Battle of the Potomac 2010 Race Page

Race Timing

Maryland Timing

Event Management Services

Home Perf.Database Results Indoor Track Outdoor Track Cross Country Photos Calendar

Doughty, Nelson capture Battle of the Potomac flags
Field for fifth annual event motivated by America’s only World XC champ
Battle of the Potomac Homepage
Results

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Nov. 20 – More than 400 athletes took part in the 5th annual Battle of the Potomac XC run at Smokey Glen Farm in Gaithersburg.

Interviews Hannah Pineault, Suncrest MS   Brandon Doughty   Crystal Nelson   Anna Ryba
Craig Virgin, part 1   part 2 Shane Rigsby, 2nd in boys middle school race
Photos    Boys and Girls Middle School    Boys Open   Girls Open   Boys Elite   Girls Elite
Cinemagic Videos   Boys and Girls Middle School    Boys and Girls Open   Boys and Girls Seeded
Boys Elite    Middle School and Open race   Courtesy of J.M. Pope ...... More Video Coming Later

And before the first race of the day, the runners were grounded with a steel-willed message from three-time U.S. Olympian and two-time world cross country champion Craig Virgin.

Cross country, the Illinois native, is “my first love. If I had one more day to live, and one more day to run, I’d rather do cross country than anything else. I don’t know whether it’s the farmboy in me, but I just love being on the grass. I love the hills. I love the trees. To me, it’s just the most pure elemental form of competitive running that there is.”

Virgin said lessons learned in high school will help prepare runners for the next level.

“The basic essence of cross country and the lessons of training and the lessons of competition will not change,” Virgin said. “They have not changed in 30 years. They won’t change in the next 30 years.”

Those lessons, “helped me become a national world-class champion.”

Virgin, who had a 23-year racing career, also talked about seizing opportunities. He was involved in a car accident in 1997 that nearly killed him. He underwent 15 post-accident surgeries and “I can jog somewhat now.”

“Too soon it’s gone,” Virgin said of the gift of running. “You can’t go back sometimes.”

Virgin might know that better than any cross country runner alive today. In 1980, Virgin was in the best shape of his life. It also was the year the United States boycotted the Olympic Games. Just 10 days before the Olympics were to start, Virgin ran the second-fastest 10K ever recorded at that time but his goal of Olympic glory fell short through no fault of his own.

“These kids have to realize, grab the opportunity today while it’s available,” Virgin said. You think you’re bulletproof at 16, 17 or 18. If you have goals in life, by God, start pursuing them. Don’t put ‘em off too long because too soon it’s too late.”

“The kids today at the starting line are probably the kind of kids who believe in that,” Virgin said.

Former Olympian Craig Virgin to Start Battle XC 5

Bethesda, Maryland - Accomplished long distance runner, world cross country champion, and three-time Olympian, Craig Virgin will serve as the honorary starter and event ambassador for the American Running Association’s 5th Battle of the Potomac XC Championship. The cross-country championship will be held November 20 at Smokey Glen Farm in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The unique State vs State cross country meet pits the best of Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia and West Virginia in a 5K race.

“We are fortunate to honor one of running’s greats with Craig Virgin’s appearance at our event,” announces Dave Watt, American Running Association (ARA) executive director. “Craig can be an inspiration for today’s high school runners and all of our youth,” adds Watt. “His story and accomplishments still resonate today.”

Virgin grew up in Belleville, Illiniois, where he was a legend in Illinois high school track and cross-country circles. In fact, his two-mile high school record of 8:40:90 still stands as the fastest time ever recorded in a high school race of that distance. At the University of Illinois, Virgin won nine Big 10 Championships, an NCAA Championship, and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team. He ran the 10,000 meters race at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. The 1980 Olympics were boycotted yet he ran the 2^nd fastest 10K ever 10 days prior to the beginning of the boycotted 1980 Games. He was also the 1976 NCAA Cross-Country Champion, a seven-time U.S. record-holder in road and track, and two-time winner of the I.A.A.F. World Cross-Country Championships.

Virgin’s accomplishments at the I.A.A.F. World Cross-Country Championships are most noteworthy. In 1980, he became the first and only American male to win the event. He came back the next year and won it again. He is also past champion of numerous road races in the U.S. and was a runner-up at the Boston Marathon in one of the few times he ran the marathon.

Virgin’s remarkable accomplishments were achieved despite being born with a congenital urologic disease which, in 1994, forced him to have his right kidney surgically removed. In 1997, only three years after his kidney was removed, Virgin was involved in a head-on car collision and sustained life-threatening injuries; however, after undergoing physical therapy and eight operations in two years, he returned to running. In 2001, he was inducted into the National Distance Hall of Fame in Utica, New York.

The 5th Battle of the Potomac, also known as Battle XC5 or XC Border War 5 will kick-off at 12:45 p.m. with the middle school boys and girls running a 2.5K race. This will be followed by the open and seeded 5K races. To view the complete schedule and event information, go to www.battlexc.com.

The Battle of the Potomac XC Championships is produced by the Bethesda, Maryland-based American Running Association (ARA). This championship meet, which involves four neighboring states, serves as a venue to encourage more kids to become interested in the sport of running and to become runners themselves. All proceeds from the meet help produce the event and support ARA’s free youth walk-run training programs. ARA is a nonprofit organization founded in 1968 to promote healthy living and active lifestyles among all Americans. It is dedicated to supporting runners through education and specialized programs, as well as encouraging all individuals from children to adults to run and be fit. For more information about the association or to learn more about the walk-run programs, visit www.americanrunning.org.

1980 IAAF World Cross Country Championships (last 1/2 mile

Hannah Pineault/Craig Virgin

Boys Elite Start