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Start of the 2007 Greasy-Gooney 10K
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While a third straight year of iffy race day weather kept "the Shenandoah Valley's most scenic road race" from being quite so scenic, a record crowd still turned up in tiny Browntown, Virginia on Saturday 27 October 2007 for the ninth running of the Greasy-Gooney 10K. Ninety-nine official finishers and three untimed walkers enjoyed comfortable temperatures in the upper 50°s as they made their way around the challenging Gooney Manor Loop. The area had seen rain in the days leading up to the race, but thankfully the precipitation ended a few hours before the 9 AM start. Low clouds lingered behind the rain, however, keeping the nearby Blue Ridge obscured for the balance of the event and robbing the loop of its most scenic views. But there was still plenty of yellow-tinged foliage and quiet rural scenery for the participants to enjoy.
Both of last year's overall winners were unable to participate (with Laura Nelson having moved to Texas and Aaron Schwartzbard running the following day's Marine Corps Marathon), so the top spots were up for grabs. And this year's women's competition proved to be a great one!
Rebecca Nathan & Audrey Ting in the final stretch
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Immediately darting off into the lead was last year's third female finisher, 12-year-old Brittany Pollard of Falling Waters, West Virginia. But as she settled back into a more comfortable pace, Pollard was quickly overtaken by Greasy-Gooney newcomers and training partners Audrey Ting, 30, and Rebecca Nathan, 42, both of Arlington, Virginia.
Nathan, the better uphill runner of the duo, was able to open up a short gap heading up the steep climb to the halfway point. But Ting caught up to Nathan as the course headed downhill back to Browntown, and the race came down to a final kick. In the end, Nathan just managed to get the better of Ting, beating her to the finish by a couple steps in what was the closest finish in the race's history. Nathan also broke the event's open and Masters event records with her 42:03 performance, besting Laura Nelson's 42:16 from last year. And Ting, a member of the DC area's Pacers/Brooks Racing Team, blew away the old women's 30-34 age group record with her 42:04 finish.
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B.J. Connelly
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Pollard hung on nicely to finish third overall for the second straight year, crossing the line in 45:44-- a most impressive achievement given that she was once again the race's youngest participant! Winchester's Tina Genay and Loudoun County's Nancy Andrews were well back for fourth and fifth in 47:46 and 47:55 respectively. Front Royal's B.J. Connelly, 44, was the top female finisher from Warren County with a 1:06:56 finish, beating out Browntown residents Mindy Allman (1:11:16) and Renee O'Connell (1:13:45).
While not as close as the women's competition between Nathan and Ting, the race for the men's win was no blowout either. Martinsburg teenager Khiry Timbers led the field through the opening half mile before being absorbed back into the lead pack, and for the next mile nobody was able to take command of the race. But runners soon began dropping off the pace, and that lead pack was finally whittled down to three: Greasy-Gooney newcomers Andrew Turner and Mark Whalley, and veteran Karsten Brown. Both Turner and Whalley were coming fresh off of the fall high school cross-country season-- Turner, 16, as one of Warren County High School's top runners, and Whalley as the coach of the Fairfax High School squad. Brown, 33, was hoping that his duties as Greasy-Gooney co-race director had not left him too worn out for the race itself.
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Men's winner Andrew Turner and runner-up Mark Whalley (neither looking particularly tired!)
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After the lead was traded a few times, Turner moved to the front early in the third mile, running very smoothly. Whalley settled in behind him during the seemingly interminable climb to the 5K mark, with Brown following a few steps back. But upon reaching the top, Turner was able to use the first quick downhill to open up a small gap, and Whalley in turn was able to gain a small amount of distance on Brown. And that turned out to be it for the men's race. All three remained strong for the final two and a half miles, and neither Whalley nor Brown could make up any ground. Turner took the victory in 36:50, a new event record for the 19 & under age group and the eighth best performance in the event's history. Whalley followed in 36:57 to set a new Masters record for the event. Brown's 37:06 gave him third place overall for the fourth straight year.
Leading the trailing men's pack was last year's runner-up, 25-year-old Charles Bowles, who dropped five seconds off his '06 time to finish in 37:45. Showing an even bigger improvement was fifth place finisher Seumas O'Reilly, 14, whose 38:57 finish was three minutes ten seconds better than last year.
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Water stop volunteer Alyssa Meadows (left) jogs alongside Mike Meadows, Charles "Bunny Ears" Bowles, and Raymond Bollock
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Martinsburg's Mike Meadows, 50, ran an exceptional 39:09 for sixth, setting a new men's 50-54 event record in his first year at Greasy-Gooney.
Also setting an age group record this year was 62-year-old Mary Mayhew of Winchester, who zoomed into Browntown in 58:45-- almost three minutes faster than last year. And although Dixie Engelhaupt may have been the race's final finisher, she also set a new age group record-- as she was the race's first-ever participant in the women's 70 & over division! (Dixie, 70, is clearly in good shape, as she was spotted walking her dog through Browntown later in the day.) Bob Atkins of Winchester would have a new event record if we had an 80 & over division instead of 70 & over; he was this year's oldest participant at 82 years of age.
Adam Jones of Burlington, North Carolina
Andrea Japzon and Kerry McCarthy of Baltimore
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Other notes from this year's Greasy-Gooney: Nobody ran the race in a costume or any sort of silly outfit, so the Most Awkward Race Outfit honors went unclaimed. (The winner would've received an afro wig and a copy of Vogue magazine.) The Most Dressed Like Lord Fairfax award also went unclaimed for the ninth straight year.... Of the twenty-four runners returning from the 2006 event, Dave Mayo of Frederick showed the most improvement, losing almost six minutes from last year to finish in 53:16. Stephan Dobson of Thurmont dropped 5:47 this year to win his age group in 42:35, and Luray's Steven Higgs ran exactly five minutes faster this year for a 44:28 finish.... The four runners who have run every edition of the Greasy-Gooney 10K-- Paul Grosz, Bob Gurtler, Denny Myers, and Brown-- all continued their streaks this year. Colleen Snyder finished her sixth straight Greasy-Gooney, moving into a tie with co-race director Terry Leckie on the all-time finishes list. On the other end of the spectrum, just over two-thirds of the participants were running Greasy-Gooney for the first time.... While fifty of this year's runners hailed from the Shenandoah Valley, the race saw quite a few competitors from well outside the area. Travelling the farthest was Adam Jones of Burlington, North Carolina-- about 200 miles away as the crow flies. Gary Tomberlin came up from Suffolk, Virginia (166 miles away) to visit his brother Guy, who also ran the race. José Velázquez made the trip down from Hanover, Pennsylvania (96 miles away).
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Allan Morris, reaching the finish line at 4:29 PM
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And a group of three came from Baltimore (about 95 miles away)-- Bernadette Hanlon, Andrea Japzon, and Kerry McCarthy.... Pre-registrant Allan Morris of Zuni, VA (157 miles southwest of Browntown) wound up being unable to make it to Browntown on race morning, but he was so determined to run Greasy-Gooney that he drove up in the afternoon just to run the course by himself! He was treated to beautiful weather, and co-race director Brown met him at the finish line with his race t-shirt.
Race directors Brown and Leckie were extremely grateful for the assistance of the event's many volunteers, including registration gurus Nancy Bullock and Kyra Brown; parking coordinators Sam Kertzman, Glenn Luttrell, and Brad Shroades; water stop wizards Lynne Lawrence, Alyssa Meadows, Doug Morris, and Ramona Morris; the finish line crew of Alexander Snyder, Bullock, and Luttrell; and the aforementioned Kyra who handled post-race results. The success and smoothness of this year's race is in large part due to the effort of these great people! Additional help with the race arrangements came from Tom Lacombe, proprietor of O.J. Rudacille's General Merchandise in Browntown. And thanks are owed to the Browntown Community Center and the Browntown Baptist Church for their hospitality.
Next year will be the Greasy-Gooney 10K's tenth anniversary, so we hope we'll see many of you in Browntown on Saturday 25 October 2008! (Bring gifts of tin!)
Mark & Anita Raiford blatantly pander to the photographer |
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Jason Engel & Anna Levy of Howard County, MD |
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Chris Loebs & Don Sybertz talking trash to each other |
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