Notes on the 2000 Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Race

A freak snowstorm ended about an hour or so before the 8 am start
of the 28th Annual Nortel Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in West Potomac Park.
The peculiarly bad weather may have caused a depleted field, because many
Republicans didn't show up. Cold and windy conditions held back everyone
except the Kenyans, who ran a near-world-record pace. Far behind the
Africans, Mark Gilmore led the Strider A team with a time around 52
minutes, while Vanessa Cox's sub-63 performance headed the Striderwomen.
Forty-year-old Tom Bowmaster fought off strep throat but not the legendary
Bill Rodgers, who passed him at 7 miles. Using their ChampionChips,
runners could vote Democrat, Independent, or Republican by running over one
of three mats placed about a half mile from the finish. However, mat
placement on a left-hand turn may have favored the Democrats because
runners so close to the finish were loathe to swing wide. "I wasn't going
way over there [right]," protested Vicki Lang, who, at 9 1/2 miles, was in
a sprint-to-the-finish with the 24th woman runner.

The Howard County Men's A Team won the Men's Open Team competition,
beating the five other teams from Montgomery County as well as a talented
group from the Annapolis Striders. The Women's Team finished third,
falling to a team of ringers from Fleet Feet. The Men's Master Team won
its first Cherry Blossom competition, beating the Montgomerians as well as
their compatriots on the Men's B Team!

STRIDERS AT NORTEL CHERRY BLOSSOM 10 MILER
West Potomac Park ~ 9 April 2000 (Chip times)

Mark Gilmore (A) 52:30
Chris Chattin (A) 53:21
Dave Berardi (A) 55:10
Tony Basile (M) 56:29
Tom Bowmaster (M) 56:58
Jim Clelland (M) 56:58
Jon Sushinsky (A) 57:30
Trey Cassidy (B) 58:16
Paul Keating (B) 58:46
Dave Brightwell (B) 1:00:41
Ray Frankewich (B) 1:01:33
Bob Burns (M) 1:01:54
Vanessa Cox (W) 1:02:28
Vicki Lang (W) 1:04:27
Jim Carbary 1:06:36
Janet Jones 1:07:44
Julie Deutschmann (W) 1:09:08
Dave Karlheim 1:09:13
Jim Corbo 1:09:31
Jose Costa 1:09:35
Lisa Coleman 1:09:47
Ed Silverman 1:10:49
Art Morey 1:10:54
Steve Grufferman 1:11:39
Deborah Levine 1:12:29
Yvonne Brach 1:13:09
Steve Alpern 1:13:42
Angie Howell 1:14:28
Ray Lake 1:14:32
Jim Grover 1:15:48
Ken Green 1:17:28
Joe Mirarchi 1:17:54
Barbara Walters 1:18:32
Tom Finucane 1:20:13
Jeffrey Cleveland 1:24:46
Rich Fox 1:24:46
Debbie Grover 1:24:46
Eric Katkow 1:25:29
Kevin McCarthy 1:26:00
Mike Upton 1:26:44
Jill Fritsch 1:27:18
Robin McKenzie 1:27:57
Bill MacCormack 1:30:07
Curtis Dalton 1:30:08
Nancy Burns 1:33:17
John Muth 1:33:34
Bob Bartolo 1:35:04
Dick woods 1:39:38
Linda Ausfresser 1:40:05
Miles Weigold 1:40:43
John Ford 1:41:57
Stacey Ausfresser 1:45:23
Diane Brandt 1:50:01


A,B- men's racing team
M- men's master racing tem
C- women's racing team

Story courtesy of Jim Carbary