Kelly and Batt rule in the Red Nose Run

Finishing two kilometers ahead of the next runner, Valdosta Middle School cross-country coach Ryan Kelly won the half marathon at the third annual Red Nose Run in Thomasville, Georgia, running 83:18. Coming from even farther away from the Rose City, master runner Sarah Batt of Savannah, Georgia, successfully defended her 2012 women's title in the race, finishing third overall in 93:22. Michael Kennett of nearby Tallahassee, Florida, was the first master in the half marathon, placing second overall in 92:47. 74 athletes completed the 13.1-mile race.


The half-marathon and the Red Nose Run 5K started together at 8:00 AM on Mill Pond Road next to the campus of Thomas University. After 2500 meters the competitors in the shorter race turned back, and the half-marathoners had the course to themselves. They ran south on Magnolia Road, a quiet country drive. The grass along the road was still littered with cotton bolls that had fallen off of trucks headed from the fields to the gins during the harvest. Ryan Kelly was already well in the lead at this point. At about seven kilometers the course left Magnolia Road to continue south on the Metcalf Road, where the rolling hills of the southwest Georgia countryside really got rolling.


"I wasn't ready for those hills," said Kelly, used to the flat country around his home in Lake Park, Georgia.


Kelly was more ready than anyone else in the field, though. He reached Magnolia Road four minutes ahead of the next runner, Thomasville's Gareth Pyle. Not far behind Pyle were Sarah Batt and Michael Kennett. Batt and Kennett chased Pyle to the turnaround on the out-and-back course. Unlike the previous year, this time the turnaround was in the right place, just south of Hall Cemetery. Soon after the turn, Batt and Kennett caught Pyle.


No one was going to catch Ryan Kelly, though. On the way back to Thomas University and the finish line he only got farther ahead, going on to win in 83:18. Michael Kennett passed Sarah Batt to take second and the first master spot in 92:47. Batt was third in 93:22, first woman and first woman master. Gareth Pyle hung onto fourth with a 98:13. Paulino Cruz of Moultrie edged out Thomasville's Mary Anne Grayson for fifth, 99:45 to 99:50. Conley Wilhelm, sophomore cross-country runner at Thomas County Central High, took seventh with a 1:42:15, and Tallahassee's Laura McDermott was eighth in 1:42:30.


Top Ten Men, 2013 Red Nose Run Half Marathon

1. 1:23:17.9 ~ Ryan Kelly (M, 35) Lake Park, GA
2. 1:32:46.9 ~ Michael Kennett (M, 40) Tallahassee, FL
3. 1:38:12.4 ~ Gareth Pyle (M, 34) Thomasville, GA
4. 1:39:44.8 ~ Paulino Cruz (M, 25) Moultrie, GA
5. 1:42:14.7 ~ Conley Wilhelm (M, 15) Thomasville, GA
6. 1:43:39.3 ~ Camilo Ordoñez (M, 34) Tallahassee, FL
7. 1:45:54.8 ~ Jerry Searcy (M, 44) Pavo, GA
8. 1:51:26.4 ~ Lance Parker (M, 31) Thomasville, GA
9. 1:55:09.6 ~ Zafar Shahbaz (M, 56) Floral Park, NY
10. 1:56:19.4 ~ Stephen Mayfield (M, 49) Bainbridge, GA

Top Ten Women, 2013 Red Nose Run Half Marathon

1. 1:33:21.5 ~ Sarah Batt (F, 48) Savannah, GA
2. 1:39:49.8 ~ Mary Anne Grayson (F, 47) Thomasville, GA
3. 1:42:29.3 ~ Laura McDermott (F, 34) Tallahassee, FL
4. 1:46:05.6 ~ Melissa Luke (F, 32) Tifton, GA
5. 1:51:43.8 ~ Tiffany Nunnally (F, 34) Thomasville, GA
6. 1:54:38.7 ~ Cassie Mills (F, 27) Thomasville, GA
7. 1:56:58.9 ~ Christie Pontis (F, 28) Tallahassee, FL
8. 1:59:21.5 ~ Tiffany Craig (F, 33) 
9. 2:01:14.3 ~ Heather Pence (F, 40) Tallahassee, FL
10. 2:02:22.2 ~ Dylan Snowden (F, 23) Tallahassee, FL

The junior race, the 5K, didn't quite suffer from a misplaced turnaround like the one that plagued the 2012 half marathon. However, some runners found the small "T5K" painted on the pavement to be a bit cryptic, and would have appreciated a large sign captioned with an unambiguous "5K RUNNERS TURN AROUND HERE," or a U-turn arrow chalked on the pavement, or a helpful course marshal. Absent these guides, the field still reversed course before they got as far south as Metcalf, Georgia, and made it back to Thomasville University and the finish line having covered about 3.1 miles. It had to have helped that the winner, Charlie Lang of Tallahassee, Florida, had run the race the year before. A sophomore cross-country runner at Leon High, Lang successfully defended his title, posting a 20:39. Another Tallahassee cross-country, Jay McDuffie of Maclay School, finished runner-up in 20:49. Angela Cipriani, a freshman cross-country runner at Thomasville's Thomas County Central High, topped the women's standings in the race, placing 15th overall in 23:05. 237 athletes finished the 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2013 Red Nose Run 5K

1. 20:37.3 ~ Charlie Lang (M, 15) Tallahassee, FL
2. 20:48.4 ~ Jay McDuffie (M, 13)
3. 21:21.5 ~ Gavin Wilson (M, 18)
4. 21:25.2 ~ Morgan Dunaway (M, 13)
5. 21:31.2 ~ Stephen Sullivan (M, 38)
6. 21:39.7 ~ Marcus Watson (M, 26)
7. 21:41.6 ~ David Wolff (M, 16)
8. 21:48.2 ~ Matthew Lewis (M, 9)
9. 21:53.1 ~ Ryan Waldrep (M, 15)
10. 21:58.8 ~ Peyton Price (M, 11)

Top Ten Women, 2013 Red Nose Run 5K

1. 23:04.7 ~ Angela Cipriani (F, 14) Thomasville, GA
2. 23:45.8 ~ Nancy Herring (F, 58)
3. 23:49.2 ~ Rosalie White (F, 19)
4. 23:51.0 ~ Tracy Morrison (F, 41)
5. 24:12.4 ~ Anna James (F, 10)
6. 24:31.8 ~ Abigal Moore (F, 19)
7. 25:20.2 ~ Kayley Tudor (F, 17)
8. 25:20.7 ~ Peggy Simpson (F, 68)
9. 25:29.3 ~ Cindy Lewis (F, 37)
10. 25:37.5 ~ Donica Williams (F, 34)

Thomasville, Georgia JSL Red Nose Run winners, 2011 - 2013
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
10 December 2011	5K	17:08, Stephen Robbins	19:56, Angelina Horne	272
15 December 2012	Half Marathon	73:51, Charlie Johnson	83:05, Sarah Batt	96
	5K	21:04, Charlie Lang	23:41, Lindsey Poole	349
14 December 2013	Half Marathon	83:18, Ryan Kelly	93:22, Sarah Batt	74
	5K	20:38, Charlie Lang	23:05, Angela Cipriani	237
The 5K was the sole race contested in 2011. In 2012 the half marathon course was cut short. In 2012 and 2013 the 5K was run on USATF certified course GA12116WC. In 2013 the half marathon was run on USATF certified course GA12117WC

Links

• Complete results of the 2013 Red Nose Run half-marathon and 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AuBsYKIIn3TCdGhhSDZEZFFQM19weDZZZi1NTVRxLVE
  
  
• More photos of the 2013 Red Nose Run Half Marathon
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10103945288467133.1073741938.5215641&l=27e27a8ede
  
  
• 2012 story, "Red Nose course comes up short, but not Charlie Johnson"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/12/red-nose-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, "No Rudolph here; Robbins and Horne win Red Nose 5K"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/12/red-nose-2011.html
  
  
• USATF course certification map GA12117WC, Red Nose Run Half Marathon
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=GA12117WC
  
  
• USATF course certification map GA12116WC, Red Nose Run 5K
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=GA12116WC
  
  
• Upcoming half marathons and other races in the region
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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