Taste of Annandale 5K draws a record crowd
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| The top male winners in the Taste of Annandale 5K (from the left): Todd Greenwood, overall winner Mark Naylor, and Sam Le. Mason Supervisor Penny Gross (right) presented medals to all the 5K winners. |
Mark Naylor won the Taste of Annandale 5K Race for the second year in a row. The 35-year-old Annandale resident had a clock time of 18:11.9 in the Oct. 13 5K, which was a key part of the Taste of Annandale street festival.
The top female runner was Rachel Kuprenas, 25, of Annandale, with a clock time of 20:10.3.
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| From the left: Sashila Nanda, Maera Busa, Rachel Kuprenas, and Penny Gross. |
The race drew more than 130 runners, making it the most well-attended Taste of Annandale 5K ever. The course started and ended in the Kmart parking lot and headed along Columbia Pike and through the trails in Mason District Park.
PR Performance Fitness led warm-up exercises for the runners and Orangetheory Fitness provided water and snacks after the race.
Here are the results:
Overall winners – male
1. Mark Naylor, 35, Annandale, 18:11.9
2. Sam Le, 39, 18:16.1
3. Todd Greenwood, 36, 18:46.8
Overall winners – female
1. Rachel Kuprenas, 25, Annandale, 20:10.3
2. Maera Busa, 32, 22:08.3
3. Sashila Nanda, 57, 22:31.4
Age group winners
Under 9
Male: Donovan Ferguson, 5, 34:50.7
Female: Allison Lara Menjivar, 8, Arlington, 33:50.4
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| Donovan Ferguson, age 5, won in the under 9 category. |
10-14
Male: Adam Syar, 11, Annandale, 24:30.4
Female: Ashley Garcia, 13, 40:13.6
15-18
Male: Tyler Mendez, 18, 20:32.8
Female: Sloane Bailey, 15, 40:13.6
19-29
Male: Alexander Gutierrez, 25, Annandale, 21:44.7
Female: Selena Chea, 23, Annandale, 23:14.1
30-39
Male: Duane Novotni, 39, Fairfax, 19:01.9 (fourth place overall)
Female: Amy Servas, 31, Falls Church, 23:04.3
40-49
Male: Adam Stenberg, 48, Alexandria, 20:19.4
Female: Daniela Raik, 42, Annandale, 24:35.5
50-59
Male: Jose Sejas, 53, 19:07.7 (sixth place overall)
Female: Karen Young, 50, 24:21.9
60 +
Male: Graham Welling, 60, Annandale, 23:20.5
Female: Mary Lowe Mayhugh, 62, 23:49.6
The complete results are online.
Any winners who didn’t pick up their medals at the Taste of Annandale should contact David Roach at [email protected].
5 responses to “Taste of Annandale 5K draws a record crowd”
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I went to the Taste of Annandale and enjoyed it but for one nasty police officer and this is probably the first time in my life I have ever complained about a cop. I normally value them greatly. I parked in the Fire Department lot which was having an Open House. Checked it out and then crossed the street to the Taste of Annandale with my wife. A very nice police officer helped us cross and he and others did with groups of residents both sides of Columbia Pike over many hours of time. At 3:45pm (15 minutes before the Taste ended) we endeavored to cross Columbia Pike at the exact same spot where hundreds had crossed. Now there is a different policeman there. He starts yelling at everyone that we have to walk down all the way down to John Marr Drive and cross there and is clearly intimating that he will give jay-walking tickets to anyone who dares to cross at the same location we have been crossing for hours. He was rude and loud and totally abusing his authority and the practice that he been in place for hours. Finally after showing us what a big man (bully) he was he left and his successor began allowing people to cross at the same location again by the Fire House. I hope the Chief at the Mason District Police station figures out who this jerk was and tells him why we won't be donating the next time the police call our house asking for our annual donation. My wife (who is normally the epitome of a Goody-Two-Shoes) was spitting mad about his rude behavior toward us taxpayers for a good 24 hours after this incident.
You’re going to stop annual donations to the Mason district police because some officer wouldn’t let you cross the street? Now who is petty.
Congratulations to all the winners–and props to all the others who ran as well! May you have good health and see many more happy miles/kilometers. 🙂
–kda
Dear Anonymous who posted on 10/17 at 7:41PM:
I'm saddened to hear that you had a negative experience at the closing of the event. FCPD officers are expected to maintain the highest degree of professionalism at all times. That said, we are human, not perfect. I will discuss your complaint with all officers who were assigned to the event and hopefully ensure that we eliminate the possibility of other future complaints. We work very hard to gain the trust and respect of those we serve, and officers do understand that negative interactions tarnish our reputation as an agency.
That said, I would like to convey a couple things. One, we do not solicit for donations. If you have been contacted and asked for money, it was not the Fairfax County Police Department, or the Mason District Station. There are ways that monetary donations are made to station funds and some entities within the agency, but we do not call and request them. You may have been contacted by another agency, or by an employee support group of some type, but they are not funded by the Fairfax County Police Department.
Second, the Taste of Annandale had a record crowd size this year. This is great news as we love to support the community coming together and enjoying these events. It also takes a great deal of planning, effort, and energy on several fronts. Many of our officers who were working traffic enforcement at the conclusion of the event were the same officers who were setting up cones and performing traffic safety measures prior to and during the 5K race that morning. I did hope to have a greater number of officers work the event that day and provide relief for the officers working these details, but there were several events in the county that morning that spread resources thinner than we would have liked. That said, I'm extremely proud to say that with the large crowd attending this event for several hours, there were no incidents of pedestrians struck or issues involving safety. There were also no citations issued to any pedestrians for the duration of the event. This success is in large part due to the public taking personal responsibility, and when necessary, following the direction of the officers posted for their safety.
Again, I apologize for the disappointing encounter you had with my officer. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact me at [email protected]. I would be happy to meet with you to discuss this further.
Respectfully,
Captain Brooke Wright
Commander, Mason District Station
Captain Wright,
Thanks so much for a well-thought-out and well-written response! I can't even imagine the treatment you and your officers have to endure at times. I guess some people lose sight of the fact that in the end, you all are human and are our neighbors, too. Kudos to you and your officers for keeping us safe and being great neighbors while you're doing it!