There's no excuse not to run fast at Springtime

It’s nearly impossible for a distance runner in Tallahassee to ignore that this Saturday, March 29, is the capital city’s annual Springtime 10K road race. At 8:10 that morning, nearly 2,000 athletes will set out on Monroe Street from in front of the Leon County Courthouse. Many will be doing the full 6.2 miles, but others will be running the Springtime 5K.


Edging out the Tallahassee Turkey Trot 10K by a couple of hundred runners, Springtime is the city’s largest 10K run. It probably wasn’t the first 10K in Tallahassee, but it’s the oldest one still around; this will be the race’s 39th year. Year after year Springtime is also Tallahassee’s fastest 10K, to the consternation of those who claim that it’s the toughest.


When it comes to evidence for the toughest argument, the primary exhibit is always the hills. About a mile into the Springtime 10K, the course takes the runners down Franklin Boulevard and past Cascades Park. This is about as low as you can get in downtown Tallahassee without a snorkel. About a mile later the course has reached some of the highest ground in town, the heights around the Capital City Country Club. After that climb there’s still plenty of up-and-down to look forward to through Myers Park before the course finally dips down to the finish line on Suwannee Street, back by Cascades Park.


In order to argue that the hills make the Springtime 10K particularly difficult, though, you have to ignore the fact that there is actually more downhill than uphill on the course. The courthouse, where the race starts, is on top of the same hill as the Capitol. The finish line of the Springtime 10K is more than 100 feet below the starting line. The drop is big enough that USA Track and Field wouldn’t recognize any performance on the Springtime 10K course as a national or world record. But Springtime is in good company in this regard. The Boston Marathon is also not record-eligible for the same reason.


Even if it’s not possible to set a world record in the Boston Marathon, it’s the only place you can set a Boston Marathon record, which might carry more prestige anyway. Likewise, Springtime is the only race where you can set the Springtime 10K record. The current Springtime record, Larry Greene’s 30:03, was set 30 years ago. It’s still the fastest 10K ever run on the Tallahassee roads. Last year’s fastest road 10K time in Tallahassee was Kevin Sullivan’s winning time at the 2013 Springtime 10K, 31:42. Eight of the ten fastest 10K times in town last year were run at Springtime. It’s a similar story on the women’s side. Stefanie Slekis’s 36:05 was the fastest 10K performance by a woman on the streets of Tallahassee in 2013; she ran it at Springtime. That was true for seven of the top ten women’s times last year.


If the course is tough, the runners seem to be tougher. I don’t know what the winning time will be at Springtime this year, but I know it won’t be slow.

Springtime 10K Champions, 1976 - 2013
Date	Men	Women
6 April 2013	31:42, Kevin Sullivan	36:05, Stefanie Slekis
31 March 2012	33:29, Chris Lake	37:33, Lindsay Zeiler
2 April 2011	32:34, Chris Lake	34:52, Pasca Cheruiyot
27 March 2010	33:09, Chris Lake	38:23, Sheryl Rosen
28 March 2009	35:00, David Altmaier	38:34, Lisa Johnson
29 March 2008	31:59, Joey Zins	38:16, Sarah Docter-Williams
31 March 2007	33:27, Matthew Dobson	37:23, Lara Shaw
1 April 2006	33:25, Joey Zins	34:36, Vicky Gill
2 April 2005	32:43, Joey Zins	36:51, Sarah Docter-Williams
3 April 2004	33:22, Caleb Carmichael	37:03, Sarah Docter-Williams
5 April 2003	30:56, Joseph Zepherinus	34:52, Larisa Timchina
6 April 2002	31:18, Conor Holt	36:40, Larisa Timchina
31 March 2001	32:18, Muchapiwa Mazano	34:46, Tatyana Maslova
1 April 2000	32:28, Muchapiwa Mazano	36:05, Anna Pichrtova
27 March 1999	30:56, Muchapiwa Mazano	37:01, Sarah Docter-Williams
4 April 1998	31:07, Randy Hollinger	34:09, Breeda Dennehy
12 April 1997	31:12, Juri Punda	35:30, Tamara Karloukova
13 April 1996	32:21, Jessie Close	37:11, Jane Johnson
1 April 1995	31:43, Matthew Dobson	37:27, Jane Johnson
1994	32:17, Matthew Dobson	37:37, Lisa Herman
1993	33:11, Andy Palmer	36:54, Paula Johnson
1992	32:09, Jessie Close	37:38, Paula Johnson
1991	32:02, Jessie Close	38:29, Paula Johnson
1990	31:48, Jessie Close	38:16, Vikki Saga
1989	30:49, Paul Waldron	37:54, Janice Hochstein
1988	31:22, Paul Waldron	38:18, Karen MacHarg
1987	31:52, Jessie Close	35:30, Carla Borovicka
1986	31:15, Dennis Rice	37:16, Karen MacHarg
1985	30:30, Paul Waldron	35:32, Carole Rouillard
1984	30:03, Larry Greene	35:57, Carla Borovicka
9 April 1983	31:21, Noel Shumann	38:15, Janice Hochstein
3 April 1982	32:11, George West	39:56, Pam Ledbetter
4 April 1981	32:06, Mabry McCray	37:14, Janice Gage
1980	32:35, Rick Swiderski	40:02, Lisa Kinch
7 April 1979	33:10, David Ferrell	37:14, Janice Gage
1 April 1978	31:43, George West	38:03, Laura Ledbetter
1977	31:24, Morrison Reid	40:57, Nancy McCormac
24 April 1976*	20:30, George West,Donnie Cook	25:27, Janice Gage
* The 1976 race was a four-mile run on the FSU campus.

Links

• 2013 story, "Kevin Sullivan is man of the season at the Springtime 10K"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/04/springtime-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, "Lake owns Springtime, makes it three wins in a row"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/03/springtime-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, "Laurels, not florals, for Lake and Cheruiyot at Springtime 10K"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/04/springtime-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, "Springtime and everything is coming up Rosen and Lake"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/03/2010-springtime-10k.html
  
  
• 2009 story, "2009 Springtime 10K, Tallahassee, Florida"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/03/2009-springtime-10k-tallahassee-florida.html
  
  
• 2014 Springtime 10K USATF course certification map (FL11044EBM)
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL11044EBM
  
  
• 2014 Springtime 5K USATF course certification map (FL11045EBM)
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL11045EBM
  
  
• Springtime 10K /5K / One mile website
  http://springtime10k.com/
  
  
• Find your next seasonal race by consulting the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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