Rego, Butler merciless at Run For Mercy 5K

Chris Rego finished at the front of a field of over 360 athletes, winning the inaugural Run For Mercy 5K in the Southwood community of Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday morning, 4 May 2013. Rego's time for the 3.1 mile race was 16:09, putting him about 60 meters ahead of runner-up John Keenan, who finished the race in 16:21. Jay Wallace was the first master runner in the race, taking third in 17:41. Jess Butler was the first woman finisher, placing eighth overall in 18:24. The first woman master across the finish line was Christy Singleton, running 21:56.


A few minutes after the posted time of 8:00 AM, the race started from the Southwood Town Center with a downhill dash on Merchants Row Boulevard. The finish line would be back up at the Town Center, so the runners would eventually have to give back the elevation they were losing. That didn't discourage anyone from rushing down Merchants Row, though. Chris Rego and John Keenan got out in front of the rest of the pack early, with Brian Manry chasing them in third. In fourth, Jess Butler was leading the women's field. By the mile mark, Rego had broken away from Keenan; both leaders were over 100 meters up on Manry. In a group just behind Manry, three master runners were eyeing one another--Jay Wallace, Tony Guillen, and Sean Hudson. Jess Butler had dropped back to eighth, but continued to set the pace in the women's competition.


Chris Rego continued to build a gap on John Keenan and was never challenged again, going on to beat Keenan to the finish line 16:09 to 16:21. Meanwhile, Wallace, Guillen, and Hudson were battling for the top master spot, picking off Manry along the way. Wallace got ahead of the group, leaving Hudson and Guillen locked in a struggle for fourth. While Wallace finishing up the final yards of a 17:41 5K, Hudson rounded the last turn a step ahead of Guillen. But Guillen had enough left in the tank to rush by Hudson on the homestretch, taking fourth 17:46 to 17:47. Jess Butler finished up her race unchallenged by the rest of the women's field, placing eighth in 18:24. Her closest rival was Teresa Ristow, ninth in 18:35.


Top Ten Males, 2013 Run For Mercy 5K

1. 16:08.3 ~ Chris Rego (M, 24)
2. 16:20.5 ~ John Keenan (M, 25)
3. 17:40.5 ~ Jay Wallace (M, 45)
4. 17:45.4 ~ Tony Guillen (M, 45)
5. 17:46.9 ~ Sean Hudson (M, 40)
6. 17:51.9 ~ Andrew Smyth (M, 26)
7. 17:56.2 ~ Brian Manry (M, 30)
8. 20:00.1 ~ Alex Kallinger (M, 15)
9. 20:32.0 ~ Tony Cortez (M, 31)
10. 20:39.0 ~ Jordan Merrick (M, 30)

Top Ten Females, 2013 Run For Mercy 5K

1. 18:23.8 ~ Jess Butler (F, 20)
2. 18:34.1 ~ Teresa Ristow (F, 19)
3. 18:44.8 ~ Shelby Salimone (F, 20)
4. 19:09.0 ~ Erika Charlassier (F, 20)
5. 20:08.0 ~ Renee Cox (F, 25)
6. 20:15.2 ~ Aubree Worden (F, 19)
7. 20:32.9 ~ Shannon Colavecchio (F, 35)
8. 21:22.9 ~ Victoria Suarez (F, 20)
9. 21:55.6 ~ Christy Singleton (F, 44)
10. 21:58.3 ~ Megan Smith (F, 15)

Links

• Complete results of the 2013 Run For Mercy 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AuBsYKIIn3TCdGNnTkhaQ3RkcE5ELXNERFdsNVAweGc&output=html
  
  
• More photos of the 2013 Run For Mercy 5K
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10103041033935463.1073741857.5215641&l=052c172637
  
  
• Kevin Sullivan's photos of the 2013 Run For Mercy 5K
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10102464457164900.1073741827.1945777&type=1&l=c4e20877c2
  
  
• Upcoming race in the Tallahassee region
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1