Saturday, May 25, 2013

Droze, Cox fastest air fighters at Fight For Air 5K

2013 Fight For Air 5K winnersIn order to defend his 2012 Fight For Air 5K title, Gary Droze had to follow the race from its old home in Centerville Conservation Community to a new course in Tallahassee's Southwood community. The change didn't hurt the Maclay School coach's performance at all; on 25 May 2013 Droze won the third annual Fight For Air 5K in 17:06, setting a new record for the event. Renee Cox raced to the women's title, finishing fifth overall in 19:37. Droze and Cox had shared the winner's circle just a week earlier at their previous race, the 2013 Steve Ellis Memorial 5K.


Gary Droze (1st, 17:06) presses the pace early, half a kilometer into the 3rd annual Fight For Air 5K.The 3.1-mile race started and finished from Southwood's town center, from where nearly 300 runners set out just after 8:15 AM. Gary Droze was soon in the lead with Tony Guillen right behind. Guillen had won the first Fight For Air 5K in 2011. The two master runners ran together early, but before the first mile was over, though, Droze had broken contact with Guillen. The rest of the race belonged to Droze; he beat Guillen back to the Town Center and the finish line by over a minute, 17:06 to 18:10. Two more master runners, Duane Evans and Michael LaBossiere, took the next two places in 19:16 and 19:36.


Renee CoxFifth place, though, belonged to the first woman finisher, Renee Cox. Half a kilometer into the race Cox was  leading the rest of the women's field. Almost twenty seconds back, Vicki Droze, Juanita Chalmers, Brittney Barnes, and Nancy Stedman were in a group trailing Cox. Cox continued to pull away, arriving at the Town Center finish line in fifth place with a 19:36 personal best. Vicki Droze raced to the women's runner up position, placing tenth in 20:35. Juanita Chalmers was the next woman in, finishing 14th in 21:22. Brittney Barnes and Nancy Stedman fought all the way to the final straightaway, where Barnes darted ahead to take the fourth woman's spot, 22:41 to 22:44. Barnes was 20th overall and Stedman 21st; Stedman was also the first master woman to finish.


Top Ten Males, 2013 Fight For Air 5K
    Tony Guillen
  1. 17:05.27 ~ Gary Droze (M, 51) Tallahassee, FL
  2. 18:09.96 ~ Tony Guillen (M, 44) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 19:15.01 ~ Duane Evans (M, 45) Crawfordville, FL
  4. 19:35.30 ~ Michael LaBossiere (M, 47) Tallahassee, FL
  5. 19:48.17 ~ Brad Diesburg (M, 32) Tallahassee, FL
  6. 20:20.69 ~ Sean Morgan (M, 37) Tallahassee, FL
  7. 20:28.44 ~ Dennis Acree (M, 25)
  8. 20:30.55 ~ Tom Pescatore (M, 45) Tallahassee, FL
  9. 21:02.27 ~ Gary Johnston (M, 38) Tallahassee, FL
  10. 21:12.39 ~ Jason Borntreger (M, 26) Tallahassee, FL

Top Ten Females, 2013 Fight For Air 5K
    Vicki Droze
  1. 19:36.51 ~ Renee Cox (F, 25) Tallahassee, FL
  2. 20:34.40 ~ Vicki Droze (F, 37) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 21:21.83 ~ Juanita Chalmers (F, 30) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 22:40.86 ~ Brittney Barnes (F, 25) Tallahassee, FL
  5. 22:43.10 ~ Nancy Stedman (F, 51) Tallahassee, FL
  6. 23:31.49 ~ Jennifer Shafer (F, 45) Tallahassee, FL
  7. 24:13.84 ~ Aimee Pragle (F, 34) Tallahassee, FL
  8. 25:36.16 ~ Anna Morse (F, 18) Tallahassee, FL
  9. 25:40.36 ~ Rachel Rumana (F, 14) Tallahassee, FL
  10. 26:30.86 ~ Sophie Simmons (F, 19) Tallahassee, FL

Fight For Air 5K winners, 2011-2013
DateMenWomenFinishers
28 May 201118:10, Tony Guillen18:49, Lindsay Zeiler276
26 May 201217:16, Gary Droze22:17, Paula O' Neill319
25 May 201317:06, Gary Droze19:37, Renee Cox233
In 2011 and 2012 the race was in Centerville Conservation Community.
In 2103 the race was moved to Southwood.


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Posted by Herb Wills at 5:40 PM
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