Saturday, October 25, 2014

Herds of spectators see Lake and Sherron win Boston Mini

Chris LakeFolks who have run the Boston Marathon will tell you about the cheering fans that line the course all 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston. The Boston, Georgia, mini Marathon doesn't have that, but there are a lot of cows along the 13.1-mile course from Boston to Dixie and back again. It's not all cows, though. There are also cotton fields, and pecan groves, and wood lots, and hay fields--just about everything that South Georgia agriculture has to offer lies along the route through Thomas and Brooks Counties.


On Saturday morning, 25 October 2014, the cows got to see Chris Lake winning the Boston Mini for the second time, running the half marathon in 72:20. The cattle also witnessed FAMU biostatistics professor Geb Kiros taking top master honors, placing fourth overall in 79:39. FSU economics professor Katie Sherron won the women's title, finishing tenth overall in 85:15. The fastest woman master was Marci Gray.


Chris Lake and Vince MoloskyThe air was cool at 8:05 AM when the race started from downtown Boston. The sky was clear, though, promising that temperatures would be going up quickly. The top runners seemed determined to be done before it got too warm, setting a stiff early pace. After half a mile the race passed out of the Boston city limits, heading east into the rising sun toward Dixie. Vince Molosky, the Boston Mini champ in 2009 and 2010, led the field out of Boston, with Chris Lake half a step behind. Lake, a medical student at the University of Florida, had won the race in 2012, but hadn't been able to run in 2013.


"I didn't run it last year because I was on rotation in Gainesville and couldn't make it," he explained.


Lake was back in 2014, though, and determined to pick up a second Boston Mini title. During the third mile he pulled ahead of Molosky. Roger Schmidt of Capital City Runners and Geb Kiros followed half a minute back. During the next three miles Schmidt dropped Kiros, overtaking Molosky just past the five-mile mark. Lake was far ahead, running alone.


Katie SherronHe stayed alone, all the way to the turnaround on the out-and-back course, and all the way back to the finish line in Boston. Lake won the race by over a quarter of a mile in 72:20, much faster than his 73:46 winning time in the 2012 Mini. Schmidt was second in 74:01, and Molosky third in 78:26. Valdosta High School cross-country coach Ryan Kelly caught Kiros during the last half mile then moved ahead to take fourth in 79:20. Kiros took fifth in 79:30. The FAMU professor was happy with the time.


"I ran a PR by almost five minutes," said Kiros. "My goal was to break 1:20:00 and I did."


Katie Sherron had run the Boston Mini in 2012, finishing second in the women's standings behind Sheryl Rosen. In 2014 Sherron was back but Rosen wasn't. Sherron started the race like this was her year, leading the women out of Boston. By the turnaround, she was more than four minutes ahead of the next woman. The gap widened even more on the way back to Boston. Sherron had a lead of over a mile and a quarter when she crossed the finish line in 85:15, taking the 2014 Boston Mini women's title. Behind Sherron, Kendall Andrews and Jillian Heddaeus had never been far apart during the race, and they were still close at the finish. Andrews took the women's runner-up spot though, finishing 22nd overall in 94:23. Heddaeus was third in the women's standings, placing 24th overall in 94:37. Less than a minute behind Heddaeus, Marci Gray was the fourth woman finisher and first woman master, coming in 27th overall in 95:31.


Marci GrayThe Boston Mini hasn't changed much in 35 runnings. It's a different generation of cows along the course than those who witnessed the first race in 1979, but the route itself is the same. The pavement may very well be the same as well. The Dixie Road hasn't been repaved in years, and the cracks in the blacktop have become wide enough that the grass growing in them needs to be mowed.


"It was like running on tiles," Roger Schmidt described it.


I wouldn't fear for the future of the race. Boston loves its Mini Marathon, the centerpiece of a festival that includes a parade and beauty queens. The "Welcome To Boston" sign carries a notice of the date of the race, "The Last Saturday In October." In 2015 that would be October 31. I'd be shocked if there wasn't a 36th annual Boston Mini that day. The cows would miss it, too.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Boston (mini) Marathon
  1. 1:12:19.3 ~ Chris Lake (M, 25) Tallahassee, FLRoger Schmidt
  2. 1:14:00.1 ~ Roger Schmidt (M, 23) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 1:18:25.4 ~ Vince Molosky (M, 35) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 1:19:19.3 ~ Ryan Kelly (M, 35) Valdosta, GA
  5. 1:19:39.0 ~ Geb Kiros (M, 48) Tallahassee, FL
  6. 1:21:13.5 ~ Paul Guyas (M, 37) Tallahassee, FL
  7. 1:21:21.9 ~ Jack McDermott (M, 45) Tallahassee, FL
  8. 1:22:15.3 ~ Sean Hudson (M, 44) Tallahassee, FL
  9. 1:23:46.7 ~ Kevin Chin Shue (M, 22) Tallahassee, FL
  10. 1:25:50.3 ~ Mike Peyman (M, 52) Tallahassee, FL

Top Ten Women, 2014 Boston (mini) Marathon
  1. 1:25:14.6 ~ Katie Sherron (F, 33) Tallahassee, FLJillian Heddaeus
  2. 1:34:22.8 ~ Kendall Andrews (F, 22) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 1:34:36.2 ~ Jillian Heddaeus (F, 31) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 1:35:30.5 ~ Marci Gray (F, 40) Tallahassee, FL
  5. 1:39:52.5 ~ Laura McDermott (F, 35) Tallahassee, FL
  6. 1:43:29.9 ~ Katie Clark (F, 40) Tallahassee, FL
  7. 1:46:01 ~ Kory Skrob (F, 44) Tallahassee, FL
  8. 1:45:03.4 ~ Melanie Ellis (F, 41) Valdosta, GA

  9. 1:47:02.4 ~ Mary Jane Hayden (F, 35) Tallahassee, FL

  10. 1:48:02.7 ~ Amanda Hudson (F, 37) Tallahassee, FL

Boston (mini) Marathon Champions, 1979 - 2014
DateMenWomen
25 October 201472:20, Chris Lake85:15, Katie Sherron
26 October 201371:17, Stanley Linton80:42, Sheryl Rosen
27 October 201273:46, Chris Lake83:27, Sheryl Rosen
29 October 201169:29, Kevin Sullivan82:10, Sheryl Rosen
30 October 201075:13, Vince Molosky86:59, Lisa Johnson
31 October 200979:49, Vince Molosky87:10, Sheryl Rosen
25 October 200881:50, Myles Gibson86:19, Sheryl Rosen
27 October 200776:18, John Seppala87:35, Sheryl Rosen
28 October 200681:18, Michael Martinez82:49, Sheryl Rosen
29 October 200581:11, Myles Gibson96:32, Jennifer Kilinski
30 October 200483:55, David Yon91:57, Jane Johnson
25 October 200376:20, Myles Gibson97:52, Lisa Whitworth
26 October 200284:38, Mike Posey92:41, Carrie Weyant
27 October 200182:36, Steven Walker95:24, Carrie Weyant
28 October 200075:28, Art Remillard83:20, Sarah Docter-Williams
30 October 199978:22, Corey Cherr95:28, Julie Carico
31 October 199880:25, Rusty Jones97:01, Peggy Simpson
25 October 199781:21, Rusty Jones82:55, Michelle LeFleur
26 October 199676:26, Jeff Nielsen86:12, Carrie Weyant
28 October 199578:21, Paul Hough91:01, Katherine Perez
29 October 199472:42, Paul Hough92:34, Diane Turchick
30 October 199375:33, Paul Hough86:09, Carrie Weyant
31 October 199277:45, Steve Carney86:05, Carrie Hunnicutt
26 October 1991

27 October 199079:33, Brian Murphy86:44, Donna Miller
28 October 198971:23, Alex Walmsley93:10, Mary Jean Yon
29 October 198874:22, T. C. Carroll1:41:54, Nancy Widener
1987no race heldno race held
8 November 1986

11 November 198567:30, Herb Wills88:06, Patti Sudduth
27 October 198474:21, Scott HinkleDot Skofronick
29 October 198370:25, Noel Shuman87:01, Patti Sudduth
30 October 198267:48, Noel Shuman91:41, Donna Murdock
31 October 198169:57, Gary Slayton88:56, Lt. Vickie Monroe
25 October 198071:49, Gary Slayton96:03, Judy Taylor
27 October 197970:52, Bruce Carpenter1:47:13, Robin Anderson
Got any information on the missing years? Let me know! Send an
e-mail to hwills@gmail.com, or leave a comment below.
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