'The Awakening' looms over runners

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During the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run in 1983 when Greg Meyer surprised teammate Bill Rodgers with a decisive early lead, Meyer approached Hains Point, looked to his right and saw an ugly mass of cast aluminum rising from the ground, then looked ahead at the press truck and threw his arms in the air.

"What the HECK is THAT?" he called aloud to the journalists in front of him.

THAT was and still is "The Awakening," a sculpture of a heavily bearded man seemingly half-buried in the ground.

The eye-catcher was just three years old at the time.

Now, nearly 28 years after its birth, the statue that has watched millions of runners, walkers, cyclists, inline skaters, tourists, dogs and virtually anything else that has circled Hains Point in the past three decades will grimace at East Potomac Park until Wednesday.

After that, the famous statue will welcome visitors to nearby National Harbor, courtesy of a $750,000 purchase by National Harbor developer Milt Peterson.

Wirefly out, SunTrust in — When you see the advertisements for SunTrust National Marathon and Half Marathon, don't get excited that a new marathon is on the District's spring running calendar.

The National Marathon has just landed a new title sponsor.

"They've committed for this year," race director Keith Dowling said of one of the nation's largest banking organizations. "But it's an ongoing discussion. I'm pretty optimistic that they will be multiyear sponsors."

SunTrust's involvement in the March 29 event should benefit the marathon and half-marathon. The bank is title sponsor of the Richmond Marathon and supports the Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach as well.