Michael Chisena flew down Tallahassee's Gallows Hill on College Avenue to a two-second victory in the 2010 Race To Live 5K. Chisena's ran 17:45 in the event, which started slightly after 10:00am on Saturday, 23 October 2010. Katie Showman was the top woman finisher in the race, completing the course in 21:17. Showman led the women nearly from the start. The men's race was in dispute all the way to the finish.
The race started in front of the Zeta Tau Alpha house on College Avenue with a steep climb up to the Westcott building on Copeland Street. Many runners dashed up the first hill, apparently unaware that they still had three miles to go once they reached the crest. After the first hill, the race began a clockwise loop around the Florida State campus. The sprinters faded away, leaving the distance runners in front. Chisena was one of the leaders. By the end of three kilometers the lead pack was down to three--Alfred Nater, Michael Chisena, and Raley Beggs. At four kilometers the same three runners were the lead group, but Chisena was in front. The race finished with a climb on Copeland back up to Westcott, and then a downhill return to the ZTA house on College Avenue.
The Race To Live 5K is held annually by the Florida State University chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha as a fundraiser to benefit the fight against breast cancer. Breast cancer funding is a national crusade for Zeta Tau Alpha; on the same morning less than a hundred miles away the Valdosta State chapter of ZTA was also hosting a fundraising race, the Think Pink 5K. FSU ZTA had hosted the race during the spring in past years, but moved the race to October this year--October is national breast cancer awareness month. ZTA does a fine job with traffic control, with marking the course, with having course marshals at every turn, with having superbly staffed water tables, and with turning out hundreds of students to run the race--many of whom don't run at any other time. But race results are handled unusually. That is, they aren't handled at all. For the purpose of awards, race bibs are color-coded according to division, and volunteers note the bib number of each color that crosses the line first. These are never cross-referenced with the runners' names or times, so the awards ceremony includes stirring announcements such as: "And the overall women's winner was...Number 867!" After a few such presentations you're waiting for someone to bellow Patrick McGoohan's line, "I am not a number; I am a free man!"The "Race To Live 5K" has been around for many years. Even at a new time of year it should remain a fixture on the Tallahassee running calendar. If you do run it in the future, remember to keep your pace controlled on the first hill and to bring your own stopwatch.
Links:
- Photos of the 2010 FSU ZTA Race To Live 5K
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3017763&id=5215641&l=67fc7ac06c - Florida State University's Beta Gamma chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha
http://www.seminolezta.org/ - Choose your next race in the Tallahassee area with help from the Trouble Afoot! calendar
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
Oh Herb, nice writeup and that gave me a laugh - leave it to a Tallahassee race to handle (un-handle) scoring in an unorthodox way!! Ultimately it's for a great cause which is a plus.
ReplyDeleteYeah. I wish, though, that the FSU ZTAs could follow the lead of their sisters at Valdosta State. The VSU ZTAs held the Think Pink 5K for breast cancer funding the same day, managed to attract enough runners (255 finishers) to have one of the largest races in Valdosta, and also had race results when it was all over.
ReplyDeleteMike Chisena is a savage. Ripped them a new one.
ReplyDeleteMike Chisena is a savage. Ripped them a new one.
ReplyDelete