NOVA 5K Recap

The start of the NOVA 5k
(photo: Erin Masterson)

By Erin Masterson

A small but determined group of NOVA runners and volunteers braved the potential for rain on Sunday morning and came out to support the Club during our annual 5k race at Bluemont Park in Arlington. Though days of unrelenting rain leading up to the race may have lessened our turnout, the morning of the race was mostly dry, and the die-hard NOVA team was there to compete. 

Leading the pack with a one-two punch was the NOVA contingent of Allen Denson and Bob Koeppen. Training partners and pace setters for many of the Tuesday night track workouts, Denson and Koeppen worked together and finished just seconds apart - Denson in first place overall with a time of  17:54 and Koeppen in second place in 17:58. The women were led by Georgetown Running Club (GRC)/NOVA runner Kristie Nunez in 18:53 and GRC's Elyse Shimada in 19:42. Betty Blank won the Women's Masters Division in 23:16 and Ted Poulos led the Masters Men in 18:49. The Buenaflor family was also out in full force, led by NOVA President Justin Buenaflor, and included competition and/or support from family members Graeme Buenaflor, Sheryllyn Buenaflor, Ren Hucker, Delight Buenaflor, and Jason Kaltwasser.

NOVA Coach Jerry Alexander was pleased with the race outcome, saying, "While we had several strong performances, I want to give special props to our dynamic duo of Allen and Bob, who went 1-2. In the years that I've been with NOVA, it's always been the case that the top-tier women were ahead of the top-tier men in terms of their relative prowess. But with our new core Group 1 men, led by Bob and Allen, the guys are making great strides, and they will continue to improve, and reflect glory upon NOVA. Go get 'em, men!"

Many thanks to all our volunteers, especially Bob Platt of RacePacket for officiating and timing the race. 

Race results were completed by RacePacket and can be found here. 

NOVA 5K Team Results

Allen Denson  17:54, 1st OA

Bob Koeppen 17:58, 2nd OA

Ted Poulos  18:49, 3rd OA, 1st Masters/1st AG

Kristie Nunez 18:53 1st Female OA

Betty Blank  23:16 3rd Female, 1st Masters/1st AG  
Lauren Hucker  27:48, 4th Female, 2nd AG
Bob Weiner  28:20, 1st AG  
Larry Clark  31:47, 2nd AG