Florida's Director of Emergency Management, Bryan Koon, ran past his offices on Shumard Oak Boulevard Thursday morning, 29 November 2012, then continued running onto Esplanade Way and across the finish line of the FSECC 5K. Koon had just won the 12th annual 3.1-mile race in 17:06. Of course, there was still a full day of work ahead."The good thing is, my office is right over there," said Koon.
Koon was one of over 200 athletes participating in the Florida State Employees Charitable Campaign 5K. As you might guess from the name, many of them were state workers. For instance, the top woman finisher in the race, Stephanie Liles-Weyant, is from the Department of Health. Liles-Weyant finished 11th overall in 20:47 to claim her second straight FSECC 5K title.
The runners lined up for the start on Esplanade Way at 8:30 AM. Before the first turn, 2010 FSECC champion Matt Dobson was leading the race. Dobson continued to set the pace going up the hill on Merchants Way, reaching the Southwood Town Center about 40 meters ahead of the next athlete, master runner Bryan Koon. Peter Kaus was another 50 meters back in third. Midway through the race in Southwood's Central Park, Dobson had widened the gap to 60 meters. But Koon would write a different story for the second half of the race. He began to close on Dobson, catching him just past three kilometers. "After that," said Koon, "I just ran for my life." Koon did more than that, defeating Dobson by over 100 meters, 17:06 to 17:30. Kaus held on to third with a 17:51. Michael Martinez finished fourth in 18:20.
In the women's competition, master runner Stephanie Liles-Weyant, the defending champion, took the lead early, running ahead of Brook Pace. Pace had won the race in 2008 and 2010, but 2012 belonged to Tallahassee triathlete Liles-Weyant, who was never challenged on her way to a 20:47 win. Pace was the second female finisher, placing 14th overall in 21:30. Crawfordville's Melissa Hooke was the third woman across the line, 17th overall in 22:26. The fourth woman in and the second woman master runner was Julie Clark (21st, 22:53).It wasn't the 6,000 participants that had thronged the streets of Southwood seven days earlier at the Turkey Trot, but there were still 261 athletes who ran or walked the FSECC 5K. State workers in the race were able to designate their entry fee as benefiting the charity of their choice through the Florida State Employees Charitable Campaign.
Top Ten Males, 2012 FSECC 5K
17:06 ~ Bryan Koon (M, 40) Tallahassee, FL- 17:30 ~ Matt Dobson (M, 43)
- 17:51 ~ Peter Kaus (M, 28)
- 18:20 ~ Michael Martinez (M, 46)
- 19:17 ~ Dan Anderson (M, 49)
- 19:26 ~ Paul Pagano (M, 43)
- 19:50 ~ Reikan Lin (M, 22)
- 19:58 ~ David Cox (M, 54)
- 20:19 ~ Mike Weyant (M, 47)
- 20:34 ~ Tim Unger (M, 53)
Top Ten Females, 2012 FSECC 5K
20:47 ~ Stephanie Liles (F, 40) Tallahassee, FL- 21:30 ~ Brook Pace (F, 33)
- 22:26 ~ Melissa Hooke (F, 34)
- 22:53 ~ Julie Clark (F, 51)
- 23:01 ~ Connie Mayo (F, 46)
- 23:26 ~ Martha Bademan (F, 28)
- 23:37 ~ Maria Merrill (F, 31)
- 24:20 ~ Alexandra Mosca (F,29)
- 24:50 ~ Krystle Cacci (F, 28)
- 26:00 ~ Lynn Marnie (F, 51)
| Recent champions of the FSECC 5K, 2008-2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Men | Women |
| 29 NOV 2012 | 17:06, Bryan Koon | 20:47, Stephanie Liles |
| 10 NOV 2011 | 16:46, Gary Droze | 19:50, Stephanie Liles |
| 4 NOV 2010 | 16:38, Matt Dobson | 22:12, Brook Pace |
| 5 NOV 2009 | 17:56, Kevin Sweeney | 21:06, Kelly Stevens |
| 20 NOV 2008 | 18:15, Tim Unger | 21:31, Brook Pace |
Links
- Complete results of the 2012 FSECC 5K at gulfwinds.org
http://www.gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2012/FSECC%202012.asp
- More photos of the 2012 FSECC 5K
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10102487053721253.3424244.5215641&l=50c63e808e
- 2011 story, "Neither Droze nor Liles show charity in FSECC 5K wins"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/11/fsecc-2011.html
- 2010 story, "Dobson and Pace finish first at a foggy FSECC 5K"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/11/fsecc-2010.html
- 2009 story, "Kevin Sweeney wins FSECC 5K"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/11/kevin-sweeney-wins-fsecc-5k.html
- If there's another Thursday race coming up in the Tallahassee region, you'll find it here:
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
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