Not for the first time, Molosky and Sherron are first at the Flash

On Saturday morning, 18 February 2017, Vince Molosky won Gulf Winds Track Club's 29th annual Flash 12K, running 43:25. For the third time ever and the second year in a row Katie Sherron was the women's champ of the race, placing eighth overall in 47:31. The race took place south of Tallahassee, Florida in the town of Saint Marks--a town that is a story by itself.

Vince Molosky

Saint Marks, Florida isn't large, less than two square miles. Most of what Saint Marks has in that small area it has had for quite some time. Saint Marks has been home to the Spanish Fort of San Marcos de Apalachee and its ruins since the 1600s. The railroad came to Saint Marks in 1836, and after it left the Tallahassee-Saint Marks Rail Trail kept the route open bicycles and pedestrians. The Purdom Generating Plant is a relative newcomer, but it has been churning out electricity in Saint Marks since 1952.


Saint Marks has much that is old, but it doesn't have an old road race. The town hosted the Rails-to-Trails 5K in the 1980s, but that didn't survive. The Humanatee 5K came to Saint Marks in 1991, the first of fourteen annual races. The last runner finished the last Humanatee event in 2004.

Katie Sherron

Then in 2011 Mark Priddy, the race director of the Flash 12K, moved that race to Saint Marks. The annual event already had logged sixteen runnings in Chaires and another six in Woodville, but it quickly became established as a Saint Marks race. In a few more decades the Flash might not even look disproportionately young compared to old Fort San Marcos, where the race starts and finishes.


Vince Molosky had his own history with the Flash 12K when he joined the runners on the starting line of the 2017 race. Molosky had run the Flash eight times previously, winning the 12K in 2006. 2015 Flash champion Zach DeVeau was also there, as was Tim Unger, winner of the 12K in 2001 and 2004.

2017 Flash 12K and 6K

Molosky went right to the front soon after the race started, though. Geb Kiros, the leader of the concurrent 6K race, was his only company. Chris O'Kelley was Molosky's closest pursuer, followed by Mickey Moore and Eric Godin. At three kilometers Kiros turned back to head to the finish line of his own race, leaving Molosky running alone and far ahead of the rest of the field. After falling nearly a minute behind Molosky, O'Kelley started to narrow the gap during the second half of the race. O'Kelley was never able to close, though, and Molosky finished first in 43:25, getting his second Flash 12K title. O'Kelley was second in 43:55. Mickey Moore was the top master runner in the race, taking third in 44:56 after pulling away from Eric Godin midway through the run. Godin placed fourth in 45:13.

Ann Centner

Former University of Georgia distance runner Ann Centner led the women's field early, but Katie Sherron was never far behind. By the four-kilometer mark Sherron was six seconds ahead of Centner and that margin was growing. By the end of the race Sherron was more than three minutes up on Centner, winning the women's title in 47:31. Centner took the women's runner-up spot, placing fifteenth overall in 50:44. Emma Spencer was third in the women's standings and eighteenth overall in 52:08. Wakulla High cross-country runner Haleigh Martin was the fourth woman and nineteenth overall in 52:21. Tsige Tadesse was the first woman master and seventh female finisher, 29th overall in 55:23.


For the first time in the nine-year history of the Flash 6K, the course was USATF-certified, making the event one of only four six-kilometer road races in the state of Florida staged on a certified course.


Top Ten Men, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2017 Flash 12K

1. 43:25, Vince Molosky (M, 37)
2. 43:55, Chris O'Kelley (M, 23)
3. 44:56, Mickey Moore (M, 46)
4. 45:13, Eric Godin (M, 32)
5. 45:35, Michael Rhodes (M, 48)
6. 46:02, Myles Gibson (M, 50)
7. 46:11, Paul Guyas (M, 39)
8. 47:39, Joel Piotrowski (M, 47)
9. 47:53, Tim Unger (M, 57)
10. 47:56, Matthew Rowan (M, 48)

Top Ten Women, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2017 Flash 12K

1. 47:31, Katie Sherron (F, 35)
2. 50:44, Ann Centner (F, 25)
3. 52:08, Emma Spencer (F, 36)
4. 52:21, Haleigh Martin (F, 17)
5. 53:18, Meg Ogle (F, 26)
6. 54:34, Alyssa Terry (F, 23)
7. 55:23, Tsige Tadesse (F, 49)
8. 57:20, Nancy Stedman (F, 55)
9. 58:34, Jennifer Jan Farinella (F, 27)
10. 59:22, Kory Skrob (F, 45)

While the Flash 12K was being contested the Flash 6K was also under way. Master runner Geb Kiros won the shorter race in 22:02, leading the entire six kilometers. Lane Williams took second in 22:58. Master runner Michael Martinez, the winner of the 2013 Flash 6K, was third in 23:27. Another past champion, Duane Evans, was fourth in 23:40. Evans had won the Flash 6K in 2012.

Katie Sack and Ann Centner

Katie Sack overshot the turnaround of the out-and-back 6K course, but recovered in time to take the women's title in 26:02, placing sixth overall. Paula O'Neill was the first woman master and second female finisher, running the 6K in 26:32 and placing eighth overall. Master runner Angela Wable was the third woman and eleventh overall in 27:01.


Top Ten Men, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2017 Flash 6K

1. 22:02, Geb Kiros (M, 50)
2. 22:58, Lane Williams (M, 20)
3. 23:27, Michael Martinez (M, 51)
4. 23:40, Duane Evans (M, 49)
5. 26:00, Hector Clemente (M, 59)
6. 26:26, Bryce Bass (M, 14)
7. 26:43, Scott Stewart (M, 47)
8. 26:56, Rob McNneely (M, 57)
9. 27:20, Matt Stephens (M, 14)
10. 27:29, Nathan Streety (M, 9)

Top Ten Women, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2017 Flash 6K

1. 26:02, Katie Sack (F, 25)
2. 26:32, Paula O'Neill (F, 55)
3. 27:01, Angela Wable (F, 43)
4. 27:52, Karla Bass (F, 45)
5. 30:23, Casey Tozzi (F, 36)
6. 31:07, Sonya Dudley (F, 48)
7. 31:43, Leah Kiros (F, 11)
8. 31:48, Madison Sims (F, 9)
9. 32:12, Sarah Logan Beasley (F, 25)
10. 32:59, Annie Bowman (F, 48)

The sky threatened rain on the morning of the 2017 Flash 12K, then made good on that threat during the race, soaking the runners. In spite of the weather, 162 athletes showed up to finish the 12K, while another 128 completed the 6K. Gulf Winds Track Club chip timed both races.

Gulf Winds Track Club Flash 12K Champions, 1989 - 2017
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
28 January 1989	12K	39:44, John Devine	48:50, Barbara Balzer	155
17 February 1990	12K	44:10, David Rigby	54:40, Kathy Weiss	102
26 January 1991	12K	39:36, Jessie Close	50:24, Tina Davies	163
18 January 1992	12K	39:33, Jessie Close	45:24, Paula Johnson	132
23 January 1993	12K	42:40, Jonathan Bigg	45:43, Linda Nilges	134
15 January 1994	12K	38:02, Robin Rogers	45:34, Jane Johnson	91
21 January 1995	12K	40:49, Gary Droze	45:34, Jane Johnson	145
27 January 1996	12K	41:10, Gary Droze	44:27, Jane Johnson	132
11 January 1997	12K	39:25, Brian Erb	47:57, Sarah Williams	75
7 February 1998	12K	42:57, Clarence Calloway	45:12, Sarah Williams	164
20 February 1999	12K	44:40, Tim Simpkins	46:27, Sarah Williams	82
19 February 2000	12K	39:44, Michael Strickland	46:06, Sara Docter-Williams	107
17 February 2001	12K	43:56, Tim Unger	45:38, Sarah Docter-Williams	98
16 February 2002	12K	40:35, Gary Droze	47:17, Jane Johnson	148
1 February 2003	12K	42:52, Shawn Patterson	52:18, Lisa Whitworth	80
7 February 2004	12K	42:46, Tim Unger	52:49, Lisa Whitworth	89
5 February 2005	12K	42:05, Lee Willis	45:30, Sarah Docter-Williams	118
4 February 2006	12K	42:49, Vince Molosky	50:21, Lisa Johnson	89
17 February 2007	12K	44:58, Todd Smoot	52:22, Kim Likens	74
16 February 2008	12K	43:10, Tripp Southerland	50:57, Stephanie Liles	131
21 February 2009	12K	42:34, Jay Wallace	50:48, Jane Johnson	105
	6K	23:21, Brian Corbin	21:36, Jana Stolting	30
20 February 2010	12K	41:57, Daniel Lee	47:12, Sheryl Rosen	176
	6K	24:43, Ben Kail	31:35, Rachel Phipps	53
19 February 2011	12K	40:57, Thomas Kunish	49:23, Kelly Stevens	214
	6K	23:59, Caleb Harris	31:26, Ashton McMurray	73
18 February 2012	12K	41:23, Stephen Cox	49:52, Katie Showman	214
	6K	24:57, Duane Evans	27:39, Nancy Gribble	89
16 February 2013	12K	38:41, Kevin Sullivan	46:17, Sheryl Rosen	268
	6K	21:54, Michael Martinez	25:09, Jessica Gillard	70
15 February 2014	12K	39:39, Stanley Linton	45:20, Seeley Gutierrez	262
	6K	21:56, Jon Mason	28:15, Sarah Taff	85
21 February 2015	12K	42:03, Zach Deveau	47:33, Sheryl Rosen	207
	6K	23:30, Duane Evans	24:20, Katie Gorman	98
20 February 2016	12K	40:52, Roger Schmidt	50:43, Katie Sherron	213
	6K	23:17, Travis Parks	32:26, Leah Kiros	87
18 February 2017	12K	43:25, Vince Molosky	47:31, Katie Sherron	162
	6K	22:02, Geb Kiros	26:02, Katie Sack	128
In 1989-2004 the race started and finished in Chaires. (FL88036BH and FL94001DL) In 2005-2010 the race started and finished at J. Lewis Hall Park in Woodville. (FL05007DL) In 2011-2017 the race started and finished at Fort San Marcos de Apalachee in St. Marks. (FL11133EBM)

Links

• Complete results of the 2017 Flash 12K (and 6K) at gulfwinds.org
  
  • 12K: http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2017/12K2017.txt
  • 6K: http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2017/6K2017.txt
  
  
• More photos of the 2017 Flash 12K (and 6K)
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10109179457201033.1073742257.5215641&l=10783c2bf1
  
  
• 2016 story, “Schmidt and Sherron fly through the Flash”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/02/flash-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “DeVeau and Rosen first in the Flash”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/02/flash-2015.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Linton and Gutierrez try, try again...and win, at the Flash 12K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/02/flash-2014.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “Flashy victories for Sullivan and Rosen”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/02/flash-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, “A dozen fast for Cox and Showman at Flash 12K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/02/flash-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Kunish and Stevens are the fastest Flashers in St. Marks”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/02/flash-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, “Lee and Rosen Flash to the Front”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/02/flash-12k.html
  
  
• 2008 Flash 12K story
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2008/02/2008-flash-12k.html
  
  
• USATF course certification map (FL11133EBM) for the Flash 12K
  https://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL11133EBM
  
  
• 12K, 6K, or some other distance, find upcoming races on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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