Whitehead and Oxenford outrun them all in the Run For The Nurses Half Marathon

Professor Patrick Whitehead of Darton State College was on the Tifton, Georgia campus of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on Saturday morning, 2 April 2016. It wasn't an academic visit, though. Whitehead was there to race the half marathon at the fifth annual Run For The Nurses. The professor won handily in 1:20:44, finishing 2600 meters ahead of the next runner. Thomaston, Georgia athlete Aprille Oxenford was the women's champion, placing eleventh overall in 1:50:41. 67 athletes finished the 13.1-mile race.


Whitehead's time established a new event record, breaking the old mark of 1:21:06 set by Mark McLeod in 2013. Lorenzo Gomez, Jr., of Omega, Georgia took second in the half marathon, running 1:32:29. Johathan Wegner of Rincon, Georgia was the top master runner in the race, placing third overall in 1:40:32.


Cherie McDonald of Sylvester, Georgia was the top woman master and second female finisher, nineteenth overall in 1:55:17. Hahira, Georgia distance runner Melissa Morris was third in the women's standings and 25th overall in 2:02:25.


Top Ten Men, 2016 Run For The Nurses Half Marathon

1. 1:20:44 ~ Patrick Whitehead (M, 30) Albany, GA
2. 1:32:29 ~ Lorenzo Gomez, Jr (M, 29) Omega, GA
3. 1:40:32 ~ Jonathan Wegner (M, 47) Rincon, GA
4. 1:43:04 ~ Winston Symmes (M, 40) Perry, GA
5. 1:43:19 ~ Joseph Knoll (M, 38) Tifton, GA
6. 1:43:46 ~ Paul Girard (M, 51) Peachtree City, GA
7. 1:45:30 ~ Randy Kyle Carr (M, 43) Tifton, GA
8. 1:46:03 ~ Jim Tully (M, 69) Lamont, FL
9. 1:46:51 ~ Mike Beeman (M, 59) Tifton, GA
10. 1:46:52 ~ David Vann (M, 59) Tifton, GA

Top Ten Women, 2016 Run For The Nurses Half Marathon

1. 1:50:41 ~ Aprille Oxenford (F, 32) Thomaston, GA
2. 1:55:17 ~ Cherie McDonald (F, 49) Sylvester, GA
3. 2:02:25 ~ Melissa Morris (F, 32) Hahira, GA
4. 2:04:34 ~ Katie Harper (F, 24) Macon, GA
5. 2:04:35 ~ Devon Tobey (F, 26) Macon, GA
6. 2:05:10 ~ Robin Walls (F, 39) Bonaire, GA
7. 2:05:14 ~ Jazz Garmon (F, 23) Tifton, GA
8. 2:08:03 ~ Rebecca Rhodes (F, 28) Abbeville, GA
9. 2:09:45 ~ Rhonda Barrett (F, 44) Valdosta, GA
10. 2:10:30 ~ Judy Lindsey (F, 50) Sylvester, GA

The half marathon wasn't contested at the first Run For The Nurses in 2012. The event was introduced in 2013, replacing the 10K. Ever since the inaugural Run For The Nurses, though, the 5K has been on the program. Omega master runner Lorenzo Gomez won the 3.1-mile race in 2014 and 2015, but in 2016 he was unseated by Ian Hawkins. Hawkins, a Tifton runner, won the 2016 5K in 19:22, while Gomez took second in 21:05. Tifton master runner Bret Wagenhorst was third in 21:24.


Fourteen-year-old Kenzie Walls of Bonaire, Georgia took the women's title finishing fifth overall in 22:32. Albany, Georgia's Cathy Jones was the top woman master and the women's runner-up, eighth overall in 26:13. Tifton master runner Gina Purvis was third in the women's standings and tenth overall in 27:17.


62 athletes finished the 5K at the 2016 Run For The Nurses.


The ABAC School of Nursing and Health Sciences hosted the fifth annual Run For The Nurses. Proceeds of the event support the Lisa Purvis Allison “Spirit of Nursing” scholarship.


Top Ten Men, 2016 Run For The Nurses 5K

1. 19:22 ~ Ian Hawkins (M, 35) Tifton , GA
2. 21:05 ~ Lorenzo Gomez (M, 50) Omega, GA
3. 21:24 ~ Bret Wagenhorst (M, 52) Tifton , GA
4. 22:19 ~ Tim Bell (M, 57) Sycamore, GA
5. 23:55 ~ Jonathan Frantz (M, 22) Abbeville, GA
6. 26:04 ~ Trey Crisp (M, 36) Tifton, GA
7. 26:30 ~ Zachary Frantz (M, 17) Abbeville, GA
8. 27:47 ~ Wayne Kountis (M, 57) Tifton, GA
9. 28:24 ~ Luis Eason (M, 16) Tifton, GA
10. 28:42 ~ Chad Blanchett (M, 40) Tifton, GA

Top Ten Women, 2016 Run For The Nurses 5K

1. 22:32 ~ Kenzie Walls (F, 14) Bonaire, GA
2. 26:13 ~ Cathy Jones (F, 56) Albany, GA
3. 27:17 ~ Gina Purvis (F, 57) Tifton, GA
4. 27:53 ~ Viviana Silva (F, 29) Tifton , GA
5. 29:09 ~ Sarah Ray (F, 30) Nashville, GA
6. 29:16 ~ Searra Johnson (F, 26) Norman Park , GA
7. 32:47 ~ Susie Mason (F, 48) Fitzgerald , GA
8. 32:56 ~ Kelsey Gibbs (F, 23) Tifton, GA
9. 33:14 ~ Kealey Pettiford (F, 22) Enigma , GA
10. 33:15 ~ Heather M. Allison (F, 18) Ocilla, GA

Run For The Nurses champions, 2012 - 2016
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
25 February 2012	10K	39:19, Mark McLeod	50:18, Melissa Luke	33
	5K	17:39, Nathan Norton	21:10, Charley Harrison	60
13 April 2013	Half Marathon	1:21:06, Mark McLeod	1:47:51, Stephanie Harley	120
	5K	19:28, Artemio Gomez	23:09, Ashlee Golden	92
5 April 2014	Half Marathon	1:23:37, Ryan Kelly	1:42:07, Melissa Luke	117
	5K	19:51, Lorenzo Gomez	21:46, Karen Garcia	98
11 April 2015	Half Marathon	1:23:07, Ryan Kelly	1:33:36, Beth Sweeny	84
	5K	20:17, Lorenzo Gomez	25:58, Jamie Turcotte	63
2 April 2016	Half Marathon	1:20:44, Patrick Whitehead	1:50:41, Aprille Oxenford	67
	5K	19:22, Ian Hawkins	22:32, Kenzie Walls	62

Links

• Complete results of the 2016 Run For The Nurses Half Marathon
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ubwVfk9itBvLr51p1HHt5YbxQRFTLODT1olv_As46YQ/pubhtml
  
  
• 2014 story, “Kelly and Luke race for the nurses at ABAC”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/04/nurses-2014.html
  
  
• Find an upcoming half marathon to run on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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