Yuma Ikangaa, the great Tanzanian marathoner, remarked once that the “the will to win means nothing without the will to prepare,” and the racing teams from Falls Road certainly ascribed to that philosophy in their decisive victory at the RRCA 10-Mile Challenge last Sunday in Columbia, MD.  Deciding they would motivate themselves during the winter by training specifically for this team event, the Falls Road runners not only did the obligatory speedwork (twice a week at Gilmore High School), but they traveled all the way from Baltimore to practice on the actual 10-Mile Challenge course.  They did this three times in the weeks before the race, once when it was raining.  They also marked the course for distance and tactical advantages.  

         The nine other teams (for only teams were allowed to compete) never stood a chance.  Lead by Conrad Laskowski (52:55) and Nathan Brigham (53:04) on the men’s team and Christy Ramsey (1:01:36) and Megan DeGregorio (1:02:53) on the women’s, Falls Road Running handily won the men’s, women’s, and combined team competitions, beating local favorite Howard County by over 100 points in the combined category. The men’s race started out from the Community College with a lead group that turned the first miles between 5:20 and 5:30.  Consisting of half a dozen runners from Falls Road plus Carlos Renjifo, captain of the Strider team, this group remained intact for nearly seven miles, winding south through Columbia and then rolling through the hills of the Allview community.  “We were working the ups and the downs,” Conrad said, “some pulling us up and others pushing the down.”  Exhausted by the hillwork, the band fragmented on the flats after seven miles.  That’s when Laskowski and Brigham achieved “separation.”  Renjifo hung with them as long as he could, but then fell back to finish third (53:20).  The story was much the same in the women’s competition.  Christy assumed an early lead, but her teammate Megan caught her around four miles, but couldn’t pass.  Ramsey eventually pulled away and went intermittently out of sight after the hills near mile 7.  “I like a rolling course,” Ms. Ramsey said.  The Howard County Striders salvaged some amount of pride by at least finishing second in the team categories, an in third place among the teams was the surprising RASAC (Renaissance All-Sports Athletic Club).  “It’s the highest we’ve ever finished,” one RASAC runner enthused.  At least Howard County did achieve some measure of distinction by registering more members for the race (208) than any other club.  
    
      The locals did enjoy a few other bright spots in the gloom of defeat.  However improbable on the difficult course, four of them celebrated personal 10-mile records: Amanda An (1:12:40, by six minutes!), Greg Lepore (1:08:52), Conner McIntyre (1:05:10), and Michael Mbugi (1:09:05).  Unsong Ostrowski, the first woman finisher for Howard County, completed her first 10-mile race (1:05:30), with a little pacing help from the old veteran Tunde Morakinyo.  A total of 680 completed the grueling 10-Miler, which serves as the official Maryland 10-Mile Team Challenge event of the Road Runners Club of America.  It was the largest field in the history of the event, which dates to the early 1980’s.  Although all finishers received painter’s gloves and all the GoGurt and bagels they could eat, there was not much in the way of awards: trophies for the overall winners, the men’s and women’s teams, and big, ungainly “world’s ugliest trophy” for the combined team championship.  This trophy has come down through the ages like the Stanley Cup.  You can view it at the Falls Road Running Store. 

      The 10-Mile Challenge was directed by Richard Bernstein in his final year as director.  The 10 Mile Challenge is staged each February, weather permitting, by the Howard County Striders.  The Striders wish to thank the Howard County Police, the dozens of course volunteers, the finish line and scoring crews, and the Howard Community College, which provided a venue for the race.