Clark and Veltcheva are more hare than tortoise at O'Leno 5K

On Saturday morning, 1 March 2014, Alachua, Florida, master runner Dan Clark successfully defended his overall winner's title at the sixth annual Race The Tortoise 5K, finishing almost 400 meters ahead of the next runner. Running 16:53 for the 3.1-mile course through O'Leno State Park, Clark became the only two-time winner in the history of the race. Robert Carter finished runner-up behind Clark in 18:23, and master runner Joel Rich was third in 18:50.


Fourth place, though, belonged to the fastest runner in the women's division, nine-year-old Gainesville schoolgirl Ani Veltcheva. Veltcheva's time was an astonishing 19:14, just off the single-age world record of 19:05 for nine-year-old girls, set on 2 February 2014 by Elizabeth Lucason. And before you ask, yes, the Race The Tortoise 5K course is USATF certified (#FL09011EBM). Just two weeks earlier on 15 February 2014, Velcheva had run 19:50 on a certified course (#FL09010EBM) at the Five Points of Life 5K in Gainesville, Florida.


Richmond, Utah, master runner Carol Rowe was the women's runner-up, placing fifth overall in an impressive 19:29.


247 athletes finished the 2014 edition of the Race The Tortoise 5K. The race is conducted by the Friends of O'Leno, who use the proceeds from the race and their other events for projects that benefit O'Leno State Park and nearby River Rise Preserve State Park. No doubt the park's resident gopher tortoises, the signature creatures of the race, appreciate the Friends' efforts.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Race The Tortoise 5K

1. 16:52.8 ~ Dan Clark (M, 42) Alachua, FL
2. 18:22.2 ~ Robert Carter (M, 27)
3. 18:50.0 ~ Joel Rich (M, 44)
4. 19:41.4 ~ Tony Matchev (M, 10)
5. 20:18.9 ~ Xiao Chen Zhu (M, 26)
6. 20:27.6 ~ Ben Mock (M, 11)
7. 20:41.2 ~ Jake Frazer (M, 9)
8. 20:41.8 ~ Julius Gylys (M, 50)
9. 20:48.8 ~ Roberto Laos (M, 37)
10. 20:49.9 ~ Lucas Dai (M, 10)

Top Ten Women, 2014 Race The Tortoise 5K

1. 19:13.4 ~ Ani Veltcheva (F, 9) Gainesville, FL
2. 19:28.9 ~ Carol Rowe (F, 42)
3. 22:42.0 ~ Elisabeth Diamond (F, 54)
4. 23:12.6 ~ Amanda Jacobson (F, 23)
5. 23:52.6 ~ Marsha Wilson (F, 44)
6. 24:21.0 ~ Charlotte Amparo (F, 36)
7. 24:28.4 ~ Melissa Lynch (F, 38)
8. 25:13.8 ~ Marjesca Brown (F, 31)
9. 25:17.0 ~ Diane Miller (F, 62)
10. 25:38.0 ~ Amy Harder (F, 34)

Race The Tortoise 5K winners, 2009-2014
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
7 March 2009	18:22.9, David Robison	20:12.6, Michelle McCollum	109
13 March 2010	16:27.5, Alex Phipps	18:13.0, Elizabeth Duarte	114
5 March 2011	19:21.6, Eric Drummond	19:33.0, Tatiana Titova	218
3 March 2012	16:09.8, Vladimir Tontchinski	18:05.5, Averkova Anzhelika	268
2 March 2013	16:39.7, Dan Clark	20:37.4, Liubov Denisora	225
1 March 2014	16:52.8, Dan Clark	19:13.4, Ani Veltcheva	247

Links

• Complete results of the 2014 Race The Tortoise 5K at milestoneraceauthority.com
  http://www.milestoneraceauthority.com/past-race-results/03012014-race-tortoise-5k-high-springs-fl/
  
  
• O'Leno State Park
  http://www.floridastateparks.org/oleno/
  
  
• The Friends of O'Leno
  http://friendsofoleno.org/
  
  
• Race The Tortoise 5K course certification map USATF #FL09011EBM
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL09011EBM
  
  
• Any reptile race within 100 miles of Tallahassee will be here
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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