LONACONING - It was too bad for Jaron Hawkins and the other 166 runners at the 20th annual Iron Furnace 5K on Saturday that Abiyot Abebe was more than a casual spectator.

Instead of watching from the sidelines, Abebe, 21, an Ethiopian living in Silver Spring for the past two years, dominated from start to finish over 3.1 miles of rolling hills from Georges Creek Elementary School and through the streets of Lonaconing to stop the clock in 14 minutes and 58 seconds, just eight seconds off the 11-year-old course record held by Frostburg State University track coach Randy Lowe.

Hawkins, 25, of Frostburg, is typically the one leading from start to finish at local races. This time, however, Hawkins had competition from the outset and the Mountain City resident was forced to settle for second place in 15:21 while Justin Simpson, of Morgantown, W.Va., finished third in 15:28.

Fellow Ethiopian and Silver Spring resident Hirut Mandefro, 22, captured the women's title in 17:17, 12 seconds off the course record. She managed to hold off West Virginia University assistant track coach and Romney native Jennifer Davis, 25, who finished in 17:37. Susan Graham Gray, 40, of Greencastle, Pa., was third and the first masters runner in 17:55. Gray's fellow Cumberland Valley Athletic Club member Tim Shuler, 45, of Chambersburg, Pa., won the men's masters title in 16:59.

Hawkins said he saw Abebe just moments before the race and thought he was "just some guy in a track suit." But once he saw Abebe's "fluid" stride during warm-ups, he knew he had a fellow contender at the starting line.

"I had no idea, honestly, until about five minutes before the race" that Abebe was going to compete, Hawkins said. "From the beginning, he was a couple of steps ahead of me."

Once race director Tom Dawson's gun went off, it was clear the race - and the $200 first-place prize - belonged to Abebe.

At most area races, Hawkins leads from start to finish and considers little more than workouts, but "You always run faster when you're pushed. Today, I was definitely pushed."

In fact, after a mile, Hawkins was "barely hanging on" and afterward was "still a little upset" about his performance, despite it being the fastest of his seven times on the course, which includes two wins and five other top-five performances.

Dawson said the women's field was one of the deepest he's seen in the history of the Iron Furnace 5K - and Mandefro was atop the field from the beginning of the downhill start - but not with quite as much of a lead as Abebe.

Mandefro was challenged by both Davis - last year's champ - and Gray. Davis, on her way back from an injury to her left knee, had little strength to power the downhills and managed to shorten the distance between herself and Mandefro on the two inclines, including the half-mile slope on the north side of Egle Nursing Home.

"I like the long hill," Davis, who competes for the Saucony-sponsored Riadha club, said of the territory where she gained ground on, but couldn't quite catch, the leader. "I'm good at going up hill. I just tried to make up as much ground as I could."

Gray, who turned 40 a month after her first Olympic Marathon Trials competition in Boston in April, said she's still recovering from her trip to Beantown. Gray came into the race familiar with Mandefro's running style, having beat her earlier this month at the Run Through History 10K at Antietam National Battlefield in Washington County.

The longer the distance, the more effective Gray is. She's even considering her first JFK 50-mile ultramarathon this November. On Saturday, though, Gray knew Mandefro was an "on the toes type runner."

Still, "I was pretty pleased with my time overall," Gray said.

The race, and the associated 1.5-mile walk with 46 finishers, benefits the Georges Creek Promotion Council. Proceeds also fully fund a $600 scholarship each year to Allegany College of Maryland. Complete results and event photos by Darrell Cavey can be found online at www.qcstriders.org.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.