RACE REPORT – CHERRY BLOSSOM

Wx – Ideal; Clear skies, sunny and 52 degrees at time of gun. 7:40am.

The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler is probably my favorite race. It’s the biggest race in the DC area (though not necessarily in size) and it is run at the nicest time of year. I’ve been training for said race since last autumn by focusing on my speed (raced 3 hard 5ks – 15:12, 14:58, and 15:07). My goal this year was to run the first 5 in 25:45 by running even splits (5:09) and then seeing how I felt at the halfway mark. This should feel “easy”. I also peaked at 100 miles a week and averaged around 80 for about 2.5 months. I’ve been tapering for two weeks.

The gun went off and I gradually made my way to the right to minimize the distance I needed to run to the first curb. The pace felt hot and there were a lot of people in front of me; most of the usual suspects plus some other friendly faces. After about a half mile I made a small surge and tucked in next to teammate Kyle Smits. He and I battled most of the race last year and I knew he’d be an ideal person to pace off of. Bert Rodriquez and former GRC-buddy Joe Wiegner (Wiggy) were just ahead. I saw the first mile clock and we appeared to be fast. 5:03.. I relaxed and told myself that all was okay, just keep going. As we turned and made our way across the Memorial Bridge and into Virginia. I could see Robert E. Lee’s home sitting in the sun atop Arlington Cemetery. Pay attention.

The weather was cooler down near the Potomac River and I shivered just a little as we crossed the bridge. Bert and a runner I had never seen before, hereinafter known as “the Stranger”, galloped a couple of seconds ahead of Smits and I. Izzy Mehmedovic cruised on my shoulder. We hit mile 2 in a comfortable 10:13. Now this was more like it! 5:10s! Our pack of three had caught Wiggy, Bert and the Stranger around this time. When Wiggy saw or heard the 2 mile time, he bolted ahead.. “Too slow”, he must have thought. We answered his surge and together the six of us crossed back into DC soil and made our way up towards the Watergate. Ahead of us was were ‘Nova grad Jon Fasulo and the lanky Wilson Komen (47:55 CB PR!!). We had our targets. The Stranger and Wiggy pushed the pace towards mile 3. Bert, Smits and I sat back. Izzy was a few seconds in our wake. We turned the hairpin under the Kennedy Center and then began to race. Some took the turn wide, others took it tight. The Stranger made a move and we followed. I came alongside Wiggy and he acknowledges me with a “hey Jake”. I coughed up the word “Wiggy” and tried to hang on. We hit mile 3 in 15:16 (5:03).. We were cruising but my legs felt strong; super strong. “Dish it out Stranger, I can take it”. We ran single file towards mile 4 and as soon as I noticed our leader making a move, I surged past Wiggy so that I could be there to answer it. Our pack of 6 was now 4.

Together we rolled through mile 4 in 20:20. I did some elementary math and realized we were cruising. I was much faster than I wanted to be, but I felt excellent. I have felt excellent, even invincible (!), in the past early on in races so I didn’t want any false hope. Relax…I had to relax. I hit mile 5 in 25:29…well under my halfway goal time of 25:45. I had bought a ticket on this bus at mile 1, now it was time to ride it out.. We had a great pack going and I didn’t want to commute to the finish alone. The bus was speeding, but I was content. I knew now I would set a huge PR, so long as my stomach cooperated. Deep, down, somewhere in the back of my stomach I felt a cramp…then a burning feeling. I had felt it for a couple of miles, but it wasn’t severe. I started to get a little psyched out; I was running the race of my life and it could come crashing down if my stomach crumbled. Please stomach, leave me be. I will be your slave if you relent. Leave me be please. Gibberish, it was all gibberish. My trio of friends began to pull away…but slowly.

I made the conscious effort to NOT go with them. This was a tough choice and one I contemplate the morning after. My legs felt great but I let them go out of fear my stomach would rebut. I didn’t want to end up strung out on Haines Point with stomach issues. However, it should be noted that I did not have bad stomach pains yet. But I relented out of fear I could. I was running on my red line.

The Cherry Blossoms were in full bloom and Haines Point was eerily quiet.. No wind. Ahead of me, Bert surged and surged and surged and tried to out maneuver those in his wake. Bert is the King of Haines Point. I hit mile 6 in 30:36 and then 10k in 31:44 (my second fastest 10k time ever). My legs were rearing to go. They felt strong, but my stomach was another story. I was not in any pain, but I didn’t want to be. I would wait until mile 8 and then go…

Mile 7 was long and mile 8 was short so I had no help in terms of splits, but I knew I wasn’t losing much ground. I could see my trio of friends ahead of me battling and surging. They were still within site, but it would take a Herculean effort to catch them. Suddenly, I heard footsteps. Good God, I WAS slowing down! “Hey big dog, let’s go”. I was shocked to see someone else in my no-man’s-land, but was happy it was Aaron Church. Church had recently run 2:27 low at the Disney World Marathon and had whipped me at the Jingle Bell 10k in December. We had battled there and I knew he’d be a good guy to run into the finish with. His encouragement gave me new fight.. I said “don’t wait Church” but he wasn’t going to be persuaded. He talked and talked and told me to focus on streets signs ahead of us and on the Washington Monument. “That is home”, he said, motioning towards the monument. The monument boomed ahead. Home. I wanted to get home. Church said he needed me as much as I needed him, but I think he was being kind. Church ducked in behind me as I pushed ahead. Mile 9 passed in a blur…now it was time to let it all out. “Okay” I told myself, “let’s kick it in”. I dropped my head and told myself I had only 5 minutes left to race. Damn the stomach, full speed ahead. My legs responded with a furry and I rolled up towards the monument. Too good, I feel too good. I need to exhaust my legs and leave EVERYTHING on the streets. With 800m, I began a long hard kick towards the finish line. I couldn’t hear Church anymore but with a ¼ mile to go, I turned and motioned for Church to come up along with me. It was the least I could do. He had saved me. I could see the lanky Wilson, Fasulo and my trio of friends, but they were well ahead. Then I saw the clock and drived towards the line. I looked up and saw the clock - 51:20, 21, 22, 23. Push!

I dipped under 51:30 and eeked out a 51:29; a 57 second PR! This was a huge race for me. I finished 26th and was the 8th American. Last year I ran 68 seconds slower and finished 23rd. Bert, the Stranger (Joey Zins) and Smits had run epic races and bested me by 20 seconds in the last 4 miles of the race. It was an honor to battle them for as long as I did and I wish I could have stayed with them...my only regret.. The great news is that my legs felt super strong for the entire race.. I have definitely turned a page in my training this spring. My long term training plan I set in motion last fall has worked out perfectly.

It is now time to race and I am going to race until my legs come off. Next up is the Pikes Peek 10k in 3 weeks followed by the Broad Street Run (10 Miles) in Philly. If I still have something in me, I will try and set an 8k PR in May.

Place Div /Tot Num Name Ag Hometown Gun Tim Net Tim Pace


1 1/1412 1 Ridouane Harroufi 27 45:56 45:56# 4:36
2 1/62 9 Feyisa Liesa 19 Ethiopia 45:58 45:58# 4:36
3 1/1259 13 Silas Sang 31 Kenya 45:59 45:59# 4:36
4 2/1412 29 Karim El Mabchour 26 46:00 46:00# 4:36
5 3/1412 81 Stephen Chemlany 26 Kenya 46:06 46:06# 4:37
6 1/393 83 Cosmas Koech Kimuati 23 Kenya 46:08 46:08# 4:37
7 2/393 17 Philemon Terer 24 Kenya 46:28 46:28# 4:39
8 2/1259 19 Samuel Ndereba 32 Kenya 46:58 46:58# 4:42
9 4/1412 7 Kiplimo Kimutai 27 Kenya 47:03 47:03# 4:43
10 1/1036 25 Lee Troop 36 Australia 47:43 47:43# 4:47
11 5/1412 33 Eric Chirchir 25 Kenya 47:54 47:54# 4:48
12 3/393 23 Patrick Kipkemo Cherui 21 Kenya 47:56 47:56# 4:48
13 4/393 51 Lewis Nyariki 20 Kenya 47:56 47:56# 4:48
14 6/1412 43 Jason Hartman 28 Boulder CO 48:03 48:03# 4:49
15 3/1259 35 Jason Lehmkuhle 31 Minneapolis MN 48:04 48:04# 4:49
16 4/1259 85 Augustus Mbusya 32 Kenya 48:05 48:05# 4:49
17 7/1412 79 Mike Morgan 29 48:06 48:06# 4:49
18 8/1412 47 Naoto Morimoto 25 48:13 48:13# 4:50
19 9/1412 45 Mitinori Takano 27 50:14 50:14 5:02
20 10/1412 63 Teklu Tefera Deneka 29 Ethiopia 50:20 50:20 5:02
21 11/1412 105 Jon Fasulo 27 Ardmore PA 50:42 50:42 5:05
22 5/1259 67 Wilson Komen 31 Kenya 50:59 50:59 5:06
23 12/1412 107 Bert Rodriguez 29 Arlington VA 51:07 51:07 5:07
24 6/1259 111 Kyle Smits 30 Baltimore MD 51:11 51:11 5:08
25 3/1412 293 Joey Zins 29 Indiana PA 51:14 51:14 5:08
26 14/1412 113 Jake Klim 28 N Bethesda MD 51:31 51:29 5:09
27 7/1259 109 Aaron Church 33 South Riding VA 51:36 51:34 5:10
28 1/859 115 Ray Pugsley 40 Potomac Falls VA 52:10 52:08* 5:13
29 8/1259 428 Steve Imig 32 Geneva IL 52:24 52:17 5:14
30 5/393 440 Izzy Mehmedovic 24 Columbia MD 52:47 52:45 5:17
31 6/393 435 Lewis Butler 24 Arlington VA 52:59 52:56 5:18
32 15/1412 456 Daniel Yifru 28 Stoughton MA 53:09 53:06 5:19
33 16/1412 112 Patrick Hynes 26 Brooklyn NY 53:11 53:08 5:19
34 17/1412 126 Diego Miralles 26 College Park MD 53:14 53:10 5:19
35 7/393 120 Patrick Murphy 24 Washington DC 53:14 53:12 5:20
36 18/1412 430 Jason Dwyer 29 Arlington VA 53:24 53:21 5:21
37 8/393 455 Brian Lang 22 Philadelphia PA 53:33 53:30 5:21
38 19/1412 131 Sam Blasiak 29 N Potomac MD 53:50 53:47 5:23
39 9/393 119 Dylan Keith 24 Arlington VA 54:05 54:02 5:25
40 20/1412 453 Carlos Renjifo 26 Columbia MD 54:15 54:07 5:25
41 21/1412 551 Patrick Murray 25 Washington DC 54:12 54:09 5:25
42 2/1036 135 Randy McDermott 37 Alexandria VA 54:22 54:19* 5:26
43 22/1412 128 Dave Miller 25 Leesburg VA 54:31 54:28 5:27
44 9/1259 122 Chris Bain 31 Rockville MD 54:53 54:50 5:29
45 10/1259 1079 David Ohara 33 Washington DC 54:55 54:52 5:30
6 1/576 129 Dan Boyle 45 Manhattan KS 54:58 54:56* 5:30
47 2/576 1745 Chris McDonald 49 South Riding VA 55:04 55:04* 5:31
8 11/1259 563 Joe Racine 30 Arlington VA 55:26 55:20 5:32
9 23/1412 125 Billy Askey 26 Arlington VA 55:34 55:31 5:34
50 1/466 137 John Tuttle 50 Villa Rica GA 55:44 55:42* 5:35
51 3/576 9783 Barry Creech 45 Vienna VA 1:11:41 55:58* 5:36
52 12/1259 489 Morgan Thompson 30 Long Island City NY 56:05 55:58 5:36
53 2/62 284 Matthew Knott 18 Smithtown NY 56:16 56:10 5:37
54 3/1036 454 James McQuade 39 New York NY 56:26 56:23 5:39
5 4/1036 123 Pekka Stenholm 36 Columbia MD 56:31 56:23 5:39
6 24/1412 484 Arjun Majumdar 25 Baltimore MD 56:28 56:25 5:39
57 25/1412 490 Chris Johnson 27 Washington DC 56:37 56:28 5:39
58 13/1259 480 Brad Weiss 34 Ny NY 56:35 56:32 5:40
59 3/62 619 Kenneth Siu 18 N Potomac MD 56:48 56:37 5:40
60 2/859 559 Nicholas Haffenreffer 42 Washington DC 56:44 56:42 5:41