Another win for Chris Lake at the Red Cross Hurricane 5K

The 2009 Red Cross Hurricane 5K was run in the Southwood area of Tallahassee, but when I arrived their Labor Day morning, I wasn't sure of the course. But Bill Lott was there, so I checked with him. "Are they running the Turkey Trot 5K course?"

"It's the old Turkey Trot course," answered Bill.

"Um, how old?"

It turns out that "old" was not very old at all, and the Red Cross race would use the 2007 and 2008 Turkey Trot 5K course (USATF #FL07043EBM), which is only "old" in that the Turkey Trot won't use it in 2009. I was familiar with the loop, and decided to camp out around the end of the first half mile on Shumard Oaks Boulevard, and then move to a point late in the second mile on Four Oaks Boulevard. I was trying to pick spots with good light for the camera, but the sky was overcast--not so good for photography, but good for the runners. The temperature and humidity were as mild as you could hope for on Labor Day in north Florida.

Swamped by over 600 entries, the race was about ten minutes late getting started. Chris Lake moved to the front early, and had built an authoritative lead by the end of the first half mile. In what could have been a re-run of the August 29 Miller Landing Madness 8K, Lake continued to move away from the field, ultimately winning by over a quarter mile with a 15:54. Behind Lake, Tyler Sununu and Tony Guillen dueled for second place. Sununu edged out Guillen in the end, 17:43 to 17:45. While Guillen was third overall, he was also the top master finisher for the men.

Sarah Docter-Williams took the women's division with a 19:02. Like Lake, she was also a winner in the Miller Landing Madness 8K. But her win at the Miller Landing race had been a narrow, come-from-behind victory, while at the Hurricane 5K she led almost from the start and finished a comfortable 20 seconds ahead of her nearest challenger, Kelsey Scheitlin. Docter-Williams was also the fastest woman master in the Hurricane 5K.

When the morning was over, 619 runners had been recorded coming over the finish line, almost triple the total from 2008 and making the Hurricane 5K one of the largest races in the Tallahassee area.


Links:

• Complete results at the Gulf Winds Track Club web site:
  http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2009/Red%20Cross%2009.htm
  
  
• Photos of the Tallahassee Red Cross Hurricane 5K
  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2711308&id=5215641&l=20e215f870
  
  
• More photos of the Hurricane 5K
  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2711458&id=5215641&l=16857e2423
  
  
• Certification map of the course (USATF #FL07043EBM)
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL07043EBM
  
  
• Whose birthday is today?
  http://runningbirthdays.blogspot.com/