McCandless becomes a triple champion of the Double Bridge Run

The Pensacola Double Bridge Run is junior by two decades to those other more notorious Florida 15K races, the Jacksonville River Run and Tampa's Gasparilla. The older runs go back to the 1970s, while the Double Bridge Run's birthday was in 1998. Despite its youth as an event, the Double Bridge joins the River Run and Gasparilla as one of the three largest 15K races in the state. It also challenges them as one of the fastest.


In spite of Gasparilla's pancake-flat course, the Double Bridge is now producing faster winning times than the Tampa race. One of the reasons for that is Tyler McCandless. The Boulder, Colorado, athlete ran 45:18 to win the Double Bridge 15K on Saturday morning, 7 February 2015. It was McCandless's third year in a row of Double Bridge victories and his fastest yet, beating his 2014 winning time by one second. Behind McCandless, Tristan Mannix of Evansville, Indianda, and Geoffrey Kiprotich of Toledo, Ohio, brawled for second place, with Mannix barely getting the decision, 47:42 to 47:43. Another Rocky Mountain runner, CJ Hitz of Colorado Springs, was the fastest master in the race, placing seventh overall in 53:32.


New York athlete Allie Kieffer did her part to make the women's field also one of the most competitive in Florida. The former Wake Forest University cross-country runner came in ninth overall, winning the women's title in 55:41. McHenry, Maryland, athlete Line Lauritsen and Pensacola's own Jennifer McGranahan raced side-by-side much of the way, but Lauritsen pulled away late in the race to take second in the women's standings, 58:35 to 58:46. Lauritsen and McGranahan were 18th and 19th overall. Mary Sweeney of Atlanta, Georgia, was the first master woman in the race, running 63:43 to finish 61st overall and eighth in the women's field.


2527 athletes finished the 15K at the 18th annual Pensacola Double Bridge Run.


Top Ten Men, 2015 Pensacola Double Bridge Run 15K

1. 45:18 ~ Tyler McCandless (M, 28) Boulder, CO
2. 47:42 ~ Tristan Mannix (M, 29) Evansville, IN
3. 47:43 ~ Geoffrey Kiprotich (M, 36) Toledo, OH
4. 49:12 ~ Michael Green (M, 38) Troy, AL
5. 50:57 ~ Brent Schneider (M, 33) Pensacola, FL
6. 51:41 ~ Danny Goodman, Jr. (M, 39) Gulf Breeze, FL
7. 53:32 ~ CJ Hitz (M, 41) Colorado Springs, CO
8. 55:37 ~ Rusty Branch (M, 35) Cantonment, FL
9. 55:45 ~ Micah Kemp (M, 17) Jay, FL
10. 56:07 ~ Alex Guillory (M, 19) Eight Mile, AL

Top Ten Women, 2015 Pensacola Double Bridge Run 15K

1. 55:41 ~ Allie Kieffer (F, 27) New York, NY
2. 58:35 ~ Line Lauritsen (F, 32) McHenry, MD
3. 58:46 ~ Jennifer McGranahan (F, 36) Pensacola, FL
4. 59:49 ~ Jennifer Pinto (F, 37) Jacksonville, FL
5. 62:32 ~ Erin Padgett (F, 34) Loxley, AL
6. 62:58 ~ Meghan Connor (F, 23) Alexandria, VA
7. 63:19 ~ Elizabeth Heering (F, 32) Navarre, FL
8. 63:43 ~ Mary Sweeney (F, 54) Atlanta, GA
9. 63:47 ~ Heather Asmar (F, 43) Pensacola Beach, FL
10. 64:31 ~ Nicole Solana (F, 32) Pensacola, FL

Pensacola Double Bridge Run 15K winners, 1998 - 2015
Date	Men	Women
1998*	36:31, Everett Whiteside	45:40, Kelly Wild
6 February 1999	45:55, Everett Whiteside	56:36, Sarah Kramer
19 February 2000	46:12, Everett Whiteside	59:52, Jennifer Hanley
2001	46:29, Everett Whiteside	57:45, Jennifer Hanley
2 February 2002	45:12, Everett Whiteside	57:11, Jennifer Hanley
8 February 2003	45:33, Everett Whiteside	59:07, Jennifer Hanley
7 February 2004	48:06, Billy Bohlke	54:58, Jenny Ledford
22 January 2005	47:04, Everett Whiteside	58:43, Jennifer Hanley
4 February 2006	46:59, Michael Padilla	61:04, Dawn Kane
3 February 2007	46:26, Everett Whiteside	54:17, Ann McGranahan
2 February 2008	45:34, Christian Hesch	53:55, Amy Rudolph
7 February 2009	43:31, James Carney	53:25, Amy Rudolph
6 February 2010	44:46, James Carney	51:04, Janet Cherobon
5 February 2011	43:35, Mark Kenneally	49:58, Janet Cherobon
4 February 2012	46:51, Reuben Mwei	53:49, Molly Pritz
2 February 2013	46:12, Tyler McCandless	54:56, Sonja Friend-Uhl
1 February 2014	45:19, Tyler McCandless	52:29, Cynthia Jerop
7 February 2015	45:18, Tyler McCandless	55:41, Allie Kieffer
* The 1998 race was 12K

Links

• Complete results of the 2015 Pensacola Double Bridge Run via Gulf Sport Timing
  http://gulfsporttiming.com/results.php?rid=6ewSt3
  
  
• Pensacola Double Bridge Run
  http://www.doublebridgerun.com/
  
  
• USATF Course Certification Map FL08009EBM for the 2015 Pensacola Double Bridge Run 15K
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL08009EBM
  
  
• More upcoming races with zero or more bridges on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#1307