Kelly repeats and Elam wins at the Valdosta Thanksgiving Day 5K

Thursday morning, 26 November 2015, marked the seventh year in a row that runners were in the streets of Valdosta, Georgia, on Thanksgiving morning, competing in the Valdosta Thanksgiving 5K. Valdosta High cross country coach Ryan Kelly was the fastest of those runners, winning the 3.1-mile race in 18:22 and successfully defending his 2014 Thanksgiving title. Valdosta's Amber Elam was the women's champion, finishing 20th overall in 22:13.


Two high school cross country runners battled for second, with Valdosta High sophomore Quin McGlamery beating out Science Hill High frosh Thomas Seeley 18:30 to 18:41. Just nineteen days earlier, McGlamery had been part of his team's 24th-place showing in Georgia's class 6A State Meet, while Seeley scored on Science Hill's fourth-place squad in the Tennessee class 3A State Meet. High school athletes grabbed seven of the top ten places in the race, but the top master runner in the Thanksgiving 5K took one of the three remaining spots--Valdosta's Rick Mazurkiewicz was ninth overall in 19:34. It was Mazurkiewicz's second year in a row as the fastest master runner in the race.


Fort White High sophomore Sheridan Plasencia was second in the women's standings, finishing 24th overall in 22:58. Plasencia came from just over the state line in Fort White, Florida, but the third female finisher traveled all the way from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to race--fourteen-year-old Sally Hubner placed 26th overall in 23:18. Martha Mazurkiewicz narrowly edged out Debbie Green for top woman master honors, 23:45 to 23:48. Mazurkiewicz was 33rd overall and sixth in the women's standings; Green was 34th overall and the seventh woman.


No one came close to John Seppala's 2009 record of 16:39 or Erin Miller's 2014 women's record of 18:28, but there was a record number of finishers in the race. 203 athletes finished the 2015 Valdosta Thanksgiving 5K, the first time since the race's inception that more than 200 crossed the finish line.


Top Ten Men, 2015 Valdosta Thanksgiving Day 5K

1. 18:21.8 ~ Ryan Kelly (M, 36) Lake Park, GA
2. 18:29.4 ~ Quin McGlamery (M, 15) Valdosta, GA
3. 18:40.2 ~ Thomas Seeley (M, 15) Johnson City, TN
4. 18:54.1 ~ Colin Prinsloo (M, 27) Hahira, GA
5. 18:58.4 ~ Nick Rosatti (M, 18) Hahira, GA
6. 19:15.8 ~ Davis Stewart (M, 17) Valdosta, GA
7. 19:30.8 ~ Jackson Green (M, 18) Valdosta, GA
8. 19:31.3 ~ Andrew Elam (M, 17) Valdosta, GA
9. 19:33.6 ~ Rick Mazurkiewicz (M, 48) Valdosta, GA
10. 19:35.7 ~ Tyler Seeley (M, 13) Johnson City, TN

Top Ten Women, 2015 Valdosta Thanksgiving Day 5K

1. 22:13.0 ~ Amber Elam (F, 26) Valdosta, GA
2. 22:57.3 ~ Sheridan Plasencia (F, 16) Fort White, FL
3. 23:17.3 ~ Sally Hubner (F, 14) Tulsa, OK
4. 23:35.9 ~ Brianna Prinsloo (F, 28) Hahira, GA
5. 23:37.1 ~ Erica Meade Levy (F, 29) Washington, DC
6. 23:45.0 ~ Martha Mazurkiewicz (F, 47) Valdosta, GA
7. 23:48.0 ~ Debbie Green (F, 49) Valdosta, GA
8. 23:53.2 ~ Kelly Davis (F, 26) Valdosta, GA
9. 24:31.8 ~ Taryn Seeley (F, 12) Johnson City, TN
10. 25:14.7 ~ Karen Sunarc (F, 41) Suwanee, GA

Valdosta, Georgia, Thanksgiving Day 5K winners, 2009 - 2015
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
26 November 2009	16:39, John Seppala	19:20, Ashley McGee	118
25 November 2010	17:48, Masked Avenger	21:31, Gretchen Bielmyer	191
24 November 2011	17:42, Nathan Norton	22:01, Gretchen Bielmyer	146
22 November 2012	17:45, Masked Avenger	21:10, Angela Bruhl	115
28 November 2013	16:55, Brandon Hough	19:03, Erin Miller	101
27 November 2014	17:14, Ryan Kelly	18:28, Erin Miller	103
26 November 2015	18:22, Ryan Kelly	22:13, Amber Elam	203

Links

• Complete results of the Valdosta's 2015 Thanksgiving Day 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1z0PlNYmCchzcvgZnFYM-s825xE-v5R0are-Ly1XdFoM/pubhtml
  
  
• 2014 story, “Kelly wins as Miller sets record at Valdosta's Turkey Day 5K”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/11/valdosta-thanksgiving-2014.html
  
  
• 2013 story, "Hough and Miller fly to Thanksgiving Day wins in Valdosta"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/11/valdosta-thanksgiving-2013.html
  
  
• 2011 story, "A speedy Thanksgiving morning in Valdosta for Norton and Bielmyer"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/12/valdosta-thanksgiving-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, "Avenger, Bielmyer run to Thanksgiving Day wins in Valdosta"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/11/valdosta-thanksgiving-2010.html
  
  
• Find a future holiday race on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1559

Fast runs in the Daylily City for Kelly and Elam

Just 13 hours after and 40 miles north of his Friday night victory in a Lake Park, Georgia, 5K race, Ryan Kelly was competing on Saturday morning in the streets of Adel, Georgia. It was a successful double for the Valdosta High cross country coach as he won the sixth annual Daylily City 5K in 17:50, breaking his own 2014 course record of 17:58. On the women's side, Amber Elam took the women's title in 21:29, just missing Alice Smoot's event record of 21:28, set in the 2011 race.


Rick Mazurkiewicz was the top master runner in the race, finishing second overall in 19:31. Cody Pezent placed third in 21:08. Elam's top women's time of 21:29 placed her fourth overall. Debbie Green of Valdosta was the women's runner-up and the top woman master in the race; Green came in sixth overall in 22:28. Houston, Texas, master runner Judy Alexander was third in the women's standings, finishing ninth overall in 23:45.


Timing and finish line service for Adel's 2015 Daylily City 5K were provided by A Course/Line, LLC, of Valdosta, Georgia.


Top Ten Men, 2015 Daylily City 5K

1. 17:49.7 ~ Ryan Kelly (M, 36) Lake Park, GA
2. 19:30.5 ~ Rick Mazurkiewicz (M, 48) Valdosta, GA
3. 21:07.2 ~ Cody Pezent (M, 14) Adel, GA
4. 21:52.2 ~ Billy Taylor (M, 66) Valdosta, GA
5. 23:18.8 ~ Blake Beverly (M, 34) Adel, GA
6. 23:38.3 ~ Rodney Elam (M, 51) Valdosta, GA
7. 23:51.8 ~ Will Gates (M, 25) Barney, GA
8. 24:13.2 ~ Matthew Conyers (M, 33) Adel, GA
9. 26:45.9 ~ Will O'Quinn (M, 11) Adel, GA
10. 27:27.3 ~ Alan O'Quinn (M, 42) Adel, GA

Top Ten Women, 2015 Daylily City 5K

1. 21:28.3 ~ Amber Elam (F, 26) Valdosta, GA
2. 22:27.9 ~ Debbie Green (F, 49) Valdosta, GA
3. 23:44.2 ~ Judy Alexander (F, 53) Cypress, TX
4. 23:56.2 ~ Nancy Elam (F, 51) Valdosta, GA
5. 24:00.8 ~ Josie Mazurkiewicz (F, 19) Valdosta, GA
6. 24:19.9 ~ Lauren Bewley (F, 33) Valdosta, GA
7. 24:53.4 ~ Martha Mazurkiewicz (F, 47) Valdosta, GA
8. 25:20.4 ~ Angela Pezent (F, 41) Adel, GA
9. 26:51.3 ~ Shonna O'Quinn (F, 40) Adel, GA
10. 28:05.4 ~ Whitney Bardales (F, 24) Carrollton, TX

Adel Daylily Festival 5K champions, 2010 - 2015
Date	Men	Women
5 June 2010	18:58, John Seppala	25:34, Becky Thompson
4 June 2011	18:18, Masked Avenger	21:28, Alice Smoot
2 June 2012	18:33, Masked Avenger	21:54, Jacki Pinkerton
17 May 2013	18:19, Ryan Kelly	26:03, Heather Kelly
17 May 2014	17:58, Ryan Kelly	24:04, Shonna O'Quinn
16 May 2015	17:50, Ryan Kelly	21:29, Amber Elam
Prior to the first 5K race in 2010, there was a 10K Blossom Trot in 2009.

Links

• Complete results of the 2015 Daylily City 5K (Courtesy of A Course/Line, LLC)
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19E_918zUEdNLC1IVFkwAfFHOQ50aUS95prfLJFX0aSA/pubhtml
  
  
• 2013 story, “No toiling, no spinning, just running for Kelly and Kelly”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/05/adelily-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, “Avenger and Pinkerton win a bloomin' 5K”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/06/adelily-2012.html
  
  
• 2010 story, “Seppala and Thompson win at Adel”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/06/adelily-2010.html
  
  
• If there's a race in the region for your favorite flower, then you'll find it here
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1396