CNN fields largest, fastest media team in NPC 5K

CNN fielded the largest and fastest media team in the NPC Beat the Deadline 5K race on Saturday, Sept. 5.

The cable news runners were among the 391 participants who ran and walked a course that stretched from the National Press Building in downtown Washington to Capitol Hill.

The top male runner was Patrick Kuhlmann, 44, who completed the race in 16:34. Vanessa Corcoran, 29, was the first woman to finish, with a time of 20:45. Among Club members, David Pritchard, 31, was the fastest male (18:03) and Natalie Diblasio, 25, was the fastest woman (25:16).

A total of 489 people registered for the race, which raises money for the National Press Club Journalism Institute, the non-profit arm of the Club. The Institute sponsors training for journalists and scholarships for journalism students.

In the last year, the Institute also has become the home for the Club’s press freedom efforts.

Many of the race participants wore t-shirts honoring Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who has been jailed in Iran for more than a year. The shirt features a drawing of Rezaian by Post cartoonist Michael Cavna that depicts the number of days Rezaian has been held.

Over the past several months, the Club has sponsored news conferences, issued statements, conducted satellite interviews from its broadcast center and met with State Department officials and diplomats to advocate for Rezaian’s release. He was one of the winners of the Club’s John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award this year.

“This morning we can feel good that we are remembering Jason,” Club President John Hughes said at the pancake breakfast following the race on Saturday. “He has not been forgotten, and we’re with him today.”

Tony Horton, a celebrity fitness trainer and creator of the P90X3 workout, was the race’s honorary marshall.