Back in the second half of the 1970s when running was really getting a grip in this area, the staple of road racing was the ten-kilometer event. Every village and hamlet was hosting a road race, and most of them were 10K. Some are still around, like Thomasville's Rose City Run 10K, but many are gone. Whigham's Rattlesnake Round-Up 10K, Climax's Swine Time 10K, and Cavalry's Mule Day 10K have all disappeared. For sheer irony my favorite was the Pelham Gold Leaf Tobacco 10K, but it has faded off into history with the rest of them.
There are probably more road races than ever, but most of them are 5K events. For a variety of reasons, 5K races are easier to produce than longer runs. They're also the lowest common denominator of road racing; the director has a better chance at drawing a large crowd by putting on a race that most runners have the training to tackle. Of course, you probably aren't going to travel to a 5K, because there are probably three of them in your own home town on the same day.
Prompted by Michael Kennett's queries about 10K races in the area, I decided to do a census of the ten-kilometer events in the Trouble Afoot! region (i.e., 100 miles or less from Tallahassee). It turns out that there are still quite a few left, some of them very fine races. There are longer races out there, too, but they were never very numerous--there are probably just as many half-marathons in the region as there ever were, if not more. But just as vast herds of buffalo once darkened the plains, ten-kilometer road races once dominated the racing schedule. Just as you might go to a national park or a petting zoo to see the last of the bison, I thought it was worth while to track down the remaining 10K races. I've tried to be thorough, but I may have missed a few. If I've left your favorite off the list, please let me know.
Adel, Georgia
- Buzzard Day Road-Kill Run 10K
Most recently run 26 February 2011
Uncertified course, trail run
- Jingle Bell 10K
Most recently run 4 December 2010 (story)
2010 champions: Adam Ross (35:41), Karen Hamby (45:23)
194 finishers
USATF certified (GA09042WC)
- Running For The Bay 10K
Most recently run 1st annual, 23 October 2010
2010 champions: Joel Pieper (46:03), Anna McCalley (54:09)
88 finishers
USATF certified (FL10072EBM)
- Kiwanis River Run 10K
Most recently run 7th annual, 8 January 2011 (story)
2011 champions: Richard Jennings (33:55), Jessica Monk (49:15)
32 finishers
USATF certified (GA05001WC) - Veteran's Day Classic 10K
Most recently run 13 November 2010 (story)
2010 champions: Pauncho Hufstettler (37:09), Brook Pace (46:44)
78 finishers
USATF certified (GA98012WC)
- Missionette Extraordinary Run 10K
Most recently run 4th annual, 15 May 2010 (story)
2010 champions: Chris Holt (46:40), Angelina Horne (43:17)
19 finishers
USATF certified (GA09001WC)
- Fit to Fight 10K
Most recently run 8 May 2010
2010 champions: Brad Jones (38:35), Vicki Graf (47:41)
61 finishers
Uncertified course - Trot with S.W.A.T. 10K
Most recently run 11 September 2010
2010 champions: Joe Ferguson (44:23), Reyna Johnson (52:20)
86 finishers
Uncertified course
- Winston Howell 10K
Most recently run 33rd annual, 12 March 2011 (story)
2011 champions: Matt Dobson (35:01), Melissa Unrath (44:44)
50 finishers
USATF certified (AL96005JD)
- Moultrie Technical College Classic 10K
Most recently run 2nd annual, 1 May 2010
2010 champions: Michael Strickland (39:36), Laura Lofton (49:59)
40 finishers?
Uncertified course - Race of the South 10K
Most recently run 24 September 2010 (story)
2010 champions: Ben Hoover (41:29), Dawn Montooth (50:07)
32 finishers
Uncertified course
- Moving in Memory of Marline 10K
Most recently run 2nd annual, 15 January 2011 (story)
2011 champions: Nathan Spradley (37:26), Michaela Ashley (43:58)
33 finishers
Uncertified course
- Thomasville Road Baptist Church 10K
Most recently run 5th annual, 6 March 2010 (story) (Not run in 2011; returning in 2012)
2010 champions: Vince Molosky (34:51), Sheryl Rosen (39:03)
136 finishers
USATF certified (FL09035EBM) - Springtime 10K
Most recently run 36th annual, 2 April 2011 (story)
2011 champions: Chris Lake (32:34), Pasca Cheruiyot (34:52)
934 finishers
USATF certified (FL11044EBM) - Tails & Trails 10K
Most recently run 1 May 2010 (story)
2010 champions: Vince Molosky (35:44), Micah Adriani (42:38)
315 finishers
Uncertified course (trail run) - Tallahassee Turkey Trot 10K
Most recently run 25 November 2010 (story)
2010 champions: Josh Brown (35:23), Karen Harvey (36:47)
587 finishers
USATF certified (FL10110EBM)
- Rose City Run 10K
Most recently run 34th annual, 23 April 2011 (story)
2011 champions: Chris Lake(32:46), Donna Garcia (38:58)
??? finishers
USATF certified (GA92011WN)
- 'Dosta Dash 10K
Most recently run 7th annual, 26 March 2011 (story)
2011 champions: Scot Gardner (36:15), Alice Smoot (44:15)
97 finishers
Uncertified course
- "Ross and Hamby ring up wins at Albany's Jingle Bell 10K"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/12/albany-jingle-2010.html - "Jennings and Monk are the rapidest River Runners in Bainbridge"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/01/kiwanis-river-run-2011.html - "Hufstetler, Pace victorious at Veteran's Day Classic 10K"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/11/bainbridge-10k-2010.html - "Extraordinary runs at fourth annual Missionette 5K & 10K"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/05/missionette-2010.html - "Dobson and Unrath rule the roads in the 33rd annual Winston Howell 10K"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/03/winston-howell-2011.html - "Hoover and Montooth win the Race of the South 10K"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/09/race-of-south-2010.html - "Spradley, Ashley victors in Marline's 10K"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/01/marline-2011.html - "10K wins for Molosky and Rosen"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/03/trbc-10k.html - "Laurels, not florals, for Lake and Cheruiyot at Springtime 10K"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/04/springtime-2011.html - "Molosky and Adriani best the field at Tails & Trails"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/05/tails-trails-2010.html - "Nearly 5,000 runners devour four races at 2010 Tallahassee Turkey Trot"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/11/turkey-trot-2010.html - "Lake and Garcia go for two at Rose City Run 10K"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/04/rose-city-2011.html - "Gardner and Smoot dash rivals hopes at 'Dosta Dash 10K"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/03/dosta-dash-2011.html - Find the next 10K or other race in the area on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
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