Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Bledsoe and Worley winners at 2013 Fire Ant 5K

Flat FlameRobert Bledsoe runs cross-country for Irwin County (Georgia) High School, so he's quite used to running five kilometers over hills and through forests and meadows, sand and mud. Running the same 3.1-mile distance on paved streets can't be any harder, and on Saturday morning, 23 March 2013, Bledsoe did just that, running 19:02 on the streets of Ashburn, Georgia and winning the Turner County Fire Ant Festival 5K. Ashburn's DeAndre Pierce, a Fire Ant 5K veteran, was runner-up in 19:29, followed by Artemio Gomez of Omega in 19:39. In a duel of master runners, Leesburg's Michael Gavre edged Tifton's Frank Davis for fourth, 19:44 to 19:46. Cordele's Adrienne Worley was the first female finisher, placing 18th overall in 25:24. 80 athletes finished 2013 edition of the annual race.


Turner County's Fire Ant Festival started in 1996, and the 5K race was added at least as early as 2001. Like the somewhat older Fire Ant Festival in Marshall, Texas, the insects themselves are not actually invited to the celebration. For that matter, they weren't invited to the United States, either. But who can keep them away? So the tenacious exotic species has become the mascot of Ashburn's festival, and of the associated 5K race. And as sure as you'll find fire ant mounds in your front yard, you can depend on the Fire Ant Festival 5K being run on the fourth Saturday in March. Look for it again on 22 March 2014.


Top Ten Males, 2013 Turner County (Georgia) Fire Ant Festival 5K
  1. 19:01.85 ~ Robert Bledsoe (M, 17) Rebecca, GA
  2. 19:28.37 ~ DeAndre Pierce (M, 15) Ashburn, GA
  3. 19:38.83 ~ Artemio Gomez (M, 20) Omega, GA
  4. 19:43.24 ~ Michael Gavre (M, 46) Leesburg, GA
  5. 19:45.11 ~ Frank Davis (M, 52) Tifton, GA
  6. 19:46.45 ~ Jose Trejo (M, 34) Fitzgerald, GA
  7. 19:51.36 ~ Lorenzo Gomez (M, 47) Omega, GA
  8. 20:18.74 ~ Lorenzo Gomez, Jr. (M, 26) Omega, GA
  9. 20:36.09 ~ Trey Norris (M, 17) Jasper, FL
  10. 20:46.29 ~ Bruce Austin (M, 43) Albany, GA

Top Ten Females, 2013 Turner County (Georgia) Fire Ant Festival 5K
  1. 25:23.02 ~ Adrienne Worley (F, 32) Cordele, Ga
  2. 25:49.13 ~ Allison Cauthen (F, 23) Macon, GA
  3. 26:00.32 ~ Lee Taylor (F, 16) Ashburn, GA
  4. 26:23.33 ~ Brittany Pilkinton (F, 26) Sycamore, GA
  5. 27:07.39 ~ Heather Jones (F, 39) Tifton, GA
  6. 27:38.81 ~ Leslie Miles (F, 42) Carrollton, GA
  7. 27:56.59 ~ Brittany Brown (F, 27) Tifton, GA
  8. 28:13.50 ~ Susan Hutchinson (F, 61) Poulan, GA
  9. 28:56.55 ~ Melissa Wilson (F, 38) Fitzgerald, GA
  10. 29:28.77 ~ Elexis Griffin (F, 29) Thomasville, GA

Turner County Fire Ant Festival 5K winners, 2003-2013
DateMenWomenFinishers
24 March 2001
23 March 2002
22 March 200316:37, David Coody, Jr21:52, Kara Clark
27 March 200418:23, Kerry Underwood27:26, Stephanie Langley
26 March 200517:22, Robert Feldman20:20, Brooke Withers60
25 March 200617:52, Ryan McDaniel21:22, Rue Chitwood50
24 March 200716:01, David Marley20:08, Elizabeth Lambert76
22 March 200816:47, David Marley19:45, Brittney Skiles106
28 March 200918:15, Nathan Norton22:56, Amy Bartholomew63
27 March 201017:54, Daniel Chevez21:53, Susan Breeding91
26 March 201117:52, Robert Smith20:46, Ashley Duncan97
24 March 201218:09, Benjamin James Weston23:37, Jeanette MacDonald141
23 March 201319:02, Robert Bledsoe25:24, Adrienne Worley80


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