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Start of the 2004 Greasy-Gooney 10K
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After six years, the Greasy-Gooney 10K remains one of northern Virginia's best-kept racing secrets. Just twenty-nine runners (and two dogs) showed up this year for what is easily the most scenic road race in the Shenandoah Valley. Held at the peak of the fall foliage season in the southern Warren County village of Browntown, the race follows two stream valleys through the foothills of the Blue Ridge, affording runners many views of the mountains in the nearby Shenandoah National Park. The scenery comes at a price, however. The first half of the course is uphill, ascending nearly 500 vertical feet through the Greasy Run valley-- with 210 of those feet coming in the steep half mile before the halfway point. After that, runners are treated to three fast downhill miles through the Gooney Run valley-- not necessarily a good thing either, as this writer's sore quadriceps and hips can attest!
Women's winner Mary Rice
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Michelle VanHorn, third female overall
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Three-time Greasy-Gooney champion Monika Bracken entered the race as the women's favorite, but 28-year-old Mary Rice of Winchester pulled off a surprising upset. Rice, last year's third place woman, opened up enough of a gap early to prevent Bracken from catching up in the second half of the course. Rice's time of 44:57 was the fourth fastest women's time in Greasy-Gooney history. The 39-year-old Bracken, who lives in Rappahannock County on the opposite side of the Blue Ridge, strode in for second place twenty-four seconds later. Third place went to 23-year-old Michelle VanHorn of Harpers Ferry, WV, setting a new event record for women 20-24 with a 49:20 performance. The top woman 40 or over was Ann Robb, 41, finishing with husband Tom in a leisurely 56:22, while Cheryl Harrison (59:35) was the fastest runner from Warren County. (Harrison noted afterwards that her dog Casey was the top female canine finisher, with Mary Deppa's dog Bill being the top male dog!)
Top three fellas: Raymond Bollock, Benjamin Veilleux, Karsten Brown
Top three ladies: Monika Bracken (2nd), Mary Rice (1st), Michelle VanHorn (3rd)
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No past Greasy-Gooney men's winners showed up this year, so first overall was left wide open for 39-year-old Raymond Bollock of Winchester. Bollock quickly trotted past initial leader James Rice and pulled so far ahead of the rest of the field that he was able to take a brief walking break during the difficult third mile. Front Royal's Karsten Brown, 29, worked hard to establish himself in second place early in the third mile, but Berryville 14-year-old Benjamin Veilleux zoomed by him at the three mile mark and never looked back, focusing squarely on Bollock. One of the Shenandoah Valley's top middle school runners, Veilleux flew down the second half of the course, but in the end he ran out of room to catch Bollock. Bollock won the men's competition in 38:40, with Veilleux falling short by twenty-four seconds. Brown stayed steady and earned third in 40:19. Bill Stahr, 43, of The Plains, just missed catching 2001 Greasy-Gooney runner-up Patrick Gladden for fourth place, but Stahr wound up as the top male Masters finisher in 41:32 (setting a Greasy-Gooney age group record for men 40-44 in the process).
For the second year in a row, Linden's Colleen Snyder was among the race's most improved runners. The 48-year-old's 1:12:13 performance was 2:08 faster than her 2003 finish. Also showing a significant improvement was third male finisher Brown, losing 2:07 off his 2003 time. But it was Mary Rice who benefitted the most from an improved time, with the 1:51 she
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Patrick Gladden ahead of Bill Stahr
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dropped from her 2003 finish enabling her to beat three-time champ Bracken for the overall women's victory. Meanwhile, the list of runners who have finished every Greasy-Gooney 10K dwindled to five-- Brown, Paul Grosz, Bob Gurtler, Terry Leckie, and Denny Myers. Fifteen finishers were running the race for the first time.
Joe Bernazani
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Patrick Farris, who came up with the idea for the Greasy-Gooney 10K while touring the beautiful back roads of Warren County in 1999, announced that he intends to step down as race director next year. Farris' enthusiasm is one of the reasons the race has been a local favorite, so he deserves a great deal of thanks for all his efforts over the years! (Proceeds from Greasy-Gooney will benefit the Warren Heritage Society, of which Farris is the executive director.) Thanks as well to this year's Greasy-Gooney volunteer crew, consisting of Brown, Leckie, and Joe Bernazani. Brown and Leckie will likely be next year's Greasy-Gooney 10K race directors, so they hope the secret of the Greasy-Gooney 10K gets out by Saturday 22 October 2005!
(Special thanks to Tom & Jean Lacombe, owners of O.J. Rudacille's General Store in Browntown, for their assistance and for donating two coupons for free Christmas trees from their tree farm.)
Awards ceremony panorama (click image for a large 1900 x 400 version) |
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