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The race started and finished in the parking lot of the Plaza. The course was through the surrounding neighborhood with several rolling hills of short durations. The fog held the temperature down to the low 60s, close to ideal.
Off the start line, a pack of eight men headed around the outer perimeter. Kyle Smits of Washington was pushing an early pace to open a 50 meter gap and no one was rushing to close in. The trailing pack included Ben Cooke of Silver Spring, Md., sixth place in 2002 with 24:23, and Ovidiu Olteanu of Romania, the National Champion at 5000 meters in 2000 and 2002 and he competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The record holder (23:34), Sammy Ng'eno of Kenya along with teammate Joseph Mwai were trailing. Smits pushed through the first mile in 4:53 with the pack at 4:56.
Into the second mile (9:53, split of 4:57) Julius Gwako was joined by Ng'eno and Araya Haregot as the lead shifted. Smits was being consumed by the pack and was falling to the rear. A half mile later, Mwai joined the front ranks as the pace quickened.
The lead females were Olga Romanova, the 2003 winner of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler and teammate Tatyana Chulakh. In close contact was Denisa Costescu of Romania, the spouse of Olteanu. The three went through the first mile 5:30.
At mile three (14:33, split of 4:40), the once pack of eight was cut down to four, David Kipngetich of Kenya (2002 fourth place 24:11) was in the lead with Mwai and Ng'eno and Cooke had faded to fourth place. The pack of three passed mile four in 19:30 (split of 4:57).
The finish line was in sight as Mwai, Cooke and Kipncetch all broke out for the last 400 meters; it was down to the kick to claim the $600. Mwai took first in 23:56 followed by Cooke in 23:58, the closet in the history of the race. Kipncetch was third in 24:06 followed by Ng'eno in fourth in 24:16.
The women's finish was just as exciting as three hit the final 400 meters, the three were under record time for a new event bonus of $100. Romanova proved to be the stronger and clocked 26:52 and collected $600 for first plus the bonus. Chulakh was second in 26:55 followed by Costescu in 27:09. The old record was set in 1999 (27:20) by three-time winner Naoko Ishibe of Silver Spring, Md.
The fourth place finisher was Christina Wells of Woodbridge, Va., in 27:22. In 2002, Wells ran 2:45:27 at the Anthem Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and the Chicago Marathon in 2:40:23. Fifth place was Marie Elena Calle of Richmond, Va., in 28:14.
Timothy Schuler of Chambersburg, Pa., was the first master in 26:16 (10th), followed by Joe Abernethy of Berwyn, Pa., with a 26:40. The third master was Dave Berardi of Baltimore, Md., in 26:42. Berardi was the master winner in 2002 (26:45).
The female master winner was Donna Moore Silver Spring, Md., with 30:38 followed by Laura Freix of Team Pacers/New Balance in 30:46. In 2002, Moore finished in 31:06 to 31:22 for Freix. Vanessa Cox of Laurel, Md., was third in 31:46. In 2001, Cox was fourth master in 31:38.
The top four teams were running after $800 ($275-225-175-125) in prize money. Team Pacers/New Balance of Old Town Alexandria were crushed last year, but came back this year to claim the cash with a total time of the four scoring runners in 1:51:02 (average time of 27:46). The members: Michael Wardian (24:49), Chris Farley (25:47), Jacqueline Concaugh (29:40) and Laura Friex (30:46).
Metro Run and Walk were second in 1:52:48 (average 28:12). The third team was the All Stars with a time of 1:57:51 (average 29:28). PGRC Last Call was fourth in 2:06:54 (average 31:44). There were a total of 16 teams.
Top Males Pl Name 1 Joseph Mwai 20 23:56 Kenya $600 2 Ben Cooke 26 23:58 Silver Spring, MD $450 3 David Kipncetch 28 24:06 Kenya $300 4 Sammy Ng'eno 29 24:16 Kenya $200 5 Julius Gwako 29 24:36 Kenya $100 6 Kyle Smits 24 24:42 Washington, DC $75 Top Masters 1 Timothy Schuler 40 26:16 Chambersburg, PA $400 2 Joe Abernethy 44 26:40 Berwyn, MD $350 3 Dave Berardi 44 26:42 Baltimore, MD $250 4 Gregory Cauller 44 26:57 York, PA $150 5 Dan Lawson 48 26:58 Gaithersburg, MD $75 Top Females 1 Olga Romanova 23 26:52 Russia $600 + $100 CR 2 Tatyana Chulakh 21 26:55 Russia $450 3 Denisa Costescu 27 27:09 Romania $300 4 Christina Wells 28 27:22 Woodbridge, VA $200 5 Marie Elena Calle 28 28:14 Richmond, VA $100 6 Samia Akbar 22 28:27 Washington, DC Top Masters 1 Donna Moore 43 30:38 Silver Spring, MD $400 2 Laura Freix 42 30:46 Centreville, VA $350 3 Vanessa Cox 42 31:46 Laurel, MD $250 4 Patricia Keating 42 31:51 Dayton, MD $150 5 Patricia Zerfas 41 32:17 Kensington, MD $75 The following age group winners received $50 1st 50-59 Chuck Moeser 52 27:03 Sterling, VA Jane Godfrey 54 37:19 Silver Spring, MD 1st 60-69 Ben Dyer 60 31:45 St. Petersburg, VA Judith Gilbert 60 39:18 Stevenson, MD 1st 70-79 Jack McMahon 72 38:40 Rockville, MD Kay Morrison 77 56:48 Rockville, MD 1st 80+ Walt Washburn 80 48:37 Vienna, VA 1st Place Team $175 Team Pacers/New Balance (Wardian, Farley, Concaugh, Freix). 1:51:02 Average Time 27:46 2nd Place Team - $225 Metro Run & Walk (Schmidt, General, Harvey, Waite) 1:52:48 Average Time 28:12 3rd Place Team - $175 All Stars (Moeser, Poulos, Thomas, Donovan) 1:57:51 Average Time 29:28 4th Place Team - $125 PGRC Last Call (Nelson, Dorland, O’Neill, Toth) 2:06:54 Average Pace 31:44
Televised race coverage was provided on CTV Channel 76. The Outback Steakhouse 8K and 2 Mile Walk is sponsored by the City of Hyattsville Recreation Department and the Outback Steakhouse in partnership with Prince George’s Plaza and others.
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