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Third Annual Greasy-Gooney 10K, Saturday 27 October 2001
Overall Results  •  Awards & Age Groups  •  Race Report

2001 Race Report
  Start of the third annual Greasy-Gooney 10K
Start of the 2001 Greasy-Gooney 10K
 
Forty-two runners were greeted by temperatures around 40° and a chilly breeze as they arrived in downtown Browntown, VA on Saturday 27 October 2001 for the third annual running of the Greasy-Gooney 10K. Perhaps nervous energy was keeping them warm as they trotted three-quarters of a mile down Bentonville-Browntown Road to the starting line. After all, they would soon be facing three solid miles of uphill running! Exactly half of the participants would be experiencing the hills of southern Warren County for the first time.

Patrick Farris and son Alexander Farris
Patrick & Alexander
 
 
With eight-month-old son Alexander in his arms, race director and event creator Patrick Farris attempted to assuage all fears and keep the mood lighthearted before the start. Patrick gave the runners some last minute instructions, and then pulled out the official starting device-- a cylindrical noisemaker which lets out a "moo" when turned upside down. While the "moo" was nearly impossible to hear, at least it kept the runners from having to endure the yodel with which Patrick started the '99 and '00 races!

The participants quickly reached the first and only turn of the course, heading up the gravel Gooney Manor Loop. Although the much-heralded fall foliage of the Shenandoah Valley had passed its peak, the rolling scenery in the foothills of the Blue Ridge was still impressive, helping to keep everyone's minds off of the hills-- until the course grew steeper in the third mile, anyway! More than one runner was slowed to a walk by the nearly relentless ascent to the halfway point. But soon the course crossed over from the small Greasy Run valley to the equally small Gooney Run valley, and as the cliché goes, it was all downhill from there.

  Monika Bracken cooling down after the race
Women's winner Monika Bracken
 
First-time Greasy-Gooney runner Monika Bracken, 36, has experience with difficult courses. In 2000 she was the women's winner of the area's other mountainous 10K race, the Fodderstack 10K, over on the other side of the Blue Ridge in her home county of Rappahannock. After finishing this year's Greasy-Gooney 10K, she opined that the course was a little easier than Fodderstack's, since one gets the hills out of the way early. Monika had an easy time nabbing the women's victory, smashing Ruth Riemenschneider's course record with a strong 43:27 finish!

Although 26-year-old Katherine Lowery, another Greasy-Gooney newbie, finished nearly two and a half minutes behind Monika, her 45:54 runner-up result was still the third fastest women's performance in the race's history. Third overall among the women went to last year's runner-up, Heather Kremer, who ran a 47:46. And Clarke County High School sophomore Anna Lawrence, 15, finished fourth with her second-best 10K performance ever! Her 50:52 was just one minute off of her personal best.

Eric Chandler approaching the finish
Men's winner Eric Chandler
 
 
The men's competition saw the return of the top three men from the inaugural Greasy-Gooney 10K in 1999, plus some fast newcomers to put them to the test. And despite the best efforts of the old champs, one of the newcomers, 27-year-old Eric Chandler, was the first runner to arrive back in Browntown! Eric's 35:27 was forty seconds short of Frank Curiel's course record, but it was still the second best men's performance in the race's three years of existence. The next finisher did not cross the line for another minute and a half.

The top three guys from the 1999 race took the next three men's spots. Shepherd College's Patrick Gladden, 21, improved on his third place finish in '99 to take second this year in an impressive 36:59. Course record holder and '99 champ Frank Curiel, 35, was not at his peak training levels this year and took third in 38:01. This was enough to hold off inveterate hill-walker Mark Vann, also 35 years old, by seventeen seconds. The fifth runner to break 40 minutes this year was Charles "Chuck" Bowles, whose 38:28 performance was believed to be a 10K personal best for him!

  Elizabeth Scholder
Elizabeth Scholder
 
Warren County's own Elizabeth Scholder showed the most improvement this year. Although she finished fifth among women in both 2000 and 2001, her 51:29 finish this year was an improvement of two minutes thirty-three seconds over her 2000 time. Myron Kremer dropped his finish time by 1:16 this year, and Patrick Gladden ran 1:11 faster than he did in '99.

Still unclaimed is the prestigious "Most Dressed Like Lord Fairfax" Award, with no runner sporting finery even remotely resembling that which the nearby land's one-time owner might have worn. We're still waiting for race director Farris, a history teacher, to show up clad as Lord Fairfax one of these years. Meanwhile, local eccentric Karsten Brown continued his undefeated streak in the competition for the "Most Awkward Race Outfit" Award-- this year his race-day attire included a dress shirt, tie, and lab coat. What a weirdo.

Gathered in Browntown for the awards ceremony
The awards ceremony in Browntown
 
 
As always, the race benefitted the Warren County High School cross-country team, and many of the enthusiastic teens were on hand to help at water stops, at the finish line, and at the awards ceremony. A number of the random prizes handed out at the awards ceremony came from O.J. Rudacille's General Store right there in Browntown. Extra special thanks to the store's owners, Tom & Jean Lacombe, for their hospitality and generosity! We'd also like to thank the Browntown Baptist Church for parking, along with the people of Browntown for putting up with all the runners. We hope everyone will be as welcoming when the Greasy-Gooney 10K returns for its fourth running on Saturday 26 October 2002!


Third Annual Greasy-Gooney 10K, Saturday 27 October 2001
Overall Results  •  Awards & Age Groups  •  Race Report


The Greasy-Gooney 10K Web pages are maintained by Karsten Brown.