Making a meal of the mile

On Saturday morning, 20 August 2011, three-time Olympic 1500-meter runner Kevin Sullivan of Capital City Runners took the title at Gulf Winds Track Club's 2011 Breakfast On The Track Mile, running away from defending champion Trevor Touchton on the last lap to post a winning 4:26.90. In the same section Douglas Bell of Tallahassee took top master honors in the race, placing ninth overall in 4:52.90. Maclay School distance runner Stefanie Kurgatt successfully defended her 2010 Breakfast On The Track women's title, finishing 18th overall in 5:05.82. Mary Vancore was the first woman master, running 6:11.89. The race was held on the Maclay School track.


Touchton, about to start his junior year at Lincoln High, had the lead to himself for the first half mile, setting the pace for the first two laps around the Maclay School track. But running comfortably behind him in second was Sullivan, who almost exactly three years earlier had been running 1,500m for Canada at the 2008 (Beijing) Olympic Games. Touchton's best mile was 4:19.89, but Sullivan's was 3:50.36. On the third lap Sullivan closed the gap, entering the fourth lap on Touchton's shoulder. On the fourth and final circuit of the track, Sullivan just ran away from Touchton, winning the race 4:26.90 to 4:33.62. Local triathlete Charlie Johnson, who had staked out third place on the first lap, was gaining on Touchton at the end, but fell short of catching him at 4:37.25.


Kurgatt logged her winning 5:05.82 in the first section; second place in the women's division would have to come out of section two, run immediately afterward. Amy Hines led the other women almost from the outset, trailed over the first two laps by Kelly Stevens. But right behind Stevens on those laps were Micah Adriani, Brandi Campbell, Katie Showman, and Sheryl Rosen. Rosen moved up in front of the other pursuers on the third lap, closing to less than three seconds behind Hines. But Rosen couldn't get any closer on the last lap, and Hines beat out Rosen for the runner-up spot, 5:15.36 to 5:17.58. Stevens held off a challenge from Showman on the final straightaway to hold on to fourth, 5:20.62 to 5:22.37.


231 runners ran a mile, the most romanticized running event in athletics, at the 2011 Breakfast On The Track. Another dozen ran the Hamstring Hundred 100m dash, and a few others ran in the two sections of the Pancake 4 x 400m, where a pancake was used in lieu of a relay baton. Considerably more runners found a more appropriate use for pancakes, consuming vast stacks of blueberry flapjacks along with watermelon and yogurt. Races where you're fed afterwards aren't unique, but they're always welcome.


Top Ten Men, 2011 Breakfast on the Track Mile

1. 4:26.90 ~ Kevin Sullivan (M, 38) Tallahassee, FL
2. 4:33.62 ~ Trevor Touchton (M, 16) Tallahassee, FL
3. 4:37.25 ~ Charlie Johnson (M, 31) Tallahassee, FL
4. 4:42.67 ~ Stephen Cox (M, 27) Tallahassee, FL
5. 4:43.69 ~ Keith Howell (M, 29) Tallahassee, FL
6. 4:47.85 ~ Connor Daughton (M, 16) Tallahassee, FL
7. 4:49.08 ~ Nate Kaiser (M, 31) Tallahassee, FL
8. 4:49.55 ~ Vince Molosky (M, 32) Tallahassee, FL
9. 4:52.90 ~ Douglas Bell (M, 42) Tallahassee, FL
10. 4:53.14 ~ Travis Covert (M, 16) Tallahassee, FL

Top Ten Women, 2011 Breakfast on the Track Mile

1. 5:05.82 ~ Stefanie Kurgatt (F, 16) Tallahassee, FL
2. 5:15.36 ~ Amy Hines (F, 30) Tallahassee, FL
3. 5:17.58 ~ Sheryl Rosen (F, 27) Tallahassee, FL
4. 5:20.62 ~ Kelly Stevens (F, 29) Tallahassee, FL
5. 5:22.37 ~ Katie Showman (F, 29) Tallahassee, FL
6. 5:30.48 ~ Brandi Campbell (F, 35) Tallahassee, FL
7. 5:46.19 ~ Micah Adriani (F, 33) Tallahassee, FL
8. 5:58.49 ~ Kristine Cox (F, 34) Tallahassee, FL
9. 5:59.92 ~ Elizabeth Santos (F, 17)
   
10. 6:11.67 ~ Cora Atkinson (F, 17) Crawfordville, FL
11. 6:11.89 ~ Mary Vancore (F, 47) Tallahassee, FL

"Breakfast On The Track" Mile champions, 1998-2011
Date	Men	Women
8 August 1998	Robert Pautienus (4:36)	Jane Johnson (5:21)
14 August 1999	Lee Willis (4:26)	Jane Johnson (5:27)
26 August 2000	Gary Droze (4:42.97)	Sarah Docter-Williams (5:09.08)
18 August 2001	Ryan Deak (4:21.47)	Sarah Docter-Williams (5:08.94)
17 August 2002	Lee Willis (4:35.07)	Sarah Docter-Williams (5:10.33)
16 August 2003	David Huntzinger (4:45.20)	Sarah Docter-Williams (5:02.28)
14 August 2004	Lee Willis (4:32.40)	Sarah Docter-Williams (5:11.79)
13 August 2005	Art Remillard (4:46.26)	Sarah Docter-Williams (5:07.13)
12 August 2006	Whitney Strickland (4:47.58)	Sarah Docter-Williams (5:09.85)
18 August 2007	Michael Martinez (4:48.04)	Sarah Docter-Williams (5:12.91)
16 August 2008	Whitney Strickland (4:31.39)	Jana Stolting (5:12.79)
15 August 2009	Patrick Swain (4:43.40)	Jana Stolting (5:05.66)
21 August 2010	Trevor Touchton (4:33.30)	Stefanie Kurgatt (5:00.97)
20 August 2011	Kevin Sullivan (4:26.90)	Stefanie Kurgatt (5:05.82)

Links:

• Complete results of the 2011 Breakfast On The Track Mile at gulfwinds.org
  http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2011/Breakfast%20on%20the%20Track%202011.html
  
  
• More photos of the 2011 Breakfast On The Track Mile (Part 1)
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100970975539083.3194362.5215641&l=cbc85ac001
  
  
• More photos of the 2011 Breakfast On The Track Mile (Part 2)
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100971509853313.3194536.5215641&l=8b517c4689
  
  
• Fred Deckert's photos of the 2011 Breakfast On The Track Mile
  https://picasaweb.google.com/Freddecka/BOT11
  
  
• Doug Covert's photos of the 2011 Breakfast On The Track Mile
  http://gallery.me.com/dugco#103034
  
  
• Kevin Sullivan bio at the Capital City Runners website
  http://www.capcityrunners.com/Kevin_s_Bio.html
  
  
• 2010 story, "A Mile For Breakfast"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/08/breakfast-2010.html
  
  
• 2009 story, "Patrick Swain wins 2009 Breakfast on the Track Mile"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/08/patrick-swain-wins-2009-breakfast-on.html
  
  
• Where will you race next?
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1