Category Archives: Columbia running club

Nightmare in Elmwood 5k – Columbia, SC – 10/25/25

The Nightmare in Elmwood 5k started up in 2022 to benefit the Elmwood Park Neighborhood Association, and it’s already a Blue Shoes favorite. I mean, I already love racing in costumesfor any reason, and this event actually encourages it, so what’s not to love?

Of course, the key question is WHAT COSTUME? After finding my favorite outfit of all time last year, William Wallace of Braveheart, I had to find something that was at least almost as good. I spent a ridiculously long time researching costumes for this year. The ideal costume is at least somewhat runnable, but most of the best outfits are questionable in their friendliness towards blasting out a quick 5k. I mean I have a great “Duke from Bridgerton” costume, but damned if I’m going to haul ass in 18th century British formalwear. After I scrolled through a few hundred outfits, I found it: Luke Skywalker training with Yoda in a backpack.

I mean a) it’s from one of my favorite childhood movies (Return of the Jedi) b) Luke is actually running and training in this outfit in the movie c) everyone loves Star Wars and d) my kids favorite youtube video of all time is Bad Lip Reading’s version of the Luke-Yoda scene. I’ve probably seen it a hundred times. PERFECT.

https://youtu.be/U9t-slLl30E?si=6qCcx-hpUllpjr3W

Less than perfect, on top of the ridiculous price, was when I finally got the costume a week later. It involved multi-stepinstructions, and I basically had to build a Yoda supported by metal rods. Initially, it looked like Yoda had received blunt trauma to the head, so I had to carefully pack his “brain” with enough plastic so it would fill out his rubber cranium. All the metal wasn’t exactly light either. Plus, despite the weight and expense of the thing, the backpack straps holding it together looked like something that might be on a preschooler’s hello kitty bookbag. I was definitely going to have to find a better way to secure this thing. Luckily, tying strategically placed knots seemed to hold it in place. At least I hoped. It wasn’t like I was going to test run this thing out in the neighborhood. They already think I’m nuts for running in every conceivable weather condition. The NextDoor Karens would definitely be posting about rubber Yodas. 

 

So, my maiden run would have to be on race day. I got there an hour early, and the primary parking lot was already full. Dang, this race has gotten popular. Fortunately, it was pretty cold ,maybe high 40s, so running in my long Luke pants wouldn’t be too awful. I did a quick quarter mile warmup. It felt like it might be a little bouncy with the backpack, and maybe some arm chafing and…CLANK. I look back, and while Yoda’s cranium was intact, he had now endured massive spinal trauma. As in,his head had basically fallen off. DAMMIT THIS CAN’T HAPPEN. Fortunately, I was able to perform roadside jedi master neurosurgery by slamming Yoda’s head into his neck post. I think it clicked. Crisis averted. I can only imagine what I looked like to any bystanders. Later, Roy joined me for some more warmup miles. I soon realized I was already chafing on my shoulders and President Shelley offered me some of his Body glide. Again, I can’t imagine the visual of two men lubing up the arms and backpack of a giant Luke Skywalker and rubber Yoda. Talk about a nightmare.

At the start, there’s a crazy amount of people and costumes. Erin said there was like 700 signed up. That’s nuts for the fourth year of a race. It looked like quite a few fast people up near the front including Douglas Nover and Michael Visser doing a double dip with Go Leo Go 5k earlier that morning. (I later found out that Douglas, Margie Shelburg, Ashleigh Carpenter and Lauren Carpenter all TRIPLE dipped with the Law Dog run that night – wow.) Shawanna (dressed as Amy Rose from Sonic the Hedgehog) and Ashley Graham (as Rumi from Kpop Demon Hunters) were sure to battle it out for the women’s title.Unfortunately I was not cool enough to know who either of these characters were, though the costumes were amazing.While I was fairly certain my costume would be a challenge, it was nothing compared to Heather Hawn’s inflatable green alien or Andy Mikula’s inflatable Gizmo (from Gremlins). Those things are difficult to see out of much less run in. 

Andy the mogwai and Heather the alien

As per usual, everyone takes off like a bat out of hell at the start. Especially when you turn onto Park Street and plummet down a mountain. I wonder how many of these guys know you have toclimb this mountain at the end?  I was just trying to remain upright since Yoda was bouncing all over the place and I was afraid of him, or possibly me, breaking my neck. As soon as you hit the bottom of the hill you end up coming back up on Lincoln and weave your way through the Elmwood neighborhood.  I have to say the Elmwood people go all out for Halloween. Most of the houses are decorated to the hilt and the crowd support is amazing for a local 5k. Eventually, you get dumped out right near the Elmwood street overpass and, fittingly, head to the cemetery entrance.

PICS from JP PHOTOGRAPHY, Montages assembled by Tracy Tisdale in the Columbia Running Club newsletter.

I was feeling decent about my costume pace (7:30) until I saw I was getting my ass beat by a giant pickle (Micah Simonsen). Fortunately, the course is mostly level in the middle with an out and back on the paved trail to Finley Park. Yoda is finally staying put and I’m able to ramp up the speed some. I struggle a little with a middle-aged looking Richard Simmons and manage to pass him. I figure masters is probably out of my reach, but hopefully I can score an age group.

Not sure if the temperature had risen a lot since my arrival, but the Luke pants are killing me by this point. The turnaround at the park feels good to be headed back home, plus, you get to see the whole field behind you, which is fun. Mile 2 was slightly faster in 7:11, with the marker just before you hit the Elmwood overpass again. Luckily you get to skip the cemetery out-and-back coming home. I’m feeling pretty good at this point, so I try and kick it in some in the last mile. I sidle up next to some young dude, who realizes it’s an old fat man with a yoda pack, and he surges back ahead.

OK, bro, we will see. Sure enough, we make that next-to-last turn onto Park and hit that killer hill. It’s short, but really steep. I punch it in to full kick mode and leave the kid behind. I hadn’t been going that hard before but now I’m holding on to my backpack for dear life, Yoda’s neurologic integrity be damned. One last turn and I blast out whatever I had left, making sure I posed for the photographer of course. Kicked through the finish in 22:26. A few seconds later the kid comes through and deposits his breakfast next to me on a tree. Nothing like the shame of getting beaten by a 50-year-oldchunky costumed dude AND getting the post-race pukes. I loved it, because I am a terrible person. I missed masters thanks to the Yerg and Pickle boy but I was able to pick up 1st in age group. Plus, I got one of the popcorn bags for top costumes. Given that I’m in the middle of JFK 50 training, and my general tendency towards gluttony, I’ll probably eat it all myself.

In the overall, Dr Mark Kushinka took the win in 17:30 over Ryan Schaffer and Demetris McCray – all under 18 minutes. In the women’s race, Ashley Graham took home the win in 19:34 with Lizzie Bird 2nd and Shawanna White 3rd.  Women’s masters top 3 (with Shawanna going to overall) was Ronda Sanders, Lindsay Nimmo and Kelly Cox. Rob Yerger, Wes Sawyer and Micah Simonsen took the male masters podium.

Age group honor roll, women: Hayden Hall and Lauren Carpenter (purple m&m) were 2nd and 3rd in the 15-19. Michaela Willoughby won the 25-29. Meredith Frye won the 30-34. Korinne Collins (blue crayon) was 1st and Lucretia Collins (skeleton) were 1st and 3rd in the 35-39. Ashleigh Carpenter(green m&m) was 2nd in the 40-44. Katharine Myers won the 45-49.  Rita Hipp and Joanna Holden were 1-2 in the 50-54. Lynda Leonardi was 2nd and Sara Wilcox 3rd in the 55-59. Rosa Creech was 3rd in the 60-64. Mary Cassidy on the 65-69. Helene Lipe, Eileen Korpita and Diane Freeman won the 70-74/.

Age group honor roll, men: Douglas Nover was 1st and Michael Visser (Sonic) 3rd in a brutally competitive 25-29. Jeffrey Campbell and Jon Baysden were top 2 in the 45-49. Brett Looker (Richard Simmons) and Michael Smyrl were 2-3 in the 50-54. Roy Shelley won the 55-59. Joey Swearingen, Phil Smith and Son Nguyen swept the 60-64. Lorand Batten was 3rd in the 65-69. George Cassidy and Jerry Rich were 1st and 3rd in the 70-74, and Ron Hagell and Rich Wright took top 2 in the 75+. 

Other notable finishers:

Betsy Theriot, Bruce Edmonds (Kenny Powers) , Marty Wentzel, Jonathan Kozer, Amanda Smyrl, Mary Kate Korpita, Todd Derrick, Stephanie Hauser, Marcus Cunningham (Dr. Robotnik), Sarah Soltau (black cat), Kana Rahman (yellow crayon), Makenzie Wilt, Clara Beaudet (batgirl), Michael Beaudet, Gabriella Swearingen, Wendy Homeyer, Missy Caughman, Deana Rennick (strawberry shortcake), Melinda Waldrop, Stephanie Mosher, Cassidy Carter (avocado) , Andy Mikula (Gizmo), Pete Poore, Jenny Schneider (orange m&m), Ted Creech, Nicki Charlton (evil minion), Rosa Creech , Jennifer Reeves, Ron Lipe, Heather Herndon, Margie Shelburg and Kerry Stubbs.

PICS from JP PHOTOGRAPHY, Montages assembled by Tracy Tisdale in the Columbia Running Club newsletter.

Run With All Your Heart 5k – USC School of Medicine – 9/20/25

The Run with All Your Heart 5k is a race created by the Future Leaders of Medicine group at USC School of Medicine and goes to fund a charity which fights pediatric cancer (Curing Kids Cancer). It was originally run around Segra Park, but they recruited Erin Roof and GRIT endurance and moved the venue to the School of Medicine campus. As a former med student myself, it’s always fun to come back to the old stomping grounds. I honestly have no idea how these kids manage the informational firehose of med school and find time to manage a road race in their spare time. But maybe I was just lazy.

But I’m glad they got GRIT involved. The last time I remember med students putting on a race was the old Strides for Health, in like 2010. The race course was kind of chaotic and it was a minor miracle we stayed on the non-certified route. The med student director thought a) it was a great idea to run it in June and b) run the race himself despite being the director too. Being a typical med student overachiever, he went all out and then everybody got to practice their EMT skills as he passed out and required an ambulance to take him away.  Fortunately, he was ok, but damn, dude.

But Erin was sure to avoid that epic cluster from happening again. The new race has actually been run pretty smoothly, though the med student directed years featured “top 2 overall” awards and nothing else. I was assured there would be standard 3 deep this year. Packet pickup was at Craft and Draft, and while there wasn’t free beer, at least I couldn’t complain with a portion of the proceeds going towards Curing Kids Cancer. Plus, it was a step up from the 1980s American macrobrew vibe of Nightcaps. However, I did miss the nostalgia of cigarette vending machines and Miller light.

Showing up on race day, things were not looking good. It was ridiculously hot. After a couple of weekends with temps barely clearing 60 in the morning, Saturday was 71 when I got there an hour early. After a Friday dinner of tikka masala, a couple of IPAs and a night of trash sleeping, my warmup turned into a combo of 11-minute slog jog miles and a game of find an open bathroom. Sadly, my 1998 student ID didn’t work on the other med school entrances, so I was forced to use the regular bathrooms for the race.  Ugh. They even had a med student volunteer blocking the hallway to go further into the building. I thought about exercising my inexhaustible privilege and entitlement to push past him but decided against it. I do have poop performance anxiety with people waiting though. I’ll put it in the next DSM.

I did a couple of miles with Lady Godby and although the course seemed pretty flat, I was already soaked in sweat. Damn you Summer, part III. There was a huge crowd at the start and lots of Hammond XC runners, so I was already working myself up in a Debbie Downer funk about not even winning anything. But hey, usually I feel like trash at the start of what ends up being a really good race.

With the gun, all the kids take off like a bat out of hell, and we begin a winding route through the campus behind the main building. I’m not more than a quarter mile in and I feel like an absolute wreck. The sun is beating down, my legs feel like brick, the whole nine yards. Everyone is ahead of me, including Artis, who appears he’s going to make this the day he finally beats his geriatric-giant-headed-chunky-boy nemesis.

We then get thrown out onto Byron rd. which is essentially flat and straight. I kind of mail it in for a while, settling in behind Shannon, hoping I’ll catch my breath and feel better. Mile one in 6:26, so basically right at 20-minute pace, which isn’t too bad. The problem is, I just want to quit. Heart rate is too high and I’m really laboring for some reason. I assume it’s the heat. JLybrand is out on a corner with her kids so I decide I can’t bail out in front of them.

Finally, we make it to the turnaround on Parrott avenue and head back on Wordsworth. I manage to draw even with Shannon and maybe I can justify dropping out at 2 miles if I make it that far. We get back onto Byron, which is a little bit of a psychological boost and I zone out for a bit until mile 2 chirps back at 6:37. I feel terrible but I, incorrectly, think I may be first male masters, so I soldier on. The heat is awful, and I am sucking a lot of wind. I can see Artis way up ahead and I’m already thinking of how happy he’ll be to finally kick my ass. But hold the phone… I may me gaining on him just a bit. No, it’s probably me hallucinating in my half-delirium. I start to see the front of the pack turn back into the campus ahead. I’m off in la la land again for a while, and then I see McFall is still ahead of me. I swear I thought I passed him back. And Artis is definitely starting to get reeled in.

Dammit, I’m going to hate myself if I don’t give it a try. As soon as we hit the campus, I throw down hard. And man it hurts. I can tell McFall is probably out if reach, but every step I’m gaining on Mr. Love. I ramp it up to full Blue Shoe kick mode and blast by him near the parking garage. I’m so wrecked that I am not 100 percent sure I can keep this up for the only 200 meters or so left. Luckily the course is completely flat and falls down a notch heading into the chute area. I blast through the finish in 20:14 and immediately make sweet love to the grass nearby. HR was 180 according to Garmin at the finish, so I suppose I took the race’s name very literally. Not my best, but it was all I had on a crap day, so I will take it. Good enough for 2nd masters, 10th overall. Cool plates for overall winners and cups for age groupers. But the best prize is another few weeks of living rent-free in Artis’ head. 

In the overall, David Chen crushed a 17:25 for the win, with Charlie Krause 2nd. Michael “FLYING V” Visser claimed 3rd in a PR 18:02 after just getting a PR at Light Up for Leah the night before. On the ladies’ side, Sofia Baker, Emme Crosland and Simone Handfield swept the podium. Women’s masters winners were Shawanna White, just a second off the overall podium, with Shannon Godby second. Amy Magee was 3rd.  Jonathan McFall whipped my tail for first male masters and Jerry Vaca was 3rd.

Female age groupers: Sara McFall won the 35-39, with Amanda Smyrl 3rd. Ashleigh Carpenter won the 40-44. Noel Schuch won the 50-54 with Clara Beaudet 3rd. Sherry Fadel won the 55-59. Lisa Powell won the 60-64. Lisa Smarr and Margie Shelburg went 1-2 in the 65-69. Martha Aultman won the 75+.

Male age groupers: Finn Jaworek was 2nd in the 10-15. Artis Love won the 30-34 in 20:29. Antjuan Seawright was 2nd in the 40-44. Jon Baysden and Patrick Hall went 1-2 in the 45-49. Michael Smyrl was 2nd and Michael Beaudet 3rd in the 50-54. Phil Smith was 2nd in the 60-65 in his comeback and Son Nguyen 3rd .  Lorand Batten won the 65-69. Gerald Harmon, Robbie McClam and Pete Poore won the 70-75. Richard Wright won the 75+

Notable finishers: Jim Fadel, Hayden Hall, Rusty Painter, Cassidy Carter, Drew Dickerson, Sarah Soltau, Wendy Homeyer, Nicki Charlton, Maddie Homeyer, Ben Homeyer, Heather Herndon and Mikki Barthelemy. Please let me know if I forgot anyone -drachtungbaby@yahoo.com

Pics from JP photograpy, collages by Tracy Tisdale in the CRC newsletter

Springdale 5k – Camden, SC – 9/6/25


The Springdale 5k has been a mainstay on the Blue Shoes calendar since its inception in 2009. It started out an evening race (Springdale at Sunset 5k) in late August, run entirely on the grass horse track used for the Colonial Cup. Apparently, the original directors neglected to understand that August evenings in the Midlands are exceedingly unpleasant for running , and oh yeah, no one mows the grass in the horse racing off season. I high-stepped through ankle-length grass and about died in 95-degree heat in that first race. For those interested, there is a video on YouTube. My Sasquatch ass lumbers through around the 23-minute mark, desperately blue shoeing Chad Long with a race face for the ages.

Fortunately, Erin took over this race several years later and moved it a few weeks later, on the roads and in the morning. While lacking the uniqueness factor of the horse track, it was a hell of a lot easier to run.  Easier, but not easy though.  It runs through a neighborhood called Kirkover HILLS, so this should be your first red flag. The course is a simple loop but basically drops you down for a mile and a half, and then climbs you right back up. I will say the way back up is more gradual, but it’s pretty relentless. Definitely not a course you want to blast out hard in the beginning. At least there’s a waffle bar at the finish and golden horse trophies to ease your pain. This course is tough but generally plays to my negative split favor.  Especially in 2021 when the top 3 dudes blew through a turn and left me behind to win the overall. Hey, I take holy grails any way I can get them. Just don’t ask Eric Masaitis or Steve Greer about it. Too soon.

 

So, this is race number 4 on the Blue Shoes comeback trail. It’s been a fat boy summer, so while the quad is mostly better, the food baby is still gestating. I’ve managed to drop my times from 21:22 to 20:08 in the last few weeks, so maybe there’s hope. I knew this race was not going to be fast with the course, so I was aiming to maybe make the masters podium. I show up an hour early and I am in full Debbie Downer mode. The second faux fall we were having gave way to third summer and it’s already 70 degrees at 7 am. Fabulous. Also, Friday night IPAs and whatever the hell I had for dinner are wreaking a category 5 colonic hurricane. I did my mile warmup trot and had thoroughly convinced myself this was going to be a disaster. Wah wah.

But as I made my way to the start, there were no elite guys to be found. A few kids and some young frat bro looking dudes, but no Jarvis types. Damn, I wish I wasn’t injured and fat. Shannon and Shawanna are on hand to battle it out for the women’s race. TONS of CRCers out there. The CRC team, captained by Margie Shelburg, stood at 41 at last check. We already had the team win in the bag, despite a valiant effort from the huge Clyburn family, who had over 30 runners.

The start of this race is pretty nuts. It’s flat down Knights Hill rd before turning right on Carter Street for a plunge down a mountain. Frat dudes take an early lead with Shawanna close behind. Shannon passes me and a bunch of young guys. There is one dude with a touch of grey in his hair and I latch on to him and Lady Godby. I’m pretty terrible at downhills and the early going of races in general, so this is rough for me. I start picking up Debbie Downer vibes and keep thinking about how we’re all going to have to make up this ground on the way back. We finally turn right off of Carter Street and mile 1 comes back in 6:21. Yikes. It is downhill, but now I’m afraid I’ve overcooked it. I’m still running in a pretty big pack at this time. I can still make out the leader ahead, but I’m probably sitting probably 8-10th place, which definitely opens the door for some rogue 40 year old to steal my old man glory.  Mile 2 is largely at the bottom of the hill and I’m just trying to keep pace with everyone else. We pass the fateful turn of 2021 and here we go up the hill again. It’s clear to me a lot of these guys didn’t know the course because all of a sudden, the pack is dropping like flies. I pull up even with Masterish guy and he latches on me like a caboose. To be fair, my chunky boy physique is great to draft off of. Mile 2 is 6:42, so an expected slowdown. I don’t feel terrible though, and it feels good to be making ground against the field. My pre-race slog jog was a half mile out-and-back from the finish, so pretty soon I can see the turnaround point of the warmup. I start ramping up the pace, but then I realized I was wrong. I was well over a half mile out. Oh well, I already pushed the chips in, so here goes. I start flailing away and my good feeling from mile 2 goes out the window. But there is a masters dude on my tail and I can’t let him take me down. Jennfer Ward and Betsy Long are leading a cheering section and taking pics, so I of course have to momentarily pose for them. I manage to catch Shawanna, Shannon and some guy in a football jersey in the span of about 100 meters, but I can’t shake the feeling that masters guy is lurking just behind me. Suddenly I realize I’m also holding down 3rd with number 2 just up ahead. I try to crank it up another notch, but the heart and lungs aren’t having it. Finally, I see the horse crossing sign and the little library, my signs that we’re at the last turn. I blast out whatever I have into my kick, hoping my pics won’t be too horrible. Crossed the line in 20:28 and hit the grass immediately. Totally gassed. But hey, I will take a 3rd place and an overall podium any day.

 

In the overall, 21-year-olds Jordan Greenblatt (19:25) and Coleman Bland (20:19) finished 1st and 2nd.  Shannon Godby and Shawanna White were tops on the women’s podium, with Sarah Carroway 3rd.  Top male masters were John Campolongo, Nathan McKinney and Whitney Keen. Women’s masters winners included Nikki Barthelemy, Ronda Sanders and Rita Hipp.

Ladies’ age group honor roll: Hayden Hall won the 15-19, while Jennifer Carruth won the 30-34. Jennifer Thomas won the 35-39 , with Amanda Smyrl 3rd. Ashley Carpenter was champ of the 40-44.  Amanda Holland was 3rd in the 45-49. Shenequa Coles and Angie Thames were first and third in the 50-54. Colleen Towery, Lisa Powell and Torill Nelson won the 60-64. Melody Kreling, Beverly Breuer and Lisa Smarr swept the 65-69. Helene Lipe was champion of the 70-74.

Men’s age group honor roll:  Antjuan Seawright and Nic Collins were 1-2 in the 40-44. Michael Smyrl, Drew Dickerson and Michael Beaudet swept the 50-54. Tony Yarborough, Clay Ham and Joe Roof claimed the 60-64. Lorand Batten was 2nd in the 65-69. George Cassidy and Pete Poore were 1-2 in the 70-74. Alex Ponomarev was 3rd in the 75+.

Notable Finishers: Cotton Carroway, Clara Beaudet, Paul Laymon, Lance Towery, Mary Cassidy, Teresa Shelton, Deana Rennick, Hou-Yin Chang, Rich Wright, Nicki Charlton, Traci Smith, Heather Herndon, Jennifer Reeves, Jamie Zug, Karen Vidra-Zug,  Ron Lipe and Margie Shelburg.

 

 Rosewood Crawdaddy Dash – Columbia, SC – 5/3/25

The Crawdaddy Dash is associated with the Rosewood Crawfish Festival, an event put on by the Rosewood Merchants Association to raise money for their group and the neighborhood in general.  The Dash is a rarity – a zombie race resurrected from the dead. It got its start in the early 2010s and lasted for several years. This was my favorite era of the festival, featuring washed up 90s bands reliving their glory years. Also good for aging middle-aged dads doing the same. I may or may not have been drunkly fangirling Everclear in the first row in 2015. But the race kind of petered out and died around 2019. Luckily, Erin Roof and GRIT came along to conjure the ghosts of 5ks past and the new Dash restarted in 2024. The course was the same and the start/finish (and Friday packet pickup) was at the Hunter Gatherer Hangar, so what wasn’t to love? I was asked to revive the infamous crawdaddy boxers, my “costume” from the early years of the race. Jury is still out whether they promote the race or drive people away. 

Last year’s revival was a success, but I was concerned about this year, as there were literally five Tour de Columbia races on the same day. Luckily, between CRC single and double dippers and some advertising, the event still had about 350 registered. Not too shabby. Must’ve been the boxers, obviously. 

2017ish
2018

I showed up to the race my typical hour in advance and briefly considered pulling an entitled parking spot, but the shame from True to the Brew was still fresh. No hi-vis vest guys, but I figured City Roots or somebody might have my car towed. So I hoofed it from Memorial Stadium a (gasp) quarter mile away. I still tried to negotiate a prime memorial stadium toilet, but it appeared the powers-that-be knew intrepid poopers would be on the loose. The place was locked up tight. Oh well, still plenty of portapotties at the actual start/finish. I had opted for the race shirt to go with my boxers, but again I had failed to look at the weather. Almost 70 degrees and humid. I considered changing into a  singlet, but I couldn’t deny the perfect color coordination of the boxer crawdads and the race shirt. Alas, I must suffer for my art.

Melinda’s photo with Deana

After carpet bombing the portapotty, I surveyed the field. Looked like a pretty fast group. Much to my masters and age group chagrin, bionic 45-year-old David Abel and veteran 49 year old beast Phil Midden were there, likely detonating any chance I had at a masters trophy. Of course, even my age group was questionable, since my gimpy knee has trashed the last two months of training. At least March had aged me up to 50 so now my competition was a little easier.

Credit: JP photography

After multiple start line selfies for full effect, we were off. This race is all about navigating the first mile. It’s almost all uphill, though it sets you up for a gloriously downhill second mile and fairly flat third.  Coming out of the blocks, my knee is still a little tight, so I debate back and forth whether to mail this one in or go all out. I kind of split the difference and choose something comfortably hard.  The climb to Rosewood is no joke, especially that little bump as you turn left on Holly in front of the park. The rest of the way up is fairly shady and I reminisce about the one Rosewood house with the wonderful “herbal” parties of 1995. Ah, memories.. I get knocked back into reality as we hit Rosewood and back out into the blazing sun. At least it’s flat. I hit mile 1 in 7:05, which is about a minute off what I’d like to be doing, but it’s been a fat boy spring. Rosewood is flattish to downhill, but the real roller coaster begins on Ott. It’s just a freefall all the way to Owens field. I turn to my gravitational advantage and start my butt rolling down the mountain. I had been chasing Artis, but now I’m gaining on him and yep, he’s getting passed again. I live rent free in Mr. Love’s head, and I just renewed the lease. Mile 2 is just before the Live Oak rd. cross street, 6:40ish split. I feel ok at this point and the knee is loose, but Ott bottoms out at Jim Hamilton Blvd for that long stretch to the finish. While it looks fairly flat, it is slightly uphill, and that sun is out with a vengeance. Any good vibes of mile 2 go out the window pretty quickly. I can see the YERG up ahead and I try to mount a chase. Pace is getting hotter but so is the oven that is this cotton race shirt. Damn my exquisite fashion sense. I try to blast a blue shoes kick but my gimp legs and food baby belly are vetoing that decision. Comfortably hard becomes headless chicken pretty fast though as I make the turn and still see the 20s on the clock. Alas, it is not to be. All the years of teasing Tyler McGaha (where are you, Tyler??) about his “blackjack” 5ks comes back to haunt me. The house wins, and I go over – 21:02. But hey, the knee feels ok and I’m in one piece, so I will take it. Luckily David and Phil are so damn fast they placed 2nd and 3rd overall, leaving the rest of us for masters scraps. I got 2nd behind the Yerg, so happy with that. The overall/masters awards are super nice crawdad stenciled pottery plates made by Jessica Hall, wife of Pat. Thanks, Jessica!

 

Overall/masters trophy

In the male overall, Jamie Sires took the win in 16:42 over masters beasts David Abel (17:10) and Phil Midden (18:05). Ashley Graham took the women’s win in 19:46, with Sierra Jaeger 2nd and Emily Hernandez 3rd.  In female masters, Nikki Barthelemy took the win with Rebecca Goings 2nd and the ageless Carol Wallace 3rd. In male masters, Robert Yerger was the champion.

 

Female age group honor roll: Julia Ghering was 2nd in the 25-29. Sarah Carroway was tops in the 35-39. Lauren Duck was champion of the 40-44. Brie McGrievy won the 45-49, while Deana Rennick and Melinda Waldrop went 1-3 in the 50-54. Coleen Strasburger told me she was number 1 at the finish and indeed claimed the 60-64. Beverly Breuer, Margaret Ghering (Julia’s mom) and Diane Freeman claimed the 65-69 podium. Martha Aultman won the 75+ with her dog in tow.

 

Male age group honor roll: Regan Freeman was 2nd in the 25-29, with Bruce Edmonds 3rd. Artis Love finished 3rd in the 30-34. Nic Collins was champion of the 40-44. Jon Baysden and Pat Hall were top 2 in the 45-49. Ivery Baldwin was 2nd in the 50-54. Leighton McClendon took 3rd in the 55-59. Clay Ham and Jeff Radenbaugh were1-3 in the 60-64. Luther Kemmerlin won the  70-74, and Ron Hagell and Rich Wright were top 2 in the 75+.

 

Other notable finishers: Pavel Mosneaguta, Phil Smith, Stefanie Hauser, Makenzie Wilt, Kelly Danias, Stevie Dee Dukes, Cassidy Carter, Sellers Valimohamed, Waverly Duck and Tee Coker.

Gallery below by JP Photography