Elena Orlova is the first female to cross the finish line with a time of 16:54.
Gurmessa Megerssa of Washington, D.C., finished the race in 14:43. He was closely followed by Joey Wiegner with a time of 14:44 and Tim Schafer who finished the course in 15:24.
Elena Orlova won the female division with a time of 16:54 and earned a USTAF nationally ranked time with her effort. She finished second in 2009.
Kentlands Community Foundation (KCF) Director Bridget Ryder reports there were 1,225 finishers in this year’s 5K event and nearly 300 kids in the Fun Runs. The youngest 5K finisher was four-year old Samuel Somwaru of North Potomac and the oldest finisher was 83-year old Nianxiang Xie of Rockville.
For the past seven years, Ryder has organized and directed the Kentlands 5K as foundation director. Because she is leaving the KCF post to take a new job this month, the KCF Board decided to retire bid #7 and reserve it for her to use whenever she runs the race in the future. She has never actually run the race, she said.
During remarks at the 5K event, Ryder publicly thanked the participants, the Foundation, and all the volunteers “for making the race such a wonderful event in our community.” She specifically thanked the 5K race committee, “which is comprised of amazing volunteers who dedicated countless hours and boundless energy in planning and executing the race to near perfection.”
The 5K committee includes Todd Anderson, Michele Potter, Steve Solbeck, Kelly Callahan, Grace Whipple, Ted Wroth, Nannette Horan, Patti Connell, Kelly Sajonia, Ailene Renzi, Cherine Spurgeon, Robyn Gault, Barbara Ruppert, Charlotte Pellicccia, Rick Hinton, Alex Stavitsky-Zeineddin, Aimee Egloff, Lake Coulson, Trisha Mulligan, Terry Brennan, Chris O’Brien, Phil Quinn, Karen Palman, Kimberly Hall, Denise Clark and Shannon Smith.
According to Ryder, the foundation will host its annual volunteer thank you party on October 1.
“It’s a great way to recognize all the volunteers, give away some raffle prizes, watch a cool slide show from the race itself and just enjoy a nice evening with our neighbors and friends of the foundation,” said Ryder.
The KCF hosts the race each year, along with the city of Gaithersburg, and 50 percent of the proceeds are donated to local charities.
For a first person look at the race, turn to page 4 and see what Town Courier reporter Carrie Dietz thought of the course.