At the 6 August 2011 edition of the Coach Mike Run For The Kids 5K, Maclay School cross-country coach Gary Droze ran 17:17, half a minute better than Charlie Johnson's 2009 course record for the event. Unfortunately for Coach Droze, FSU Seminole track and field alumnus Alex Smyth had already won the race in 15:59. Nearly a quarter mile back, Droze was runner-up and top master. Katie Showman won the women's division in an event-record time of 19:27, while Paula O'Neill was the top woman master in 23:01.
Scheduled for 8:00AM ET, the third annual race started from Cobb Middle School sometime around quarter after the hour. Smyth had a lead of ten seconds before the runner had gone 400 meters. Behind him, Joseph Garcia was in second, closely trailed in order by Robert Abellera, defending champion Peter Kaus, Stanley Linton, Gary Droze, and Michael Nesius. The runners swiftly descended the hill on Mitchell Avenue, Smyth getting farther out in front with every step. By the base of the hill, early in the second kilometer, Linton had moved into second followed by Garcia and Abellera. Kaus was next, with Droze on his heels. Nesius was still in seventh. Midway through the third kilometer, the runners made a turnaround on Crestview Drive. Smyth was now leading by over 200 meters; no one was going to catch him without intervention from a stray meteor or a runaway dump truck. Garcia had moved back into second ahead of Linton. Droze had moved up into fourth just behind Linton, with Kaus and Nesius next. Abellera had fallen off the pace, no longer in contention for second.
During the fourth kilometer the runners started back up the Mitchell Avenue hill, "Mount Mitchell." If Smyth noticed the ascent he hid it well. Behind Smyth, the other runners had sorted out the fight for second by the time they reached the peak. Droze took control of second on the ascent, and Nesius moved up into third, where he finished in 17:38. Linton slid to fourth (17:56), Kaus into fifth (18:11), and Garcia all the way back to sixth (18:21).
In contrast to the men's race, no runner dominated the women's competition from the outset. Katie Showman and Kara Taylor were running shoulder to shoulder early in the first kilometer, with Sheryl Rosen and Kelly Stevens in pursuit. After descending "Mount Mitchell," Taylor was leading the women early in the second kilometer with Showman and Rosen not far back, and Stevens behind them. Taylor reached the turnaround during the third kilometer a step or two ahead of Showman and ten seconds ahead of Rosen and Stevens. Once again, "Mount Mitchell" had its say. Showman reached the top of the hill as the clear women's leader. Rosen and Stevens passed a fading Taylor. Rosen crested the hill ahead of Stevens and took off after Showman. Showman held off Rosen's late charge though to collect the win, 19:27 to 19:30. Stevens was the third woman in, 13th overall in 19:40, and Taylor the fourth, 15th overall in 19:56.
104 athletes finished the race. Proceeds from the race will go to support the cross-country running programs in Leon County middle schools. At the starting line, race director Tolar Griffin announced, "This will probably be the last year we run this course." After climbing "Mount Mitchell," the majority of the 104 finishers just might be ready to try a different route next year.
Top Ten Men, third annual Coach Mike Run For The Kids 5K
15:59 Alex Smyth (M, 23) Tallahassee, FL- 17:17 Gary Droze (M, 50) Tallahassee, FL
- 17:38 Michael Nesius (M, 26) Tallahassee, FL
- 17:56 Stanley Linton (M, 17) Crawfordville, FL
- 18:11 Peter Kaus (M, 27) Tallahassee, FL
- 18:21 Joseph Garcia (M, 15) Tallahassee, FL
- 18:36 Stephen Robbins (M, 14) Cairo, GA
- 18:57 Jeff Armstrong (M, 36) Tallahassee, FL
- 19:07 Cole Tessier (M, 28) Tallahassee, FL
- 19:29 Evan Francis (M, 14) Tallahassee, FL
Top Ten Women, third annual Coach Mike Run For The Kids 5K
19:27 Katie Showman (F, 29) Tallahassee, FL- 19:30 Sheryl Rosen (F, 27) Tallahassee, FL
- 19:40 Kelly Stevens (F, 29) Tallahassee, FL
- 19:56 Kara Taylor (F, 21) Tallahassee, FL
- 23:01 Paula O'Neill (F, 50) Tallahassee, FL
- 23:44 Juanita Chalmers (F, 29) Tallahassee, FL
- 24:05 Fran McLean (F, 53) Tallahassee, FL
- 24:22 Andrea Stephens (F, 34) Tallahassee, FL
- 24:29 Rebecca Lightle (F, 28) Tallahassee, FL
- 25:02 Sandra Canada (F, 48) Woodville, FL
| Coach Mike Run For The Kids 5K champions, 2009-2011 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Men | Women |
| 6 August 2011 | 15:59 Alex Smyth
| 19:27 Katie Showman
|
| 7 August 2010 | 19:21 Peter Kaus | 20:35 Lyndsey Spragins |
| 8 August 2009 | 17:47 Charlie Johnson | 19:54 Emily Ness |
Links:
- Complete results of the 2011 Coach Mike Run For The Kids 5K at gulfwinds.org
http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2011/Coach%20Mike%202011.html
- More photos of the 2011 Coach Mike Run For The Kids 5K
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100951402867873.3187890.5215641&l=827f2abaec
- Fred Deckert's photos of the 2011 Coach Mike Run For The Kids 5K
https://picasaweb.google.com/Freddecka/CoachMike11
- 2010 story, "Kaus and Spragins scale 'Mount Mitchell' at Coach Mike's 5K"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/08/coach-mike-2010.html
- Find upcoming races that avoid the slopes of "Mount Mitchell" at Trouble Afoot!
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
Herb, I ran this race last year too and both times my Garmin shows the minimum elevation as 101ft and max elevation 256ft. Does this sound at all accurate?
ReplyDeleteCole,
ReplyDelete101 feet sounds plausible, but 256 feet sounds a bit high. Based on what I remember from studying USGS topo maps of Tallahassee, I don't think that there is a point inside the city limits that is 256 feet above sea level. (I also remember that anything lower than 100 feet was probably under water.) Playing around with a mapping utility I'm getting just under 110 feet and just over 210 feet. If that's right, it's a difference of over 100 feet, which is a huge hill in this area. Some of the monsters on Old Centerville Road only climb 80 feet.
Herb.
Interesting. Thanks for the info. That hill is brutal. If they change the course I won't miss it.
ReplyDeleteJust noticed Katie's time in your race summary is listed as 19:07 instead of 19:27.
Enjoyed the write-up & pictures, but not Mt Mitchell.
Cole,
ReplyDeleteGood eye on that time discrepancy! I've made the appropriate correction.
Herb.