Lake and Barnes take Miller Landing Madness 8K

Racing over the hills and trails of Tallahassee’s Phipp Park, Chris Lake won Gulf Winds Track Club’s annual Miller Landing Madness 8K on Saturday morning, 23 August 2014. The University of Florida medical student covered the five-mile cross-country course in 28:26, finishing 200 yards ahead of the next runner. Maclay School cross-country coach Gary Droze was the fastest master runner in the race, placing fourth overall in 30:32. Brittney Barnes took the women’s title with a 35:26 effort, coming in 15th overall. Christienne Coutts was the top woman master, finishing 39th overall in 41:27. 154 athletes completed the 8K.


In cross-country running the course itself is a star. This isn’t true on the track, where the venues are all much the same. In the bad old days, athletes would have to be concerned about whether a track was cinder, or clay, or crushed brick. Was the surface loose or well-packed? Was it wet? A prominent part of the 1950s quest for the Four-Minute Mile was the search for good tracks for attempts on the barrier. Thanks to the proliferation of synthetic all-weather tracks, every oval is about the same nowadays. Colors differ, but I never heard an athlete say that they ran faster on a blue track than on a red one.


Each cross-country course is unique, however. That’s also true of road-racing courses, but a cross-country course will even change from day to day, affected by weather and the changing seasons. The grass could be growing or dead, the ground dusty or muddy.


Ever since first bringing the Miller Landing Madness to Phipps Park in 2008, race director Tom Perkins wanted mud. The park is well-drained, though, sloping down to Lake Jackson. Perkins brought in buckets of water one year. The grass appreciated his efforts, but there wasn’t even a puddle when the runners went by. This year, however, a course for the Red Hills Horse Trials had been built through the park. Among the jumps was a water hazard that just happened to be right next to the mile mark of the Miller Landing Madness. Perkins quickly re-routed the runners through the hazard. Water had to be hauled in, and it was about as treacherous as a wading pool, but Perkins had what he wanted.


“Have you seen the water?” Perkins asked me. He asked everyone that.


So the runners in the Miller Landing Madness 8K and 5K had to contend not only with the usual hills and sand, but with two quick splashes through the water during the race. Chris Lake was already leading at the first pass through the water, followed 20 seconds later by Roger Schmidt. Master runner Bryan Koon held the third position with Stephen Cox, Gary Droze, and Brian Manry trailing. Lake stretched out his lead to nearly a minute on the way to the second pass through the water. Schmidt started to close the gap during the last mile, but Lake made it to the finish line ahead of him, 28:26 to 29:03. Cox was a close third in 29:09. Droze overtook Koon, beating him for fourth place and the first master spot, 30:32 to to 31:16.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Miller Landing Madness 8K

1. 28:26 ~ Chris Lake (M, 26)
2. 29:03 ~ Roger Schmidt (M, 23)
3. 29:09 ~ Stephen Cox (M, 30)
4. 30:32 ~ Gary Droze (M, 53)
5. 31:16 ~ Bryan Koon (M, 42)
6. 31:40 ~ Brian Manry (M, 35)
7. 32:31 ~ Tony Guillen (M, 45)
8. 33:11 ~ Joel Piotrowski (M, 44)
9. 33:19 ~ Brian Molen (M, 38)
10. 34:07 ~ Philip Sura (M, 44)

Top Ten Women, 2014 Miller Landing Madness 8K

1. 35:26 ~ Brittney Barnes (F, 26)
2. 40:51 ~ Jamie Harris (F, 37)
3. 41:27 ~ Christienne Coutts (F, 42)
4. 41:47 ~ Kylie McGlincy (F, 22)
5. 42:01 ~ Karen McGinnis (F, 40)
6. 42:08 ~ Kristen Bowers (F, 40)
7. 42:13 ~ Martha Bademan (F, 30)
8. 43:25 ~ Lisa Dowling (F, 28)
9. 43:41 ~ Angie Milford (F, 43)
10. 43:52 ~ Andrea Duffy (F, 38)

It was Chris Lake's second win at the Miller Landing Madness; he had also won the 8K race in 2009. Lake wasn't the only repeat winner in Phipps Park, though. Joseph Garcia won the Madness 5K for the third year in a row, running the 3.1-miles in 17:09. Michael Martinez was the first master runner, 11th overall in 19:49. Maclay sophomore Caroline Willis was the first female runner, 25th overall in 21:13. Francee Laywell was the first master woman, 79th overall in 26:58. There were 172 finishers in the 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Miller Landing Madness 5K

1. 17:09 ~ Joe Garcia (M, 19)
2. 17:57 ~ Jake Mazziotta (M, 16)
3. 18:21 ~ James McClure (M, 15)
4. 18:41 ~ Clay Milford (M, 14)
5. 18:56 ~ Thomas Howell (M, 18)
6. 19:11 ~ George Gwynn (M, 16)
7. 19:16 ~ Clayton Carlson (M, 14)
8. 19:33 ~ Lane Williams (M, 18)
9. 19:42 ~ Donovan Duchene (M, 14)
10. 19:47 ~ Daniel Becker (M, 16)

Top Ten Women, 2014 Miller Landing Madness 5K

1. 21:13 ~ Caroline Willis (F, 15)
2. 21:33 ~ Haleigh Martin (F, 15)
3. 21:52 ~ Molly McCann (F, 15)
4. 22:00 ~ Jacki Wilson (F, 18)
5. 22:27 ~ Marianne Aguilar (F, 18)
6. 22:35 ~ Madison Scanlan (F, 18)
7. 24:04 ~ Sophia Guinazu (F)
8. 24:06 ~ Lydia Wiedeman (F, 17)
9. 24:29 ~ Asta Hemenway (F, 14)
10. 24:30 ~ Connie Lewis (F, 16)

The 5K was run concurrently with the 8K and the athletes in the shorter race also made two passes through the water. The 3K, run after the longer races, made only one trip through the water, but made up for it with a higher heat index at race time. Maclay School cross-country runner Jonathan McClure splashed and sweated through the 1.86-mile race to win in 11:33. Deerlake Middle School's Emily Molen was running neck-and-neck with Swift Creek's Alyson Churchill late in the race, but Churchill pulled ahead during the last 400 meters to take the top female's spot, 12:34 to 12:41. Churchill and Molen were 5th and 6th overall in a field of 173 finishers.


Top Ten Males, 2014 Miller Landing Madness 3K

1. 11:33 ~ Jonathan McClure (M, 12)
2. 12:06 ~ Kennan Milford (M, 12)
3. 12:29 ~ Charles Hruda (M, 13)
4. 12:33 ~ Bryce Valveri (M, 13)
5. 12:50 ~ Joseph Ashebo (M, 12)
6. 12:53 ~ Drew Feely (M, 13)
7. 12:59 ~ Trey Jackson (M, 13)
8. 13:00 ~ Townsend Porcher (M, 13)
9. 13:02 ~ Jackson Jones (M, 11)
10. 13:04 ~ Jackson Roberts (M, 12)

Top Ten Females, 2014 Miller Landing Madness 3K

1. 12:34 ~ Alyson Churchill (F, 12)
2. 12:41 ~ Emily Molen (F, 12)
3. 13:01 ~ Megan Churchill (F, 12)
4. 13:20 ~ Katherine Resavage (F, 13)
5. 13:24 ~ Grace Jackson (F, 14)
6. 13:26 ~ Mackenzie Lee (F, 13)
7. 13:29 ~ Hannah Hosay (F, 12)
8. 13:37 ~ Lindsay James (F, 11)
9. 14:29 ~ Elizabeth Calabro (F, 12)
10. 14:36 ~ Nikera Gibbs (F, 13)

Miller Landing Madness Winners, 2008-2014
Date	Race	Men	Women	Finishers
30 August 2008	8K	28:57, David Altmaier	32:49, Sheryl Rosen	76
	5K	17:12, Austin Stevens	18:46, Jana Stolting	110
	3K	11:21, Will Henderson	13:14, Autumn Wable	73
29 August 2009	8K	28:05, Chris Lake	33:03, Sarah Docter-Williams	151
	5K	18:17, Austin Stevens	18:17, Jana Stolting	243
	3K	11:26, Chase Harris	12:04, Cecelia Williams	136
28 August 2010	8K	26:28, Kevin Cook	33:29, Sheryl Rosen	168
	5K	17:15, Patrick Swain	19:22, Stefanie Kurgatt	160
	3K	11:14, Wil Luca	13:30, Madeline Horgan	110
27 August 2011	8K	25:54, Kevin Sullivan	32:17, Sheryl Rosen	236
	5K	16:59, Jacob Slupecki	20:14, Stefanie Kurgatt	212
	3K	11:08, Evan Francis	12:59, Cheyenne Hildinger	157
25 August 2012	8K	27:50, Vince Molosky	36:36, Jane Johnson	190
	5K	16:32, Joseph Garcia	19:12, Stefanie Kurgatt	258
	3K	10:57, Jake Mazziotta	12:16, Adrianna Dugan	148
24 August 2013	8K	26:29, Will Stanford	35:11, Katie Showman	150
	5K	16:55, Joseph Garcia	19:20, Emily Ness	237
	3K	10:48, James McClure	12:20, Chase Merrick	135
23 August 2014	8K	28:26, Chris Lake	35:26, Brittney Barnes	154
	5K	17:09, Joe Garcia	21:13, Caroline Willis	172
	3K	11:33, Jonathan McClure	12:34, Alyson Churchill	173
The Miller Landing Madness was preceded in history by the Miccosukee Madness (2004-2007) and the Tom Brown Bash (1977-2003) races.

Links

• Complete results of the 2014 Miller Landing Madness at gulfwinds.org
  http://www.gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2014/MLM%202014.asp
  
  
• More photos of the 2014 Miller Landing Madness
  
  • 8K and 5K, Part 1: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10104953339784213.1073742001.5215641&l=fc07d4c04c
  • 8K and 5K, Part 2: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10104963310667483.1073742002.5215641&l=006855e847
  • 3K: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10104964566086613.1073742003.5215641&l=33b1023bfe
  
  
• Fred Deckert's photos of the 2014 Miller Landing Madness
  
  • Part A: https://picasaweb.google.com/112560881455823075870/MLMadness14
  • Part B: https://picasaweb.google.com/112560881455823075870/MLMadness14B
  
  
• 2013 story, "Stanford and Showman go crazy on the competition"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/08/madness-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, "Isaac a no-show at Madness, Molosky and Johnson dominate"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/08/madness-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, "Sullivan and Rosen run like mad in Miller Landing 8K"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/08/madness-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, "Cook and Rosen lead the Madness"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/08/madness-2010.html
  
  
• 2009 story, "Chris Lake wins Miller Landing Madness 2009"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/08/chris-lake-wins-miller-landing-madness.html
  
  
• Lots of upcoming races, some more mad than others
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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