Saturday, February 12, 2011

Sheryl Rosen wins by a thin mint, Kevin Sullivan by a bakery

Three-time Olympian Kevin Sullivan dominated a field of over 400 runners at Tallahassee's "Run For The Cookies" 5K, winning the 19th annual event in 15:50 on Saturday morning, 12 February 2011. Sullivan finished nearly 300 meters ahead of the next finisher, runner-up Vince Molosky (16:46). Sheryl Rosen, after trailing the whole race, came on at the end to catch Lisa Johnson at the finish line and winning the women's division in 19:02.


The race started on a clear, brisk morning near Tallahassee Community College's Lifetime Sports Fitness Center. There was a five-minute delay in the start while a group of roller bladers were allowed to start around the course ahead of the runners. Once the race started, Kevin Sullivan quickly emerged as the first real leader, closely followed by Lincoln High distance runner Trevor Touchton. Touchton had also tried hanging with the leader in the 2010 Cookie Run; it did not work any better for him in 2011. After a mile of trying to keep up with Sullivan, Touchton was done for the morning. Molosky moved past him into second, holding that position to the end. Nate Kaiser caught Stanley Linton to move into third, eventually finishing in that place with a 16:54. Linton (5th, 17:24) ended up being outkicked by Chris Coutts (4th, 17:22). "Marathon Jack" McDermott (6th, 17:28) moved up through the field to end up as first master, over 120 meters ahead of the fading Touchton (7th, 17:55).


Lisa Johnson was the initial women's leader, followed closely by Kelly Stevens and Sheryl Rosen. Rosen passed Stevens around 1,500m, but still trailed Johnson by about ten seconds. With less than half a kilometer to go, Rosen had narrowed the gap, but was still about six seconds behind Johnson. Stevens was still in sight, but not a factor. Rosen caught Johnson on the final straight. The two flashed over the line almost together, both clocked in 19:02, but Rosen got the decision. Stevens, third among the women, finished a few seconds later, 18th overall in 19:17. Brandi Campbell (30th, 20:19) and Micah Adriani (32nd, 20:28) were the next two women in, followed by the top woman master, Thomasville's Mary Anne Grayson (25th, 20:42).


431 athletes finished the 2011 "Run For The Cookies" 5K, an annual fundraiser for the Girls Scouts of the Big Bend. Another 58 finished the earlier one-mile fun run. A February race, the "Run For The Cookies" can be cold and it can be cloudy. But any runner who shrugs off the weather to compete gets a box of Girl Scout cookies and a chance to run on one of the fastest 5K courses in the area.


Top Ten Men
  1. Kevin Sullivan (M, 36) 15:50
  2. Vince Molosky (M, 31) 16:46
  3. Nate Kaiser (M, 31) 16:54
  4. Christopher Coutts (M, 37) 17:22
  5. Stanley Linton (M, 17) 17:24
  6. Jack McDermott (M, 41) 17:28
  7. Trevor Touchton (M, 15) 17:55
  8. Douglas Bell (M, 42) 18:06
  9. Michael Martinez (M, 45) 18:10
  10. Justin Dickieson (M, 25) 18:13

Top Ten Women
  1. Sheryl Rosen (F, 26) 19:02
  2. Lisa Johnson (F, 29) 19:02
  3. Kelly Stevens (F, 29) 19:17
  4. Brandi Campbell (F, 35) 20:19
  5. Micah Adriani (F, 33) 20:28
  6. Mary Anne Grayson (F, 45) 20:42
  7. Ashley Daily (F, 24) 21:14
  8. Kristine Cox (F, 33) 21:33
  9. Julie Clark (F, 49) 21:38
  10. Stephanie Stout (F, 26) 21:46
  11. Nancy Stedman (F, 49) 21:46

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Posted by Herb Wills at 2:29 PM
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8 comments:

  1. paulakigerFebruary 12, 2011 at 10:16 PM

    Great write-up, Herb, and thanks for being out there to document things in words and pictures. This race is one of my favorites, and cookies are only one of the reasons. (The 9:00 start time doesn't hurt when it comes to me liking a race, since a little extra sleep is always a good thing!).

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  2. Dr. Jeanne O'KonFebruary 13, 2011 at 2:18 PM

    Thanks for the great story, Herb! Great photos, too. The race directors are exhausted!

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  3. Linda J.February 13, 2011 at 4:13 PM

    Beautiful day for a race!!

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  4. yakkerFebruary 14, 2011 at 9:41 AM

    Love the title for this article, Herb. How is the winner decided in a tie like that between Lisa and Cheryl anyway?

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  5. Herb WillsFebruary 14, 2011 at 10:06 AM

    Paula,

    Thanks! Outside of summer weather, I think the only consideration keeping so many starting times at 8am is the traffic.

    Herb.

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  6. Herb WillsFebruary 14, 2011 at 10:09 AM

    Jeanne,

    Take some well-deserved rest. But not too long--Miller Landing Madness isn't that far off!

    Herb.

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  7. Herb WillsFebruary 14, 2011 at 10:10 AM

    Linda,

    It certainly was! And cool enough to run some fast times.

    Herb.

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  8. Herb WillsFebruary 14, 2011 at 10:16 AM

    Yakker,

    Well, they probably didn't finish in a dead heat; one runner most likely crossed the line clearly in front of the other. But in road racing, times are only reported to whole numbers of seconds. So if Rosen had run 19:01.18 and Johnson had run 19:01.87, they would both be recorded as having run 19:02.

    If it was a near dead heat, though, it probably just would have been called a tie. On the track you can usually go to a photo, but I've never heard of having video timing at a road race. Maybe at the Boston Marathon, where big money is at stake?

    Herb.

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