Damien's Website

Race Director: Ralph Massella

      The 2008 Damien's 5k offered a cash bonus of $500 to anyone breaking the course records of 14:36.8 (men) and 16:37.9 (women), so Silver Spring residents Abiyot Abebe and Hirut Mandefro traveled up to the Columbia Gateway to take a crack at winning the prize. "There was not enough competition," Abiyot admitted through an interpreter after the race. And with a personal 5k best of 14:41, Mr. Abebe certainly had a good shot at the prize. But after the first mile, he had established a quarter mile lead on Tom Williams and Steve Moxey, the core of the Howard County Strider men's racing team. "I came as close as possible to giving up," admitted Williams, who watched Abiyot shrinking smaller and smaller in the distance ahead. Moxey had a slightly different approach. "I just let him go and did my own thing," he said. In the end, Steve outsprinted Tom for second place in 16:27.

      The story repeated itself in the women's competition. Mandefro seized the early lead over local favorites Vanessa Cox and Sari Stenholm and never looked back. She finished in 17:22, over 2½ minutes ahead of her nearest rival and seventh overall in the field of 311 men and women. Not really severe for this time of year in Howard County, the heat and humidity affected Ms. Stenholm, who recently moved from the northern Europe to Columbia, MD. "It isn't like this in Finland!" she said.

      Damien's 5k moved to a new venue this year. Although the basic loop around the Columbia Gateway Industrial Park remained similar, the race began and ended at the COPT building on Columbia Gateway Drive near the Route 175 entrance. The runners also ran clockwise around the loop rather than counter-clockwise, "so we got the 'hill' out of the way at the beginning." A number of runners, the young ones under 40, found the new route favorable for personal records. Greg Orlofsky (18:18), Greg Lepore (20:23), Julie Gessler (20:23 amd fourth woman) and her sisters Amy (23:49) and Becky (24:01) all ran personal 5 kilometer bests. And there may be others.

      Damien's 5k raises funds for promoting awareness of drug abuse by teens, and to that end the event also featured a 1 mile "walk and talk" in which parents and kids could discuss personal issues. The race is directed by Ralph Massella and staged with the assistance of the Howard County Striders and the Howard County Police.

      The overall winners may not have earned the $500 bonuses, but they did take home $200 cash prizes. Age group winners received fleece blankets, which might prove useful in December or maybe January, but we'll have to wait and see about this global warming thing. Damien's 5k provided a sumptuous post-race brunch including assorted fruits, pizza, cold-cut sandwiches, the obligatory bagels and bananas, lots of fresh watermelon, and three trays of simply magnificent home-made cookies, courtesy of Judith Weber, who did NOT stay up late the night before baking them.

By: Jim Carbary