindsay LaRose, 27, earned hers for third 25-29, ninth among women in 1:26:03. Laura Jenkins, 30, matched that place, third 30-34, 12th among women in 1:27:17.

Among men, George Perry, 29, finished 70th in 1:25:14, and Matt Przydzial, 25, was 150th in 1:32:10.

Andrew Jacobson, 32, ran 2:39:40 for 37th place at Philadelphia Marathon. Eddie Valentine, 29, sent home a 2:46:16 for 59th; and Jason Jones, 29, sailed in under three hours in 2:58:59, 190th.

Kate Dart, 30, tossed a 3:11:29 for 38th among women. Mary Verasin, 29, ran 3:15:52 for 55th; and Emma Mellamphy, 29, followed in 3:17:58, 67th.

Dillon Foley, 23, led Arlington's men in the Philadelphia 8K in 37:16, 109th male. Clara Leigh, 27, ran 45:19 for 196 among women.

In the accompanying 10K, Edi Turco, 36, toured the course third in 36:12. Right behind him was Brian Woodbury, 38, fourth in 36:36. Copley Ricca, 27, copped fourth among women in 45:06.

Arlington's Katie Read, 23, chased Samia Akbar, 27, of Herndon, all the way to the finish. Akbar won in 33:40, and Read scored another second-place in a major local race, running 34:55. The two women last locked horns at Army Ten Miler, where Read also finished second behind Akbar.

Third place went to Veena Reddy, 31, also of Arlington, in 36:48.

Erin Swain, 27, finished 10th in 38:32; and Toni Diegoli, 31, took 13th in 39:19.

Among men, Bert Rodriguez, 30, rolled into fifth place in 31:41, behind four top international runners. Right behind him was Will Viviani, 27, sixth in 31:47. Taylor Smith, 24, rounded out the top 10 in 32:27; and Bart Borghuis, 34, ran 33:36 for 15th place.

Arlington's leading man was Daniel Villereal, 25, 115th among men in 3:08:20. Behind him were Varia Lvova, 32, 21st female in 3:09:23; Taneen Carvell, 43, 43rd in 3:20:03; Grace Chan, 40, 211th in 3:49:08; Daniel Lesniak, 28, 147th male in 3:11:05; John Mallory, 36, 194th in 3:15:04; and Robert Key, 39, 223rd in 3:18:22.

George "Ted" Hobart, 42, finished his 20th marathon and second this month in 6:17:56.

In the accompanying half marathon, Makely Lyon, 24, won her age group and roared to seventh among women in 1:24:44. Alissa Bibb, 27, covered the course in 1:35:05 for 23rd; and Jamie Burden, 43, carried 1:35:46, 147th among men.

In the HCA Virginia 8K, Andrew Dana, 27, surged to 28:31 for 27th among men; and Melody Parry, 26, took fifth in her age group, 19th among women in 35:47.

Jeremy Garrett, 28, took 26th in 1:27:20; and Jacob Dudek, 27, ran 1:29:17 for 30th.

Veena Reddy, 30, continued running spectacularly, finishing fourth among women in 1:20:39, ahead of Elizabeth May, 29, 25th in 1:37:59, and Amy Wigmore, 39, 28th in 1:38:57.

In the accompanying 5K, Kennedy Cliffe, 31, jumped to 14th in 23:19. Nina Palmer, 29, finished 11th in 25:53, followed by Erin Korte, 26, 12th in 26:23.

More than 400 ran to support Team Alexis for pediatric brain cancer research.

Christopher's sister Rebecca Palacios, 13, was the first female finisher in 6:41, pacing Hope Mathias, 9, second in 7:29; and Carly Rivera, 8, third in 7:33.

Former Arlingtonian Vanessa Hunter, 34, now of Seattle, Wash., also qualified for the Trials in 2:44:13, 23rd place.

Mary Beth Muething, 31, finished in 2:53:49, 58th among women, ahead of her sister, Katie Muething, 24, 91st in 3:08:31. Between them was Faith Korbel, 30, 83rd in 3:04:49. Samantha (Kirby) Cole, 41, ran 3:15:47 for 114th place.

Among men, Michael Wardian, 35, ran 2:23:13 for 18th.

Other Arlington men included Mark Drath, 23, eighth in 26:23; David Kent, 37, 11th in 29:45; and Steven Maguire, 42, 12th in 30:27 and first masters finisher.

Olympic Trials marathoner Samia Akbar, 27, of Herndon, dominated the women's field in 27:32, ahead of Michelle Miller, 28, second in 30:03; and Kristin Andrews, 28, third in 30:20.

Stephanie Tocco, 26, led Arlington's women, eighth in 24:26. Smiling in 11th place was Kat Cheshire, 24, in 37:09; with Laura Phelan, 23, 18th in 39:20; Mary Perrin, 28, 19th in 39:48; Heather Kauffman, 36, 20th in 39:57; Stephanie Manchin, 25, 21st in 40:05; and Sophia Lai, 27, 22nd in 40:10.

In the accompanying Rockville 10K, Jen Norris, 38, took 10th in 48:06; and Brian Greene, 37, was 146th in 55:55.

U.S. Navy lieutenant commander John Mentzer, 33, of Kittery, Maine, took the Iwo Jima hill first in 2:21:47, more than three minutes ahead of his competition in 26.2-mile race.

Jacob Johnson, 32, of Sherwood, Ark., U.S. Air Force, ran 2:25:02 for second, holding off fast-closing Salvador Miranda, 38, of Mexico, third in 2:25:24.

Muliye Gurma, 25, of Ethiopia won the women's race by just 27 seconds in 2:49:48, shaking off Jaymee Marty, 42, a U.S. Air Force reservist from Sacramento, Calif., who was one step behind Gurma at 40 kilometers (25 miles). Marty finished second in 2:50:15. Kyla Barbour, 31, of Atlanta, Ga., ran 2:50:47 for third place.

Of the 20,936 finishers, 1,355 came from Arlington. Steve Hammel, 28, led the brigade, 24th overall in 2:38:31. Edi Turco, 36, finished 30th among men in 2:40:50, followed by Bradley Smith, 34, 53rd in 2:45:17; John Kelly, 26, 57th in 2:45:59; Hugh Owen, 32, 59th in 2:46:55; Eddie Valentine, 29, 67th in 2:48:37; Steven Anderson, 53, 75th in 2:51:12, first in his age group; Michael Scoleri, 36, 86th in 2:53:58; Olivier Leblond, 37, 96th in 2:55:26; and Michael Wardian, 35, 138th in 2:58:28, running with a friend.

Among women, Faith Korbel, 30, uncorked 2:58:36 for ninth place, ahead of Liz Elko, 22, took 25th in 3:07:31 to win her age group; Colleen Depman, 24, 36th in 3:12:47; Stephanie Kurtz, 24, 54th in 3:17:38; Rebecca Maier, 25, 86th in 3:21:45; Caitlin Harres, 23, 106th in 3:23:33; Anna Chavis, 23, 108th in 3:23:56; Sarah Rodis, 24, 121st in 3:25:09; and Stefanie Steinmetz, 25, 129th in 3:26:13.

Alfred Richmond, 70, ran 5:33:08, one of only four "Ground Pounders" who finished all 34 Marine Corps Marathons.

Wyatt Boyd, 25, of Washington, won the accompanying Marine Corps 10K in 32:54. Kim Magee, 26, of Bloomington, Minn., ran 39:20, first among women.

Michael Kiselycznyk, 28, was Arlington's top finisher, 18th in 38:02. Stacey Pfarr, 31, covered the course in 42:11, seventh among women.

In the accompanying half marathon, Andrew Jacobson, 32, took home the bronze medal in his age group, eighth male in 1:17:39, first among 154 from Arlington. Ella Mellamphy, 29, landed 17th among women in 1:32:32.

Chris Lin, 27, ran 18:59 in the 5K, 18th among men. Leah Twardzik, 24, was 8th among women in 21:37.

Ethiopian Alene Reta, 27, of New York City, overwhelmed the field in 46:59, a new event record time. Also ahead of the old record were his countryman Tesfay Girma, 27, of Ellicott City, second in 47:20; and past winner and U.S. Olympian Daniel Browne, 35, of Chula Vista, Calif., wearing #1, third in 47:49.

Of the top 1,000 men, 67 came from Arlington and 27 more from Fort Myer, including Taylor Smith, 24, 22nd in 52:27;  Robert Wade, 27, 28th in 53:15;  Tim Fahey, 35, 32nd in 53:56;  Mark Williams, 28, 53rd in 55:47;  Reynolds Wilson, 37, 76th in 56:53;  John Kelly, 26, 77th in 56:53;  Eddie Valentine, 29, 110th in 58:16;  David Wertz, 33, 127th in 58:55; and Steven Anderson, 53, 140th in 59:21.

Among women, Samia Akbar, 27, of Herndon set a new event record of 55:25. Taking second place in 56:39 was Arlington's Katie Read, 23, a recent graduate of University of Virginia, cheered on by her parents. Of the top 1,000 women, 59 were from Arlington and 5 from Fort Myer, led by Lauren Centrowitz, 23, daughter of U.S. Olympian Matt Centrowitz, landed sixth in 59:52, followed by Makely Lyon, 24, 30th in 1:04:35; Kaitlin Sheedy, 26, 36th in 1:05:13; Allison Thomas, 32, 45th in 1:06:19; Kate Dart, 30, 51st in 1:07:05;  Annie Grondin, 36, 57th in 1:07:43;  Alison Hoing, 23, 71st in 1:09:08; and  Melody Parry, 26, 95th in 1:09:58.

Katie Read, 23, cracked 17 minutes with a 16:54 to win the women's race, ahead of Erica Nemmers, 37, second in 17:16. Former Arlington firefighter Jackie Gruendel, 34, of Clifton, third in 18:10.

Steve Crane, 28, of Alexandria, won the simultaneous Clarendon Day 10K in 30:57, just two seconds ahead of Michael Wardian, 35, of Arlington, second in 30:59. Matt Barresi, 26, of Falls Church, rounded out the top three in 31:45. The 10K had 884 finishers.

Lisa Baumert, 22, of Princeton, N.J., sailed into first among women in 36:42, followed by Michelle Miller, 28, of Damascus, Md., second in 38:02. Arlington's Melody Parry, 26, tuned into third in 41:39.

Kathryn Mulvey, 22, ran 47:51 for fourth place among women.

Margaret Sherwood, 26, ran 40:48, 29th among women.

At the accompanying 5 Miler, Eric Capito, 25, capitalized on the good weather to finish 10th in 38:39, and Lana Leung, 39, ran 42:42 for second place among women.

An Arlington Running Travelogue: In Arlington, our "Perimeter Parkway" starts in Rosslyn in front of Key Bridge Marriott (Milestone 4) alongside Lee Highway with the Custis Trail and follows alongside, over, and finally under I-66 at Bon Air Park. There, you can turn left to bathrooms, water fountains, and parking -- and I promise you a rose garden -- or you can turn right, pass a water fountain, and head northwest for two miles on the W&OD Trail back to Lee Highway, or turn around at Van Buren Street near Boundary Stone SW9, dating back to 1792. Turning around, you can head straight back to Bluemont Park for bathrooms and water. There the trail splits into the flat W&OD on the left (look for the old red caboose) and the rolling, shady Four Mile Run Trail on the right. After Glen Carlyn Park, stay on the low trail to cross under Columbia Pike, past and across a lovely rapids, and up a steep hill on the left. The paved trail continues past high-rise parking lots to a clover-leaf under George Mason Drive into Barcroft Park. The trail finally ends at Walter Reed Drive, where you cross to Four Mile Run Park and continue on paved trail for another mile to Shirlington Drive. You can cross the street and take a newly-opened paved trail under I-395 and South Glebe Road to a clover leaf under Mount Vernon Avenue, briefly into Alexandria, where you cross over the creek and head left on the Wayne B. Anderson Trail to Route 110, Jefferson Davis Highway. Take the bridge on the left, go down the ramp on the left, and you go under 110, under the George Washington Memorial Parkway, and up a ramp to National Airport onto the Mount Vernon Trail. Heading north to the left, you run under I-395 again at the 14th Street Bridge, under Memorial Bridge and Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, past Roosevelt Island, to a spiral ramp over GW Parkway and back to Rosslyn. Cross at the lights to go back the Key Bridge Marriott, and you've run 20 miles around Arlington crossing only two streets. The shorter Lubber Run Trail, similar to Burke Lake in its rustic feel and outdoor amphitheatre, connects George Mason Drive near Carlin Spring Road with Arlington Boulevard (Route 50) and Edison Street. For a trail run, start at Theodore Roosevelt Island and follow the blue blazes to Potomac Heritage Trail (PHT) under Key Bridge, which includes some segments next to GWM Parkway and some sheer-wall rock climbs, before ending up at Chain Bridge. The PHT continues west of Chain Bridge and heads through Fairfax County all the way to American Legion Bridge. PHT is part tame, part technical, a true challenge. For a total backwoods experience, explore the Potomac Overlook Trail off Marcy Road off Military Road. The trail covers about 4K of loops including switchbacks and creek crossings.

Christine Rehwald, 29, took fifth among women in 1:28:17.

Marissa Fitzpatrick, 28, finished 13th female in 24:01.

Lyon Makely, 24, new to Arlington, won the women's race in 31:54. Sandra Griffin, 42, of Upper Marlboro grabbed second in 33:57. Beth Clokey, 37, of the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Myer, took the hill third in 34:28.

Winner of last week's Arlington 9-11 Memorial 5K, Wade finished eighth at Nation's Triathlon in Washington DC, where he covered the 1.5-kilometer swim in 27:47, the 40K bike in 58:52, and the 10K run in 32:13, for a total time of 2:01:58 including transitions.

Connie Chow Dowler, 34, chewed up the course in 24:26, 1:07:44, and 42:09, totalling 2:18:32 with transitions, fourth among women and 120th overall. Among the 3,945 athletes in the river and on the roads, 295 were from Arlington.

Among women, Varia Lvova, 32, a newcomer to Arlington, covered the course in 1:24:13, 33rd among women, just ahead of Erica Nemmers, 37, 35th in 1:24:19.

Elizabeth May, 29, made third place among women in 1:14:27.

In the accompanying 20 Mile, Philip Runco, 26, ran 2:24:18 for fourth place, ahead of Michael Zinn, 27, fifth in 2:24:51.

Monica Weaver, 23, placed 23rd among women in 3:25:35.

Christine Hackman, 45, handled the course in 22:54, fourth among women.

Second place went to David Aamidor, 25, of Carmel, Indiana, in 18:27. Third was O'Connell High School freshman John (J.J.) Lapointe, 14, in 19:03, improving his personal best by 54 seconds. First master and fourth overall was Neil Sullivan, 43, in 20:22.

Among women, Brittany Zale, 21, of Washington sparkled in 21:59 for first place, and Jennifer Conors, 37, of Fairfax Station grabbed second in 22:48. Arlington's Heather Kauffman, 36, caught fourth in 24:02; and Katie Swearinger, 28, took fifth in 24:11.

Peggy Sue McNulty, 28, ran 20:02 for fifth place among women. Mary Verasin, 28, took ninth in 21:11; and Julia Taylor, 38, was 11th in 21:28.

In the accompanying half-marathon, Sarah Randle, 23, handled the course in 1:50:36, 44th among women.

Arlington's Robbie Wade, 26, grabbed the lead quickly and never looked back, winning by almost a minute in 15:29.

Kristi Markowicz, 39, ran 17:56 to hold off Melissa Tanner, 28, of Alexandria, second in 18:00.

Among men, second place in 16:23 was Andrew Duncan, 42, of Bethesda, and third went to Tim Fahey, 35, of Arlington in 16:34. Denis Cloutier, 47, closed in on sixth in 17:03, and Pacers Running Store owner Chris Farley, 33, finished ninth in 17:24.

Among women, former Arlington firefighter Jacqueline Gruendel, 34, of Clifton ran 19:02 for third place. Alison Hoing, 23, held onto seventh in 19:59, with Caitlin Harres, 23, eighth in 20:05.

Erica Nemmers, 37, brought home the gold, winning the women's mile in 5:01.71. Andy Dana, 27, took fifth in the men's mile in 4:52.47

Rooney ran 22:53 on an up-and-down course slippery with leaves and mud after heavy rains the previous night.

His brother, Mike Rooney, 24, finished the accompanying USA 10K Trail Championships 22nd in 53:13. The full 10K course included 100 meters of rock climbing -- not uncommon on trail runs, but a real challenge for flatlanders.

Other Arlington won Lucite sailboats for top-three finishes in their age-groups, including Jay Wind, 59, third male 55-59 and 179th overall in 1:09:45; Lindsay Larose, 27, second female 25-29 in 1:10:46; and Chan Robbins, 72, first male 70 and over and 1087th overall in 1:24:09.

Steve Hammel, 28, pounded out 59:40 for 18th overall; Robert Denmark, 43, ran 1:04:49 for 68th; and Kenneth Bradley, 26, punched in at 1:06:44 for 99th. Nicola Dickinson, 32, notched 1:15:56 for 413th; Syril Pettit, 36, placed 471st in 1:16:50; followed by Molly Lawless, 33, 480th in 1:16:59.

In her qualifying heat on Wednesday, August 19, she placed seventh in 15:32.33, just 11 seconds off her personal best. Alas, only the top six in her heat went on to the finals on Saturday, August 22.

Previously, Culley served as head coach at Loyola University and assistant coach at American University before returning to competition in 2007. "The last three years, I've made three world championships," said Culley, "I never dreamed that I would end up in Berlin."

His latest ultra-marathon success came at the USA 50 Mile Trail Championships in Enumclaw, Wash., where he ran 6:51:50 for second place. He finished exactly one minute faster this year than his 6:52:50 last year, where he won the national championship.

Sixth among women in 40:36 was Samantha (Kirby) Cole, 40.

First among women was Hilary Cairns, 38, of Washington, in 18:15, followed by Brittney Rooks, 15, of Baltimore 20:36, and Caitlin Kinkead, 27, of Arlington in 20:44. Elizabeth May, 29, finished ninth in 21:55, running her second 5K ever.

Mary Beth Muething, 31, led a quintet of Arlington women, taking fifth in 1:20:38, ahead of Kate Walker, 31, 10th in 1:23:19; Erica Nemmers, 37, 11th in 1:24:43; Katie Muething, 23, 12th in 1:25:52; and Toni Diegoli, 30, 13th in 1:27:20.

In the accompanying Leesburg 10K, Britton Miller, 29, ran 41:16 for fourth place, and Sushila Nanda, 48, won her age group, 12th among women in 45:35.

Arlington's top male in the 10K was David Treworgy, 42, 115th in 54:07.

Robert Wade, 27, was Arlington's top finisher, ninth in 15:12, a few steps ahead of Brian McGovern, 27, 11th in 15:19. Bert Rodriguez, 29, took 17th in 15:40.

Ethiopian star Hirut Mandefro, 23, led the ladies in 16:22, ahead of Arlington's Amanda Trotter, 24, second in 17:08. Wearing #1 and finishing fifth in 17:18 was last year's winner, Katie Read, 23, of Arlington.

She qualified for Team USA by running an 11-second personal best of 15:21.87 at 2009 Meeting International d'Athlétisme de la Province de Liège, Belgium, in second place, just one tick behind winner Renee Metevier-Baillie's 15:20.53.

"I just made the World Championship Team! I just had to put it out there tonight," Culley said. She joins Olympian Jen Rhines on Team USA.

Among women, Britton Miller, 29, brought home 20th place in 31:12; Samantha (Kirby) Cole, 40, took third in her age group, 23rd among women in 31:57; Caroline Merena, 43, ran 35:25 for 52nd place; and Sushila Nanda, 48, finished 71st in 36:46.

She qualified for the World Chamionship by finished finished second in 27:30 at the USA Cross Country Championships open women's 8K in Derwood, Md., on February 7.

Monica Grillo, 45, sizzled second in her age group, 94th overall in 20:56, ahead of Sushila Nanda, 48, third in the age group and 125th in 21:47.

Melody Parry, 25, carried 35:46, eighth among women.

"The 100K World Championship was part of the Night of Flanders road races which included a 10K, Marathon, 100K run and 100K walk," said Wardian. "The races start at 8:00pm and all the races run concurently all night. People meet each other every year, much like we do with the 4th of July. (Our team) ran with probably 20 guys from Belgium, France, Italy, Slovenia, Japan, Mexico, Australia, and that is saying something, because in a USA Ultra, if you are running this type of pace, you are most likely going to be alone, so it was really exciting to be hammering with a large group of guys and knowing that everyone was there to win and represent their country to their utmost."

Wardian's men's team did not win a medal, but the USA women's team won the gold medal. "It was incredible to see them getting their medals and inspired to me to work even harder to be up on the podium next year," said Wardian.

Arlington's Bart Borghuis, 33, pushed the pace from the start to win in 16:23, leading Jesse Johnson, 24, of Washington, second in 17:15, and Nathan Bruno, of Bronx, N.Y., third in 17:23.

A trio of Arlington runners finished 9-10-11 -- Oliver Draskolzy, 17, in 20:21; Vitaliy Mikhaylov, 28, in 20:24; and Michael Person, 15, in 20:31.

Leading the ladies in 21:06 was Elisabeth Flores, 18, of Arlington, with Melanie Nakagawa, 29, second in 22:12; and Kate Malone, 23, third in 22:48, both of Washington; and Erica Cook, 27, of Arlington, fourth in 23:25.

Cynthia Eulate-Norris, 37, was Arlington's top female finisher, 60th in 32:49, followed by Simonetta Nussio, 35, 63rd in 33:08; and Tiffany Showman, 24, 97th in 35:38.

Jake Green, 24, scored second in 16:18 at the Tim Harmon race.

In the accompanying 10K, Olivier Leblond, 37, snagged ninth place in 39:07, with Elizabeth Emmart, 25, seventh among women in 44:25.

Mary Beth Muething, 30, marched into fifth place among women in 38:29, with her sister, Katie Muething, 23, 15th in 41:23.

Mia Burki, 28, led Arlington's women, seventh in in 20:09. Susan Benante, 45, burned a 22:23 for 32nd, and Karen Schulman, 36, placed 36th in 22:48.

Two Arlington runners won the trifecta -- Michael Rooney, 23, led the stallions in all three races in 6:49.3, 6:22.3, and 8:19.9. Elizabeth May, 28, was the fastest fillie across the board in 8:47.5, 8:11.8, and 10:39.5.

Susan Hammond, 25, sliced 27th place in 42:43, followed by Nikki Feinsot, 38, 31st in 43:33, and Heather Stockburger, 32, 32nd in 43:08.

Fifteen minutes before the 7 AM start of Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon, Arlington's Michael Naff, 38, found himself caught in traffic at a standstill around Navy Memorial Stadium in the midst of a torrential rain. He couldn't get to starting line of Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon until 15 minutes after the race began.

Then -- for Naff -- the race began. He climbed all the way to fourth place, with a net time of 1:30:21 and a clock time of 1:45:25 for second among men, placing him ahead of Jacob Dudek, 26, whose net time was 1:30:44, good for third.

Kathryn Tyner, 27, was Arlington's first lady, 21st overall in 1:39:41. Just behind was Stacia Zeimet, 37, 24th in 1:39:57.

In the accompanying 10K, Elizabeth May, 28, led the pack 29th in 49:01 despite bruising her knee on her bike the day before. Sheila Cordaro, 38, matched her age, 38th in 50:08; and Christina Lohmeyer, 29, finished 56th in 51:29.

Arlington-based Zooma was delighted that 1183 finished the half marathon, including 1103 women, and 1266 finished the 10K, including 1204 women -- and many were first-time racers.

Joshua Pavluk, 30, rang the bell in ninth place at 32:32. Julia Karpov, 38, finished with a big smile, 18th among women and 44th overall in 39:45.

The qualifying window for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Men's Marathon Trials opened on January 1, 2009. Wardian is knocking on the door of a 2:20, but even that's not enough -- the new qualifying standard is 2:19:00, a 1:05:00 half marathon, or a 28:30 10K. USA Track & Field eliminated the old practice of an all-expenses-paid "A standard" of 2:20 and a more lenient "B standard" of 2:22:00. See http://www.usatf.org/events/2012/OlympicTrials-Marathon-Men/entry/qualifyingStandards.asp and http://www.runnerspace.com/news.php?do=view&news_id=3759

That leaves Wardian chasing the mark over the next two years, after running the 2004 and 2008 trials, where he led the race for the first 6 miles.

Wardian is accustomed to climbing mountains -- he won the Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race and the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run.. USATF named Wardian the 2008 Ultra Runner of the year. "I am starting to really focus on the 100K World Championships on June 19, 2009, in Torhout, Belgium, and look forward to being able to represent the USA there along with my teammates," said Wardian.

Brock, 38, who recently moved here from Ponte Vedra, Fla., tackled the Delaware Marathon in Wilmington on Sunday. He knew he ran 3:05:06 -- the clock said so, spectators said so, and even the finish line photographer said so.

The ankle-bracelet timing system, however, didn't say so -- no record -- it was like Brock didn't exist.

Brock took his case to the race operations director and the race director. It took a while, but after they checked the photos, they determined that Brock not only finished in 10th place finish, he was 11 seconds ahead of the first woman and won his M35-39 age group.

Jay Jacob Wind, 59, also won his M55-59 age group in 3:16:16, more than a minute ahead of the first M50-54 finisher. "I don't usually write about myself in my own column, but I was delighted by this finish and by the splendid volunteers all over this beautiful riverfront course," he said.

Daniel Aronowitz, 41, took 60th place in 3:24:47; and Jessica Rich, 26, finished 259th in 4:10:22.

Among women, a new name on the scene, Kyle Widay, 27, ran 42:47 for 12th; Marjorie Censer, 26, ran 45:22, good for 24th; and Robyn Hoeschen, 27, landed 26th in 45:21.

Wardian -- tall, thin, and pony-tailed -- could never shake Alexandria's Steve Mance, 25 -- broad-shouldered, shaggy, and blond. Wardian led by one second at 5K, 15:53 to 15:54; at 10K, 32:12 to 32:13; and at 15K, 48:38 to 48:39. At 20K, with just 0.7 miles to go, they were neck-and-neck at 1:05:28 -- but it's that last 0.7 that counts, and Mance ran it seven second faster, to win in 1:09:01 ahead of Wardian's 1:09:09.

"He's a strong runner," said Mance of Wardian after the race. "I could never get ahead of him till the end."

Wardian will represent the USA at the 100K World Championships on June 19 in Belgium. Long distances are his specialty -- in 2008, he won the USA 50K, 50M, and 100M national championships, and last month, he finished seventh at the six-day Marathon des Sables across the Sahara Desert.

Edi Turco, 36, turned 1:16:27 for fifth place, and David Kent, 37, lit up 1:23:18 for 10th in the field of 900 finishers.

Arlington women swept the top three places. Mary Beth Muething, 30, won in 1:26:34, ahead of Aussie-turned-Brit-turned-American Teresa Rider, 50, second in 1:31:40, and Rebecca Nathan, 43, just a coin-flip back in 1:31:58 for third.

Steph Dempsey, 32, took 11th in 1:38:05.

Jared Campbell, 23, of Alexandria won the accompanying 5K in 16:01. Mike Kenny, 24, of Arlington clocked 17:30 for third.

Maureen Forsyth, 35, of Washington won the women's race in 18:28. Lindsay LaRose, 26, of Arlington, flowered fourth in 19:55.

At the top of the class were Jake Green, first in 16:50; Reynolds Wilson, second in 18:44; and Christopher Zapple, third in 19:02.

Leading the co-eds were Amanda Hodgson, first in 20:06; Adrienne Wichard, second in 21:56; and Sushila Nanda, third in 22:06.

Fifth-grader Sam Wall was the A student in 24:52, and little Lacey McCormack in second grade led the ladies in 27:21.

Veena Reddy, 30, started with the elite women and ran a superb race -- 16th in 2:45:46.

Of Arlington's 96 registrants, 79 finished. Steve Hammel, 27, hammered out 2:44:51 for 260th among men. Eddie Valentine, 29, sent home a 2:51:33 for 512th. Also under three hours were John Mallory, 27, 951st in 2:57:24; Robert Denmark, 43, 1080th in 2:58:26; and Christopher Wilber, 28, 1131st in 2:58:53.

Faith R. Korbel , 30, the 100th female finisher in 3:04:51, saw her name in big print in the Boston Globe. Anne Feldman, 27, ran 3:15:57 for 323rd place. Also under 3:30 were Amelia Kelly, 26, 596th in 3:22:26; Jennifer Davis, 27, 785th in 3:25:16; Stephanie Kurtz, 24, 814th in 3:25:44; Kendra Liebert, 31, 998th in 3:28:02; and Kate Skidmore, 29, 1138th in 3:29:19.

All Arlington male finishers:
Michael R. Wardian, 34, #55 in 2:30:50
Steve Hammel, 27, #260 in 2:44:51
Eddie Valentine, 29, #512 in 2:51:33
John L. Mallory, 27, #951 in 2:57:24
Robert K. Denmark, 43, #1080 in 2:58:26
Christopher A. Wilber, 28, #1131 in 2:58:53
Ben W. Huron, 32, #1385 in 3:01:18
Parker Terry, 25, #1392 in 3:01:21
Scott D. Jones, 44, #1450 in 3:01:56
Adam Vandervort, 28, #1622 in 3:03:25
Cameron A. Smith, 26, #1641 in 3:03:39
Darin A. Miller, 36, #2044 in 3:06:39
Christian Kammer, 44, #2154 in 3:07:25
Philip S. Runco, 26, #2551 in 3:09:54
Charlie A. Mercer, 38, #2622 in 3:10:19
Luke Ryan, 31, #2906 in 3:12:22
Cameron R. Nelson, 26, #3668 in 3:17:01
Scott W. Smith, 29, #3857 in 3:18:07
Jeff Bedell, 40, #4555 in 3:22:08
Jake Decoteau, 36, #5387 in 3:26:45
Christopher R. Bennett, 49, #5497 in 3:27:14
Jesus V. Cantu, 51, #5499 in 3:27:15
Jay Jacob Wind, 59, #5914 in 3:29:12
Paul Hasson, 40, #5954 in 3:29:21
Robert P. Sindermann Jr., 55, #5995 in 3:29:33
James Romag, 46, #6019 in 3:29:40
Gregory Denkler, 50, #6888 in 3:34:33
Robert S. Guidi, 45, #7318 in 3:37:21
Ed C. Dawkins, 51, #7340 in 3:37:30
Robert W. Bruce, 39, #7744 in 3:40:04
Dan Laredo, 48, #8309 in 3:44:05
Chip Coyle, 46, #8513 in 3:45:35
Miguel Penella, 40, #8514 in 3:45:35
Thomas J. Quinzio, 61, #8579 in 3:46:07
Noah C. Hawk, 30, #9630 in 3:55:04
Kenneth J. Lee, 52, #9879 in 3:57:08
Emory R. Helton, 56, #10244 in 4:00:10
Neil K. Hetherington, 47, #11747 in 4:23:59
Brian Gray, 48, #11933 in 4:28:11
Chadwick A. McHenry, 35, #12281 in 4:36:42
Patrick M. Scanlon, 68, #12542 in 4:44:17
David S. Trevino, 57, #12832 in 4:54:08
Brian C. Stickel, 33, #13232 in 5:17:55

All Arlington female finishers:
Veena C. Reddy, 30, #16 in 2:45:46
Faith R. Korbel, 30, #100 in 3:04:51
Anne Feldman, 27, #323 in 3:15:57
Amelia Kelly, 26, #596 in 3:22:26
Jennifer E. Davis, 27, #785 in 3:25:16
Stephanie D. Kurtz, 24, #814 in 3:25:44
Kendra Liebert, 31, #998 in 3:28:02
Kate Skidmore, 29, #1138 in 3:29:19
Sarah Harting, 27, #1368 in 3:31:30
Jennifer A. Skeen, 26, #1483 in 3:32:28
Caroline D. Lauver, 27, #1525 in 3:32:50
Katie Githens, 26, #1542 in 3:33:02
Kristen Patton, 22, #1560 in 3:33:11
Heather Stevens, 35, #2295 in 3:38:37
Melanie E. Ziarko, 29, #2675 in 3:40:58
Robyn M. Hoeschen, 27, #2924 in 3:42:41
Erin Bougie, 24, #2971 in 3:42:57
Nicole Eldredge, 28, #3337 in 3:45:32
Erica L. Marshall, 25, #3541 in 3:46:49
Michelle Horbaly, 31, #4113 in 3:50:42
Diana Joaquin, 56, #4157 in 3:51:00
Janae Atencio, 31, #4441 in 3:53:05
Jacquelyn Molino, 25, #4467 in 3:53:14
Colleen Marzec, 46, #4638 in 3:54:27
Caroline Merena, 43, #4857 in 3:56:01
Julia Karpov, 38, #4899 in 3:56:18
Kendra P. Burlingame, 43, #5099 in 3:57:32
Melinda J. McCrary, 47, #5262 in 3:58:34
Amy E. Baquial, 48, #5320 in 3:58:59
Jane Middleton, 30, #5488 in 4:00:11
Cindy Walls, 51, #6181 in 4:06:53
Challen Edwards, 42, #7045 in 4:17:44
Bethany L. Huber, 29, #7093 in 4:18:21
Janice L. Jacobs, 62, #7438 in 4:23:56
Heather Wiggins, 31, #7784 in 4:30:41
Doreen Solomon, 52, #8801 in 5:06:57

Among women, Samantha Kirby, 40, smiled her way to 23rd in 40:23. Bethany Huber, 29, took 27th in 41:54; and Caroline Brown, 39, was 174th in 54:39.

In the 5K, tops from Arlington were Mark Drath, 23, second in 16:14; Cory Herold, 25, sixth in 18:15; and Michael Person, 14, 10th in 19:11; Jenny Parmenter, 28, 28th overall in 22:21; Tona Trice, 27, 39th in 23:16; and Janet Boutilier, 23, 41st in 23:03.

In the 10M, Bert Rodriguez, 29, led Arlington's contingent, 15th in 52:33, right ahead of Will Viviani, 26, 16th in 52:41. Tim Fahey, 35, zipped to 22nd place in 55:01.

First among all women in the 10M was Arlington's Amanda Trotter, 24, galloping 56:42, 27th overall. USA Cross Country Championship runner-up Julie Culley, 26, grabbed fifth among women, 36th overall in 1:00:57. Lindsay Gallo, 24, notched seventh, 53rd overall in 1:03:33.

He finished 2:17:23 off the winner, Mohamad Ahansal, of Morocco, who had the home desert advantage.

"I ran with the leaders almost every day and lost most of my time on the Long Day (91K) when I had some issues with dehydration and stomach problems," said Michael. His next goal is a good finish at Boston Marathon.

Caitlin Belford, 22, put down a 42:12 for 39th among women.

Jordan Ricker, 15, won his age group in 18:04, fourth overall.

Second among women was the ever-smiling Samantha Jane Kirby, 40, in 19:16.

The proclamation was presented to a group of Arlington runners who competed in the 113th Boston Marathon, which was held on April 20. There were 96 runners from Arlington scheduled and registered to participate in the marathon. Look for results of how some of those Arlington runners placed in a future issue of the Sun Gazette and on the Web site at: www.sungazette.net.

Amanda Trotter, 24, galloped to 20th place in 57:11, followed by another Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Veena Reddy, 30, 24th in 59:22, and Mary Beth Muething, 30, 49th in 1:04:47.

Going through 10K in 33:28 and 13.1 miles in 1:09.47, Wardian was in a lead pack of six, including three Kenyans. By 20 miles, the pack dwindled to one followed by three -- David Cheromei of Kenya in 1:46:34, pursued by Wardian, New Englander Patrick Moulton, 27, and New Jersey-based Kenyan Solomon Too, all in 1:47:15. Coming out of Anacostia park, Moulton turned on the jets, blasting away from Wardian in 2:21:17. Wardian gamely held on to second in 2:22:15, outkicking Cheromei in 2:22:24.

Among women, Susan Benante, 45, took third in her age group in 3:32:04.

Wardian, 34, is the three-time defending champion at the 26.2-mile race around Washington DC. Last year, he ran 2:25:00, outdueling Samuel Gebremichael of Ethiopia, who had outkicked him 13 days earlier at Shamrock Marathon. This year, the affable pony-tailed Wardian faces another Ethiopian star, Birhanu Wukaw of Langley Park, who ran away from Wardian at last year's Akron Marathon with a 2:23:13 to Wardian's 2:26:52.

At last year's SunTrust National Marathon, 105 runners from Arlington finished the full marathon, and 314 finished the half marathon. Almost twice that many are registered in this year's edition. More than 700 volunteers support the runners, and registration at www.nationalmarathon.com is still open.

Wardian, in cap, flanked by Rodriguez and Dwyer, in green hat

Among women, Emma Mellamphy, 29, landed 20th in 32:50; Lindsay Larose, 26, bloomed 26th in 33:56; and Lori Preston, 38, pushed to 32nd in 34:19.

As printed

It's a trick question -- you can't be behind last-place -- except if you are ultramarathoner Michael Wardian, the USA 50-mile and 100-mile champion.

After making a wrong turn en route to Lower Potomac River Marathon in Piney Point, Md., where he was last year's winner, Wardian, 34, arrived 15 minutes late to the start.

Undaunted, he chased after the pack. He caught the last-place runner about two miles into the race and began passing people one-by-one, then two-by-two. By the end, 26.2 miles later, he caught all but the first two runners, going from behind last to third overall in 2:51:22, 12 minutes behind winner Chuck Engle.

Wardian wore a backpack the whole way, in training for the Marathon des Sables, a 6-day / 151-mile (243 km) endurance race across the Sahara Desert, March 26 through April 6, where he must carry his own water and provisions. After his finish at Lower Potomac, he turned around and ran part of the course again.

Sharing the podium was Grace Chan, 39, third in 56:33.

Among men, Aaron Trent, 32, took eighth place in 48:29, and Michael Collins, 27, landed 10th in 49:19.

Matthew Lowe, 28, ran to new heights at Potomac Valley Track Club's By George 10K in Washington, winning in 34:45.

Behind him, William Hinckley, 26, covered the course in 39:48, eighth place; and Pete Bernardy, 28, ran 42:10 for 15th.

Robyn Hoeschen, 27, sprung to second place among women in 45:35; and Mary Lilley, 24, bloomed in fifth place in 46:40.

In the accompanying 5K, Andy Dana, 26, launched into second in 18:08. Paul Ryan, 58, sailed into ninth in 19:42; and Tim Arnade, 52, ran 20:17 for 11th.

Emily Reuter, 28, made the news, second among women in 20:51. Alissa Bibb, 27, ran fourth in 21:32.

Arlington's first lady was Kimberly Person, 44, 15th among in 45:49.

William Weidman, 25, ran 3:14:00 for sixth place among men, and this reporter, 59, ran 3:25:31 for 19th place, his 121st marathon finish.

The race is the fourth oldest 26.2-miler in the country -- only Boston, Yonkers, and Culver City have older marathons.

Arlington has another international running star.

Julie Culley, 27, finished second in 27:30 at the USA Cross Country Championships open women's 8K in Derwood, Md. The top 60 women in the USA competed in the race. Culley's finish earned her a spot among the six women representing the USA at the International Cross Country Championship in Amman, Jordan, in June. She also took home a $2,000 cash prize.

In sixth place in 28:02 was Samia Akbar, 27, of Herndon, who competes frequently in Arlington. She will join Culley wearing the USA colors in Jordan.

Also in the race was Emily Reuter, 28, 57th in 36:01.

In the open men's championship 12K, two-time US Olympic Trials qualifier Michael Wardian, 34, finished 46th in 39:46. Bert Rodriguez, 29, took 58th in 40:41. Timothy Fahey, 35, of the US Navy sailed into 69th in 41:12. Three Arlington runners finished together -- Matthew Lowe, 28, 104th in 43:21, Joseph Racine, 30, 105th in 43:23, and Jesse Keith, 24, 107th in 43:28. Michael Rooney, 23, was 129th in 45:02; Billy Askey, 25, 132nd in 45:09; Charlie Mercer, 38, 145th in 46:46; and Anthony Lee, 36, 166th in 52:41.

Scott Jones, 43, finished 45th in 32:21 in the masters 8K.

Scott Pospiech, 22, posted 15:42 for 28th overall in the community 4K.

Hannah Elizabeth Scheren, 18, of Lovettsville ran 5:38.1, the fastest mile of the day. Shannon Marie Brady, 17, of Sterling led a bunch of women in the 3000 meter in 11:23.5.

Arlington's Nick Garcia, 17, notched 5:22.8 for fourth in the high-school mile. Chan Robbins, 71, ran 6:57.7 in the mile -- still under seven minutes after seven decades. Steve Anderson, 52, scored fourth place in the 3000 meter in 10:25.8.

Aramco Houston Half Marathon hosted the USA Championship, and more than 100 of the top American men and women joined a record field of 11,000 entrants. Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi of San Diego, Calif., won the race in 1:01:25.

Wardian, 34, scored with a 40:42 on the partly flat, partly hilly course. Wardian was USA Track & Field's 2008 Ultra Runner of the Year after winning the USA National Championships at 50K and 100K.

Behind him were Jake Green, 24, also of Arlington, second in 42:31, and Karsten Brown, 34, of Front Royal, third in 43:58.

Diegoli, 30, led the women in 48:49. Her closest pursuers were Sheila "Sparkle Plenty" Natho, 43, of Dallas, Texas, in 50:24, and Win Persina, 48, of Washington in 50:41.

Ted Poulos, 47, of McLean won the accompanying 3K in 12:39, followed by Arlington's Dario Macieira Mitchell, 14, in 12:58.

Among women, Ellie Halm, 11, of Alexandria won in 14:17, ahead of Arlington's Nadine Young, 49, in 16:50.

The staging area pre-race and post-race was a field of ice, but the course itself was clear, and 50° temperatures made for a lovely day.

In the 26.2-miler, Adam Rubinstein, 34, took 40th among men in 3:01:15, and Adam Vandervort, 28, finished 56th in 3:07:11. Amy Dural, 25, was 151st among women in 4:03:47; and Marjorie Henriquez, 35, ran 4:24:45 for 297th.

In the half marathon, Kelsea Natoli, 23, brought home 164th place among women in 1:49:34; and Julia Karpov, 37, made the right move, 369th in 1:54:00. Reza Mahbod, 36, ran 1:43:11 for 277th male; and Timothy Enskat, 34, made it 301st in 1:39:18.

The last of Potomac Valley Track Club's winter all-comers track meets is at Thomas Jefferson Community Center on Sunday, February 8, from 7:45 am to 12 noon, including race walks, 55-meter dash, one mile, 400-meter, 800-meter, 200-meter, and 3000-meter, plus clinics for long jump and shot put. See www.pvtc.org or call 703-927-4833 for information.

Hilary Cairns, 38, of Washington was a double-winner, taking the women's mile in 5:30.1 and the 3000 meter in 10:50.9. Her husband, Malcolm Lester, 41, won the masters' mile in 5:13.2 Joshua Wagner, 10, of Chantilly, led the boys' mile in 6:06.8. Ana Malhotra, 11, of Wilmington, Del., ran the fastest mile among girls in 5:32.1. Andrew Duncan, 41, of Washington outran the field in the men's mile, winning in 4:45.9.

The last of the winter's three meets at TJ is Sunday morning, February 8. See www.pvtc.org or call 703-927-4833 for information.

In the accompanying MLK 5K, Clare Orvis, 23, finished sixth in 26:31.

At noon on New Year's Day, 118 runners gathered at Gateway Park in Rosslyn for DC Road Runners Club's 11th annual Predictions and Resolutions 5K on the Mount Vernon Trail alongside the Potomac River. Race director Joe Racine started the race by blowing on a New Year's party horn.

Two young Arlington stars led the field, Michael Rooney, 23, first in 16:44, and John McGrail Jr., 19, second in 17:22. Rooney attended Gonzaga High School while growing up in Arlington and graduated recently from Colorado School of Mines. McGrail, an alum of Washington-Lee, is now a sophomore at Amherst College.

Third place went to Ian Clements, 44, of Alexandria, in 17:54. Arlington's Sean Hawks, 27, stepped fourth in 18:04.

The top three women were also Arlingtonians. Madeline Harms, 22, won in 20:01, followed by Susan Ashcom, 43, second in 21:37; and Erin Bougie, 23, one tick behind in 21:38.

Andrew Duncan, 41, of Washington, won both the one mile in 4:46.8 and the 3000-meter (1.86 miles) in 9:57. Arlington's Steve Anderson, 52, took second in the 3000 in an All-American time of 10:19. The Hall twins, Jereamy and Joshua, both 11, of Waldorf, decked the children's mile, finishing first and second in 5:59.1 and 6:17.5. Page Lester, 9, of Washington won the girls' mile in 6:12.3. Her father, Malcolm Lester, 41, won the masters' mile in 5:16.2. Gloria Roberts, 16, of Upper Marlboro, led the women's mile in 5:35.4.

The next meet at TJ is on inauguration weekend, Sunday morning, January 18. See www.pvtc.org or call 703-927-4833 for a schedule of events. Children are free, and all finishers get am award ribbon.

In the accompanying 10K, David Sandson, 42, ran 40:52 for 10th place, and Nora Kelly, 22, scored 21st among women in 55:56.

Greg Lane, 22, ran 33:05 for ninth place, and Billy Askey, 25, responded 11th in 33:25.

Third among women was Erin Swain, 26, in 36:35. Samantha Kirby, 40, won her age group, ninth in 39:45. Jenny Goransson, 25, finished 20th in 42:15.

Among men, Aaron Trent, 31, earned fifth place in 40:27, and Scott Smith, 28, finished eighth in 41:29.

Win Persina, 47, ran a similar race, trailing Arlington's Rebecca Nathan, 43, at the turnaround, but pulled ahead in the final miles, winning in 1:30:40 ahead of Nathan's 1:31:17.

Among girls, Kendra La Shaun Mayweather, 13, was fastest in the 55-meter (8.6) and the 200-meter (36.2). She also long-jumped 8'11" and high-jumped 3'04". Bailey Renee Rump, 11, ran the mile in 7:27.1. Maggie Chen, 8, won the 800-meter overall in 3:06.9. Sahna Sabbakhan, 10, led her heat of the 400-meter in 1:11.8. Lianna Smith, 8, threw the turbo jav the farthest (23 feet). Aleyzza Medina, 10, spun the discus 30 feet.

In 2008, Wardian won the USA National 50K Championship, the USA National 100K Championship, and the USA National 50 Mile Trail Championship. He finished 21st at the USA Mountain Running Championships and second at the USA National Trail Marathon Championships. He also posted wins at the 2007 JFK 50 Miler and the Lake City 50K.

The award is named for Ted Corbitt, founder of American ultra-running.

Rebecca Nathan, 43, won the women's division in 19:33, ahead of Jeanette Dumbrell, 39, of Falls Church, second in 19:52. Arlington's Samantha Kirby, 40, was third in 19:54.

Laura Jenkins, 29, earned third place in her age group, 16th among all women, running 1:28:13.

At Philadelphia Marathon on the same course, Marc Edmonds, 35, was Arlington's top finisher, 176th in 2:59:57. Colleen Depman, 23, ran 3:21:55 for 83rd place among women. At the accompanying Rothman 8K, Shelley Kavlick, 36, won the second-place medal in her age group, 27th among women in 37:37.

Wardian is the reigning American 50K, 50 Mile and 100K national champion. He averaged 6:51 per mile -- like running two sub-three-hour marathons non-stop, then another 10 more miles at the same pace.

Crane, 27, finished second in 30:31 among 2,000 runners at Veterans Day 10K in Washington DC, behind Abiyot Abebe of Ethiopia and ahead of Wilson Komen and Hosea Kosgei, both of Kenya.

Right behind them were Bert Rodriguez, 29, fourth in 31:18, and Willy Viviani, 24, sixth in 31:28.

Arlington's top female was Erin Swain, 26, eighth in 37:48. Rebecca Nathan, 43, ran 40:04 for 15th, and Alison Dimon, 27, shone in 44:56, 25th place.

Dylan Keith, 24, was third nerd in 26:46, followed by Thomas Gouard, 26, 12th in 30:39, and Steve Andrews, 38, 27th in 32:44.

Allison Carney, 24, was fourth nerdette in 32:43, ahead of Leah Twardzik, 23, sixth in 33:08; Jill Burkholder, 28, 10th in 34:31; and Cynthia Olsen, 42, 11th in 34:24.

Amanda Krawchuk, 30, shot to sixth place among women in 35:17, just ahead of Inga Middleton, 42, seventh in 35:27, and Robyn Hoeschen, 27, ninth in 35:58.

Andrew Dumm, 23, an American University graduate student whose longest race ever was a half marathon, sprinted to the lead at the halfway mark, ahead of 2006-2007 winner Ruben Garcia, and built up a 70-second lead to win in 2:22:44. C. Fred Joslyn, 24, of Rochester, Mich., a member of the Hanson's Running Team, took second in in 2:23:54; and Corey Duquette, 26, of Pensacola, Fla., duked it out for third in 2:24:40. Andrew's brother, Brian Dumm, 25, of Fairfax finished fifth in 2:26:00.

Prolific marathoner Michael Wardian, 34, was Arlington's first finisher, ninth in 2:28:26. Steve Anderson, 51, won his age group and finished 55th in 2:46:49. John Kelly, 25, ran 2:48:43 for 64th; and Pacers Running Store owner Chris Farley, 32, was 66th in 2:49:00.

Among women, Cate Fenster, 37, of Wooster, Ohio, now living in Bethesda, surprised herself by running the 26.2-mile distance -- her longest run ever -- to win in 2:48:55. Just 11 seconds back was Arlington's Lindsay Wilkins, 30, second in 2:49:06.

Mary Beth Muething, 30. ran 2:55:54 for sixth place; and Samantha Kirby, 40, smiled all the way into 19th place in 3:04:15.

The race is the fourth largest 26.2-miler in the U.S., the seventh largest in the world, and attracts runners from all 50 states and dozens of countries. The race fills every hotel and restaurant in Rosslyn, Crystal City, and Pentagon City for the whole weekend.

The runners turn onto Wilson Boulevard and Lynn Street in Rosslyn, uphill on Lee Highway to Kirkwood, downhill on Spout Run Parkway, and back to Rosslyn on George Washington Memorial Parkway to cross Key Bridge into Georgetown and DC. After 20 miles, they return to Arlington across 14th Street Bridge into Crystal City via South Eads Street, Army Navy Drive, and 12th Street South and Crystal Drive. A street music festival among the tall buildings inspires them for the next two lonely miles on Rotary Drive around the Pentagon and Washington Boulevard back to Route 110. Once the runners cross under Memorial Drive, thousands of onlookers greet them as they return to climb the hill on Marshall Drive and finish in front of the Iwo Jima monument.

During the race, another 5,000 will compete in the Marine Corps Marathon 10K.

Marine Corps Marathon Healthy Kids Fun Run for children 6-13 is Saturday in the Pentagon North parking lot, Three waves of the one-mile race start at 10:30 am, 11:15 am, and 12:00 noon. Registration is $2 at the Health and Fitness Expo at DC Armory October 23-24, and participants receive a t-shirt, medal and snacks at the finish line.

Every section of all three courses are open and free to spectators. See www.marinemarathon.com for course maps and other information.

Third among women in 40:31 was Madeline Harms, 22; and Erin Bougie, 23, took sixth in 44:18.

Among women, Courtney Kenney, 25, won in 21:38, followed by Christina Strong, 24, of CHF, second in 21:43; Margo Fahey, 21, of NCB, third in 22:31; Arlington's Sushila Nanda, 42, fourth in 22:40; and Carrie O'Brien, 31, of NCB, fifth in 22:46.

Culley is a 2004 graduate of Rutgers University, where she was an All-American cross country runner, and finished seventh at the 5,000-meter final at the 2008 Olympic Trials. Now she lives in Arlington and works at CustomInk.com in McLean.

Leah and Melissa Twardzik, 23 and 25, ran 20:17 and 22:27 for 11th and 33rd among women.

Cory Cook, 29, smoked in 43rd place among men in 19:23. Matt Parsons ran 22:04, and Oliver Brock, 42, brought in 204th in 23:02.

Jeffrey Greene, 30, covered the Baltimore Half-Marathon course in 1:26:21, 41st overall, with Erik Jones, 25, right behind, 42nd in 1:26:45. Thomas Gouard, 26, broke 1:30, running 1:29:11 for 61st.

Heather Stevens, 34, was Arlington's top female, 445th in 1:46:29. Becca Waskey, 24, unlocked 745th in 1:50:25, just ahead of Michelle Zlakowski, 34, 746th in 1:50:42.

Shamus Brady, 26, claimed 59th overall in 2:54:03 at the Baltimore Marathon. Michael Penny, 49, ran 3:08:49 for 105th; and Mark Kraby, 36, grabbed 192nd in 3:21:45.

Kristin Dahling, 32, sweetly ran 3:22:30, 192nd overall. Robyn Hoeschen, 27, flew in 3:39:36, 444th; and Rebecca Neuschatz, 28, took 705th in 3:51:42.

Mary Clare Peate, 28, took third among women in 41:11. Maggie Borden, 23, glued down seventh in 43:34; and Molly Lawless, 33, finished 13th in 45:33.

Second place in 49:12 was Steve Hallinan, 22, a May 2008 graduate of American University, running his first 10-mile race. Campos's teammate Josueldo Nascimento, 27, held onto third place in 49:39.

Arlington's Veena Reddy, 29, patiently chased runners who started faster, passing them one by one until moving into first among women at Mile 8 to finish in 58:08. Meseret Kotu, 26, an Ethiopian athlete living in Marietta, Ga., followed in 58:45; and Costa Rican Olympic marathoner Gabriela Traña, 28, also living in Marietta, finished third in 59:08.

Thousands of spectators will watch 20,000 runners from all over the world, include many American and international military men and women, running for their countries. Best viewing on this side of the river is the 8:00 a.m. start on Route 27 facing the Pentagon northbound to Arlington Memorial Bridge and the finish off the 14th Street Bridge into the Pentagon South Parking Lot.

Last year's winners return to defend their titles. Jose Ferreira, 32, of the Brazilian Army Team will wear #1; and Firaya Saltanova-Zhdanova, 47, of Marietta, Ga., will wear #2.

Arlington's Steven Crane, 27, wearing #48, is the local top gun; and Samantha Kirby, 40, wears #57.

Later in the month, Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, October 26, attracts 30,000 runners, and its accompanying 10K draws another 5,000.

Wendy Allen, 56, took 18th among women in 1:56:14.

In the accompanying 20 mile race, Kent Shigetomi, 46, was 18th male in 3:03:00; and Kirsten Reed, 22, was 13th female in 3:20:52.

Marathon man Michael Wardian, 34, took third in 15:58, followed by a trio of Arlington men: Mark Williams, 27, sixth in 17:57; Rich Pica, 25, seventh in 18:08; and Edward Wilson, 36, eighth in 18:19.

Among women, Kate Sheedy, 25, also scored third in 19:28, with Audrey Ting, 29, fifth in 19:40; and Stefanie Tocco, 25, 11th in 21:13.

Among women, Samantha Bird, 30, landed fourth in 2:18:40. First woman 35-39 was Monica Robbers, 37, seventh in 2:25:04.

First among Arlington's women were Mary Beth Muething, 30, 30th in 1:23:47; and Lindsay Larose, 26, 68th in 1:29:43.

Cole conquered the 200 meter in 28.9, well ahead of the field. In the 400 meter, he led for most of the race before Gary Presuhn, 54, of Burke outkicked him at the finish, winning in 1:06.8 to Cole's 1:06.9.

Presuhn also won the 800 meter in 2:39.5.

Arlington runners also won gold in the 200, Kent Halstead, 78, in 44.4; and Tiffany Curran, 82, in 48.4.

Curran also won medals in the 400 in 1:52.4 and the 1600-meter race walk in 12:49.8. Herb Levitan, 69, won his division in the walk in 11:26.6. Michael Mele, 61, ran 1:30.7 for 400m, ahead of Levitan's 1:49.0.

Among women, Charlotte Perdue, 60, tendered 39.8 for 200m, 1:36.0 for 400m, and 4:23.3 for 800m. Mary White, 62, painted 200m in 38.5 and 400m in 1:40.0. Alease Brown, 75, ran 200m in 1:16.7.

Jake Green, 24, took 19th among men in 1:18:51; and Andy Dana, 26, ran 1:26:53 for 39th.

Ninth among women was Arlington's Samantha Kirby, 39, running 1:28:21. Kendra Liebert, 31, placed 17th in 1:32:42; and Amelia Kelly, 25, marked 23rd place in 1:36:18.

Among women, Courtney Kenney, 25, counted 11th in 21:55. Sushila Nanda, 47, ran another great race, 13th in 22:06; and Brownrigg Snow, 30, stormed into 20th in 23:27.

Jennifer Burg, 36, finished seventh overall and first among women in 23:09. Alexis Merin, 31, took second in 24:14; and Carolina Pinto, 25, was third in 24:51.

Arlington's Bert Rodriguez, 29, sprinted to an early lead and never let go, winning in 16:22, despite just getting over a cold. Tim Fahey, 34, also of Arlington took second in 16:49; and Jon Torrance, 37, of Washington was third, a minute back in 17:27.

Four more Arlington men finished in the top 10 -- Matt Lowe, 28, fourth in 17:31 and first military finisher; Steven Anderson, 52, sixth in 17:59; Michael Godesky, 33, seventh in 18:02; and Tod Burns, 27, eighth in 18:09.

School Board chair Ed Fendley, 43, finished 58th in 19:50.

Among women, Martha Merz, 45, of Annandale won in 19:02, then learned her husband had fallen at the start and rushed to his side at the hospital, where he was treated for a head wound.

Ann Tripp, 22, of Fredericksburg picked up second place in 19:07. Arlington's Samantha Kirby, 39, ran 19:21 for third place outkicking Jenny Fitzgerald, 29, of Montclair, fourth in 19:24.

Anisha Suterwala, 16, was fifth in 19:40; with Emily Talbot, 22, seventh in 20:02; and Jessica Chin, 22, 11th in 21:06.

The course looped around the front of the new September 11 Memorial in front of the Pentagon.

Among women, Arlingtonian Veena Reddy, 29, took a huge lead to win in 1:19:55, ahead of Ethiopia's Yihunilish Delelecha, 26, now of Washington, second in 1:23:46. Third in 1:29:35 was Arlington's Kaitlin Sheedy, 25.

Among the beneficiaries was Arlington-based Ethiopian Community Development Council.

Emily Gousen, 22, picked up 18th place among women in 1:25:54; and Anne Feldman, 26, was 37th in 1:32:41.

Scott Jones, 43, ran 1:04:15 to finish 14th among men.

In the 20K, Michael Wardian, 34, ran 1:06:28 to win the men's division, and Bart Borghuis, 32, took third in 1:08:57, with Billy Askey, 25, fifth in 1:10:06.

Veena Reddy, 29, won the women's race in 1:16:07, ahead of Lindsay Wilkins, 30, second in 1:16:44. Behind them were a quartet of Arlington women -- Marybeth Muething, 30, sixth in 1:21:43; Samantha Kirby, 39, seventh in 1:21:59; Andrea Manley, 29, eighth in 1:22:14; and Kelly Devine, 24, ninth in 1:23:18.

In the accompanying 10K, Arlington's Katie Read, 22, won the gold in 35:44. Tom Heinemann, 39, was Arlington's first male, 23rd in 37:46.

First among women was Arlington's Madeline Harms, 22, in 19:24. Win Persina, 48, of Washington took second in 20:38; and Marie Sandrock, 36, ran a solid 20:48 for third.

Marine Corps Marathon champion Kristen Henehan, 29, of Washington won the women's mile in 4:55.1; and Lindsay Wilkins, 30, ran 5:09.1 for second place.

In the three-kilometer championship, Wade won by less than one second in 8:45.9, ahead of Viviani's 8:46.4.

Henehan and Wilkins also finished first and second in the 3K, running 10:16.0 and 10:35.2.

Veena Reddy, 29, finished second among women in 36:49; and Jennifer Dawn McKenna, 27, rose to fourth in 44:24.

Julie Culley, 26, won the women's race by nearly a minute, running 26:58. A 2004 graduate of Rutgers University and former Loyola College in Maryland women's track coach, she finished seventh in 15:34.43 at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials 5,000-meter final in Eugene, Ore.

Veena Reddy, 29, finished fifth in 29:28. Born in Rhode Island, she earned her bachelor's degree at Wesleyan University and her master’s in architecture from University of Pennsylvania and worked as an architect in Philadelphia before moving to Arlington in spring. At the 208 U.S. Olympic Women's Marathon Team Trials in Boston in April, she ran a personal best of 2:38:08 for 15th place among the nation's best.

Among men, Robert Wade, 26, Irish by citizenship, chased three Ethiopian and one Kenyan to notch fifth place in 25:08. Michael Wardian, 34, Arlington's male representative at the U.S. Men's Marathon Team Trials last November in New York City, took seventh in 25:30.

Jon Hiratsuka still runs fast at 55. His 6:06.55 mile earned him 63rd place among men.

Robin Schmid, 40, finished 23rd in 23:36; and Marlene Daughtrey, 25, ran 30:19 for 111th place.

Right behind him were Lewis Butler, 23, fourth in 20:48, and Robert Wade, 26, fifth in 21:18.

Finishing third among women in 24:04 was Emily Gousen, 22, with Mary Beth Muething, 30, 10th in 26:59, and Caroline Lauver, 26, 37th in 32:06.

Strabo started as a football player at Landon Middle School, then tried cross country. His first 5k was 20:05, but by spring 2007, he ran 17:39 for sixth place at Landon Invitational. Then in November 2007, he topped his personal best, running 3 miles in 16:53 for ninth place at DC/MD Private School Championships.

The two took off together down Bluemont Junction hill and dueled neck-and-neck up the Custis Trail hills. Wade finally broke away on the last turn around the beaver pond back to Ballston to win by four seconds in 15:42.

Brendan Brown, 25, had a similarly tough race, finishing third in 17:01, just one second ahead of Jon Torrance, 37, of Washington. Chris Lin, 26, took eighth in 17:51; and Patrick Hogan, 24, finished 10th in 17:59.

Among women, 2007 Marine Corps Marathon winner Kristen Henehan, 28, of Silver Spring won in 17:23, ahead of Arlington's Lindsay Wilkins, 30, second in 18:01, and Erica Nemmers, 36, of Herndon, third in 18:54.

Michelle Apotsos, 30, finished 11th in 22:12; and 17th among women -- and first 15-19 -- was Kelsey Anne Coia, 15, in 23:35.

The race was the first non-school event to use the Marymount Ballston Campus course, which involves only one major street crossing -- Wilson Boulevard and George Mason Drive -- early in the race. Previously, Marymount University and Wakefield High School events used the course.

"This was our inaugural race," said director Lisa Hundley-Reeves. "We are encouraging the community to think globally, act locally. Amazon Conservation Team (based in Arlington) has programs in Brazil, Colombia, and Surinam to manage and protect the rainforest. We teach indigenous people to use GPS to demarcate their territory and identify precious natural resources."

"At our headquarters here in Arlington, we have 10 employees," said ACT director Tamar Datan. "We have 60 more in the field, including a team now in Brazil. In partnership with Google Earth, we help indigenous people to use technology to establish their rights. We also have a shaman apprentice program so valuable information is not lost. The inaugural Run for the Rainforest raised awareness of our programs. Everything went really well with the race today."

Keeping with the theme of environmental protection, instead of the traditional disposable plastic goodie bag, the race gave participants a sturdy mesh shopping tote, colorfully imprinted.

Caitlin Kinkead, 26, came in third among women in 29:41.

In the last few years of the Arlington Parade, he invited us to run a one-mile footrace down Wilson Boulevard a few minutes ahead of the parade, creating the first road race on Arlington streets that wasn't the Marine Corp Marathon or Army Ten Miler.

Thus, Turner was also the father of the Arlington festival race and the progenitor of events like the Battle of the Boulevard and the Police-Fire-Sheriff 9-11 Memorial race.

Turner also owned a small sign business called Turner Signs. He was the first to outfit cabs and delivery vehicles in Arlington with rooftop signs. Finally, he was a lover of the classics and staffed a vounty fair booth every year promoting the learning of Latin.

We will miss Jack Turner. He helped to shape Arlington.

Joe Lamonte, 27, finished 18th in 34:48; and John Kelly, 24, was 22nd in 36:01.

Fourth among women was Lindsay Wilkins, 30, in 37:26. Behind her was a quartet from Arlington -- Megan Sowa, 24, 11th in 39:34; Samantha Kirby, 39, 12th in 39:59; Annie Feldman, 26, 13th in 40:05; and Katie Muething, 22, 15th in 40:14. Katie's big sister, Mary Beth Muething, 29, finished 22nd in 41:17.

Michael Murray, 27, placed 10th among men in 17:50; and Ben Treweek, 19, and Scott Milam, 36, tied for 24th and 25th in 19:22.

Patrick O'Keefe, 21, matched that place among men, 17th in 37:03.

Amy Wigmore, 37, took 10th place in 1:38:40; and Kathy Dalby, 30, ran 1:45:48 as a pacer for a large group of women aiming for that time.

Among men, Sun Gazette writer Jay Jacob Wind, 58, took third in 1:33:37. Brad Chin, 33, finished 22nd in 2:03:37; and Brian Kim, 38, was 23rd in 2:05:29.

In the 10K, Page Warren, 44, turned in 39th place among women in 52:57. Adam Krumbholz, 36, ran 58:40 for 14th place among men.

Chris Lin, 26, finished third in Herndon 5K in 18:09.

Among women, Veena Reddy, 29, held off fast-closing Emily Rose Gousen, 22, for second place in 22:55, with Gousen third in 23:09.

Mary Beth Muething, 29, ran just under a seven-minute-mile pace, good for 10th in 42:54; and "Big Red" Elizabeth Osburn, 24, was 18th in 44:22.

Among the men, Robert Wade, 26, chased Bekele's teammate Birhanu Wukaw, also taking second 32:15 behind Wukaw's 31:58.

Joe Lamonte, 27, took seventh in 34:09; and John Digiovanni, 31, was 14th in 37:03.

Steve Anderson, 51, was Arlington's top male finisher, 10th in 1:21:03 and first over 40.

"Iron" Mike Wardian, 34, headed off speedster Bert Rodriguez, 28, running 25:26 for fifth place, ahead of Rodriguez's 26:15 sixth-place finish.

At the turnaround, Stephen Crane, 25, of Silver Spring ran neck-and-neck with Arlington's Bert Rodriguez, 28, but coming up the hill, it was Crane all the way, winning in 31:46. Bart Borghuis, 32, of Ashburn outclimbed Rodriguez for second in 32:16. Rodriguez held on for third in 32:28.

"Iron" Mike Wardian, 33, was right behind, fourth in 32:41; and three more Arlingtonians cracked the top 12 -- Scott Munro, 26, 10th in 35:52; Joseph Racine, 30, 11th in 35:55; and Daniel Sebhat, 17, 12th in 36:06.

Caroline White, 22, of College Park and Erin Swain, 26, of Clifton ran most of the race together, before White washed the hill to win in 37:51, with Swain second in 38:25.

Third in 40:04 was Arlington's Megan Sowa, 24. Behind her were Colleen Griesinger, 28, fourth in 40:58; Emily Sturm, 27, sixth in 41:17; and Anne Feldman, 26, 12th in 43:39.

The post-race music and health festival served as the endpoint for the Neighborhood Day Parade in the afternoon.

Robert Guidi, 45, covered the course in 1:01:41, 11th among men; and Brady Nelson, 29, was 13th in 1:03:17.

Among women, Wendy Kengor, 29, took 13th in 1:13:10; and Regina Powers, 38, energized 26th place in 1:17:34.

The next day, he tok 27th at Frederick Half-Marathon in 1:30:37.

Kunal Kamra, 26, led Arlington's team at Frederick Marathon, 62nd in 3:28:45.

Olivier Leblond, 36, broke 90 minutes in the accompanying half marathon, 1:29:49 and 12th overall. Jennifer Yezek, 31, ran 1:38:54 for 27th place.

Katie Muething, 22, placed 212th among women in 3:13:04. Laura Chipkin, 27, was 494th in 3:21:01; and Mary Beth Muething, 29, followed her sister's footsteps, 499th in 3:21:04.

Just six days after Boston, Michael Wardian ran 31:22 for 11th place. Joe Lamonte, 27, finished 25th in 33:15; and Gene Yoshida, 33, was 129th in 41:12.

Megan Sowa, 24, ran 1:06:58 for 51st overall, just ahead of Colleen Depman, 23, 53rd in 1:07:24. Marissa Maier, 23, finished 78th in 1:08:43.

In the accompanying 5K, Bert Rodriguez, 28, won it all in 15:34, 30 seconds ahead of second place. Meredith Glendening, 23, was Arlington's first lady, 43rd in 23:28.

Diana Pu-Huai Tong, 17, led the women's race, also by more than a minute ahead of Cindy Sachs, 39, second in 23:16.

Running and helping were many family members and friends of the late Julia Campbell, a Peace Corps worker murdered in the Phillipines in April 2007. At the pre-race gathering and post-race picnic, photos of Julia's life and work were on display.

Tim Casey won the race in 19:00, followed by Michael Megargee in 23:00, and Tom Buell in 23:10.

Among women, Camille Powell won in 33:21, edging Alma Robinson, 33:29, and Verlese Gastner, 34:11.

"This was a nice day for a race," said John Abbott, Wakefield Class of '69. "The kids has great enthusiasm. It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning."

"My child doesn't do many outdoor activites, so this was her first race -- and her personal best," said Isabel Kaltenbach-Montemayor, Arlington's 2007 foster parent of the year.

Some of the participants missed the last turn and ran long because no course marshal was there, but a splendid time was had by all.

The course, downhill from Clarendon to the Pentagon and back -- uphill -- finishes into a post-race party with entertainment hosted by Mr. Days Bar Sports Rock Café. The post-race festival is the centerpiece of Arlington's day-long celebration, serving as the end-point of the Neighborhood Day Parade.

The race features an Arlington Neighborhood & Business Challenge. Arlington civic associations and businesses with the most participants registered win $500 donations to their favorite charities.

See www.battleoftheboulevard.com or call 703-623-9293.

In the men's race, Robert Wade, 25, took third in 32:40 behind Abiyot Abera's 30:18 and Stephen Crane's 32:37. Right behind was Chris Farley, 32, fourth in 33:06.

In the women's race, Rebecca Nathan, 42, was second overall in a her best 10K ever, 36:05, behind world-class runner Genet Gebretinsae's 34:35. Elizabeth Osburn, 24, sizzled in 40:16 for third place.

Joe Lamonte, 27, ran 55:18 for 36th; and Jared Lowry, 25, ran a jewel of a time, 56:09, for 44th.

In the accompanying 5K, Audrey Ting, 30, won the silver, second woman in 19:16. Jeff Pelligrino, 22, was 15th among men in 24:09.

Ashley Payne, 25, felt good, running second among women in 41:14, while Libby Wile, 26, took third in 43:57.

The course, downhill from Clarendon to the Pentagon and back -- uphill -- finishes into a post-race party with entertainment hosted by Mr. Days Bar Sports Rock Café. The post-race festival is the centerpiece of Arlington's day-long celebration, serving as the end-point of the Neighborhood Day Parade.

The race features an Arlington Neighborhood & Business Challenge. Arlington civic associations and businesses with the most participants registered win $500 donations to their favorite charities.

See www.battleoftheboulevard.com or call 703-623-9293.

Then again, perhaps no town anywhere has had such an athlete.

At SunTrust National Marathon in Washington on Saturday, Wardian three-peated, winning for the third straight time. In all its three years, the race has never known another champion but Wardian, 33.

He won in convincing fashion, putting down challenger Samuel Gebremichael after just five miles. From then on, Wardian steadily extended his lead to win in 2:25:00, four minutes ahead of Gebremichael, who had soundly beaten Wardian two weeks earlier at Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach.

Eddie Valentine, 28, showed heart, finishing 18th in 2:50:32. Thomas Cotton, 30, threaded to 37th place in 2:58:13.

Among women, Anne Kirchner, 24, was 32nd in 3:41:26.

In the accompanying SunTrust National Half-Marathon, Ryan Strohl, 25, ran 1:16:43 for 13th place among men. Justin Dietz, 24, finished 28th in 1:19:25. David Kent, 35, was super in 1:19:42 for 31st place.

Danielle Messinger, 30, rattled off a 1:32:53 for 24th.

Stephanie McJury, 22, went out in 25:59, for 12th place. Amy Knether, 33, was 40th in 29:32.

Christopher Jones, 24, hit the top 100, 97th in 3:09:38. Elena Richey, 28, was 62nd among women in 3:33:46. George (Ted) Hobart, 41, finished his 10th marathon at Shamrock -- 5:36:09.

From Arlington, 461 runners are registered for SunTrust National Marathon -- 344 in the half, and 117 in the full marathon.

Katie Allen, 29, was seventh among women in 27:12; and Claire Schrader, 30, shredded the course in 28:30 for 12th place.

In the accompanying 10K, Olivier Leblond, 35, ran a classic 40:33 for fifth place. 57-year-old David Crawford, running on a bum foot, won his age-group in 43:44.

Robyn Hoeschen, 26, was fourth among women in 44:47.

With a 2:40:12 qualifier at the same race, 2004 Marine Corps Marathon winner Mary Kate Bailey earned 24th seed at the Trials. Her baby is due between now and the Trials, so her participation is not expected.

Heather Hanscom's 2:42:02 at 2007 Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn., followed her 2003 Marine Marathon win in 2:37:59, the second-fastest-ever woman's time on the course.

In addition, former Arlingtonian Casey Smith qualified with a 2:44:58 at 2007 SunTrust Richmond Marathon, and Pacers Team's Kristen Henehan made the cut in 2:45:15 at 2008 P.F. Chang's Rock 'n Roll Arizona Marathon in Tempe, Ariz.

Among women, Andrea Emshoff, 29, a top local 5K runner training hard to extend her distance, broke four hours in the marathon for the first time, running 3:57:45 for fourth place. Erin Hellmold, 27, held on for eighth in 4:03:26.

Samantha Kirby, 39, enjoyed the luck of the Irish, eighth among women in 31:25. Allison Carney, 23, finished 13th in 32:43; and Colleen Griesinger, 28, was 15th in 32:45.

Elizabeth May, 27, celebrated third place in 46:09; and Grace Chan, 38, was sixth in 47:29.

Erik Ilif, 28, was Arlington's first finisher in accompanying Greenway Trail Marathon, 40th in 5:49:46.

Jim Cavanaugh, 66, proved his mettle, running the 50K on Saturday in 6:45:14, 64th among men. Then at the B&A Marathon in Severna Park, Md., the next day, he ran 4:40:59, 190th overall, for a total of 57.2 miles of racing in two days.

In the simultaneous B&A Half-Marathon, Rebecca Nathan, 42, was first woman across the finish line, 28th overall, in 1:27:51. Laura Chipkin, 27, was 62nd overall in 1:35:10; and Marymount professor Monica Robbers, 36, finished 80th in 1:37:52.

Among men, Marc Edmonds, 34, was lucky in 13th place in 1:23:35; and Hamilton Hardman, 39, nailed 79th overall in 1:39:04.

Matching that place among the women was Elizabeth May, 27, fourth in 56:02.

It was no country for old men, but a good race for Tim Arnade, 51, 100th overall in 1:06:39.

Kathy Dalby, 29, was Arlington's first lady, 262nd overall in 1:16:38. Chris's sister, Denise Farley, 28, was 291st in 1:18:16; and Karen Oettinger, 30, finished 378th in 1:23:33.

Marine Corps Marathon winner Kristen Henehan, 28, won the women's race in 36:02. Arlington's Samantha Kirby, 38, took 15th place in 40:50; and Colleen Murphy, 29, was 20th in 42:15.

The race is the fourth oldest 26.2-miler in the U.S.A. -- only Boston, Yonkers, and Culver City Marathons are older. The hilly three-loop course around Beltsville Agricultural Research Center is the most challenging marathon course in the D.C. area.

Andrea Nelson, 29, took 15th place in 4:22:16; and Elizabeth Klee, 35, painted 4:25:48 for 17th.

Among men, David Terry, 41, finished 55th in 3:52:17. Right behind him, 57th in 3:53:24, was Temesgen Habtemariam, 36; and Old Dominion 100-Mile ultra-marathon champion John David Powell, 55, was 81st in 4:17:48.

Kristen Hird, 31, was seventh among women in 56:07.

In the accompanying 5K, Andrew Dana, 25, earned the bronze medal, third in 18:39. Robert Simkins, 29, finished 13th among men in 21:34; John-Michael Kerwin, 24, cruised to 16th in 22:20.

Jenny Goransson, 24, got fourth among women in 20:54, ahead of Alissa Bibb, 26, fifth in 21:32.

Just five seconds back in third place in 45:16 was All-American 50+ athlete Maurice Pointer, 52, of Baltimore.

Matt Lowe, 27, was Arlington's highest finisher, seventh in 47:02. Mark Hand, 41, grabbed 11th in 48:12; and ultra-distance runner Bryon Powell, 29, took 14th in 49:11.

In the separate women's start five minutes after the men, Jessica (Short) Laurent, 27, of Centreville had a long lead in 51:05. Win Persina, 47, of Washington chased her in 51:55; and Amanda Stickel, 25, stuck to third in 52:58.

Arlington women scored fifth, sixth, and seventh places: Casey Kohut, 22, in 56:14; Terah Malette, 26, in 56:56; and Tracy Dooley, 38, in 57:00.

At least 75 runners participated in their first race, hoping to qualify for National Marathon & Half Marathon. Sponsors of the marathon from Reebok and Olympian Marc Davis were on hand to welcome the marathon hopefuls.

Race director James Scarborough presented post-race awards and thanked all the volunteers, including staff from Capital Hospice.

First male from Arlington was Alex Filides, 32, seventh in 5:24.9.

Christina Lee, 16, of Sterling ran 5:17.5, won the women's mile, then doubled in the 800 meter in 2:18.7, good for second overall.

Raymond Fan, 24, of Alexandria and Andrés Wright, 41, of Frederick, Md., lapped everyone in the 3000-meter, finishing first and second in 9:40.7 and 9:52.8. Charlie Mercer, 37, took eighth place in 11:07.2.

George Doumar, 46, was 381st in 1:43:10; and Linwood Ham, 41, sliced 1:51:52 for 933rd place. Among women, Peggy Hoyle, 42, was 375th in 1:58:28; and Beth Goulston, 35, rolled into 882nd in 2:06:21.

In the ING Miami Marathon, Arlington's top finisher was Robert Guidi, 44, 190th place in 3:26:19. Joya Teemer, 25, was 246th female in 4:19:19.

Mindy Thomas, 24, ran 5:22.2 for the fastest women's mile of the day, and Josh Hardin, 16, was fastest among men in 4:48.9. Steve Anderson, 51, placed sixth in the mile in 5:14.2; Mark Hand, 41, grabbed a 5:20.4 time; and Gretchen Gates, 25, closed on a 6:49.8 mile. Martha Merz, 45, doubled in the mile and 3000m in her first track meet in a few years, with 11:25 in the 3000m and 5:36 in the mile.

Charlie Mercer, 37, ran 10:48.6 in the 3000m, good for fourth place.

One meet remains in the three-meet winter series at TJ, Sunday, February 3, at 8 am. See www.pvtc.org/indoor or call 703-927-4833.

Rebecca Nathan, 42, was third female overall in 19:14; and Janna Schmickel, 45, finished seventh in 23:17.

In the accompanying JFK 20K, Will Weidman, 24, was Arlington's top finisher, 10th in 1:21:11. Douglas Herman, 31, took 16th in 1:24:40; and Roberto Rodriguez, 52, won his age-group, 20th overall in 1:25:36.

Kristin Dahling, 31, pushed to seventh among women in 1:34:31.

Both races were qualifiers for National Marathon, to be held in DC on March 29. Arlington's Michael Wardian, 33, the two-time defending champion, will aim to make it three in a row at the fast-growing race.

Rodriguez's Pacers teammate, Mary Christopher, 23, ran a 5:26.5 mile, finishing fourth among women.

James Barr, 40, cleared the bar at 1.71 meters (5' 7.5") in the high jump, good for fifth place. Providing the fireworks was Bruce McBarnette, 50, of Sterling VA, who set a men's 50-54 American record with a 1.87-meter (6' 1.75"). Barr's 11.99-meter shot put placed him fifth in that event, and his long jump of 18' 6.5" was 11th longest.

Some of the same athletes will compete at Potomac Valley Track Club's indoor meets at Thomas Jefferson Community Center on Sundays, January 20 and February 3, with events starting at 8:15 am. See www.pvtc.org or call 703-927-4833.

Rodriguez stayed ahead of both Thomas Edison High School star / Foot Locker South 2007 winner Leoule Degfae, 17, second in 16:31, and three-time defending champion Mudasar Haidat, 22, third in 16:32. The race started and finished across from Gateway Park and swirled down the footbridge to the Mount Vernon Trail on the Potomac Riverfront and back.

Among women, with 100 meters to go on the bridge back to Rosslyn, Betty Blank, 54, of Falls Church, caught early leader Sita Nataraj Slavov, 33, of Los Angeles . Blank won in 21:23, ahead of Slavov's 21:29. Eight-year-old Page Lester of Washington was third in 22:36. Jennifer Westfall-McGrail, 52, was Arlington's first female, sixth in 24:00.

Running with the men, Christina Lee, 16, of Sterling ran 5:17.1, the fastest female time of the day. Elizabeth Jones, 30, of Falls Church won the women's mile in 6:19.8, then ran the open mile even faster, 6:16.4.

Ethiopian star Abiyot Abebe, 20, new to Arlington, ran 8:49.5 in the 3000 meter, pulling Steve Mance, 23, of Alexandria to 8:55.0 -- two of the fastest times ever for this meet.

Third behind them in 9:46.3 was Diribe Ayele, 23, also new to Arlington, who brought along her friend Elfenesh Alemu, 2003 Tokyo Marathon champion and fourth place finisher at the 2004 Athens Olympic Women's Marathon.

Charlie Mercer, 37, ran 10:53.5 for ninth place.

Toni Marie Diegoli, 29, ran 1:15:40 for fourth among women, and Kristin Dahling, 31, was fifth in 1:17:27.

Audrey Ting, 30, finished fourth among women in 5:15, and Lane Wollerton,18, ran 6:49 for 18th place.

In the accompanying 10K, William Ellison, 41, ran 41:15 for seventh place, and Heidi Hiller, 24, found 11th place among women in 51:16.

Behind them Erik Kean, 30, took third in 35:17, and Pat Kohlmann, 36, finished fifth in 35:55.

Among women, Sushila Nanda, 46, was 10th in 45:33; Taylor Snook, 23, took 14th in 46:12; and Julia Taylor, 36, ran 49:55 for 30th place.

Runners enjoyed the post-race bonfire, cookies, cider, and hot cocoa, and the race benefitted the New School of Northern Virginia.

In the 55-meter dash, Shakeem Copeland, 13, of Fort Belvoir, ran 6.5 seconds, the fastest of the day, and his 27.7 won the 200-meter race. Viktor Green, 10, was Arlington's fastest finisher in both events, with 9.7 seconds for the 55m and 40.0 for the 200m. Green's 8'05" long jump placed him fourth in that event, behind Markel Harrison, 8, of Vienna and Dwight Lomax Jr., 11, of Woodbridge, who tied with 9'06".

Sebastian Bouroncle, 11, of Washington won the mile in 6:31.0, with Arlington's Tyler Spicer, 9, fourth in 7:06.9. Spicer won the 800-meter race walk 6:29.7, outraced Linnea Bouroncle, 8, of Washington, second in 6:30.8.

Roy Rinberg, 11, of Arlington ran 1:30.9 to win his heat of the 40-meter dash. The fastest in that event was 1:00.3, by Genamarie McCant, 13, of Fairfax Station.

Katie Franke, 10, of Falls Church won the discus throw in 32'06", with Sarah Keyser, 10, of Arlington second with 23'00".

The young athletes trained for the past 10 weeks for this track meet to get ready for PVTC's all-comers indoor meets at TJ on Sundays, January 6, January 20, and February 3. See www.pvtc.org or call 703-927-4833.

Arlington's Vanessa Hunter, 32, won the women's race by more than a minute, running 35:26. Lindsay Goulet Wilkins, 29, stepped fourth in 37:12, and Samantha Kirby, 39, rounded out the top 10 in 39:37.

Among women, Elizabeth May, 27, finished fifth in 1:42:54, just an eyelash ahead of Kristin Dahling, 31, sixth in 1:42:57. Jenny Keller, 30, was eighth in 1:44:46.

Washington-Lee High School graduate Sarah Weber, 18, back in town for Thanksgiving, was first woman in 19:04, outkicking Lisa Frischknecht, 22, of Fairfax, second in 19:09. Third place went to Arlington's Alison Stone, 26, in 21:38. The race attracted 954 finishers and benefitted Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless and Doorways for Women and Families.

Katherine Newberry, 29, of Williamsburg won the women's race in 27:59, ahead of Arlington's Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier Vanessa Hunter, 32, second in 28:41. Rebecca Nathan, 42, won the masters women's division, 15th in 33:03, with Monica Grillo, 43, second 40+ and 18th woman in 33:38.

Munro finished almost three minutes ahead of second place to win in 16:41, and Sowa was third overall and first woman in 19:24. Just four seconds faster would have placed her second overall.

Mary Beth Muething, 29, took fourth among women in 1:54:13, and Jennifer Yezek, 31, was 13th in 2:06:43.

Carrie O'Brien, 30, finished 73rd among women in 51:58.

Among women, Elizabeth Klee, 35, ran 1:36:40 for 56th place.

In the accompanying five-miler, Robert Platt, 56, was 37th in 39:32, and Erin Steinhagen 26, finished 74th among women in 50:39

The course record is held by Eric Clifton who ran 5:46:22 in 1994. The previous second-best time was Howard Nippert's 5:51:28 in 2005.

Bryon ("Goat") Powell, 29, a perennial at the race, finished 25th in 7:13:45; and William Weidman, 24, was 66th in 7:51:57.

Lana Leung, 38, ran 10:39:32 for 573rd place; Tammy Huck, 43, was 636th in 10:47:52; and Sarah-Amanda Lewis, 33, finished 656th in 10:52:25.

Lucia Davidson won the 60-69 age group in 12:22:56. Anstr Davidson's 12:23:01 was his 25th finish in a row. Ed Demoney, 73, finished in 13:16:40.

Hagerstown Herald-Mail story with photo of Wardian

Lindsay Goulet, 29, ran 2:51:16 for 15th place among women -- just four minutes away from qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials. Kaitlin Sheedy, 24, was 34th in 3:00:11.

Sandra Jean Kudrecki, was fourth among women in 51:51.

Andrew Ciarfalia, 25, ran 21:33 to take the fifth in the accompanying 5K. Alissa Bibb, 25, was fourth woman in 22:06.

Sarah Trotter, 24, covered the course in 20:56, second among women. Sushila Nanda, 46, was third in 21:27.

Among women, Britton Stackhouse, 28, also placed in the top ten, taking ninth place in 38:29. Rebecca Nathan, 42, earned third in her age group, 16th overall in 39:55; and Jacquelyn Beckley, 24, was 30th in 43:23.

At Richmond Marathon, Keith Giles, 31, was 169th male in 3:10:02; and Wendy Moltrup, 33, starred 48th among women in 3:23:45.

Profiled by New York Road Runners in a pre-race article titled "Can an underdog make the Olympic team?", Wardian knew that others in the field had personal best times 10 minutes or more faster than his 2:21:37 qualifying time. So he chose to take his best shot and lead the race from the start as long as he could. He went through the uphill first mile in 5:21 -- notably slow for a world-class field -- but sped up considerably in the downhill second mile to 9:36, well ahead of the pack behind him in 10:10. His 16:20 at 5K put him 24 seconds ahead of the pack, and he still held the lead at 10K with a 32:22. By then 24 runners clustered behind him just 3 seconds. The first of his pursuers caught Wardian at 35 minutes, and he hung on courageously to finish 92nd in 2:30:54.

Other area finishers included Christopher Raabe, 28, Washington, 16th in 2:17:01; Jacob Frey, 26, Oakton, 22nd in 2:18:19; Eric Post, 28, Centreville, 38th in 2:19:25; and Christopher Banks, 29, Washington / Albuquerque, 89th in 2:30:22.

Adugna Desalegn, 15, of Alexandria, ran 20:03, outkicking Arlington's Jacquelyn Beckley, 24, by one second to win the women's race. Meghann Proir, 26, of Arlington, was third in 21:19.

In the accompanying Rockville 10K, Mark Hand, 40, grabbed 11th place in 39:20. Kimberly Kroszner, 25, was 31st among women in 52:05.

Ayalew is in the U.S. at the invitation of Arlington Cooperation Foundation. "We are brothers -- we are family," said Ayalew after the race.

First from Arlington was Shamus Brady, 61st in 2:46:00. John Kelly, 24, took 78th place in 2:49:10; and Pacers owner Chris Farley, 31, ran 2:50:24 for 85th.

Kristen Henehan, 28, of Silver Spring won the women's division in 2:51:14, just ahead of Alexandria's Lisa Thomas, 31, second in 2:51:40.

Last year's fourth-place finisher, Samantha Kirby, 39, was Arlington's first lady, 15th in 3:06:55. Jenae Avallone, 29, nailed down 60th place in 3:16:47; and Katie Githens, 24, got 87th in 3:22:15.

Marathon man Dane Rauschenberg, 31, ran his personal best marathon, 115th in 2:55:34, after running 52 marathons in 52 weeks last year.

Washington DC mayor Adrian Fenty, 36, finished his second marathon of the year, covering the course in 4:10:53.

The marathon drew 20,667 from all over the world to Arlington, making it the fourth largest marathon in the U.S. and the seventh largest in the world.

In the accompanying 10K, Sean Barrett, 22, of Quantico, won in 33:06, three scant seconds ahead of Bradley Smith, 41, of Warrenton, second in 33:09. Erik Kean, 30, was sharp in third place, running 35:03. Alisa Harvey, 41, of Manassas, repeated as women's winner in 37:12. Kelly Devine, 23, led Arlington's women, fifth in 40:08.

Megan Sowa, 24, matched Dwyer's third place, finishing in 19:30. Sushila Nanda, 46, continued her comeback, running 21:34 for 12th place; and Kara McInroy, 17, was 23rd in 23:15.

Behind him was Ethiopian star Zereu Kelele, 26, second in 20:25. "I didn't realize it was a cross country race," said Kelele. "I wore my road shoes, and he outran me in the last mile." Erik Kean, 30, finished fifth in 21:51.

Among women, Audrey Ting, 30, was second in 25:38, behind international star Alisa Harvey, 42, who won in 23:07.

Kirstin Michel, 25, was 15th in 47:19; and Raffaella Valentino, 30 sent a 48:52 for 23rd place.

Kevin Coleman, 42, scared up second place among men in 35:40. Scott Branham, 24, finished 13th in 40:13, just ahead of Thomas Gouard, 25, 14th in 40:26.

Sarah Bessin, 38, led the women in 25:44, followed by Dana Raphael, 12, second in 27:06; and Joanne Gabor, 34, fourth in 27:22.

In the Baltimore Half-Marathon, Roberto Rodriguez, 51, was 79th in 1:31:31, and Kate Skidmore, 28, was 39th woman in 1:36:53.

Luke Ryan, 30, covered the challenging Baltimore Marathon course in 3:08:06, 74th among men. Lauren English, 24, hit her Boston-qualifying pace exactly in 3:40:00, 63rd among women.

The race started and finished in Arlington, Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova, 46, of Atlanta, Ga., became the race's oldest-ever women's winner, coming home in 58:31. "I have the greatest respect for soldiers who protect their country," said Zhdanova after the race. "I was inspired to see so many people running this race after losing a limb in the war. I am grateful to my sponsor, Foot Solutions, for inviting me here and keeping me healthy." Born in Russia, Zhdanova has long dominated masters running in the U.S.A.

Arlington's first female finisher, Samantha Kirby, 39, ran 1:06:43 for 28th place. Kaitlin Sheedy, 24, was 32nd in 1:09:00; and Jenae Avallone, 29, finished 53rd in 1:10:11.

Of the top 10 men, five were Brazilian, three Ethiopian, and two Kenyan. Jose Ferreira, 31, of Rio De Janiero, led the pack in 49:21.

Bert Rodriguez, 28, ran 53:57 as Arlington's pace-setter, finishing 18th. Mark Williams, 26, ran 58:17 for 62nd place; and Glenn Voelz, 37, broke one hour, clocking 59:49 for 85th place.

Washington DC mayor Adrian Fenty, 36, crossed the river to finish 467th in 1:08:53.

Jared Nyamboki, 30, last year's winner in 48:24, is back to defend his championship. He enjoyed his visit to Virginia so much that he moved here in August and now lives in Fairfax.

Also returning is Alisa Harvey, 42, of Manassas, who won last year's women's race in 59:00, her fourth Army Ten Miler crown.

Arlington's top male entry is Bert Rodriguez, 29, a graduate of United States Naval Academy and winner of Arlington's 2007 Custis 12K in 38:11. He will wear bib #35. Among women, Rebecca Nathan, 42, wearing bib #26, wins her age group at many local races and was first female in 19:27 at Arlington YMCA 2005 Trick or Trot 5K.

Best viewing on this side of the river is the 8:00 a.m. start on Route 27 facing the Pentagon northbound to Arlington Memorial Bridge and the finish off the 14th Street Bridge into the Pentagon South Parking Lot.

Before the start, parachutists from the US Golden Knights and Canadian Skyhawks will jump from planes onto the Pentagon parking lot at 7:10 a.m. A health fair and youth activity zone will be open to the public all morning from 8:00 a.m. to noon.

Finisher #199 in 58:51 was University president James Bundschuh. "Once again, this was fun to be out with all the people," said Dr. Bundschuh.

Three Arlington women ran together -- Amy Haak, 26, third in 24:58; Megan Fedorenchik, 27, fourth in 24:59; and Elise Haupt, 26, fifth in 25:00.

Marymount professor Monica Robbers, 36, won the women's race in 21:25, just ahead of Karen Young, 39, Boyds, Md., second in 21:31. Jinny Lay, 40, of Falls Church was third in 22:37.

Vanessa Hunter, 32, finished second in 1:18:31 among an international field at Parks Half Marathon in Montgomery County. Earlier this year, she qualified for the U.S. Trials, to be held Sunday, April 20, 2008, in Boston.

Michael Wardian, 33, who runs the Trials in New York City on Saturday, November 3, ran 1:08:08 for fourth place.

Behind Wardian were Chris Farley, 31, 14th in 1:14:47, and Marc Edmonds, 34, 37th in 1:23:43.

Among women, in eighth place was Lindsay Wilkins, 29, running 1:24:32, and ninth was Cheryl Carr, 24, in 1:26:05.

Kelly Devine, 23, finished third among women in 18:57; and Kaitlin Sheedy, 24, shot to fifth in 19:40.

Among men, Philip Pommerening, 42, was 36th in 21:20; and John Arbab, 47, was 40th in 21:37.

Among women, Kimberly Person, 42, took fourth in 35:38. Amy Kramer, 32, ran 38:04 for 12th, and Ligia Rodriguez-Rosado, 32, was 24th in 39:41.

Four Arlington men finished in the top 10. Kevin Coleman, 42, led the pack, fourth in 18:33. Mark Hand, 40, was fifth in 18:55, followed by Scott Munro, 25, sixth in 19:21, and John Bacon, 50, seventh in 19:25.

Winning her age group and 10th among women in 19:09, was Rebecca Nathan, 42. Katelyn Radack, 21, racked up 16th place in 21:44; and Megan Carroll, 23, was 18th in 22:07.

Jorge Medina, 22, of Falls Church took the lead after the first mile around Crystal City and pushed his advantage on the loop around the Pentagon, winning in 15:14. Eight seconds back in 15:22 was Arlington's Michael Wardian, 32. Allen Carr, 24 of Herndon drove to third place in 15:29.

Right behind them were a trio of Arlington runners -- Bert Rodriguez, 28, fourth in 16:26; Erik Kean, 30, fifth in 16:34; and Jared Lowry, 24, sixth in 16:52.

School Board member Ed Fendley, 42, finished 52nd in 19:44. Race co-director Detective Dan Borrelli, 48, ran 21:51 for 122nd place. County Board member Walter Tejada, 50, was 311th in 23:49.

Among women, Lauren Manero, 26, of Ft. Belvoir, was the gold medalist, 15th overall in 17:49, winning women's law enforcement division.

Arlington's Tonya Dodge, 32, took second in 18:14; and Martha Merz, 44. of Annandale was third in 19:00.

Gabby Grebski, 36, grabbed eighth among women in 20:18; Mary Christopher, 23, ran 20:30 for 10th place, just ahead of Megan Kehoe, 34, 11th in 20:50.

Jim Markovich, 31, ran 20:44 for 23rd place.

Will Ellison, 41, ran 18:41 for 28th place at the Kentlands 5K, and Chan Robbins, 70, was an age-group champion in 22:15, 128th overall.

Kristin Dahling, 31, was Arlington's top female finished at the Charm City 20 miler, 68th overall in 2:36:30.

Megamarathoner Dane Rauschenberg, 31, ran 1:28:26 at the Bikila Half Marathon, 10th among men and first in his age group. Grace Chan, 38, was eighth among women and won her age group in 1:43:01.

On Saturday, Wardian, 33, ran 25:22 to win 26th Annual Gary Brown Memorial C&O Canal Five Mile Run in Williamsport, Maryland.

On Sunday, he ran 53:01 to win WaWa 10 Miler at Hartwood in Fredericksburg, more than a minute ahead of second place.

Bruno Fernandez, 30, finished 135th at WaWa in 1:25:13; and Phillip Johnson, 42, was 174th in 1:28:50.

Lyndsey Gunn, 28, won her age group, 107th overall, in 1:21:31. Elizabeth Strickland, 26, struck 257th in 1:42:36; Christine Willett, 46, took 277th in 1:46:00; and Anne-Marie Garcia, 43, ran 1:57:32 for 317th.

Matthew Rodjom, 27, ran 1:04:08 for 30th place. Keith Giles, 31, took 59th in 1:06:39; Will Ellison, 41, was 72nd in 1:07:00; and Naval Academy graduate and former admiral Paul Ryan, 56, cruised into second place 55-59, 91st overall in 1:08:14.

Among women, Katie Sheedy, 24, took sixth in 1:08:49, second 20-24, followed by Monica Grillo, 43, eighth in 1:09:05 and winning her age group. Danielle Messinger, 29, stamped 1:12:05 for 21st place, third 25-29.

Arlington's Rebecca Nathan, 41, won the women's race in 6:19, followed by Grace Chan, 38, also of Arlington, second in 7:00. In the masters' mile, Henry's mom, Kitty Phillips, 42, was first female and second overall in 6:59.

PVTC's last meet of the season is the regional championship Potomac Valley Games, Saturday-Sunday, September 1 and 2, at Langley High. See www.pvtc.org or call 703-481-3530.

Phil Reutlinger, 28, and Jason Weber, 30, both of Arlington, challenged each other for 12.4 miles, finishing in second and third place overall in 1:08:51 and 1:09:14. William Schaffer, 40, took second in his age group, eighth male, in 1:15:59; and Erik Kean, 30, rounded out the top 10 in 1:17:56.

In the accompanying 10K, Matthew Salerno, 26, finished 16th in 36:52, followed by Tom Heinemann, 38, 26th in 38:28; and Paul Steenen, 44, 47th in 41:20.

Sushila Nanda, 46, won a cowbell for finishing third in her age group and 13th among women in 43:40. Kate Abrey, 27, opened up 23rd in 45:56; and Jessica Gunn, 27, targeted 58th in 52:03.

Arlington athletes brought home a slew of second places. Douglas Carl, 31, took second in the mile in 4:53.1. Emily Blagg, 13, snagged second among women in 5:56.5. Neil Fairclough, 50, Arlington, earned silver in the 400m hurdles in 1:09.2. Jeff Spugnardi, 37, pole-vaulted 10 feet, for second, and Alderton' 6.20m (20'4") long jump was the second-farthest of the meet.

The last all-comers meet of the season is Saturday, August 18, and the championship meet is Saturday-Sunday, September 1-2, all at Langley High School. See www.pvtc.org or call 703-481-3530.

David Atkiss, 24, of Centreville won this year's edition in a fast 16:28, despite the heat. 1984 Olympic marathoner John Tuttle, 48, of Villa Rica, Ga., vied for second place for most of the race before dropping back to sixth place in 17:16, behind Greg Holden, 27, of Washington, second in 16:50; Stan Walsh, 20, of Burke, third in 16:58; and Arlington's Joe Racine, 29, fourth in 17:09.

Among women, Mindy Thomas, 23, of Stafford finished first in 18:48, ahead of the defending champion, Arlington's Toni Marie Diegoli, 28, second in 19:39. Abbey Blume, 24, flourished to fifth place in 22:21.

More than a dozen high school and middle school students ran the race, plus at least one elementary school student -- Jamie Fendley, 8, ran 29:05, with his mother Joyce alongside, as his father, Arlington School Board member Ed Fendley, zipped from point to point by bike to cheer for him.

Erick A. Jordan, 37, finished 10th among men in 39:16 at Friends of the W&OD 10K, and Niko Tombras, 28, took 22nd in 45:43.

Kerry Meagher, 23, of Washington, won the women's mile championship in 5:05.8, with Arlington's Mary Christopher, 22, sixth in 5:24.6.

In the masters' (40+) mile, George Buckheit, 50, of Reston ran 4:54.0 to win. Paul Ryan, 56, was Arlington's top finisher in that race, fifth in 5:22.4.

In the 3000-meter (1.86-mile) championship race, Medina turned the tables, winning in 8:56.7, ahead of Rodriguez's 8:59.9. Arlington's Tonya Dodge, 32, won the women's 3K championship in 10:22.7.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, Michael won Rock 'n Run 8K at Fort Hunt Park in 26:32. Arlington's Samantha Kirby, 37, won the women's race in 32:17.

Then Saturday night, at Rockville Rotary Twilighter 8K, he finished 14th in 25:20 in a stellar international field.

Behind him there were Joe Lamonte, 27, 42nd in 26:35; and Chris Farley, 31, 52nd in 26:52.

Toni Diegoli, 28, was Arlington first female finisher, 28th in 31:48. Megan Sowa, 24, took 38th in 32:50; and Jessie Sackett, 28, was 43rd in 33:07.

Mega-marathoner Dane Rauschenberg, 31, proved his versatility by running a 1:03.3 400-meter, and a 5:10.8 mile, good for seventh place. Douglas Carl, 31, finished second in the mile in 4:51.1. Adam Alderton, 33, ran 100 meters in 11.2 -- fifth place in an excellent time -- then ran the 110 meter hurdles in 20.2.

Vaclav Malek, 24, long-jumped 1.93 meters (6'4") for second in that event; and James Barr, 39, took fourth with 1.73m (5'8"). Barr also threw the shot put 12.99m (42'7.5") for second place and won the javelin in 49.05m (160'11"), ahead of Alderton's 47.8m (156'10").

Still to come this season are meets on July 21, August 4, August 18, and the annual championship September 1-2. See www.pvtc.org for a schedule of events.

Toni Marie Diegoli, 28, ran a come-from-behind race, moving from fifth place to first among women in 26:02. Robyn Hoeschen, 26, was sixth in 27:43; and Alissa Bibb, 25, ran 29:07 for ninth place, with her whole family in town from Jericho, Vt.

Behind Osburn in 10th place was Sushila Nanda, 46, finishing in 21:27 and winning her age group. Jill Metzger, 29, was 44th in 25:58.

The next race in the series in Thursday, July 26, at 6:30 pm at Bluemont Park. See www.novarun.com.