Saturday, October 1, 2016

Moore and Thompson were ready for anything at the Race For Readiness

On Saturday morning, 1 October 2016, Eric Godin was racing through the streets of the Southwood section of Tallahassee, Florida. It was the Early Learning Coalition's third annual Race For Readiness 5K. Godin was familiar with the course, so he was running with confidence. About 600 meters into the race, though, that confidence was shaken when the leaders--Mickey Moore and Jim Halley--ran through the intersection with Park Crossing Trail.


"We turn here," called out Godin.


Moore and Halley glanced around, saw no course marking indicating that they shouldn't go straight, and continued onward.


"I guess they changed the course," muttered Godin, and followed the leaders.


Intentionally or not, the course had been changed, or at least the route as marked was different from the USATF-certified course that had been announced for the race.


Shrugging off course concerns, master runner Mickey Moore went on to win the race in 18:14. Layla Thompson took the women's title for the second year in a row, placing thirteenth overall in 23:43.

Mickey Moore
Mickey Moore
Moore, the president of the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital Foundation, ran with Jim Halley for the first half of the race. A little past the midpoint of the run, Moore broke away, eventually building up an eight-second lead on the way to his 18:14 win. Halley was second in 18:22. Eric Godin gained on Halley late in the race, but couldn't quite close and finished third in 18:25.


Layla Thompson led the women's field nearly from the start, and her time of 23:43 put her nearly a minute ahead of the next female finisher. Thompson, a sixth-grader, races on the Deerlake Middle School cross-country team.


"I actually really like cross-country," said Thompson. "It's a lot of fun and it helps me with soccer."


The middle school cross-country races, however, are shorter than 5K races like the Race For Readiness.


"I haven't run a 5K in a long time and I've been racing two miles in cross-country," said Thompson. "So it was different and weird to do a 5K again."

Layla Thompson
Layla Thompson
Tallahassee master runner Krista Killius was second in the women's standings and seventeenth overall in 24:39. Paula O'Neill was the third woman and nineteenth overall in 24:57.


206 athletes finished the 2016 Run For Readiness 5K, the most in the three-year history of the race. An additional 93 athletes finished the associated one-mile fun run.


Jim HalleyTop Ten Men, 2016 Race For Readiness 5K
  1. 18:14 ~ Mickey Moore
  2. 18:22 ~ Jim Halley
  3. 18:25 ~ Eric Godin
  4. 18:53 ~ Paul Guyas
  5. 19:30 ~ Zack Scharlepp
  6. 20:06 ~ Duane Evans
  7. 20:35 ~ Chuck Lang
  8. 22:49 ~ Marcial Lopez
  9. 22:56 ~ Scott Davis
  10. 23:09 ~ Parker Thompson

Krista KilliusTop Ten Women, 2016 Race For Readiness 5K
  1. 23:43 ~ Layla Thompson
  2. 24:39 ~ Krista Killius
  3. 24:57 ~ Paula O'Neill
  4. 27:26 ~ Lauralyn Hudgins
  5. 27:59 ~ Catherine Jones
  6. 28:55 ~ Alissa McShane
  7. 28:59 ~ Stacy Forsthoefel
  8. 29:06 ~ Theresa Zerkle
  9. 29:11 ~ Shelley Roberts
  10. 29:23 ~ Tracy Godin

Race For Readiness 5K winners, 2014 - 2016
DateMenWomenFinishers
18 October 201418:12, Paul Guyas20:25, Dionis Gauvin177
31 October 201516:30, Joseph Garcia22:17, Layla Thompson199
1 October 201618:14, Mickey Moore23:43, Layla Thompson206
The Race For Readiness 5K was run near Northwood Mall in 2014 and 2015.

The race was run in Southwood in 2016.


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Posted by Herb Wills at 2:21 PM
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