Three fast runners took the three top positions at the 370th monthly running of the Tidal Basin 3K, but they weren't the big news.
Back in 8th place was Cory Puffett, 12 years old, running a national class time of 10:41.
Not far back, his sister, Nicole Puffett, 10, finished 28th overall and second among women, just wink under 13 minutes.
The two home-schooled athletes emphasize both academics AND physical education, and clearly, their studies are paying off.
Their mother, Louisa Puffett, served as starter of the race and official timer using a 3-inch-long hand-held HP palmtop computer, from which she e-mailed the times later in the day. She and each of her young athletes have e-mail addresses on the domain PUFFETT.COM -- a high-technology, high-performance household.
Top top three men were Danny Bennett, 34, of Dunkirk MD, in 9:56; Josh Henson, 32, of Washington DC, in 10:07; and Ted Poulos, 42, of McLean, in 10:08; and first among women was Cynthia Morgan, in 12:55.
The next monthly race is Wednesday, December 15; and the 2005 kick-off should be interesting -- January 19 -- the day before the Inauguration.
## Name Age G City State Time
-- --------------------------- --- - ----------------- ------
Tidal Basin 3K, Wed., Nov 17, 2004 Washington DC
1 Danny Bennett 34 M Dunkirk MD 9:55.56
2 Josh Henson 32 M Washington DC 10:06.19
3 Ted Poulos 42 M McLean VA 10:07.29
4 Brad Rippey 38 M Bunker Hill WV 10:08.08
5 Eric Brancaccio 26 M Chevy Chase MD 10:11.22
6 Kevin Moore 32 M Washington DC 10:30.40
7 Frank Trinity 41 M Washington DC 10:31.31
8 Cory Puffett 12 M Upper Marlboro MD 10:41.26
9 Tom Matzke 33 M Rockville MD 10:42.47
10 Jeff Geraghty 29 M Manassas Park VA 10:52.64
11 Doug Landau 44 M Herndon VA 11:03.17
12 Larry Washington 53 M Rockville MD 11:10.93
13 Tim Arnade 47 M Arlington VA 11:25.81
14 Unknown Runner 11:44.99
15 Ben Hendog 28 M Washington DC 11:46.61
16 Juan Calvo 42 M Washington DC 11:53.25
17 Greg Nini 32 M Alexandria VA 11:56.08
18 Roger Kilgore 61 M Gaithersburg MD 12:08.71
19 Peter Blank 50 M Annandale VA 12:09.11
20 John Rogers 43 M Vienna VA 12:18.06
21 Gary Chidester 57 M Woodbridge VA 12:24.07
22 Al Salerno 49 M Brookeville MD 12:27.88
23 Bruce Reynolds 54 M Fairfax VA 12:29.02
24 John Patterson 55 M Silver Spring MD 12:44.07
25 Gerard "Chuck" Rainville 35 M Silver Spring MD 12:47.82
26 David Johnson 61 M Silver Spring MD 12:49.64
27 Cynthia Morgan 38 F Arlington VA 12:54.94
28 Nicole Puffett 10 F Upper Marlboro MD 12:59.61
29 Marjorie Copson 38 F Reston VA 13:14.55
30 Jay Jacob Wind 54 M Arlington VA 13:16.01
31 Ron Evans 51 M Arlington VA 13:16.98
32 Carol McManus 40 F Burke VA 13:18.22
33 Scott Schweinsberg 45 M McLean VA 13:24.71
34 Peter Lamberton 52 M FTC 13:28.41
35 Sergei Shalatov 47 M Bethesda MD 13:33.79
36 Jonathan Pavluk 44 M Arlington VA 13:34.91
37 Ron Shadbegian 40 M Arlington VA 13:47.98
38 Maika Chiquier 38 F Bethesda MD 13:49.98
39 Cindy Cohen 36 F Washington DC 14:05.88
40 Porty Costello 43 M Arlington VA 14:15.07
41 Martin Greenbaum 59 M Solomons MD 14:17.32
42 Brian Reaves 47 M Alexandria VA 14:31.91
43 Brian Morreale 24 M Baldwin NY 14:58.51
44 Tad White 71 M Washington DC 15:09.62
45 Barb Fecso 49 F Arlington VA 15:51.34
46 Shelton Stephens 52 F Berryville VA 15:58.05
47 Janet Newburgh 62 F Rockville MD 16:30.38
48 Jeanne Larrison 49 F Chesapeake Beach MD 17:02.04
49 Beth Ridings 31 F Centreville VA 18:22.09
50 Kerry Troxel 52 F Bowie MD 18:22.61
51 Walt Washburn 82 M Vienna VA 19:04.23
52 Ray Campbell 72 M Hyattsville MD 19:48.70
53 Scott Trump 29 M Washington DC 20:12.37
54 Ric Francke 57 M McLean VA 20:19.48
55 Unknown Runner 21:51.55
56 Unknown Runner 21:51.94
57 Unknown Runner 21:52.36
58 Bill Osburn 81 M Bethesda MD 26:30.05