WAYNE (10/2/04) - They don't call them masters for nothing. Entrants over age 40 ruled the roads at the 14th annual Red October Run, presented by Oakwood Annapolis Hospital.

Doug Ogden, 41, of Chelsea, and Mary Franklin, 42, of Pontiac, hunted down overall 5K triumphs; while Lynn Phillips, 54, of Livonia, and Paddy Jones, 41, of Birmingham, led the 5K walkers. In the 10K, Dave Furey, 46, of Ann Arbor, won men's race. Valari Ambrose, 37, of Riverview - the only non-master - captured women's title.

Autumn always seems to show up right on time for this race. An Oct. 2 cold front ended a week of hot, dry weather, but also brought rain, drenching entrants as they picked up their bibs and t-shirts.

Just as runners toed the start line, the showers stopped. "It turned into an ideal day for running," Franklin said.

She captured the women's 5K in 21:51, topping Stephanie Allen, 24, of Ann Arbor (22:09) and Katie Glynn, 12, of Livonia (22:13).

Ogden, the defending 5K men's champ, battled three others into the last half-mile, then took control with 300 yards to go.

"I had meniscus surgery in February and a stress fracture in May," Ogden said. "So I'm just now getting back."

He finished in 17:16, with Edward McGovern, 29, of Ypsilanti, second (17:22) and Michael Krug, 25, of Ann Arbor, third (17:25).

Furey (35:56) ran away with men's 10K title. Next came Bruce Harrison, 48, of Ann Arbor (37:08) and Andrew Schillaci, 26, of Lansing (37:19).

"Perfect weather; a good, flat course," Furey said. "There was no excuse not to run fast."

Ambrose - a four-time cross country state champion while in high school from 1981-84 - also won comfortably, crossing in 41:15. She was followed by Emily Damuth, 22, of Ann Arbor (43:14) and Jacqueline Blair, 49, of Detroit (43:37).

"I was afraid to really push myself, because I haven't raced a 10K in 10 years," said Ambrose. "I wanted to break 40 minutes. I'm pretty happy with my time, though."

"We had 561 entrants, which is pretty good," race director Cindy Cook said. "Our race-day registration was obviously impacted by the weather. I'm sure we would have had well over 600 entrants without the rain."

"This is one sweet race: well organized, well marked and the perfect time of the year for running," Ogden said. "And it's smokin' fast."

For complete race results, visit michiganrunner.net. MR