Riley and Bishop win the race inspired by the Dread Pirate Bowles

Florida loves its pirates.


In 1954, long before Jimmy Buffett recorded "A Pirate Looks at 40," the city of Tampa, Florida, started the Gasparilla Festival as a celebration of the piratic career of José Gaspar. Being a pirate, Gaspar was every bit as kind and pleasant as Tony Soprano or any other career criminal. However, the United States Navy put an end to Gaspar's depredations in 1821, so by 1954 none of his victims were around to complain. Gasparilla celebrates a sanitized version of the pirate, a glamorous figure who dressed flamboyantly and didn't have to work regular hours or pay taxes.


In northwest Florida, Fort Walton Beach didn't want to get left out of the game, transforming its annual water skiing festival into the Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival. But if Gasparilla had little to do with the the historic José Gaspar, the Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival had even less to do with William Augustus Bowles. It's true that Bowles was an adventurer and later a pirate in Florida, but he was never in Fort Walton Beach or its immediate area. He was also never called "Billy Bowlegs." Seminole chief Holata Micco was known as Billy Bowlegs, but he wasn't a pirate and he didn't live in the Panhandle. Billy Bowlegs the Pirate is a fantasy figure, but that's okay. Fantasy pirates are fun, but you wouldn't want to be in the same room with a real pirate--not if you had something he wanted.


Fort Walton Beach does have priority over Tampa in adding a road race to their pirate festival. The Gasparilla Distance Classic was first run in 1978, but Billy Bowlegs Midnight Run goes back to 1975. The Fort Walton Beach race was run for the 41st time on 6 June 2015 as the Billy Bowlegs 5K, no longer run at midnight but at 9:00 PM. Dewayne Riley of Milton, Florida, won the night race in 16:37. Colorado Springs athlete Kyle Van Zile was second in 17:00. In a showdown of graduating seniors from rival high school's, Choctawhatchee's Sean White edged Fort Walton Beach's Trey LaNasa for third, 17:39 to 17:40. Gulf Breeze High graduating senior Matthew Babikow finished fifth in 18:14. Chris Neal of Pace, Florida, was the fastest master runner in the field, outleaning Niceville master runner Chris Reid 18:55 to 18:56 for 14th place overall.


Arkansas Razorback cross country runner Logan Bishop captured the women's crown at the 2015 Bowlegs 5K, coming in 16th overall in 19:05. Niceville High graduating senior Nicole Escoffier was second in the women's standings, finishing 26th overall in 20:34. Destin's Erin Eubanks was the third woman finisher, 29th overall in 20:46. The top woman master and fourth female finisher was Michelle Williams of Milton, Florida, 30th overall in 20:51.


495 athletes finished the 41st annual Billy Bowlegs Race. The run was timed and scored by Results Event Timing, LLC, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida.


Top Ten Men, 2015 Billy Bowlegs 5K Night Race

1. 16:37 ~ Dewayne Riley (M, 28) Milton, FL
2. 17:00 ~ Kyle Van Zile (M, 26) Colorado Springs, CO
3. 17:39 ~ Sean White (M, 18) Fort Walton Beach, FL
4. 17:40 ~ Trey Lanasa (M, 18) Miramar, FL
5. 18:14 ~ Matthew Babikow (M, 18) Gulf Breeze, FL
6. 18:19 ~ Tyler Mcsheehy-Hall (M, 26) Jacksonville, FL
7. 18:20 ~ Evan Etheridge (M, 17) Niceville, FL
8. 18:31 ~ Steve Harris (M, 35) Pensacola, FL
9. 18:36 ~ Jack Johnson (M, 15) Niceville, FL
10. 18:44 ~ Logan Franklin (M, 16) Pace, FL

Top Ten Women, 2015 Billy Bowlegs 5K Night Race

1. 19:05 ~ Logan Bishop (F, 21) Batesville, AR
2. 20:34 ~ Nicole Escoffier (F, 18) Niceville, FL
3. 20:46 ~ Erin Eubanks (F, 24) Destin, FL
4. 20:51 ~ Michelle Williams (F, 42) Milton, FL
5. 21:05 ~ Anna Morelock (F, 27) Destin, FL
6. 21:47 ~ Jenny Holland (F, 34) ,
7. 22:13 ~ Paula Piazza (F, 51) ,
8. 22:19 ~ Donna Harris (F, 46) Shalimar, FL
9. 22:19 ~ Brenda Davis (F, 32) Fort Walton Beach, FL
10. 22:34 ~ Lacie Roberts (F, 32) Sperry, OK

Billy Bowlegs Midnight Run winners, 1975 - 2015
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
31 May 1975	Mike Clay	Cathy Sigler	82
5 June 1976	14:30*, Tim Simpkins	17:11*, Esther Stovall	132
4 June 1977	14:33*, Ken Misner	17:37*, Nancy McCormac	202
2 June 1979	14:58.5*, Mike Conley	17:52*, Dolly Harrison
6 June 1987	14:26*, James Frazier	18:03*, Jodie Steigerwald	1100+
5 June 1993	15:01, Matt Dobson
7 June 1997	15:14, Everett Whiteside	17:14, Sarah Kramer
6 June 1998	15:10, Everett Whiteside	18:18, Kelly Wild
5 June 1999	14:56, Rudolf Jun	17:59, Kelly Wild
3 June 2000	15:51, Rudolph Jun	17:29, Anna Pichrtova	524
2 June 2001	15:44, Steve Garst	18:06, Kelly Wild	530
1 June 2002	15:34, Everett Whiteside	20:08, Sarah Nandes	557
7 June 2003	16:07, James Frazier	18:27, Sarah Kramer	472
5 June 2004	16:22, Travis Deutman	18:23, Kelly Wild	382
5 June 2005	16:11, Brennan Galloway	18:34, Kelly Wild	450
4 June 2006	16:38, James Uthmeier	18:29, Kelly Wild	516
3 June 2007	15:41, Everett Whiteside	19:02, Kelly Wild	667
8 June 2008	16:06, Kyle Vanzile	19:07, Anna Hallex	685
6 June 2009	16:27, Adam Saloom	19:52, Kate Accardo	778
5 June 2010	15:55, Adam Saloom	18:57, Megan Jenkins	600
4 June 2011	15:57, Adam Saloom	19:46, Lisa Lewis	658
2 June 2012	15:21, Adam Saloom	19:20, Debby Vannoy	711
1 June 2013	15:45, Adam Saloom	18:50, Cynthia Blendermann	621
7 June 2014	16:29, Frito Bandito	18:52, Cheryl Held	530
6 June 2015	16:37, Dewayne Riley	19:05, Logan Bishop	495
* Early races in the series were three miles rather than five kilometers.

Links

• Complete results of Fort Walton Beach's 2015 Billy Bowlegs 5K
  http://www.eventtiming.com/races/bowleg152.htm
  
  
• USATF Course Certification Map FL13020EBM for the 2015 Billy Bowlegs 5K
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL13020EBM
  
  
• Find other 40-year-old races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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