Tag Archives: GRIT endurance

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

 

True to the Brew 10k – Pomaria to Peak, SC – 3/29/25

Start line selfie

The True to the Brew 10k is the original gangsta of the True to the Brew series, which started in 2018. This race is technically a trail event, though it’s held on the remnants of an old railroad bed, so it’s actually flat and fast. It is one of the few point-to-point courses on the Tour de Columbia, and starts at Wilson’s Grocery in Pomaria . The course follows the Peak-to-Pomaria segment of the Palmetto Trail in reverse, ending with the bridge crossing across the Broad River. The trailhead afterparty is known for the free beer and breakfast, so it’s always been a stop on the Tour de Blue Shoes calendar, basically because I’m up for beer at any time of day. 

I always sign up for this race way in advance, so of course I’m injured. I am still nursing a bit of a knee issue,  so yeah, pounding out a 10k on a rocky trail sounds like a great idea.  But no one has FOMO like I have FOMO. I decided to still run it, though maybe at 75 percent. Hopefully it wouldn’t wreck me. My usual taxi for the event, the McGrievys, were out galivanting in California, so luckily Jeff Curran and his wife Nicole were on board to help with transportation. It should be noted that there are a couple of large buses to shuttle people back to the start, and carpooling is completely unnecessary, but at least it makes me feel important. Packet pickup at Craft and Draft is always on point with a free beer with your bib. I even took the CRC first lady emeritus this time, though I might have bribed her with a Mr. Friendly’s date to follow. It’s only fair for her having to deal with runner talk.

We agreed to meet at 7:15 at Peak pharmacy , drop off my car there, and drive to the start. I have a confession to make – I typically blatantly disregard the established race parking (a half mile from the start) and pull up to the Wilson’s grocery parking lot in my typical aura of CRC ex-president/GRIT spokesmodel entitlement. I told Jeff to pull in the start line lot and ACT LIKE YOU BELONG. There were a few hi-vis vest guys directing traffic. Ruh roh. I told Jeff DON’T MAKE EYE CONTACT. We pull into a spot, and dammit hi-vis vest guy is following us. OH NO. He asks Jeff is he’s a runner or volunteer. SAY VOLUNTEER, JEFF. Nope. DOH! We were banished to the distant parking lot with the other commoners. CURSES.  Again, there are shuttles to and from the parking area and it’s a half mile downhill walk to the start, so absolutely no reason for being an entitled prick, but hey,  that’s kind of my trademark.

Gretchen’s selfie

I warmed up with the walk and a solo gimp jog for about a mile. The knee seemed OK, whispering “maybe this isn’t the best idea” versus screaming at me in obscenities like many of my other injuries. I strolled up to the start and conditions were pretty ideal  – 59 degrees and little wind. Pretty big crowd on hand since the race sold out, with a big CRC contingent despite the popular Vertex pump and run going on the same day.  Tanner was probably hoping for the win, but Without Limits had some singlet guy that looked pretty fast, and there was some master-ish guy with what looked like a sponsored singlet on, so that’s never a good sign. Shannon looked to be a good bet for the ladies’ podium, but there were some random women there I had never seen before. I still toed the line like I’m fast, but I know very well this is not the case right now.

 

Credit: JP photography

Sure enough, I’m getting passed left and right at the start as I try to settle into a comfortably hard pace. Knee is whispering again, but I’m hoping it will hush its mouth. The course is flat but you’re always having to maneuver over rocks, so at least every part of my knee is getting equally beat up. I clock mile 1 around 7:22, so not too bad. The knee has loosened up some, and I focus on keeping Frank Seier as a pacer, since he’s just ahead of me. The next mile or so I’m able to settle into that comfortably hard zone. The scenery is pretty much the same throughout the course so I start drifting into the usual dark and twisty things in my mind. Suddenly, this younger dude comes up and tells me “NICE CADENCE” and passes me. I assume this is an alternative version of “NICE JOB” and is superficially a compliment, but I wholeheartedly interpret as a HA HA EFF YOU OLD MAN.  OH HELL, I’m getting a “GOOD JOB” from some rando. He keeps going and I decide to latch on. We pass Frank and end up separating out, crossing the 3 mile mark road together.

The next 3 miles are pretty much the same. I’m chasing cadence boy and there’s no one else around. Pace picks up into the 7:15 ish range. Knee is whispering soft nothings by this point. The only real course difference is the underpass and hill back up to the trail at around 5 miles. I can smell the finish by this point, and I seriously consider blasting out a headless chicken to pass this guy. Definitely having fantasies of “HOW’S THS CADENCE??” while blowing by him. But one, that’s probably a really bad idea, especially on a wood slatted bridge, and two, my fitness is trash and I’m pretty beat anyway. There’s no one behind me, so I coast the last quarter of a mile across the bridge and finish in a shade over 45 minutes.  Good for 17th overall, and thanks to my newly advanced age, first in the 50-54! I guess getting old is good for something. I drowned out any further protesting by my knee in IPAs and an egg/bacon sandwich. Not a bad morning!

Credit Jp photography

In the overall, WOL singlet dude Jake Skory torched the field by over five minutes in 36:16.  Kevin McMullen, who I think was Mr. Fit masters guy at the start, finished second in 41:38, while Tanner was just behind in 41:46 for third.

Among the ladies, Shannon Godby crushed a 43:46 for first with Leah Austin 2nd and JK Sipes 3rd.  In male masters, Brian Mincel took the win with Brett Martin 2ndand John O’Brien 3rd.  Jessica Weems took 1st masters among the women, with Carol Anne Wright 2nd and Marian Nanny 3rd.

Women’s Age group honor roll: Hayden Hall was 3rd in the 14 and under. Lauren Duck was 2nd in the 40-44. Kristin Wallace won the 45-49. Jennifer McLeod, Angie Thames and Deanna Rennick swept the 50-54. Dawn Fellers was second in the 55-59. Lisa Powell was 1st and Teresa Harrington 3rd in the 60-64. Meldoy Kreiling won the 65-69 by a mere 13 minutes.

Men’s Age group honor roll: Bruce Edmonds took first in the 25-29. Trey McCain was second in the 35-39. Micah Simonen was champ of the 45-49. Frank Seier and Ed Aufuldish went 1-2 in the 55-59. Joe Roof was champion of the 60-64.  Jerry Rich, Leeds Barroll and Harry Strick rounded out an all CRC 70-74 podium.

Other notable finishers: Thomas Outlaw, Jeff Curran, Daniel Mosher, Marty Wentzel, Nicole Matros, Ken Walker, Son Nguyen, Missy Caughman, Michael and Clara Beaudet, Gretchen Lambert, Kelly Danias, Rick Gibbons, Sara Kozar, Loids Leaburn, Pam Griffin, Patrick Hall, Stevie Dee Dukes, Traci Smith, Pete Poore, Karen Vidra-Zug, Jamie Zug and Margie Shelburg. Sorry for the people I missed – please let me know if you’re not mentioned! drachtungbaby@yahoo.com

Montage: Tracy Tisdale/CRC newsletter pics by JP photography

True to the Brew 5k – Columbia, SC – 3/1/25

The True to the Brew 5k is a brand-new race that’s been added to the existing TTTB series to promote the Palmetto Trail in South Carolina. The existing races include the original 10k on the Peak to Pomaria segment and the half marathon in Croft State park in Spartanburg. The TTTB 5k was devised to highlight the Capital City part of the PT, which runs through the heart of downtown Columbia, including the Riverfront, Laurel, Main, Sumter and Wheat streets.  GRIT director Erin Roof, in the planning stages of this project, had asked me for some potential routes, provided they start/end at the PT headquarters on King Street and utilize some part of the trail. I devised what I thought was a really unique 5 miler that wrapped around the State house and came back. It sounds cool on paper, but in retrospect the Blue Shoes Hilly AF 5 miler from hell with several hundred feet of elevation gain and multiple major road crossings was probably not the best option. As it turns out, my tastes are not for everyone. Just ask my Sunday morning crew and their always ill-fated decision to have me lead. I will find every miserable hill in this city if allowed. This is the way.

Luckily for you, GRIT and PT exec director Mary Roe decided on a rectangle in Shandon that was considerably more pleasant to run. It does utilize the Wheat Street section and most importantly the PT headquarters, where the afterparty was to be held. If free beer and burgers are involved, then you don’t have to twist my arm to show up.  I arrived my standard hour in advance and found myself parking in front of what must have been some wild bro party on Lee St. the night before, since there were still a few douchey guys out front amped up on presumably red bull and vodka, +/- some nose candy. There was a lot of woooooing and I decided to avoid eye contact. My legs were still kind of trashed from the Dam to Dam relay the week before, and I did a couple miles of warmup with Silent H and Drew Williams, along with spectators Hicks and Joyce. Luckily there were ample portapotties since my colon kept talking to me for additional encore performances. Temps were warmish but not too bad, low 60s, with some wind. 

Always finding the camera

Start line was on King Street out in front of the PT headquarters. A quick look around was notable for no super elites on the men’s or women’s side. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to the photographer, so I made sure to pose in my new olive green Stitch Fix race shirt, which is long enough to cover my freakish torso and first trimester food baby. If Sarah has moved on from pageants, then someone has to be the diva. I couldn’t tell who was winning this race for the guys, but it seemed pretty clear Shannon had it in the bag for the ladies, though her pre-race fall made her look like she got in a fight with the pavement. But hey, If you’re bleeding, it does add to the bad-ass intimidation factor. GRIT family Parker Roof seemed to be the favorite to win the overall, though there were a couple of teens and a fit-looking masters dude in a singlet that might crash his trophy hunt.

The start was less chaotic with the non-elite field, but apparently, I must have gotten a contact high from the frat bros because I was going hard as a MF for some reason. Drew told me he was glad I was in a different AG now, but I had to inform him, at 5:30ish pace, that I was still 49 until Monday. Grandmasters will have to wait until next week. We turn on Wheat and I try to rein in the effort a bit, because I’m breathing way too hard out of the gates. Up ahead is Parker and masters singlet dude and one other young guy. The pace car is right there so between that, my giant ego and Drew’s elephant footclomps behind me, I am probably not backing off sufficiently. Sure enough, mile 1 (Wheat and Ravenel corner) comes back in 6:06. Yikes. But then giant ego brain convinces me that maybe, just maybe, I’m in that kind of shape now. It should be noted that I run 99 out of 100 5ks with negative splits, so this was not my usual.            

JEDI runner pics from mile 2.5

We make the turnround on Prospect and it’s a relief to at least be heading back towards home. It feels like I’ve put a gap on the field behind me and so it’s basically just me and Parker out for a run in Shandon. There’s a nice downhill drift on Monroe for a while, but there’s also a headwind, which doesn’t bode well for my less than aerodynamic physique. Mile 2 comes back in 6:11, which would be exciting, since it’s only a few seconds off sub-19 pace. Unfortunately, the cocaine-like push at the start is beginning to exact its toll. And bad. There are hardly any hills to speak of on this route but somehow just the slightest inclines start to feel like Marlboro St on Sunday mornings. I’m really struggling, and I even start doing mental math as to how much WALKING I could do and still keep my position. But I have no idea how much distance I have on the field, and then here comes Tracy taking pics. OMG, I would never hear the end of it catching the walksies in a JEDI photo. So I soldier on, despite the fact I’m ready to give birth to my lungs through my chest. At the turn onto King, I see Parker look back and I know he’s having nightmares of a pasty almost-50-year old chunky boy take his ass down in front of literally his whole family. And while I would relish the chance to exact such unbearable shame, my body is adamantly vetoing that idea. The wheels are falling off and I am sucking wind like there’s no tomorrow. Just wrecked. Luckily, I can make out the finish from forever away, which gives me a goal, but man, there is no blue shoe kick today.  I even have to back it off a couple of times so the brain in the giant melon head can get enough oxygen. Parker avoids disaster and crosses the line right at 19:00, while I muster the last bit of effort to crash across the finish in 19:17, complete with an HYC style collapse in front of PT headquarters.  OK, so that was not the best strategy. But the time isn’t too far off from the 19:10 at Run for the Saints when it was 40 degrees colder. I’ll take it.

Running on empty

Post race party was even better than I thought – burgers (meat and black bean), hot dogs, chicken salad sandwiches, chips and of course free Palmetto trail beer. Craft and Draft was also selling some additional brews. Awards were steel growlers for overall and masters, and because fit masters singlet guy took 2nd, I got to revel at the top of the podium for my masters “win”.  Hey, I’ll take what I can get. And a new chapter of grandmaster Blue Shoes starts this week. Watch out, fellow AARP members. 

COLUMBIA RUNNING CLUB GROUP PIC (Calico photography)

In the overall, Douglas Nover took the win in 17:38, with “fit masters dude” Craig Wiltshire taking 2nd in his first sub 18, 17:51. Nice work, Craig. Parker took 3rd in 19 flat. Not surprisingly, Shannon took home the women’s win in 20:39. Not too shabby for 52, especially after getting your ass kicked by the asphalt. What was surprising was Korinne Collins taking TWO MINUTES off her 5k PR to claim 2nd in 21:33. WHO DOES THAT?  Absolutely incredible. Though I will note she has followed my Sunday morning hill nightmares on multiple occasions, so this is her reward. Sellers Valimohamed continues her comeback to racing with a 3rd overall finish in 22:44.

In the female masters division, Courtney Givens took first in 22:58, while ageless CRC legend Melody Kreiling placing 2nd. Krystle Gregory from Summerville was 3rd.  Male masters was won by an olive green menace named Alex McDonald, with Drew Williams and Jeffrey Campbell third, all under 20 minutes. Middle aged men are brutal.

Age group honor roll: In the 11-14, Hayden Hall took 1stplace while Lauren Carpenter won 2nd in the 15-19. Michaela Willoughby was third in the 25-29. Meredith Frye was 2nd in the 30-34. Ashleigh Carpenter was 2nd in the 40-44 women, while Marty Wentzel and Adam Fisher were 2-3 among the men. Brie McGrievy was 2nd in the 45-49 women. Micah Simonsen was 1st and Jon Baysden 3rd among the men. Amanda Lyons and Kana Rahman went 1-2 in the 50-54. The 55-59 group featured Lynda Leonardi and Sara Wilcox topping the women’s division and Randall “SILENT H” Hrechko and president Roy Shelley winning the men’s division. Phil Smith captured the 60-64 men’s crown while Pam Griffin and Lisa Powell went 2-3 among the women. Beverly Breuer, Mary Cassidy and Lisa Smarr swept the 65-69 women’s podium, while George Cassidy, Jerry Rich and Pete Poore did the same among the 70-74 men. Martha Aultman and Brigitte Smith were 1-2 in the 75+ women while Alex Ponomarev and Ken Lowden claimed the top two spots among the men. 

Other notable finishers (I tried my best to include everyone, let me know if I missed anybody, also would love to meet new CRC members) : Patrick Hall (whose Dog Daze company also sponsored the race), Ted and Anna Hewitt, Webster Lyons, Violet Beets, Katherine Meyers, Bertha Woehl, Leighton McClendon, Sarah Soltau, Joanna Holden, Missy Caughman, Deana Rennick, uiGretchen Lambert, Shiela Bolin, Clara Beaudet, Teresa Harrington, Lois Leaburn, Makenzie Wilt, Harry Strick, Maria Pray, Traci Smith, Andrea Bowman, Kristin Wallace, Karen Vidra-Zug, Dianne Steadman, Heather Herndon, Dianne Freeman, Jonathan Kozar and Sara Kozar.

Calico photography /montage from Tracy Tisdale/CRC newsletter

 

Shandon Turkey Trot and Burn 5k – Columbia, SC – 11/29/24

Gobbles the Turkey. I stared at this costume monstrosity for a long time on Amazon in 2019 before pulling the trigger. It included an oversized tail, faux beer-belly like turkey gut, giant wings and a hideous head cap with hanging gobbler. To say it was ugly is a vast understatement. But a dare from Erin and my dedication to duty as part-time GRIT endurance spokesmodel was too great to resist. The Shandon Turkey Trot and Burn unofficial mascot was born.

 

45 bucks well spent

The Trot and Burn actually is the resurrection of the original Shandon Turkey Trot, which had been a Columbia running fixture for more than 30 years. It used to feature a 8k race and 4k walk/run and featured a psychologically brutal course, since it was 2 loops. But the race started getting overshadowed by the ton of other Thanksgiving races and it started to die off. Fortunately, GRIT moved the event to Black Friday in 2019 and the race has been regaining momentum ever since.  The first year had 300ish runners and this year it was just short of 800. Clearly it was all because of my spokesmodeling.

The original promo from 2019

 

My original thought with the turkey costume in 2019 was just to phone in an easy run, but as it turns out, I have nothing less than 100 percent to give once that bib gets pinned on. The turkey costume is also deceptively run friendly, as it essentially comes down to running in a slightly heavy dress. The legs come out one hole – just hike it up and blast out the speed. The only real pain is the constantly flapping beer belly and the constricting head piece. Somehow, I churned out a 19:06 in the thing back in 2021, which I can’t even do in regular clothes now. In recent years Rob has joined me as an anorexic Santa. I’ve managed to beat him in years past, but just barely, leading to multiple epic holiday costume showdowns on the last drag on Woodrow St. 

 

2021

Fast forward to this year, and things are looking rough for a good turkey time. The Richmond marathon was great but wrecked me for at least a half a week. I could barely walk. Of course, I couldn’t miss the Sleigh Bell Trot on Monday so I had to do that. And there was the 10 miles at Randy’s Thanksgiving Day long run the day before, coupled with an overly aggressive front yard wiffle baseball game at my parents’ house for Thanksgiving. Needless to say, I was feeling less than confident about churning out another fast 5k. But apparently perpetually abusing my body is my favorite thing to do, so let’s go.

I warmed up a little with the world’s skinniest Santa, but the main concern is MAKING SURE I DON’T HAVE TO POOP. I mean that’s always a problem, but figuring out the portapotty logistics in a giant turkey outfit is less than ideal. Luckily my colon appeared to be cooperating.

Start line from JP photography

At the start line, this thing is huge. I couldn’t even see the back of the pack, but I think it had to be diverted into the Shandon Presbyterian parking lot. There were definitely some fast people in this race but I made sure to toe the line for maximum picture exposure. I take my egomania very seriously. The start was a total stampede, and I may or may have not have almost clotheslined Ashley Holman with my wing flapping. This course is a series of Shandon rectangles and is mostly flat, but the Woodrow start is an absolute racetrack. No elevation change and straight as an arrow for a half mile.  I feel like I’m going pretty hard, but I’ll be damned if Shannon and Rob/Santa aren’t leaving me for dead right off the bat. I try and settle in a rhythm. Drew and Tracy are at the first turn on Heyward, so more grandiose picture posing ensues. Rounding the corner, we fly down a long decline on Heyward before rising up near Sims street. Mile one in 6:29. Looks like a sub 20 may not be in the cards today. Pretty soon I catch up with Ed Aufuldish and try and surge past. But Fast Eddie is not having it.  I try and hang on his coattails while the course turns on to Ott, Duncan and then the turnaround on Bonham right near the old Dry Run (R.I.P.) finish line. Turning back home on Wilmot is a relief because I am definitely sucking wind at this point. It doesn’t help my gobbler keeps rising up and blocking my mouth. Kristin Wallace is on hand to take some pics of his absolutely beautiful scene, with my turkey dress showing my white ass legs and my face half covered. Oh, the sacrifices I make for my performance art.

Kristin Wallace’s pic

Mile 2 is in 6:33so it’s going to take an epic kick to pull off the sub 20. But I dream at night of epic kicks, so here goes. Ed is telling me he’s not in 5k shape, and he is post-marathon too, so I manage to slide past him as we turn back on to Heyward. I can see crystal meth Santa ahead but there is no way I can catch him. Ed is still right on my tail too. Turning onto Woodrow for the half mile finish, I make one half-hearted wing flap for Tracy’s video then push in all the kick chips. Near Hand middle, I can just about make out the clock and it’s going to be close for that 19:59. I see Shannon just ahead and I almost think about sparing her the turkey trample, but it’s already too late for that. I catch her about 50 meters out and blast towards the line like it’s the Olympic 100 meter final. BAM. 19:52 by my Garmin. Full on HYC style collapse in the finish chute. I’ll take it.  Good enough for 2nd in AG behind Ozempic Santa.

Poetry in motion, JP photography

Swag is awesome as usual with Turkey trophies for all the overall/age group winners, plus the all-important group competition with COLUMBIA RUNNING CLUB taking first place (over 50 entrants) ! We got a box of pretzels and a giant turkey pretzel as well from Philly pretzel factory. Epic carb load! 

Stuffing the turkey (photo Deana Rennick)

In the men’s overall Mark Kushinka crushed the field with a 16:14 with Liam Jones and Daniel Brown 2nd and 3rd.  Fort Mill’s Angeline Kravitz took the women’s win but our own Ashley Holman was 2nd . Beth Walker was 3rd.

Masters: The men’s division was a trio of grandmasters beasts with Robert McBee, Herbert Krabel and Jeff Brandenburg. These guys are all 57 and over and still killing it.  Shannon threw down a mean kick and broke 20 to take the women’s masters win, solidifying her 3rd place ranking in the state. Erin Abby and Barbara Brandenburg were 2nd and 3rd.

Age group honor roll women: Lilly Holman won the 11-14. Michaela Willoughby won the 25-29. Sara McFall was 1stin the 35-39 and Korinne Collins was 3rd with a new 5k PR! Amy Magee was 1st and Megan Duffy was 3rd in the 40-44.  Stephanie Fischer, Shenequa Coles and Angie Thames swept the 50-54. Joyce Welch and Lynda Leonardi were 1-2 in the 55-59. Melody Kreiling and Lisa Powell went 1-2 in the 60-64, while Carol Wallace and Beverly Breuer did the same in the 65-69. Kathy Paget won the 75-79.

Age group honor roll men: Finn Jaworek was tops in the 1-10. Parker Roof was 2nd in the 20-24. Regan Freeman and David Chen were 1-2 in the 25-29.  Wesley Sawyer and Jonathan McFall were 2nd and 3rd in the 35-39.  Yerg, the turkey and Michael Beets won the 45-49.  Ed Aufuldish, Frank Seier and Randy Hrechko swept the 55-59. Phil Smith and Jeff Radenbaugh went 1-3 in the 60-64. Jerry Rich and Leeds Barroll were 1-2 in the 70-74. Alex Ponomarev and Richard Wright were 2-3 in the 75-79. Jesse Smarr was 3rd in the 80 plus!

 

Notable finishers: 

Eric Gilfus, Joey and Gabby Swearingen, Antjuan Seawright, Patrick Hall, The Outlaw family, The Fischer family, Ashleigh Carpenter, Merritt McNeely, Bertha woehl, The Homeyer family, Kana Rahman, Missy Caughman, Michael Beaudet, Lynn Ann Sawyer, Penny Leitner, Roy and Riana Shelley, Pam Griffin, Jessalyn Smith, Teresa Harrington, April Joyner, Melinda Waldrop, Gretchen Lambert, Pete Poore, Heather Hawn, Dawn Fellers, Cassidy Carter, Nicole Charlton, Kelly Hynes, Ron Hagell, Tee Coker, Stevie Dee Dukes, Heather Herndon, Kristin and Poppy Laughlin, Margie Shelburg, Amy Hildreth, Simon Krabel, Michelle Edmundson, Kerry Stubbs. Sorry to those I missed!

Collages by Tracy Tisdale, editor in chief, CRC NEWSLETTER , pics from facebook and JP photography where indicated

Nightmare in Elmwood 5k – Columbia, SC – 10/26/24

The Nightmare in Elmwood 5k is one of the newer races on tour, first held in 2022, but it’s already one of my favorites. I mean, you don’t have to twist my arm to do race cosplay, and this one actually encourages it. Add in a unique course, GRIT endurance direction and a lot of neighborhood support and there’s no surprise why this event is already popular.

My biggest concern, like trying to find a good pair of blue shoes, is the unique balancing act of finding a cool costume that is also at least somewhat “runnable”. The fact is most runnable costumes are fairly lame and the coolest ones are terrible for trying to throw down a decent 5k. I mean, I love costumes, but I also love CRC points. And with my insane age group, I ‘m going to need to need at least a sub-21. I was seriously thinking about a more timely Beetlejuice ensemble, but I’ve come to realize that if I want to run fast, it’s going to have to be in a dress. And Beetlejuice is full on striped suit with pants, like HYC post race.  Oh sure, they may call them tunics, kilts or robes. But let’s be real, any fast costumes have dresses.  Also, ventilation is key. Halloween always seems to end up in some fourth or fifth conjuring of summer that never seems to end in this town. I have pics of my poor 3-year-old ready to have heat stroke because daddy thought he looked so cute as a (pre Mandalorian) baby Yoda.  So, I once again surrendered my man card and went in search of the coolest (literal and metaphorical) dress I could find.

Fortunately, I enlisted some help from another fellow cosplayer, your newsletter editor Mrs. Tisdale, and came across Halloweencostumes.com. For what they lack in name creativity, they certainly make up for in terms of selection. And they had an awesome William Wallace Braveheart costume. Sure, a 1995 movie that probably no one under 40 has seen isn’t exactly timely, but I’ve been stuck in the mid-90s for the past three decades anyway.

I thought I got a good deal on the costume, but it turns out the model online was also sporting about 30 bucks of accessories like the sword, wig and blue face paint. Oh well, I had already committed so I shelled out the cash. Trying on everything at home showed me it was an awesome costume, and definitely runnable. The con was that the wig, which also could double for any 1980s hair band ensemble, was insanely itchy and hot. But alas, I must suffer for my art.

On race morning, I was nervous about putting on the blue makeup, so I skipped any double dipping. Fortunately, my wife is understanding of my overall bizarreness, so she gave me a brief tutorial of using sponge wedges to apply the blue face paint. That morning I gained a new appreciation for what women go through, as I desperately tried not to ruin my blue foundation with wig hair flyaways. I kept having to flamboyantly flip my hair back and I decided that my man card may need to be permanently revoked.  Though this may have already happened thanks to my Downton Abbey/Bridgerton obsession, so I guess it was all good.

I showed up to the race an hour early and one of the parking lots was already full. Dang, this was getting to be a big event. Lots of Halloweening out there, so I figured I had minimal chance of winning the costume contest. My extensive experience has shown that cute kids win everytime, with hot girls a close second.  Dead last are middle aged man-children with wigs and makeup. JP photography was there along with freelancer Sean Rayford so hopefully I’d get lots of pics at least. My ego needs feeding somehow. 

I warmed up some on the course, having done the whole thing on Friday. The race goes to benefit the Elmwood Neighborhood Association, so the homeowners go all out on the decorations, especially since there’s a prize for the best one. Seriously, I’ve never seen a community so into an event. Yerg, who was not in costume, ran some with me, so I knew masters was already out of the picture. The course has an insane drop and tough climb in the beginning and the end, though a lot of the middle is fairly flat. The route takes you through Elmwood then does an out and back to Finlay Park before returning to the finish.

 

With the start, I made sure to pose for Julie, because I just have to be an attention whore. We headed out on Bryan street before turning right on Park and then plummeted down the hill. It’s pretty steep, and I kept thinking Julia Ghering in her Michael Myers mask might end up on the concrete. That would be a weird ER trip for sure. After reaching the bottom, you head right back up on Lincoln. At this point I had broken free from the pack, but Yerg, Regan, and Shannon were kicking my ass. Dr. Kushinka had already destroyed the field out in front. I always set my sights on “first costume” in this race and there was some dude in a Bob Ross outfit with a dress shirt, artist’s palette, brushes and jeans that was right by my side. Poor Bob had already sweated through his shirt like he had jumped in a lake. We were together through the top of the hill when I felt a loosening of my kilt/dress and the whole shoulder wrap fell off. OMG, I’m going to have to stop. THERE ARE ONLY UNDIES DOWN THERE. I don’t need any more moments like the green velour leprechaun incident, which make gray sweatpants seem modest. Fortunately, I was able to yank the strap up, reach around and tuck it in my belt with only a few seconds of jogging mid-race. Never have I been more grateful for switching out the cheap fabric costume belt with a real leather one. 

The short break actually helped a little, so I kicked it back into 5k mode and caught up with Bob Ross. One mile mark was in 6:40ish near the Elmwood Cemetery. We then hit the Vista Greenway which is mostly flat. Bob , whose real name is Bruce, asks me what my real 5k time is. His is apparently 19:50ish, so I felt like I could probably take him, especially with his jeans. Though he did look 20 something so you never know. I was able to pass him near the turnaround in Finlay Park and we headed back home. The way back was cool since you got to see everyone else in the field. Lots of cool costumes. Heading back into Elmwood, I was getting slightly faster but the hair band mop on my head was absolutely cooking my brain. I climbed the first hill and saw Rayford taking pics. One of Sean’s photos was on the front of the New York Times for Hurricane Helene a few weeks ago, so I did my best William Wallace charge in his direction. I’m sure a random cosplay dude in a costume 5k in Columbia is also NYT cover worthy. I fell down the cliff again to Confederate Avenue and steeled myself for the brutal Park St climb. It’s short but it is insanely steep. I powered up Park and could see Yerg, Shannon, Parker Roof and Regan ahead. I saw Parker stop to walk for a second and I started trying to throw down a kick. Sadly, I only had fumes left. Regan and Shannon also seemed to get Parker running again, so I realized I wasn’t going to have enough room to catch them. One last turn onto Bryan street and I could see the 20s on the clock already. I mounted a weak kick, but made sure to pose for Julie again at the finish. Time was 20:41, so not too shabby, especially given that course and the near wardrobe malfunction. I’ll take it!

In the overall men, Kushinka crushed the field in 17:10, with Benjamin Laprise 2nd and Robert McBee 3rd. Shelby Gurley was top female, with Shannon Godby 2nd and Avery Farr 3rd. Male Masters was won by the Yerg, while Ronda Sanders was tops among the masters women.

Age Group honor roll (female): Jordan Seeger was 2nd in the 20-24. Michaela Willoughby and Julia Ghering were 2-3 in the 25-29. Mary Kate Korpita won the 30-34. Ashleigh Carpenter was 3rd in the 40-44, while Kristin Wallace and Sarah Soltau were 2-3 in the 45-49. Welcome back, Sarah! Stevie Dee took 2nd in the 50-54, while Lynda Leonardi and Pam Griffin went 1-3 in the 55-59. Brigitte Smith was tops in the 75+

Age Group honor roll (men):  Parker was 2nd in the 20-24. Regan Freeman and Bruce Edmonds were 2-3 in the 25-29. William Wallace was 1st in the 45-49. Drew Dickerson was 3rd in the 50-54, while Roy Shelley and Joey Swearingen were 1-2 in the 55-59. Clay Ham and Eliere Tolan were 1-3 in the 60-64. Jerry Rich was champ and Pete Poore 3rd in the 70-74. Ron Hagell and Richard Wright claimed the top 2 in the 75+

Other notable finishers: Antjuan Seawright, Korinne Collins, Karen Kryzanowski, Eme Crawford, Michael and Clara Beaudet, Missy Caughman, Leighton McClendon, Marcus Cunningham, Wendy Homyer, Makenzie Wilt, Sara Wilcox, Kana Rahman, Kara Clyburn, Melinda Waldrop, Gretchen Lambert, Hou-Yin Chang, Nikki Charlton, Michelle Edmondson, Jennifer Glass, Lynn Kramer, Kerry Stubbs, Heather Hawn, Shiela Bolin, Margie Shelburg, Rachel Trott, Susan Weaver, Kristin and Poppy Loughlin.

The costume contest was basically prizes for everyone, though true to my prediction the kids (toy story) and the Fia group (Inside Out) were probably the top choices. I did get a bag of Cromer’s popcorn to soothe my ego though!

 

https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/131775#resultSetId-504483;perpage:5000

Springdale 5k – Camden, SC – 9/7/24

 

The Springdale 5k in Camden has been a staple of the Blue Shoes calendar since 2009, when it used to be held on the horse track, in the evening, in August. Although the post-race beer and party were on point, the 95-degree weather and ankle-deep grass definitely left something to be desired. Luckily, Erin Roof and GRIT revamped the race about a decade ago and changed it to the neighborhood near the horse track, switched it to morning, and delayed it to September. While the morning is less beer friendly, she made up for it with a full-service waffle station. It is a sight to behold. There is a slight possibility that you may not have burned off waffle-level calories in a 5k, but I like to remain blissfully ignorant of that.

With the fall race season about to kick in, this weekend’s tour provided three races, which would hopefully spread the field out for trophy opportunities. The church one in Lexington looked promising for a possible holy grail overall win, but do they have waffles??? I don’t think so. In addition to breakfast bliss, Springdale also offers giant horsehead trophies, which are second only to the Stomp the Swamp (R.I.P.) gator head for pure awesomeness.

Camden is only 25 minutes from my house, so I showed up my customary hour early. They have a mobile home like bathroom set up instead of portapotties, perfect for my also customary colonic destruction. Craft and Draft Friday happy hour will always exact its toll. One of my issues with this race is misjudging the finish, so I did a quick mile out and back to make some visual markers to know where I was. FYI, 1912 Forest Drive is almost exactly a mile from the finish arch.

Strolling up to the start line, I started to get a little nervous. Yes, there were a fair number of teenagers there. But no Jarvis, no Branham, no Striggles…. could this be another holy grail? I’m still holding on to my embarrassing non-tour 2023 Veteran’s Day 5k lean-at-the-tape at full Mach 5 blue shoe kick to beat a 19 year old girl as my last win. Shame is not a burden with which I deal.

I started thinking about strategy. It’s actually very simple. One half downhill and flat, one half uphill. You want to go hard in the first 1.5 miles, but you have to leave plenty in the tank for that climb. It’s not super steep, just unrelenting.

At the start, all the kids blast out way too fast and it takes most of a quarter mile before they drop off. A half mile in, and I’m freefalling down the course. The kid at the very front, who went out in like 5 flat pace, suddenly stops and I think he’s done. One of the neighborhood dogs comes tearing out and starts losing its mind barking, which I guess gives him enough adrenaline to get him going again. And I’ll be damned if he isn’t hauling ass again. Luckily the dog chills out a bit and gives us all a WTF ARE ALL THESE HUMANS COMING FROM look.  One human I’m concerned about is a dude with some gray and a myrtle beach marathon singlet. I’m chasing kids, but I can’t be complacent about unknown fast dads. He’s just to my side, so I throw down a burst to try and break a fellow old man’s spirit. Mile 1 comes through in 6:15, which is probably ideal for my race plan. Fast enough to be near the front but not fast enough to destroy me.

I spend the flat area at the hill bottom trying to psych myself up for the pain that will ensue. The front runner guy is blasting the field, and I can barely see him. I guess the holy grail will remain elusive. There is one other kid about 20 meters ahead, so I set my sights on taking him down. The hill starts and it is not fun. That nice shady breeze in the first half suddenly gets replaced by a wet blanket of warmth and humidity. While it might not be a flattering fashion choice with my frighteningly white body, at least my singlet is letting in some ventilation. Mile 2 in 6:35, so I guess I got a little too scared of the hill. Gotta pick it up to break 20 and catch this kid in front of me. But oof it is getting tough. I’m still fighting off a year of Achilles-based trash fitness and probably some IPA pounds, so this is not fun. But I am ever so slowly reeling in the kid. The hill just keeps going, and each corner seems like the end. Finally, there’s a flat stretch and I can see one of those free library boxes that signifies the last turn. I start throwing down hard and pretty soon I’m right on this dude’s tail. He’s probably 120 lbs. tops but I am going to pass him like a runaway 18-wheeler. But then it happens. Just as I creep up on his side, he throws down an epic kick of his own and leaves me in the dust. Nooooooo! But there’s nothing I can do. The old man is getting beat at his own game. To make matters worse, I can also tell I am going to just miss 20 minutes. I cross in 20:03, 3rd overall. Not my best, but I can’t say I left much on the course. It did help that the kid, 15-year-old Jake Rust, scored a PR and was super happy with it. Good job, Jake. The old man gives you props…and I’m coming for you next time.

In the overall, 16-year-old Ben Rabon took the win, fighting off a dog in the process. Jake was 2nd and the Albino Sasquatch 3rd. Eleven-year-old Skyler Spilker won the female overall with Sarah Carroway and Jennfer Carruth also on the podium.

John Campolongo, Roy Shelley and Whitney Keen won male masters, while Ronda Sanders, Melody Kreiling and Zaiton Abubakar won on the women’s side. Melody was also the overall age graded time at 76%!

Age group women: Hayden Hall own the 11-14. Noa Miller took the 30-34. Catherine Sostak was 3rd in the 40-44. Kritin Wallace won the 45-49 with dog in tow. Caroline Keen and Clara Beaudet went 2-3 in the 50-54. Bertha Woehl was 3rd int eh 55-59 while Colleen Towery won the 60-64. Beverly Breuer and Mary Cassidy were 1st and 3rd in the 65-69

Age group men: Eric Gilfus won the 35-39. Whitney Keen and Anthony Godfrey took the top 2 in the 50-54. Clay Ham, Joe Roof and Phil Smith swept the 60-65. George Cassidy was champ of the 70-74, while Richard Wright won the 75+ . Bill Iskrzak was 3rd in the 75+ in his first race back after injury. Good to see you back, Bill!

Other notable finishers: Patrick Hall, Marty Wentzel, Drew Dickerson, Michael Beaudet, Teresa Shelton, Deanna Rennick, Pete Poore, Nicki Charlton, Traci Smith and Jennifer Norris.

https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/77754#resultSetId-485147;perpage:5000

Sweat it Out 5k – Columbia, SC – 6/1/24

I still consider it a newer race, but the Sweat it Out 5k has somehow been around since 2015 and is now in its 9th year. It has been a regular on the Blue Shoes and Tour de Columbia calendar, initially directed by fellow Sunday run slog jogger Shannon Godby and then taken over by Erin and GRIT endurance a few years later. True to form for an Erin Roof race, this event has featured some of the best swag, including the iconic Ernest Lee painting awards, which currently decorate my office and act as my Zoom/Teams background. I know my coworkers are impressed. The race proceeds go to benefit the National Foundation of Ectodermal Dysplasia, a group of disorders that includes hypohydrosis, or the inability to sweat. Nick, the son of race director Jamie Duke, has the condition, and it’s been cool to see the toddler at the first race now grow to a preteen.

 

Tragically, the year of the wonky Achilles wrecked my Sweat it Out streak in 2023, but given that I’m back at least at 85-90 percent, I wasn’t going to miss this year. At our first meeting of the year, the CRC board decided to bump up this event to cherished double points status, so it was sure to be a stud fest. I usually don’t look to have a fast time at this race with the heat, so I did a quick check of the forecast on Monday to see how miserable it would be. But wait… hold the phone, what is this?? 55 degrees?  That’s incredible for June in this famously hot town.

 

Sure enough, I show up at 6 am for the 7 am start and it is actually COLD. People had jackets on and everything. 54 degrees by my car thermometer. At packet pickup, fellow GRIT spokesmodel Sarah suggested this year’s event be called “Shiver it Out”. She wasn’t wrong. The early start always throws a wrench into my pre-race colonic song and dance. It’s often a three act play but you can never rule out an encore performance. We would see. I did a couple miles with H, McElderry and Yerg to warm up, and by the time I get back there are beasts everywhere. Somehow, I managed 2nd overall in 2019 with a 20:20 something time. I might not be in the top 20 with that time this year. Jarvis and David Williams were sure to podium on the men’s side, but there were also masters studs OJ and Dimery.  Joy Miller and Ivanka were picks to win among the women, but JLy, Ashley, Shannon, Sellers and Lindsey were also there to throw down some good times. Also, there were a whole slew of singlet wearing fast looking old dudes that were giving me the jitters. Damn you rando superfit dads.

Ten minutes before the start, I realize someone has indeed been cheering for the colon to come back on stage. DAMMIT. The line was a little long at the portapotties but it was moving. Thankfully Erin gave us an extra 5 minutes to poop. The start line is just ridiculous. I love to be grandiose and toe the line at most local 5ks but my fat ass was going to get run over if I did that for this race. I backed up probably 5 rows just to be sure. Reportedly there were 50ish CRC members on hand, and I don’t debate that number based on who I could see. Based on my start line selfie, I can see Mike Shrum, Eric and Sarah Allers, Jonathan McFall, Dimery, David Williams, Silent H, Brett Martin, Sellers, Rob THE YERG Yerger, Lindsey, Kirkwood , Patrick McElderry, Clay Ham, Sophie Homeyer, Dr. Ghering, Patrick Hall and Levi Beck. 

 

The start was as predicted, a total blast out of the gates with all the fast people. I got passed by a ton of people given my usual negative split plan. There’s nothing I hate more than going too hard early and dying a thousand deaths in the last mile. But with the cool weather and feeling like I’m getting left in the dust, I probably amped it up more than usual. This course is virtually flat, with the only real hill coming an agonizing 2.5 miles in. I focused on keeping a steady pace and hanging on to Jly and Sellers, both known for going out blazing fast.  Jordan makes sure Jen knows I’m right there and mocks the decidedly minimal amount of blue in my shoes. “WHITE SHOES!” I hit mile in 6:10 and there are still a ton of people ahead of me. Damn this is a competitive race this year. We are almost done with the second out and back loop before I finally catch Jly. The YERG is crushing it up ahead, so I try and stay in striking distance. I can tell that maybe, just maybe, the blue shoe mojo is coming back because I don’t feel abjectly awful at this point. It also probably helps that it feels like October. The third loop is the last and it’s a direct out and back trip on Saye Cut Rd. I was glad just to make it to Saye Cut before Hunter left it, but it isn’t long before he and a whole host of SC’s finest road racers come into view headed back.

The YERG

Saye cut ends at a cone and I turn around like a runaway bus, also trying not to tweak anything in the process. Right on my tail I see Bobby Bartley , Ashley Holman and JLy. I’m starting to hurt a bit now, but I have YERG in my sights. I think I’ve got him but damned if he isn’t slowing down. We turn back on the Galway to head straight back to the start, and I can see the infamous hill looming ahead. Garmin chirps back at 6:13 so staying pretty even. I almost draw even with Rob at the hill, but he is even better at hill climbing than I am, having done a ton of mountain ultras. In front of Meadowfield, I know there is less than a half mile to go. I have Yerg just ahead, but there’s also a red singlet wearing guy (later ID’d as Bruno Alcalde) with some gray in his hair just ahead of him. Damn masters is brutal in this town. Yerg starts to ramp it up and he draws even with Bruno and then slowly edges ahead. I feel like death, but if there’s a finish line to be seen I know I can always find another gear. The trick is knowing not to push in all the chips too early. As we clear Meadowfield, I can see the finishing arch in the distance. HERE WE GO. Time for the Blue, or perhaps white, shoe kick. Full throttleup commences and I weave through Bruno and Yerg and out into the open. And oh man, it hurts. Full karate chop hands, giant head bobbing all over the place, and form going all to hell. Mile 3 alert pops up but I am in full tunnel vision by this point. For some reason I feel compelled to lunge at the line like it’s an Olympic sprint and I have to full on HYC style collapse in the finish area. That is the sacrifice to make all of 16th place. 19:19 by chip and consolation 2nd in age group since OJ got on the masters podium. While my chicken man award may be smaller this year, I’m pretty psyched for my fastest time since spring of last year. Plus, I got a GRIT gift at the award ceremony. I wasn’t sure who she was describing until she mentioned “giant ego” and then I knew it was me. Yep, just like the Carly Simon song.

Karate, anyone?

 

In the overall, Hunter Jarvis correctly navigated the course this week en route to a win in 16:14. From the way he looked on Saye Cut, it was like a jog in the park for him. David Williams was second in 16:35 and new Columbian Shawn Wiler was 3rd in 16:39. 

Joy Miller took home a big win in the women’s race, clocking 17:57 before hopping in the car to Sumter to double dip another win an hour or so later. Ivanka Tolan kicked my tail en route to second place in 19:08, with Ashley Holman claiming third in 19:52.

 

Masters on both sides was nuts: Dimery, Orinthal Striggles and Aaron Schaffner claimed the male podium, with Jason and OJ going sub 17. On the women’s side, Shannon Godby was the champion with Marian Nanney 2nd and Sarah Allers 3rd. Sarah, OJ and Ivanka were the top age graded athletes, all hovering right at 85 percent. Incredible. Shannon, Joy, Dimery and Robert McBee also crossed the 80 percent age grade, representing national class level competition. Not too shabby for a local 5k!

 

Age group honor roll (female): Lilly Holman was 2nd in the 11-14. Hannah Williams won the 15-19. Sellers was 3rd in an insanely competitive 25-29. Lindsey Hendren won the 30-34. Jennifer Lybrand, Kara Stevens and Sara McFall took top 3 in the 35-39. Shenequa Coles, Stephanie Dukes and Angie Thames swept the 50-54.  Lynda Leonardi won the 55-59. Colleen Towery was champ of the 60-64. Diane Freeman and Margie Shelburg won the 65-69.

 

Age group honor roll (male): Graham McLaughlin was 2nd in the 20-24. Josh Odell was tops in the 25-29 with Regan Freeman 2nd. Levi Beck won the 30-34. Mike Shrum, Johnathan McFall and Wesley Sawyer claimed the podium in the 35-39. Bruno Alcalde, Bobby Bartley and Brett Martin (new PR!) took top 3 in the 40-44. Brad Batchelder won the 45-49 over the epic Blue Shoes/YERG battle. Patrick McElderry, Johnathan Kirkwood and Eric Allers swept the 50-54. Robert McBee, Roy Shelley and Silent H won the 55-59, while Clay Ham, Eliere Tolan and Phil Smith did the same in the 60-64. Pete O’Boyle won the 65-69 while Jerry Rich and Leeds Barroll went 1-3 in the 70-74. Richard Wright and Ken Lowden claimed the 75+.

 

Other notable finishers: Kerry Stubbs, Maria Pray, Clara Beaudet, Harry Strick, Pete Poore, Hou Yin Chang, Nicole Charlton, Gretchen Lambert, Traci Smith, Deanna Rennick, Melinda Waldrop, Wendy Homeyer, Teresa Shelton, Missy Caughman, Sophia Homeyer, Tug Quarles, Leighton McLendon, Son Nguyen, John Richards, Michael Beaudet, Michaela Willoughby, Drew Dickerson, Patrick Hall and Julia Ghering.