16 April 2000

Dave Berardi had not run the Clyde's American 10k in several years, but a sub-par performance at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler the week before gave him the incentive to enter the Columbia race and run as hard as he could. However, the Baltimore resident did not start particularly fast at the beginning of the 10k race last Sunday morning, and he found himself running behind the leaders for about the first three miles of the race. Then, near the bottom of the hill on Old Columbia Road, his desire suddenly resurfaced, and he surged up the slope to seize the lead. But 40-year-old Joe Abernethy, who had been among the leaders, did not let Dave go quietly and drew even on the next uphill at 4 miles. Berardi fought back and recaptured the lead going into the final mile. A half mile from the finish, River Hill High School's Mike Styczynski came roaring all the way back from a distance 4th place to pass Abernethy and threaten Berardi. "All I heard through the last half mile was 'Go guys go!'" Dave remembered, admitting that he thought he had broken the race open. Berardi's sprint just barely held off the flying Styczinski. "I wasn't going to look back," concluded Mr. Berardi, who won the race in 32:34. Three seconds behind, the 17-year-old Styczinski kept right on going to catch an airplane flight to Ithaca, NY, for a college interview (he turned down his race award to retain NCAA eligibility.)

Bea Marie Altieri returned from her home in Florida to visit her friends and relatives and stuck around to run the Clyde's 10k. The warm weather and flat lands of the South did not seem to have affected her ability to run in Howard County because she leapt to an immediate lead and easily won the woman's race in 36:46. In her wake, the Howard County Strider Women's racing team of Vicki Lang, Vanessa Cox, and Robyn Humphrey fought among themselves for second place. The three finished within 30 seconds of each other, and Ms. Lang held off her team-mates with a time of 39:54. "I wanted to break 39 minutes," Vicki said, "but if I had broken 38 minutes, I still would have been second!"

The 22nd Annual Clyde's 10k featured an unusually deep field of masters men. In addition to the 40-year-old Joe Abernethy, who finished third (32:43), Rockville's Peter Kirk won the overall master's championship in 34:11 (6th overall) and Jim Wadsworth of Alexandria, VA, won the 40-44 age group in 34:19 (7th overall). A former smoker, Peter Kirk has previously finished as high as second at the Clyde's 10k and won the master championship in 1999. Robin Goodwin of Timonium, MD, won the woman's master's championship in 43:54.

Race morning dawned overcast and damp, and runners negotiated periods of light rain throughout the race. "At least we didn't have any snow!" quipped one finisher, recounting the freak snowstorm of the previous weekend. The soggy conditions didn't seem to bother most of the runners. "The conditions were ideal, really," said Chris Hyland (2nd, 20-24 men), who set a personal record of 35:26. The wet weather didn't prevent a good turnout, either, as the race drew a total of 1164 finishers (772 men and 392 women).

Age group winners received Clyde's cooler bags, and the overall winners also received gift certificates from both Clyde's and Feet First of Wilde Lake. All participants received a multi-color t-shirt ("a keeper," one runner remarked) and their choice of Power Bars. After the race, Clyde's of Columbia treated all runners and volunteers to a sumptuous brunch on the shores of Lake Kittimiqundi. The food included fresh cantaloupe and strawberries, pasta salad, chicken breast sandwiches, hot-dogs, Clyde's chili, Perrier and Yoohoo, PowerAde, Coke, and Miller-Light. Near the end of the brunch, the drizzle stopped and the sun came out .

Ray Lake premiered as the director of the race. He enjoyed the support of packet pick-up supervisor Judith Colon, traffic coordinators Paul Goldenberg and Tim Beaty, finish line administrator Dave Tripp, results coordinator Jim DiScuillo, data entry specialist Denise Hyde, dozens of enthusiastic Howard County high school students at two water-stops along the route, numerous race marshals, and the Howard County police, who provided traffic control at key intersections.

-- by James Carbary