D.C. Runners Keep Moving On Their Own -- Lake Grapevine Runners And Walkers

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Date Posted: 08:07:54 03/24/03 Mon
Author: washingtonpost.com
Subject: D.C. Runners Keep Moving On Their Own
In reply to: washingtonpost.com 's message, "Race Promoter Defends Actions" on 20:08:04 03/22/03 Sat

washingtonpost.com
D.C. Runners Keep Moving On Their Own

By Jim Hage
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, March 24, 2003; Page D03

Refusing to accept cancellation of their race by organizers of the Washington D.C. Marathon, 592 runners ran an unofficial version on city streets yesterday.

With the blessing of the mayor's office and support from area running clubs, metropolitan police, local merchants and running-related commercial organizations -- as well as hundreds of volunteers and supporters who marked the course, directed traffic and distributed drinks -- runners who had trained for months were able to participate in the 26.2-mile run.

Paul Rades, 30, from Silver Spring, and Kevin Kozlowski, 26, also from Silver Spring, tied for first in 2 hours 55 minutes 50 seconds. Rades, while pleased with his win, voiced the sentiments of many runners with his anger over the race organizers' late withdrawal.

"That's a bunch of [nonsense]," Rades said regarding the organizer's claim that security concerns forced cancellation. "I trained four months for this race, and I'm not going to put my life on hold because of some vague terrorist threat."

H2O Entertainment, an entertainment and marketing company, stood by its decision. "We were concerned with the safety and security of the runners," said Angela Casey, a company spokesperson. "This has been a tough time for us. We're glad no one was hurt today."

Renee Butler, 42, from Glen Echo, was the top woman in 3:38.

"It was very nice, all fun," Butler said. "Time-wise, it's not great. But there was no stress and I'm just glad we were able to run."

Faith Korbel, 24, from the District, finished second in 3:44. "I was absolutely disappointed when they canceled," said Korbel, a first-time marathoner. "But when I heard they were doing this [unofficial marathon], I was too excited not to run."

The weather -- 50 degrees at the start with light breezes -- was good for a long run, but the entrants lined up at the start near Memorial Bridge were unsure of what to expect when moving through Northeast Washington, across Potomac river bridges and into Anacostia.

"It got a little lonely out there," Kozlowski said of the sparse crowds and minimal traffic control. "Things weren't too bad at the intersections. But the volunteers were really good, very supportive. It was kind of fun."

Runners, who ordinarily race in the streets, ran primarily on sidewalks or competed for space on the roads with Sunday morning traffic. An absence of mile markers and split times made pacing for many a challenge.

Ryan Ozimek, 25, co-founder of a technology consulting company, said he never intended to recreate the marathon when he created a Web site Thursday for an alternative run.

"But things really took off. By Friday we had an executive committee and we were Marathon Central," Ozimek said. "We're very pleased at how smoothly this has all come about."

Bob Schneider, 26, from College Park, was one of the first to raise the notion of an alternative marathon. "Support has been incredible," said Schneider, who finished fifth. "All we were trying to do was turn something negative into something positive."

� 2003 The Washington Post Company

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