As themes for small town festivals go Sopchoppy, Florida's Worm Gruntin' Festival isn't that unusual. Other towns in the regions have celebrations centered around possums, fire ants, gnats, rattlesnakes, and wild chickens. Just down the highway, Panacea has a blue crab festival. If you can have a festival about consuming crustaceans, why not one about harvesting annelids? Still, the Worm Gruntin' Festival has inspired some disturbing artwork. Earthworms in bikini tops? Try to forget that image next time you're digging in the garden or baiting a fishhook.Fortunately, Sopchoppy's annual celebration has also inspired the Worm Gruntin' Festival 5K, raced most recently on Saturday morning, 9 April 2016. Wakulla High alumnus Matthew Phillips won the race, edging Brian Tinger of Beverly, Massachusetts 17:22 to 17:25. Michael Martinez of Tallahassee, Florida was the fastest master runner in the race, finishing third overall in 18:36.
Beverly, Massachusetts athlete Mariah Tinger took the women's title, placing seventh overall in 20:22. Wakulla High cross country runner Connie Lewis finished runner-up in the women's standings and eleventh overall in 21:41. Jenny Early was the third woman in the race, fifteenth overall in 23:17.
In case you were wondering, worm gruntin' (which is also called worm fiddling) is the art of using vibrations to drive earthworms to the surface where they can be collected as fish bait. Science has shown that worm gruntin' works, but remains silent on the question of why. We may forever only be able to speculate about the motives of worms.
154 athletes finished the 2016 Worm Gruntin' Festival 5K. Miles and Minutes, LLC, of Tallahassee, Florida timed and scored the race.
Top Ten Men, 2016 Worm Gruntin' Festival 5K
- 17:21.91 ~ Matthew Phillips (M, 21)
- 17:24.24 ~ Brian Tinger (M, 38)
- 18:35.61 ~ Michael Martinez (M, 50)
- 19:06.53 ~ Lane Williams (M, 20)
- 19:22.02 ~ Duane Evans (M, 48)
- 20:20.38 ~ Caleb Forehand (M, 19)
- 20:55.13 ~ Michael Cipriano (M, 58)
- 21:34.48 ~ David Harrell (M, 30)
- 21:37.40 ~ Scott Stewart (M, 46)
- 21:56.36 ~ Tyler Scott (M, 29)
Top Ten Women, 2016 Worm Gruntin' Festival 5K
- 20:21.28 ~ Mariah Tinger (F, 38)
- 21:40.95 ~ Connie Lewis (F, 17)
- 23:16.83 ~ Jenny Early (F, 32)
- 24:38.35 ~ Emily Smith (F, 31)
- 24:48.53 ~ Hannah Wheatcraft (F, 16)
- 25:20.76 ~ Dionne Wilson (F, 27)
- 25:45.58 ~ Jeanna Prisco (F, 19)
- 26:10.99 ~ Jennifer Horvath (F, 33)
- 27:11.98 ~ Nancy Lewis (F, 50)
- 27:34.10 ~ Heather Gatten (F, 24)
| Known winners of the Sopchoppy, Florida, Worm Grunting Festival 5K, 2003 - 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Men | Women | Finishers |
| 12 April 2003 | |||
| 10 April 2004 | |||
| 9 April 2005 | 18:36, Mackey Tyndall | 20:57, Julie Clark | 59 |
| 8 April 2006 | Karl Hempel | Karmen Duchon | 55 |
| 14 April 2007 | 20:11, Brett Templeton | Sydney Nutting | 56 |
| 14 April 2012 | 17:27, Stanley Linton | 23:00, Julie Rose Travis | 111 |
| 13 April 2013 | 15:56, Stanley Linton | 21:46, Emily Smith | 139 |
| 12 April 2014 | 20:48, Travis Parks | 21:20, Kayla Webbe | 140 |
| 11 April 2015 | 17:45, Chase Savary | 22:05, Hannah Wheatcraft | 153 |
| 9 April 2016 | 17:22, Matthew Phillips | 20:22, Mariah Tinger | 154 |
Links
- Complete results of the 2016 Worm Gruntin' Festival 5K at gulfwinds.org
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HMei5iSTM1BNMvjYa_62uIPPlOmLTWVx1ziyKan6bxY/pubhtml
- 2015 story, “Savary and Wheatcraft take their turn with the worms”
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/04/worm-grunt-2015.html
- Sopchoppy Worm Gruntin' Festival
http://www.wormgruntinfestival.com/
- If there's a festival, there's a 5K, and the 5K is on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
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