By Todd Jacobson
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, April 1, 2001; Page D08

As Philip Dunn passed the timer's table at the USA Track and Field National 50K Racewalk Championship yesterday at Bull Run Regional Park, he flashed a quick grin with one kilometer remaining.

Dunn had a firm grip on his first 50-kilometer (31 miles) national title and went on to finish in 3 hours 57 minutes 33 seconds. Dunn, 29, from Chula Vista, Calif., ran a steady and calculated race, patiently beating three-time defending champion Curt Clausen, 33, (4:06:29) and Tim Seaman, 28, (4:14:27). Clausen and Seaman also live in Chula Vista.

"Most of that smile with one kilometer to go was just knowing I would finish," said Dunn, who in 1994 and 1995 won national 25-kilometer racewalk titles. "In a 50K you never know if you are going to finish. I was ecstatic to be one kilometer away. With one left you know you are going to make it. With two you are not quite sure."

Susan Armenta, 27, of San Diego, won the inaugural women's race, finishing in 4:49.57. The distance is not certified for women at the world championships and Olympics.

With the win -- and a qualifying time under four hours -- Dunn earned the chance to represent the United States at the world championships in August in Edmonton. Clausen also qualified because he had run a sub-4-hour 50K in the previous three months.

Clausen led the first 20 kilometers but had to stop racing five times because of gastrointestinal problems.

"I started having some trouble at about eight kilometers," Clausen said. "I was hoping I could deal with it, but it just wasn't happening."

Clausen's problems opened the door for Dunn and Seaman, who ran the first 25 kilometers side by side before Seaman broke from his friend and training partner, only to be caught and passed at the 40-kilometer mark.

"The 50K is not about speed," Dunn said. "It's about having a strong head and holding it together for four hours, in my case a little less than four hours. . . . I knew some of the leaders might go a little faster at the beginning and I just had to stick to my race plan and I knew everything would turn out fine."

The race was a homecoming of sorts for Dunn. He is originally from Oregon, but he lived in Arlington and Falls Church from 1994 to 1996. Dunn's fiancee, Liz Flynn, is from Arlington, but the two spend most of their time in Southern California, where Dunn trains with the top racewalkers in the nation.

The top four male finishers -- including fourth-place Al Heppner, 26 -- train together there and it is that daily competitiveness that Dunn said has helped him increase his training.

"We get along well, but sure, we have our differences," Dunn said. "It's like a family in a lot of ways. You get along with your brothers most of the time."

Results

Men: 1, Philip Dunn, 29, Chula Vista, Calif., 3:57:33; 2, Curt Clausen, Chula Vista, 4:06:29; 3, Tim Seaman, 28, Chula Vista, 4:14:27; 4, Al Heppner, 26, Chula Vista, 4:22:18; 5, Theron Kissinger, Albuquerque, 4:23:39.

Women: 1, Susan Armenta, 27, San Diego, 4:49:57.