Monday, July 6, 2015

Hensley and Suda repeat in Gainesville's Melon Run

Florida Track Club's Three-Mile Melon RunMost road races in the United States are metric distances. In spite of that, the courses of most of those races are marked off in miles. So it's a common experience to run by the four mile mark during a ten kilometer event, however contradictory that might seem. Likewise, during a typical 5K in America you'll have to pass the three-mile mark on the way to the finish--a finish line that's still 172 meters away. Have you ever been so tired at that point that you wished you didn't have to run that 172 meters? That you wished the finish line was right there, at the three-mile mark?


If so, the Florida Track Club feels your pain. The Gainesville, Florida, running club held an Independence Day 5K in 1979, the “5 km Metric Melon.” But for the sequel on 4 July 1980, Florida TC knocked off the final 172 meters and rebranded their race as the Melon Run Three Mile. That's what it has been every year since, a maverick event measured in miles amidst the herd of metric road races. Even in 2015, when construction in the Massey Park area made it necessary to race on a new two-loop course, the Melon Run was still three miles.


Mike Hensley was a repeat winner in Florida Track Club's 37th annual Melon Run on Saturday morning, 4 July 2015. 29-year-old Hensley ran the three-mile course in 15:59, finishing just over 200 meters ahead of the next runner. On second thought make that just over 220 yards ahead of the next runner. You also don't need a calculator to figure out that Hensley's pace was a little bit faster than 5:20 per mile.


At 16:41, Calum McFetridge was the runner-up and the top master in the race. Joel Cartwright took third in 17:00.


Betsy Suda won the women's title for the fourth time in the last five years, this time Suda was tenth overall in 17:41. Former Lake Highland Prep (c/o 2009) distance runner Anne Elise Creamer was second in the women's standings, placing 16th overall in 18:04. Meredith DeFranco was the third female finisher, 23rd overall in 19:15.


304 athletes finished the three-mile run. If history teaches us anything, Florida Track Club's 38th annual Melon Run will be on 4 July 2016, and the race will be 4828 meters long. You can call it three miles.


Top Ten Men, 2015 Melon Run Three Mile
  1. 15:59 ~ Mike Hensley (M, 29)
  2. 16:41 ~ Calum McFetridge (M, 50)
  3. 17:00 ~ Joel Cartwright (M, 21)
  4. 17:12 ~ Dan Monteau (M, 51)
  5. 17:23 ~ Hutson Rapier (M, 32)
  6. 17:22 ~ Michael Aitken (M, 21)
  7. 17:29 ~ Joe Sansalone (M, 18)
  8. 17:30 ~ Drew Kieszek (M, 39)
  9. 17:30 ~ John M Sansalone (M, 19)
  10. 17:43 ~ Brett Gerhardt (M, 18)

Top Ten Women, 2015 Melon Run Three Mile
  1. 17:41 ~ Betsy Suda (F, 33)
  2. 18:04 ~ Anne Elise Creamer (F, 24)
  3. 19:15 ~ Meredith Defranco (F, 31)
  4. 19:34 ~ Maggie Rice (F, 17)
  5. 19:45 ~ Sarah Edens (F, 18)
  6. 19:46 ~ Cynthia Spangler (F, 37)
  7. 19:52 ~ Kacy Seynders (F, 23)
  8. 19:58 ~ Alex Stanojev (F, 22)
  9. 20:05 ~ Mandy Harrell (F, 31)
  10. 20:40 ~ Maddie Steiner (F, 16)

Gainesville, Florida, Melon Run Three Mile winners, 1979 - 2015
DateMenWomenFinishers
4 July 1979*15:43, Paul Rehfus22:04, Diann Eley
4 July 198014:47, Joe Dubina18:14, Ruth Smith167
4 July 198114:25, Jeff Kramer18:51, Lisa Davis179
4 July 198215:14, Byron Dyce20:10, Ann Hanrahan
4 July 198315:14, Roger Sutton18:14, Ruth Smith
4 July 198414:29, Scott McMillen18:06, Kathy Schaefer
4 July 198514:47, Mark Kennard18:25, Kathy Schaefer279
4 July 198615:22, John Matthews18:28, Shelly Allen219
4 July 1987
4 July 1988
4 July 198915:20, Scott McMillen18:00, Anita Kelly
4 July 199015:08, Scott McMillen19:09, Johanna Reneke
4 July 1991
4 July 1992
4 July 199315:14, John Pianhorst18:01, Jim Schultz
4 July 199415:31, Randall Hollinger19:04, Lisa Gable
4 July 199514:58, Stephen Kortenkamp17:14, Monica O'Reilly
4 July 199614:48, Randall Hollinger19:38, Annemarie Kosarek
4 July 199715:34, Randall Hollinger17:58, Wendy Frazier
4 July 1998
4 July 199914:57, Connor Holt18:52, Shannon Lennon
4 July 200015:51, Randy Hollinger18:40, Shannon Lennon240
4 July 200116:22, Randy Hollinger18:48, Allison Burnett276
4 July 200215:40, Darin Shearer18:44, Ashley Espy281
4 July 200315:49, Alex Phipps17:55, Anna Brew311
4 July 200416:07, Justin Jacobs18:26, Larisa Timchina222
4 July 200515:44, Enoch Nadler17:59, Friderike Wilde222
4 July 200615:35, Michael Anderson17:53, Sheryl Rosen282
4 July 200715:02, Alex Phipps18:03, Amanda Hahn406
4 July 200815:43, Geoffrey Anderson17:39, Lisa Vaill460
4 July 200915:34, Andrew Robinson18:48, Michele Howell287
4 July 201014:46, Michael Anderson17:30, Allison Costello308
4 July 201115:38, Michael Anderson17:38, Betsy Suda339
4 July 201215:24, Michael Anderson18:05, Betsy Suda460
4 July 201314:58, Mike Hensley20:00, Danielle Kolb410
4 July 201414:34, Matt Hensley17:32, Betsy Suda444
4 July 201515:59, Mike Hensley17:41, Betsy Suda304
* The inaugural race in 1979 was the “5 km Metric Melon.”


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Posted by Herb Wills at 5:34 PM
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