Dewayne Riley rolls to his third straight Billy Bowlegs 5K title

Back in 1975, when the inaugural Billy Bowlegs Midnight Run was contested on the streets of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, the run was three miles long, it was a midnight race that actually started at midnight, and there was a rotating trophy. The names of the winners were engraved on the trophy, and anyone who won the annual event three years in a row got to keep it permanently.


Over the years the Billy Bowlegs was bumped up to a stylishly metric five kilometers and the starting time was moved to earlier in the evening. I'm not sure what happened with the rotating trophy, but it was many years before anyone managed to win the race three times. Winning the race even once was impressive enough. It took nine years before Mike Zeressen became the first to win the Bowlegs twice in a row, in 1982 and 1983.


So it was no small accomplishment when on Saturday evening, 3 June 2017, Dewayne Riley of Milton, Florida won the 43rd annual Billy Bowlegs 5K, his third title in three years at the Fort Walton Beach classic. The race finished on the Fort Walton Beach High School track, and Riley's winning time was 16:47, which put him half a lap of the 400-meter track ahead of the runner-up. Of Riley's three Bowlegs wins, it was his largest margin of victory.


Sheldon Harris took second in 17:30, just ahead of the 17:37 posted by third-place runner Owen Bradley of Birmningham, Alabama. Jonathan Campbell was the fastest master runner in the race, placing eighth overall in 18:52.


Brigid Gutierrez of Niceville, Florida took the women's title, coming in 21st overall in 21:07. Donna Harris was the first woman master and second female finisher, 47th overall in 23:19. Eleven-year-old Joey Shonk edged fourteen-year-old Jensen Shonk for third in the women's standings, both girls clocked in 23:21. The Shonks each ran on the Liza Jackson Prep School cross-country team during the 2016 season.


290 athletes finished the 2017 Billy Bowlegs 5K. Results Event Timing, LLC, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida timed and scored the run.


Top Ten Men, 2017 Billy Bowlegs 5K Night Race

1. 16:47, Dewayne Riley (M, 30) Milton, FL
2. 17:30, Sheldon Harris (M, 20)
3. 17:37, Owen Bradley (M, 39) Birmingham, AL
4. 17:47, Tim Kogge (M, 33) Fort Walton Beach, FL
5. 18:14, Anthony Damato (M, 33)
6. 18:16, Payton Watson (M, 16) Freeport, FL
7. 18:34, Steve Harris (M, 37) Pensacola, FL
8. 18:52, Jonathan Campbell (M, 40)
9. 19:10, Ken Lawrence (M, 49)
10. 19:21, Kent Glover (M, 15)

Top Ten Women, 2017 Billy Bowlegs 5K Night Race

1. 21:07, Brigid Gutierrez (F, 24) Niceville, FL
2. 23:19, Donna Harris (F, 48)
3. 23:21, Joey Shonk (F, 11)
4. 23:21, Jensen Shonk (F, 14)
5. 23:33, Shannon Lord (F, 21) Valparaiso, FL
6. 23:37, Susan Frazier (F, 22)
7. 23:39, Paula Piazza (F, 53)
8. 24:50, Donna Pink (F, 49)
9. 25:14, Kristen Santroch (F, 28) Fort Walton Beach, FL
10. 25:16, Margie Clements (F, 54)

Billy Bowlegs Midnight Run winners, 1975 - 2017
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
31 May 1975	Mike Clay	Cathy Sigler	82
5 June 1976	14:30*, Tim Simpkins	17:11*, Esther Stovall	132
4 June 1977	14:33*, Ken Misner	17:37*, Nancy McCormac	202
3 June 1978	14:48*, Jeff Galloway	17:43*, Nancy McCormac	~450
2 June 1979	14:58.5*, Mike Conley	17:52*, Dolly Harrison
31 May 1980	14:43*, Fred Carley Jr.	17:28*, Dolly Harrison	~1200
30 May 1981	14:43*, Jere Boutz	17:30*, Judy Stokley	~1200
5 June 1982	14:33*, Mike Zerressen	17:04*, Judy Stokely
4 June 1983	14:34*, Mike Zerressen	17:04*, Barbara Balzer	1086
2 June 1984	14:28*, J.D. Evilsizer	17:41*, Barbara Balzer	1039
1 June 1985	14:17*, Mark Patterson	16:39*, Helen Rogers	1475
7 June 1986	14:45*, Mike Plumb	Michele Linihan
6 June 1987	14:26*, James Frazier	18:03*, Jodie Steigerwald	1100+
5 June 1993	15:01, Matt Dobson
7 June 1997	15:14, Everett Whiteside	17:14, Sarah Kramer
6 June 1998	15:10, Everett Whiteside	18:18, Kelly Wild
5 June 1999	14:56, Rudolf Jun	17:59, Kelly Wild
3 June 2000	15:51, Rudolph Jun	17:29, Anna Pichrtova	524
2 June 2001	15:44, Steve Garst	18:06, Kelly Wild	530
1 June 2002	15:34, Everett Whiteside	20:08, Sarah Nandes	557
7 June 2003	16:07, James Frazier	18:27, Sarah Kramer	472
5 June 2004	16:22, Travis Deutman	18:23, Kelly Wild	382
5 June 2005	16:11, Brennan Galloway	18:34, Kelly Wild	450
4 June 2006	16:38, James Uthmeier	18:29, Kelly Wild	516
3 June 2007	15:41, Everett Whiteside	19:02, Kelly Wild	667
8 June 2008	16:06, Kyle Vanzile	19:07, Anna Hallex	685
6 June 2009	16:27, Adam Saloom	19:52, Kate Accardo	778
5 June 2010	15:55, Adam Saloom	18:57, Megan Jenkins	600
4 June 2011	15:57, Adam Saloom	19:46, Lisa Lewis	658
2 June 2012	15:21, Adam Saloom	19:20, Debby Vannoy	711
1 June 2013	15:45, Adam Saloom	18:50, Cynthia Blendermann	621
7 June 2014	16:29, Frito Bandito	18:52, Cheryl Held	530
6 June 2015	16:37, Dewayne Riley	19:05, Logan Bishop	495
4 June 2016	16:46, Dewayne Riley	19:47, Lillian Holtery	402
3 June 2017	16:47, Dewayne Riley	21:07, Brigid Gutierrez	290
* Early races in the series were three miles rather than five kilometers.

Links

• Complete results of Fort Walton Beach's 2017 Billy Bowlegs 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VZA3NsRaooyMD6j67ALxf1Ek585LI4lOa7RNCdPD3QU/pubhtml
  
  
• 2015 story, “Riley and Bishop win the race inspired by the Dread Pirate Bowles”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/06/fwb-bowlegs-2015.html
  
  
• USATF Course Certification Map FL13020EBM for the 2015 Billy Bowlegs 5K
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL13020EBM
  
  
• Find other 40-year-old races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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