Saturday, July 23, 2016

Kiros and Eagen roll on the rolling hills of Killearn Lakes

"That was tough!" said Geb Kiros.


It was Saturday morning, 23 July 2016, and Kiros had just finished the Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare For Life Challenge Summer 5K. He may have found the race tough, but not tough enough that he wasn't able to score a win, running 18:15 and finishing almost 100 meters ahead of the next runner. Allison Eagen took the women's title, placing fourth overall in 19:45. 182 athletes finished the 3.1-mile race through the street of Killearn Lakes, just north of Tallahassee, Florida.

Geb Kiros
Geb Kiros

The race started at Deerlake Middle School just after 8:30 AM. The school is in the Killearn Lakes subdivision, but the runners soon learned that the neighborhood could have been more accurately called Killearn Hills. If there was a level stretch in the whole five kilometers, no one mentioned it. On the plus side, sunny spots on the course were as rare as flat ones. Almost the entire course was in the shade, and that counts as a good thing during a Tallahassee summer.


Donalsonville, Georgia's runner Myles Gibson led the field for most of the first kilometer, followed closely by Geb Kiros and Mickey Moore--a lead pack of three master runners. After that Kiros, a Florida A & M University biostatistics professor, took over. Mickey Moore, the president of Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Foundation, also passed Gibson, but Kiros left everyone behind. The FAMU professor was first to the finish line back at the school, posting a winning time of 18:15. Moore took second in 18:36 and Gibson was third in 18:45.

Myles Gibson, Mickey Moore
Myles Gibson, Mickey Moore

The TMH For Life Challenge series of races started with a Winter 5K in January 2015, with races scheduled every quarter. However, the 2015 Summer 5K had been canceled due to inclement weather, so this year's race at Deerlake was the first Summer 5K on the circuit. It wasn't the first time runners had been on the course, though. The Summer 5K used the same route as the Deerlake Run For Education 5K, held each November since 2010.


"I ran that a few years ago," said Allison Eagen.


Eagen had done more than that. The Summer 5K women's champ had won the women's title at the 2010 Run For Education 5K, and still holds the women's record of 19:36 for the event. Eagen's familiarity with the course wasn't limited to that one race, though. She lives and runs in the neighborhood.

Allison Eagen
Allison Eagen

"This is pretty much the only place I train," said Eagen.


Not that she was seeking a home course advantage. "I was just looking for a race to see where I was at," said Eagen. "I had already decided to run this race before I knew where it was. It's only a mile from home. I warmed up on the way here."


Exercise physiologists can argue the specifics, but 19:45 in the July heat may be better effort than 19:36 in milder November conditions.

Kenya Rich
Kenya Rich

Kenya Rich was the top woman master in the race and the second female finisher, placing eighth overall in 22:33. Master runner Deborah Congdon was third in the women's standings and fourteenth overall in 24:28.


The 2016 TMH For Life Challenge Summer 5K was preceded in this year's race series by the Winter 5K on 9 January 2016 and the Spring 5K on 30 April 2016. The series concludes with the TMH For Life Fall 5K on 22 October 2016 at Canopy Oaks Elementary School.


DRC Sports of Inverness, Florida chip-timed the 2016 TMH For Life Summer 5K.


Gabriel LewisTop Ten Men, 2016 TMH For Life Challenge Summer 5K
  1. 18:14.8 ~ Geb Kiros (M, 49)
  2. 18:35.7 ~ Mickey Moore (M, 46)
  3. 18:44.4 ~ Myles Gibson (M, 50)
  4. 21:45.8 ~ Gabriel Lewis (M, 22)
  5. 22:04.1 ~ Shannon Young (M, 38)
  6. 22:11.2 ~ Felton Wright (M, 59)
  7. 22:47.6 ~ Ryan Borso (M, 17)
  8. 23.24.5 ~ Erik Anderson (M, 33)
  9. 23:40.7 ~ Peniel Scantlebury (M, 27)
  10. 23.45.4 ~ Khalil Davis (M, 13)

Deborah CongdonTop Ten Women, 2016 TMH For Life Challenge Summer 5K
  1. 19:44.1 ~ Allison Eagen (F, 37)
  2. 22:32.7 ~ Kenya Rich (F, 43)
  3. 24:27.8 ~ Deborah Congdon (F, 46)
  4. 25:14.9 ~ Pari Green (F, 14)
  5. 25:35.1 ~ Brooke Waldal (F, 13)
  6. 26:12.4 ~ Pace Mawhinney (F, 34)
  7. 27:24.9 ~ Shealyn Shealyn (F, 16)
  8. 27:44.2 ~ Syvannah Wood (F, 20)
  9. 27:55.8 ~ Annmarie Smith (F, 32)
  10. 28:06.6 ~ Jessica Michaloski (F, 30)

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Posted by Herb Wills at 4:55 PM
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