On 14 June 1777 the Continental Congress adopted the flag of the United States. Gradually, that date evolved into Flag Day. Various local observances came first. Flag Day went national when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed it as such in 1916. Congress finally followed suit in 1949.The Flag Day 5K in Valdosta, Georgia, is one of the more recent Flag Day traditions, established in 2013. The second annual race, though, couldn't have been better if it had 237 years of history behind it. Knocking off defending champion Ryan Kelly, Lowndes High rising junior Andrew Elam won Valdosta's most recent Flag Day 5K on Saturday morning, 14 June 2014. Elam ran 17:36 for the 3.1-mile race, finishing about 60 meters ahead of Kelly's 17:49. Valdosta High rising sophomore Matthew Baun, coming off a win at the previous week's Fire Up 5K, was third in 17:58. Lowndes High rising senior Nathan Crews was fourth in the Flag Day 5K, running 18:44. Each of the top four athletes bettered Ryan Kelly's 2013 event record of 19:00.
Makenzee Page also set a new event record on the women's side. Running 21:22, Page won the women's title, placing sixth overall and breaking Alison Peters' 2013 event record of 22:47. Kelsey Morse (7th, 21:57) and Mackenzie Morse (9th, 22:08), second and third in the women's standings, also finished faster than the old record.
Rob Sheridan of Valdosta was the fastest master in the Flag Day 5K field, finishing 11th overall in 22:46. Sheridan's time was under Jim Hall's 2013 male master mark of 26:19. It was also faster than Debbie Green's overall master record for the event, 23:47. Green was no longer the fastest master ever at the Flag Day 5K, but she did successfully defend her title as top woman master, placing twelfth overall in 22:51--a new Flag Day 5K record for master women.
54 athletes finished Valdosta's 2014 Flag Day 5K. The race started at 7:30 AM ET from American Legion Post 13 on Williams Street.
Top Ten Men, 2014 Valdosta Flag Day 5K
- 17:35.9 ~ Andrew Elam (M, 16) Valdosta, GA
- 17:49.0 ~ Ryan Kelly (M, 35) Lake Park, GA
- 17:57.8 ~ Matthew Baun (M, 15) Valdosta, GA
- 18:43.3 ~ Nathan Crews (M, 17) Valdosta, GA
- 20:27.8 ~ Steven Johnson II (M, 18) Norman Park, GA
- 22:03.5 ~ Steven Johnson (M, 36) Norman Park, GA
- 22:09.1 ~ Wesley Heruska (M, 38) Hahira, GA
- 22:45.4 ~ Rob Sheridan (M, 53) Valdosta, GA
- 23:02.7 ~ Quentrell Taylor (M, 13) Valdosta, GA
- 23:08.0 ~ Rusty Jones (M, 61) Valdosta, GA
Top Ten Women, 2014 Valdosta Flag Day 5K
- 21:22.0 ~ Makenzee Page (F, 14) Ray City, GA
- 21:56.9 ~ Kelsey Morse (F, 11) Valdosta, GA
- 22:07.1 ~ Mackenzie Morse (F, 14) Valdosta, GA
- 22:51.0 ~ Debbie Green (F, 48) Valdosta, GA
- 25:11.2 ~ Martha Mazurkiewicz (F, 46) Valdosta, GA
- 25:18.5 ~ Gina Purvis (F, 55) Tifton, GA
- 25:25.6 ~ Heather Kelly (F, 36) Lake Park, GA
- 28:09.7 ~ Brooke Reese (F, 14) Jesup, GA
- 28:16.4 ~ Beth Ford (F, 45) Valdosta, GA
- 28:56.8 ~ Pollyanna Bass (F, 42) Pavo, GA
| Valdosta Flag Day 5K winners, 2013-2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Men | Women | Finishers |
| 15 June 2013 | 19:00, Ryan Kelly | 22:47, Alison Peters | 18 |
| 14 June 2014 | 17:36, Andrew Elam | 21:22, Makenzee Page | 54 |
Links
- Complete results of the 2014 Valdosta Flag Day 5K, courtesy of A Course/Line, LLC
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AuBsYKIIn3TCdDJwVXk1MFpZV1hlUXhlLXhValZRc1E
- 2013 story, "Chequered flags on Flag Day for Kelly and Peters"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/06/flag-day-2013.html
- Find the next Red, White, and Blue race in the region on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
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