Eric Post, 24, of Fair Lakes — a math teacher at Chantilly High — logged a time of 24:50.9 to win the 17th annual Fair Lakes 8K. The first-place female finisher was Alisa Harvey, 37, of Manassas — a track coach at GMU — with a time of 28:28.3.
Sponsored by The Peterson Cos., the event was held, Sunday morning, and drew 1,323 participants — 898 runners and 425 walkers — for the 8K race and 2K Fun Run/Walk. Proceeds went to the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), enabling people to be tested for free for entry into the NMDP registry of potential matches for life-saving, bone-marrow transplants.
Some 156 people were tested during Sunday's race — "which is awesome," said Brownie Bartley with The Peterson Cos. "Our goal is to test 1,000 people more in 2004." Announcing the start of the event was Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-11th), who said, "Literally, lives have been saved because of people who've gone on the registry from this race."
CHRIS BANKS, 25, of Alexandria, came in second in 25:01.8, followed by Aaron Church, 28, of South Riding in 25:07.7. Harvey finished 16th in the race, overall. The next two fastest females were Casey Smith, 24, of Arlington in 28:43.3, and Lisa Thomas, 27, of Alexandria in 29:21.2.
Post, who teaches Algebra I and II and geometry at Chantilly, has been running since he was 13 and came in second in last year's Fair Lakes 8K. Regarding his victory Sunday, he said afterward, "I felt pretty good, and I knew the course pretty well. And with the weather so good today, I can't complain." Post runs 90-100 miles a week and is currently training for the Marine Corps Marathon.
Harvey, the women's assistant cross country and distance coach at GMU, is the mother of two daughters, 18 months and 9 years, and runs 40-45 miles per week. She participated in the very first Fair Lakes 8K and returned this year to help get in shape for next summer's Olympic trials. Harvey hopes to qualify for the 800 meters, next July, and must do it in a time of 2:05.
Dignitaries attending Sunday's event included Del. Gary Reese (R-67th), Sully District School Board representative Kathy Smith and the Democratic and Republican candidates, respectively, for chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Gerry Connolly (D-Providence) and county School Board member Mychele Brickner (at-large).