WASHINGTON -- Michael Wardian has successfully defended his title at the 2007 Wirefly National Marathon.

Wardian, of Arlington, Va., finished in an unofficial time of 2:26:36. He won last year's race in a time 2:30:55.

Wardian Wins Men's Marathon
Blackett Wins Women's Marathon
Slideshow: Race Images

Wardian pumped his hands into the air and got a large cheer from the crowd as he crossed the finish line. He easily breezed to the first-place finish, well ahead of the competition.

"It was a good day," Wardian said just after crossing the finish line. "The weather was great. The course was fantastic. They had a nice little hill at like 19 miles to make me work a little bit harder. I had a great time. I got to see a lot of family out there (along the course). ... I hope to come back next year and do it again."

Wardian said the course route was impressive.

"We got to run through Rock Creek Park this year," he said. "That was a nice little twist. Up on Connecticut (Avenue) where the hill is, that's part of my training run, so it was nice. I go running up there with my friends all the time. It's nice to get to race the same terrain that you train on."

Katie Blackett, 29, of Boulder, Colo., won the women's marathon. This was her first time competing in the National Marathon.

Blackett was draped in an American flag as she crossed the finish line.

Blackett said she took in all of the sights as she raced the course.

"It was probably one of the first marathons where I looked up and saw where I was going," she said after crossing the finish line. "It's beautiful. I definitely concentrated on all the sights. It was a nice break from the pain."

Christopher Raabe, 28, of Washington, D.C., shaved about a minute and a half off of last year's winning time and won the 2007 half-marathon with a time of 1:07:09. Steve Crane, 24, of Alexandria placed second with a time of 1:08:58 and Gurmessa Kumsa of Indian Head, Md., the 2006 winner, took third place with a time of 1:09:02.

Tamara Lave, 38, of San Diego, won the women's half-marathon with a time of 1:21. Pheve Ko, 24, of Baltimore, took second place with a time of 1:22:21. Melinda Carlson, 27, of D.C., came in third with a time of 1:24:28.

More than 4,500 runners took to the streets Saturday morning after D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty kicked off the race.

Once Fenty officially began the race just outside RFK Stadium at 7 a.m., about 1,700 runners put their training to the test to try to complete the entire 26.2-mile full marathon.

About 2,800 others ran the half-marathon.

It was originally thought that Fenty, who has run competitively in eight races, would run just the half-marathon. But at the Mile 10 split he kept running the marathon course and planned to run the entire marathon. He said earlier in the week that he runs about 40 miles a week.

Victor Palma, 44, of Arlington, Va., ran the entire half-marathon ... in his bare feet. He said he started running in his bare feet on the beach about eight years ago and has continued it ever since.

"It's doesn't hurt," he said. We'll take his word on that.

In total, there were 800 runners in the race who live in the District. More than 100 were from the 20009 zip code, which is the Kalorama-Adams Morgan part of the city.

This year's course changed, both in elevation and location. The entire course was in the District. Last year's race entered parts of Prince George's County.

The course took runners through Capitol Hill, down to the National Mall, over to Anacostia, then back to the memorials, up through Rock Creek Park, through Columbia Heights, down North Capitol and through the H Street Corridor.

There were not as many challenging hills toward the end of this year's race. But the biggest challenge was the Calvert Climb. It's a tough hill leaving Rock Creek Park between miles 19 and 20. In just one-quarter of a mile, runners had to climb more than 100 feet. The elite runners were on the pavement for about 1.5 hours at that point. The rest of the marathoners were at the two-hour mark when they got there.

For a look at the course elevation comparison from last year to this year, click here.

The Runners

Defending champion Michael Wardian led a strong field of runners. The Arlington, Va., native took the 2006 title with a winning time of 2:30:55. The 32-year-old has completed more than 60 marathons in his career, including a 2004 Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:21:48 at the Detroit Marathon.

Last weekend, he again qualified for the Olympic trials in the Shamrock Marathon.

Wardian, ranked third overall most-outstanding runner by MarathonGuide.com the past two years, had some strong competition in the race.

One of the young guns in the field was Bryan Skelly. The 24-year-old Philadelphia native is a 2004 graduate of the LaSalle cross-country and track team and is an assistant coach at the school. It was his second attempt at the National Marathon, where he hoped to get an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:22 or better.

Though he placed second Saturday, he didn't make his goal. He ran the course in 2:29:02.

Kyle Smits, 28, of Baltimore, placed third with a time of 2:31:27.

On the women's side, defending champion Susan Graham Gray returned to fight for her title, but came in at second place with a time of 2:55:58.

Gray lost to Katie Blackett, 29, of Boulder, Colo., who was a qualifier in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials. She finished sixth and seventh, respectively, at the 2002 and 2003 U.S. National Marathon Championships.

Meanwhile, Tracy Stewart, 27, of Golden, Colo., was one of the most experienced runners in the field. She has run more than 25 marathons in the past five years. She had five top-three finishes in 2006 and was ranked the No. 3 Most Outstanding Female Marathon Runner by MarathonGuide.com. She finished third Saturday with a time of 3:00:21.